Chapter Nine
After a whole day of hard work, I was usually completely out of energy but the delicious late lunch revitalized me enough for me to not go straight to my bed for a power nap.
Hmm, what could I do with that energy? Games or movies weren’t an option because my room was kept utilitarian and I was forbidden access to phones or anything with an internet connection.
I was permitted only a supervised call to my brother once a week; a measure for the sake of keeping both of us in line and certainly not for my comfort.
I was still musing about what to do with the rest of my day when we reached my room.
My eyes widened after I opened the door.
The counter of my tiny kitchen was full of various products. Stacks of cans and other non-perishable goods lined all the surfaces.
“I would prefer fresh produce but your fridge is too small for that so I had to compromise and get all this stuff,” Matthias waved at the canned beans, tomatoes, pineapples, peaches… you could make a proper dinner plus a fruit salad from what I was seeing.
My steps led me to the fridge and, as I suspected, it was filled to the brim. Meat, some of the vegetables and fruit you couldn’t find in a canned form, eggs, milk, cottage cheese… Somehow, the nail in the coffin for me was when I spotted the mint and parsley plants on the windowsill.
“This, this was your important mission?” I said and my voice cracked. “Getting food for me?”
“Well, getting food for us if it makes it better,” Matthias raised a brow. “I’m going to prepare enough to last for the next few days so we won’t have the lunch problem again. I will just carry two lunchboxes with us, problem solved.”
He pointed at the two brightly colored plastic lunch containers. One sported little frogs while the other one was peppered with glittery stars.
“This one’s mine,” I tapped the froggy one instead of the girly stars, looking at Matthias challengingly.
“Good!” he replied with unexpected smugness. “I hate frogs.”
“Then why did you buy that design?”
“I sent Theo to pick the lunch boxes out while I chose the produce. The little bastard chose the frogs to piss me off. He said it was his payment for making him an errand boy.”
“Ah, so he didn’t want to help with shopping for me…” I bit my lip.
“No! No. He just likes to take every opportunity he can to annoy me. And, ah, to be honest…” Matthias rubbed the back of his neck.
“I think he did it to distract himself. He has certain issues when it comes to… how the learned folks say it… food insecurity , that’s the phrase.
When he learned how you are treated here… ”
I winced internally. The poor state of my fridge could be taken as me being just before my grocery run, so Theo didn’t have any reason to suspect anything when he prepared breakfast for us that first day.
My food rations consisted of only the cheapest ingredients or things the other servants planned to throw away, and I sometimes had to deal with only one meal to get me through the day.
The luxury of coffee cost me working for twelve hours a day for a week.
Taking other servants’ shifts was one of the only currencies available to me, as my whole salary was being taken to pay my brother’s debt.
“Did Theo… have to go hungry?” I asked quietly.
Matthias ran his hand through his hair, turning it into an irredeemable mess.
“When I found him he was in a pretty bad situation. Even now, when he is as healthy as he can be, he is still slim and small because the years when his father used starvation as a punishment had stunted his growth.”
“I’m sorry that happened to him,” I said as my heart clenched for the blond who seemed to always wear a smile. “But I’m glad Theo had found the two of you.”
“Well, I did what I could but it was Tristan who had saved him…” Matthias blushed.
“But you continue to do what you can, don’t you?”
“I try,” he shrugged but I saw him smile before he crunched down to stuff some of the cans into a cupboard.
It seemed Tristan was quite skilled at this saving business… maybe there was a chance for this to end without tears after all.
“Are we going to cook?” I asked, poking his side.
“Yes? I mean, I can do it. You can just sit pretty and enjoy your well-earned rest!” Matthias backpedaled.
“I think I would rather cook with you. Unless you are one of those people who start hissing at others after they claim the kitchen as their territory?” I asked with amusement.
The big man opened a cutlery drawer and took out a spatula just to point it threateningly at me.
“Follow my orders and I won’t have to be.”
“Alright, alright!” I laughed. “Tell me what to do, chef.”
Surprisingly, we quickly found the rhythm to working together. When we brushed against each other in the close confines of the kitchen it felt almost like a dance.
And then, it became a literal dance when I felt comfortable enough to ask Matthias to play music on his phone. A playlist full of pop songs was just what I needed.
The kitchen filled with mirth and laughter as we created dishes for the next week.
At one point Matthias presented his hand with a grin and when I took it he twirled me around as if I wore a beautiful flowing dress and not sensible jeans and a worn t-shirt I changed into.
I could almost taste the feeling of dancing with him like this under the open sky, with the wind in my hair and sunlight on my skin.
When the lunches were done and packed into the fridge we enjoyed a treat of fresh raspberries. I had a feeling Matthias liked how my lips looked when they were reddened with the fruit juices. He certainly had trouble looking away from them.
The rest of the evening was quiet and pleasant.
When it was time for bed Matthias took the first turn in the bathroom, changing into a set of fresh night clothes he grabbed from his room while he ran his errand.
When it was my turn I finished my evening ablutions quickly only to freeze at the foot of the bed in my pajamas.
“You bought me food but didn’t think about buying yourself an air mattress?! Or a blanket?” I looked at Matthias with disbelief.
“It wasn’t a priority,” Matthias shrugged. “You were.”
I groaned and wordlessly screamed into my hands. This man was infuriating. How dare he put my comfort over his own? It made me feel thankful, warm, and guilty. Maybe I should offer…?
“What… what if I let you sleep in my bed… sleep! Only sleep!”
The burly man tilted his head, his expression serious.
“I would welcome it. If it would make you feel more comfortable I can just curl up at your feet.”
“Like a dog?!” I blurted out.
“That’s what I am for tonight, aren’t I? A guard dog.”
“You are more than that!” I protested. “Besides, Dad always said I shouldn’t allow dogs on the furniture…”
“The guy who got you in this mess with his debts?”
“Right. Yeah. Fuck that guy,” I sighed, making a decision on the fly. “Come on, we can both fit on the bed. And no ‘at your feet’ business! That doesn’t sound like it would be comfortable for either of us. You are massive.”
“Thanks, I have worked hard for this body,” Matthias winked, showing off his ridiculously steely bicep.
To be honest, my bed was too small to completely avoid contact but the big guy gave me as much space as possible and kept his hands to himself.
Without my customary cat nap during the day my exhaustion finally caught up to me and I let myself drift into sleep, actively choosing to believe the wall of muscle behind me was there to protect me and not to hurt me at my most vulnerable.