Picky Eater

Ch 29: Hunger check

Tiptoeing around the hotel room, Ben walked on eggshells as he searched for Nino. The air in the city had changed. It was thicker, more difficult to maneuver. It felt like there was a monster around every corner and at any moment, they would attack Ben. He didn't sleep last night. He just tossed and turned and sat on the balcony for hours. He didn't recognize this city anymore. It wasn't a haven from his past anymore. It wasn't a place he knew front to back. There was so much he didn't understand. He was a little country mouse who couldn't make it in the big city.

"Good morning," Evie whispered, and Ben jumped, sucking in a sharp gasp that almost broke his ribs. He put his hand over his chest, willing it to calm down.

"Morning," Ben huffed out, glancing at Evie sitting at the counter dividing the living room and kitchen. "How'd you sleep?"

Rubbing her eyes, Evie grumbled, "Fine. You walked around a lot."

"I did. Sorry," Ben said as he realized that Evie's braid had fallen out and she was still in her pajamas. He also realized that she was usually ready by the time he woke up. It must've been Nino helping her all this time.

"Hey," Ben said. "I'm not sure what Nino is doing today, but I think we should stay here while I try to figure out what we should do next." He didn't say he really wanted to wait for Nino to come back. Ben didn't love feeling this way, feeling this dependent on another person. Everything about growing up was hard. Nino made everything easy. Too easy. Now, Ben had to live with the ramifications of being spoiled by that man.

Sighing, Ben went for his phone that wasn't there as Evie asked, "Can we explore the hotel?"

"I don't know..." A realization dawned on Ben, and he tried walking subtly to the fridge like he was searching for anything specific like food or bags of blood or anything like that. The fridge, of course, was empty. "At least today. Let's stay inside."

Evie groaned, but she didn't argue. It sucked, but she understood the stakes. Closing the fridge door, Ben leaned against it and peered at Evie. "When's the last time you fed?"

"It was from you."

Calculating the hours and minutes, Ben's anxiety carved holes in his stomach. His blood should last longer than any other human and yet, Ben knew, Evie refused to drink much. Ben asked, "And you're still good? Or are you hungry?"

Evie shook her head. "No, I'm not hungry."

"You'd tell me if you were hungry, right?"

Evie nodded.

"Promise?" Ben offered his pinky.

"Promise." She leaned over the counter, locking her pinky around his.

"Okay," Ben said, clapping his hands together. He sauntered around the counter and lunged for the little girl. "Let's go back to bed!" she screamed with joy as Ben scooped her up, running back to her bedroom with her as Ben tried to distract her and, more so, himself.

***

"Hunger check."

Ben shot Evie with a finger gun, trying to keep it light. She wasn't allowed to know there was a problem. It was his job to take care of her. Not the other way around. She needed to think everything was normal. They were both sitting on the bed with Ben by the nightstand, punching in Lincoln's cell phone number. Evie bounced up and down, making the mattress squeak and cry. She shook her head and kept jumping. "Not hungry."

She got to her feet and jumped hard enough to touch the ceiling. This little girl was getting restless, but after almost a week stuck inside, Ben couldn't blame her. He was going a little crazy, too. And as much as he loved Evie, Ben knew if she was lying, she'd wait until the very last minute to fess up.