Lesson 11- Sharing is caring, especially when it comes to drinks or cookies.

Ow. Why is my back so sore? I groan and try to roll over only to be blocked by the edge of the recliner I’m resting on. Recliner? Why am I on a recliner? The events of last night come rushing back to me. Shit! I sit up way too fast causing my head to spin. Ugh, I feel like crap. My mouth tastes stale, my eyes feel crusty, I feel gross and my clothes smell like alcohol. I don’t even WANT to know what my hair looks like. I can feel that my ponytail is all crooked and I pull the hair tie out and put it on my wrist. My scalp aches a little as my hair falls back into place. I have no idea what time it is, but there’s a little window half blocked by curtains and the junk in this room. It looks like there’s daylight coming through. That doesn’t actually tell me a lot. There was daylight when I fell asleep too. It could have been an hour or ten and I would have no idea. I can’t even check the time because Torin took my phone and I never took to wearing a watch. I scramble out of the recliner and stretch, my back popping and cracking. Yeah the recliner might work for a little bit, but it is definitely not designed to be used as a bed.

I crack open the door and peer into the hallway. The side of the hallway that leads down to the bar is dead silent, but there is noise coming from the kitchen, and something smells amazing. My stomach growls loudly. I don’t think I’ve eaten since lunchtime yesterday. I meant to eat when I got home from work but obviously that plan went down the drain. I can’t go anywhere, so surely they’ll feed me. Finding water and something to eat is currently at the top of my list of priorities. I follow the smell and the clanging sound of dishes to the kitchen where I find Kyle chopping up vegetables and adding them to a GIANT pot.
“Are you making food for the bar?” I ask curiously and he jumps, stumbling backwards.
“You scared me girl. Don’t sneak up on me like that. Yes. I’m prepping tonight’s food.” He answers grumpily.
“Does the bar have a menu or something? I didn’t see one. What kind of food do you serve?” I ask. Kyle grunts and rolls his eyes.
“No menu. I make what I want and people eat what they’re given. If they don’t want it, they don't eat. Simple as that.” he says bluntly. He stomps off across the room. For a second I think he’s just walking away from me, but he returns a moment later with a large plate which he slides across the bench to me.
“I thought you might be waking up sometime soon. Eat. You’re all skin and bones.” He eyes me judgmentally and I beam at him.
“Thank you, I’m starving. This looks great.” I’m not lying. He’s made bacon and eggs with some kind of bread that I don’t recognise. It’s warm and I suspect homemade. How long has he been here cooking for anyway?
“Cutlery is over there.” He gestures with his head to a tray by the door that’s stacked full of wooden cutlery. Strange choice, but I guess it matches the vibe of this bar. Or maybe ‘bar’ isn’t the right description for this place. Tavern seems more accurate. I practically inhale my food and when I’m about halfway through my meal, Kyle thumps a glass of water onto the bench in front of me.
“Drink.” he orders, then turns back to his cooking while grumbling.
“Just lock the girl in the building. No one thought about how she would EAT. Just assumed that I’d feed her I suppose. Damn demon.” He mutters. Hmm, Kyle is a lot braver when Torin isn’t here to hear it.
“Is there anything I can help you with? I could cut stuff up or wash dishes. I’m not a terrible cook and with a little direction I’m sure I could manage.” I offer, trying to be helpful. He did feed me after all. Kyle glares at me.
“Absolutely not. You are not to touch so much as a single pot in this kitchen. I won’t have some human girl screwing it up. I have a system.” He says forcefully.
“Alright, no problem. I just wanted to help.” I answer sulkily. Kyle is kind of grumpy, although clearly not a total jerk because he did make me a really good meal. He’s very different from how he was around Laura. He might have been grumpy then too but he clearly dotes on her. I can’t help a bit of a smirk.
“So Kyle… How long have you been in love with Laura?” I ask innocently. Kyle drops the pot he was holding and it falls onto the stove with a clatter, thankfully nothing spills. He turns to face me, his face is bright red and he is blustering.
“That’s not… I don’t.. I… Why would you even…” He takes in my expression and sighs.
“Is it really that obvious?” He asks, in the smallest voice I’ve heard from him thus far. I shrug.
“It is to me, but maybe that’s just because I’m an outsider. I can see you treat her special.” I explain. Kyle doesn’t answer me. He just goes back to his cooking, avoiding my gaze completely. I finish my meal. I already feel a lot better. Now if I could just get a hot shower and a change of clothes things would seem a lot better.
“Are you going to tell her?” Kyle suddenly asks, jerking me from my thoughts. Huh? Ask tell her what? Oh, that he likes her.
“No, that’s not my place. But for what it’s worth I think the two of you would be good together. I mean, I don’t know either of you that well… But you seem like a good match.” I say honestly.
“Obviously.” Kyle grunts but from the blush on his face I can tell that he’s pleased by my answer. He stomps across the kitchen and grabs something from the fridge. He returns a moment later and slides me another plate. This one has a large slice of chocolate cake.
“Eat.” He insists. I eat in silence but I think I might have won another ally here, maybe even a friend.

I sit and eat my cake while watching Kyle cook and it’s kind of peaceful. I eat until I honestly believe I’ll be sick if I eat any more. I finish and… Now what? Is there something I’m supposed to be doing? I can’t go anywhere, I doubt there’s an actual shower here so I can’t clean up. I don’t have a change of clothes… Technically I’m supposed to be at work right now. I bet my boss is freaking out because I didn’t turn up. Another day of this and they’ll contact my brother since he’s my emergency contact. Then he’s going to realise I’m missing and the police are going to get involved. What happens if they find this place? What happens when they try to take me home and this magic makes me suffer? The more I think about it, the more I think that Torin really didn’t think this plan through. I guess it’s not like he had a lot of time to think about it. I suppose if police did come looking for me I could just say I chose to be here. It would be sketchy but if I insist I’m fine it’s not like they can do anything, right? Ugh this is stressing me out. I need something to do, a distraction of some kind. Actually what I need is a hot bath, but at very least a sink I could wash up in a little will do for now.
“Kyle, is there a bathroom here somewhere?” I ask.
“Of course there’s a bathroom. Two of them even. The customer one is through the bar, but we have a smaller staff bathroom just off the hall. It’s the next door down from where we are now.” He answers. He talks like I’m inconveniencing him, but I don’t think he actually minds. He gave me cake, that means we’re friends now. With a cheerful wave, I head in search of a bathroom.