Hungry
1249 Words
HAZEL
While I’m fighting with my inner self, Axel suddenly just stops laughing, just as quickly as he started. His laugh dies in his throat, and his face slips right back into place.
It strikes me how easily he could do that. How easily he could switch from one person to another. As if the laughter, the laugh act, was just another manipulation. Another way to put me off balance.
His eyes find mine, colder this time.
“So, you done?” he asks.
I don’t answer. I’m too stunned, too confused by his shift… by myself. I feel so stupid. For some reason, I was thinking he could be human, I guess.
“Yeah, I’m done,” I finally say. “Can we get out of here now?”
He’s quiet for a moment before he says, “No.”
“Why?” I ask. “You didn’t seriously just come here to drink whiskey, did you? This whiskey is back at your house."
" I have some business to get to.”
“Then why bring me here if you knew you had something to do?” I snap.
“Because you broke the rules,” he says, standing up and coming toward me. “You know the rules. Every day....dinner. You broke the rules, so we’re gonna have to find a way for you to cover the time you should’ve been having dinner, shouldn’t we?”
“Well, I’m not having dinner here, am I?” I fire back, not wanting to lose.
“Fine,” he mutters. “I’ll tell Kat to bring you something...."
"So she can piss in it, too?” I interrupted.
He gives me a half smile, then continues toward the door, but just as he reaches it, he turns back to me.
“Don’t try anything I wouldn’t approve of.”
And with that, he walks out.
I don’t know if it’s because of his warning… or because I just like defying him. But the moment he leaves, I look toward his drink and I take it.
The liquid hits my throat hard. It burns. I’ve never drunk anything so strong in my life. If I’m going to get drunk, I’m going to drink wine or a cocktail. Not whatever this is.
I grimace, setting the glass down and reaching for my juice, then I remember Kat, that little witch. I pull my hand back, and I stand up.
You know what? He told me to stay put. He wants me to sit here while he goes off to “handle business.” Well, I can do business too. Maybe if I get out of here, I can find Harris. Maybe it was him down there. Maybe we can… I don’t know, run away.
Whatever it is, I head to the door, open it—and stop. There’s a man standing right outside.
Of course. Axel wouldn’t just leave me alone. He wouldn’t just let me be, would he? No. He placed what he calls my “bodyguard” right outside.
“Hey, Nico,” I say.
“Well, hello there, Hazel. It’s been a long time.”
I roll my eyes. “I want to go downstairs.”
“Okay, let’s go,” he says.
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Or did you not want to go?”
“Didn’t Axel tell you to stop me?” I narrow my eyes.
“I don’t know what he told you,” he says, “but he told me to be with you 24/7 until he’s back.”
I grit my teeth and walk back into the room. Because I know Nico.
Sometimes I feel like Axel chose him to be my bodyguard just to get on my nerves. Which makes no sense, because he never even lets me leave the house without him. But of course, if anyone could irritate me more than Axel, it’s Nico.
He’s one of those guys who thinks they’re God’s gift to women, handsome, charming, always smirking like he owns the air around him. What am I trying to say? He’s arrogant. The last thing I want is to go downstairs and have him start doing his macho-man thing.
And honestly, I only wanted to go down there because I thought I could do it quietly, look for Harris without anyone noticing. But that’s not going to happen with Nico glued to me, is it?
So I sit there, doing nothing, and the frustration builds. Then, hungry, I walk back toward the door.
“Change of mind?” Nico asks with that raised eyebrow of his. He probably thinks he looks irresistible when he does that.
I glare at him. “Do you mind going downstairs, or wherever the kitchen and getting me some food?”
“Okay,” he says. “I’ll tell Kat to bring it over.”
“No. I don’t want Kat to serve me. She’s here to serve Mr. Moretti, not me. I’d rather not have her spit in my food.”
Nico laughs. He actually laughs, as if I’ve said something funny.
“I’m serious, Nico.”
“Alright, fine,” he says. “I’ll tell someone else to bring you the food.”
“Good,” I reply.
I walk back inside, go straight to the window, and resume what I was doing before, watching the people downstairs. My eyes scan the crowd, hoping… praying… that I’ll catch a glimpse of Harris again.
I must have gotten lost in my head while staring out the window, because suddenly a voice behind me says,
“Here’s your food, princess.”
I turn around to find Kat placing a tray of food on the table.... My blood boils.
Of course. Of course, he told her to bring it. I specifically said I didn’t want Kat to bring me food, and what does he do? He sends her anyway.
"I don’t feel hungry anymore. You can take it back."
Kat straightens, lifting her chin as her eyes lock with mine. She’s daring me to back down. But I don’t. I’m not afraid of her. I’m not scared of anyone in this damn place. So I meet her gaze and hold it.
“Who do you think you are?” she snaps.
“I think I am who I am,” I answer coolly, but inside, I’m irritated.
She scoffs. “So you think because Axel takes you around sometimes—and shows you around, brings you here in pajamas....in pajamas...." she laughs mockingly and continues, "and then lets you sit in this room while he goes out there and actually has fun, you think you’re special? You think you’re something, don’t you?”
“Look, Kat,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow, that mocking little smirk tugging at her mouth.
“You’re just a server here. You brought the food. I don’t feel like eating it. And now I’m telling you, as a client, and you as the server—I don’t feel like it. So take it back.”
Kat laughs. She actually laughs, that mean, sharp laugh of hers.
“Girl…” she says, and then she sits down. Right there. She sits down across from me and smirks.
“You know what? I think I’m feeling kind of hungry.”
And then she starts eating.
The food spills onto the table as she stares at me, chewing slowly, eyes locked on mine, every bite a challenge.
- Writer
