𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙎 𝙒𝙀 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙀 ᵉᵈᵈⁱᵉ ᵐᵘⁿˢᵒⁿ

☼ 7

; N I G H T M A R E S
family line by CONAN GRAY

Whoever this Rick-guy really was, he had terrible taste in instant food. Matilda had to look through multiple expired cans of meat and fish before she found one almost still viable can of noodles. 

     The control panel of the stove was stained with something unidentifiable, but she chose to ignore it. This wasn't the time to worry about Rick's cleanliness, even though she might bring it up if she ever met him. Sending up a short prayer to an unknown God, she turned on the heat.

     In the pot, the noodles looked even less appealing than on the advertisement on the can itself, but at least they smelled decent. Though every smell would've been an upgrade from the original smell of this kitchen. A look in the fridge told Matilda that Rick had been just as reluctant with cleaning out his fridge as with the canned goods, though she reminded herself that he hadn't had to have waited as long. The cans that were expired since last year were the real issue.

     Once in a while, Matilda heard some rumoring in different rooms of the house, but she chose to believe it was Eddie looking for a place to sleep instead of rats living in the vents. When she gave up looking for a predetermined cooking time on the can she was currently letting bubble on the stove and suddenly heard a suspiciously loud thumb in one of the cabinets, she decided that five minutes were more than enough for a bit of noodle soup.

     "Dinner is served", she exclaimed as she stepped back into the living room, but Eddie was nowhere to be seen. No reaction. She put the two steaming bowls down on the couch table and hesitantly looked into the next room. It was a conservatory, giving free sight onto another, much less fancy house near the lake. It looked more like a barn and, judging by its location, probably held nothing but a fishing boat and fishing gear. The door was opened and right when Matilda was about to yell for Eddie again, he stepped out of it. She hectically gestured something, trying to make him duck down as he walked back up to the house.

     "What, what, what is it?", he hissed and put his hands on her shoulders, trying to stop her from moving around in fear.

     "Why on earth are you outside? I thought the point of this was to hide", Matilda hissed back, causing him to let her go and sigh in relief.

     "Jesus I thought someone was here. Hey, do I smell food?", he asked and walked straight past her toward the living room. "Holy shit, you are a goddess", he proclaimed and picked up one of the bowls before letting himself fall on the couch. Matilda sighed and followed him, gently closing the door behind her.

     "Thanks. The yellow particles are... I have no idea. Everything else was either dog food or expired." Eddie shrugged and started eating without second thought, causing Matilda to roll her eyes. She sat down next to him and grabbed the second bowl, only now realizing how hungry she really was.