Falling for Deceit || WATTYS 2017

28

A jackhammer pounding from the inside on the bones of my skull. That's how I would describe my current state. I let out a groan and tried to move my limbs, but the heaviness in my head weighed me down like a ton of bricks. "Tony?" I cracked one lid open and grinned when Daniel's worried eyes blinked in front of me. 

"Ciao, Danny," I said, but I resorted to squeezing my eyes shut and letting my head loll back with a pained moan when a dizziness occured. And then everything sank in. I was not in the dark office. I was not resting against Marco's hard torso, his muscular arm spreading warmth from his skin to mine. I was back in my room, with Daniel by my side, on the extravageant bed, just as if nothing had ever occured. The thought brought a stab of pain to my heart, but I drowned it by swallowing and pushing myself up onto my hands. I looked down and frowned. I was wearing a dry nightgown, and I could feel a pair of cotton panties underneath it. Had Marco dressed me before bringing me back? I wondered, immediately shooing away the thought so that my brother wouldn't catch the blush that was threatening to spread over my skin. 

"There's food," Daniel said chirpilly, not worried anymore, just as I caught the delicious scent that wafted through the air. My stomach growled in anticipation and Daniel laughed, and the cheery sound that I hadn't heard for so long made me smile and giggle along with him. I looked to my side and my mouth fell open when I saw what had been rolled in on the top shelf of one of those familiar golden carts. The silver lids had been taken off and discarded on the polished wooden floor, and the steam rose from the plates of wonderful-looking things that I could not name, because I had never seen anything like it. Half of it had been eaten already, but there was still more than enough to feed a whole family in East Harlem. "I already had some," Daniel resumed, crawling over the duvet and setting himself down next to me, his eyes flickering from my face to the cart and its gleaming treasures. "But I didn't trouble the presentation," he quickly added, nervously wringing his hands together with a sheepish smile. I shook my head at him and lovingly ruffled his hair. "Hey!" he exclaimed, swatting my hand away and lunging out of my reach. 

"This looks amazing," I let out with wonder, gazing in particular at a plate that had some kind of fluffy, golden and circle-shaped bread stacked on top of one another. Some kind of syrup had been drizzled all over the mass, and the sticky substance flowed down the sides in unorderly streams. As I moved my legs over the edge of the bed while Daniel went outside on the balcony, I felt a strange sensation between them. A blush rose to my cheeks as memories of what Marco had done to me in that pool last night rose to the surface of my mind, and I quickly reached for the plate with the fluffy, cloud-looking food on it to distract myself. But the feeling of his touch never left, and all the while I retrieved a silver fork from the cart, I was sporting a stupid grin on my face. But then I looked more closely at the food and felt more amazement join the currently overflowing mess of feelings. I was hungry. My stomach had growled. I could actually feel the need for sustenance. During my time on the streets of poverty, survival had made the feeling of hunger disappear until my abdomen had merely felt numb. So this sensation of emptiness coming back to me was enough to make me want to - well... I didn't really know what my interests were, did I? Besides reading the Times that I could salvage from the trash cans, and making those little bracelets from scraps and beads, I didn't really have any experience in the world of leisure. Not that I was complaining, I thought, glancing over to Daniel's figure outside. I was so lucky to have him back. 

You're the reason that they're dead. 

No, not now, I thought, pressing my eyes together. Daniel would hate me if he found out. I knew in my heart that he deserved to know, but I couldn't do that to him so shortly after everything that he'd been through. It would wreck him completely. 

Enough, I scolded myself, ripping my saddened eyes away to focus once more on the extravagant breakfast before me. I buried the fork into the dough-like texture and cut a piece of the first shape on the top of the mountain, making sure to take the syrup with it as I brought it to my mouth. When the taste hit my lips and then my tongue, I actually closed my eyes and moaned in ecstacy.