Oblivion

Chapter Seven - Obstacle

Josephine

The curtains were still closed when I woke up, but the room started to be lit by the sun. 'I'm warm', flashed through my head. Confused, I needed a moment to arrive from whatever world I had just woken up from. But it was real, I actually felt warm. 

"Domenico?" I whispered quietly so as not to disturb him while he was typing. To my surprise, he looked straight up and put the phone in his bag. I couldn't believe he stayed there all night. He must be terribly tired! But nothing about him gave away the long night that lay behind us. Except his hair, which was a bit disheveled. That was all. I cleared my throat awkwardly and tried to get rid of the dry feeling in my throat.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked and handed me the glass on the nightstand next to me without waiting for an answer from me. Then why did he even ask? I thanked him and I had to pull myself together not to empty everything straight away. "How are you doing?"

"Good, really good. I'm a little warm, but otherwise good." And it was true; I felt really good. "How long did I sleep?"

Domenico looked at his watch. "Three hours. Are you hungry? Breakfast has already been served, but I asked to wait until you were awake again." It was hard for me to imagine him asking for something politely. Until now he had always been quite the opposite. He looked me over. "Is there anything you want to say, Tiny?"

Oh. I felt my cheeks getting warmer as the rest of my body and my heart briefly starting to stumble. "No. But food would be nice! Have you eaten something yet?" I tried to distract him. That being said, I was really hungry.

"Josephine." My attempt was unsuccessful but I couldn't tell him he was unpolite! That would be totally rude. And besides, I wasn't even there, so maybe he had really asked nicely. I made the mistake of looking at him, but immediately looked away when I saw his piercing gaze. If at all possible, I blushed even redder. "I'm waiting."

"How do you ask someone for a favor?" I asked cautiously.

"Nicely." He smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. "And then my request will be fulfilled. Just like I would have nicely asked you if you didn't stay with us voluntarily." I swallowed and for the second time since we met he laughed. "Don't you worry. Luckily it didn't come that far. So how about you ring the bell so  someone comes over and I'll text Vito that you're awake. Please," he added with a grin. I hesitated. The bell was only for emergencies and eating breakfast really didn't count as an emergency; the employees certainly had enough to do. Someone would definitely come soon, so I could definitely wait until then to eat. But what about Domenico? He was probably hungry too and after all he had already missed out on enough sleep tonight! I looked from the doorbell to the door, hoping that someone would magically walk in and save me from having to make a decision. "Is there a problem with the button that just has to be pressed?"

"It's not an emergency. I can't ring the bell if it's not an emergency!" I doubted he could understand my inner conflict. Domenico didn't strike me as the type of person who cared about what others might have thought of him. He took a deep breath and rolled his eyes, but turned away and walked to the door. "What are you doing?" I asked uncertainly.

"I'll go to the front desk and get our breakfast and maybe a nurse to free you from all the cables. Is that okay or will this also cause an apocalypse?" He looked at me annoyed and I cursed myself for my insecurity.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, but he waved me off and disappeared.

It wasn't long before he came back with a nurse. Both carried a tray; He had a cup and some fruits, the woman had a bowl on top. The bowl seemed to be for me since she came to my bed with it and put it on the nightstand. Maybe there would be pudding again! "Good morning Miss Marini, how are you?" What had she said?