Lost Lombardi

Chapter 44

Helio felt exhausted after staying in the same room for more than a few hours. He wasn't used to being in one place like this. But Dino was okay with it, as he had faced this kind of punishment many times in his life. He was often locked in his room or the basement when he was at Johnson's place if he failed to do something, like mopping the whole house or cleaning all the dishes after a party.

Dino was watching TV, but Helio wasn't someone who liked to watch a lot of TV. He already felt stressed.

"How the heck are you okay with this?" Helio asked Dino.

"What do you mean?" Dino replied.

"Don't you want to go out? Don't you feel uncomfortable being stuck in a room like this?" Helio asked.

"No. The only uncomfortable thing is you," Dino said, looking at the TV again.

Dino and Helio got their food on time, but they didn't receive any snacks—just three meals and water. This was a problem for Helio, as he usually ate whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. For Dino, it was a different story. He had past experiences of starving, so not having snacks didn't drive him crazy.

Finally, it was time to sleep. "I hate you," Helio said as he lay down on the bed.

"Hate you too," Dino replied from the couch.

In the morning, they greeted each other with comments like, "I hate to see you," and "I wished you were dead last night," and other similar remarks.

—----

On the third day, Helio was completely done with the punishment and really wanted to get out of the room. He thought about what to do, and a sinister plan came to his mind. At that moment, he believed it was a good idea.

"For dinner, I want shrimp," Helio said to the servant while Dino was in the bathroom.

"Okay, sir. But sir, Dino shouldn't have them. He's allergic to shrimp," the servant replied.

"I know. Shrimp is only for me," Helio said.

Helio waited until dinner time, and when it arrived, Dino was watching a TV program as usual. He was really into it. Helio quickly broke off a piece of shrimp and hid it inside Dino's food. He started eating his own meal. When Dino came to the table and joined Helio, he didn't look at him as usual. Dino scooped some food onto his spoon, and Helio saw the piece of shrimp there. But Dino didn't notice it; he would never suspect someone would put shrimp on his plate.

Sudden guilt washed over Helio's heart. Dino was about to put the food in his mouth when Helio quickly hit the spoon, causing the food to fall onto the floor. Dino looked at Helio in shock.

"What the hell is wrong with you, jerk?" Dino asked. Helio said nothing.

"Why did you do that?" Dino pressed, and Helio remained silent. He just couldn't believe what he had done. He was scared of himself right now. He couldn't believe he had tried to make Dino eat some shrimp. He wondered how cruel he was to even think something like that. Dino could die, and he would be a murderer. He didn't want to be a murderer.

Dino's eyes suddenly went to Helio's plate, and he saw the shrimp.

"Oh my gosh. Did you put shrimp in my food?" Dino asked in disbelief. "Did you just try to kill me?"

"No, no. I didn't! Shhh... hey, don't shout. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," Helio said.

Dino stood from the chair, looking at his food like it was poison. "You put shrimp in my food," he said loudly. Helio rushed toward Dino and covered his mouth with his hand, pressing him against the wall.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't shout," Helio begged. Guilt flooded through him.

Dino pushed Helio away. "But you—" he started to say, but Helio didn't let him finish.

"I said I'm sorry. I didn't want to kill you. It was a stupid plan. Don't tell anyone. I regret it. I just wanted to go out, so I thought making you sick would help. Then I realized I made a mistake. I'm sorry," Helio said.

"I could have died! Don't you know that? Didn't you see what happened last time?" Dino said in a louder voice this time.

"I know. I'm sorry. That's why I didn't let you eat it. I'm really sorry," Helio said, placing his hands on Dino's shoulders.

"Now I don't have dinner," Dino said after staring at Helio for a few seconds. He decided to forgive Helio because of the gossip. What he said about Helio was a stupid mistake, and what Helio had tried to do was also a foolish one, but it was a horrible mistake. Still, Dino chose to let it go.

Helio went to the door and knocked.

"Yes," it was Luca's voice, and he said it in a funny tone.

'Errh, Luca,' Dino thought.

"Dino's food mixed with my food, so we need a new one for him. Mine had shrimp." As soon as Helio said that, they heard the sound of Luca unlocking the door.

"Did he eat that?" Luca asked, coming inside the room and walking toward Dino.

"No, he didn't eat. He's okay. We just need food for him. He's hungry," Helio said, and Luca looked at him in disbelief.

"Really? You suddenly care about his hunger? Fascinating," Luca said, and Helio turned red.

"Are you okay, boss?" Luca asked Dino.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dino replied.

"You didn't eat the shrimp, right?" Luca asked firmly.

"I didn't," Dino assured him.

"Well, I'm behind the door if you want me," Luca said, and Dino nodded.

"Did you try to trick him into eating shrimp, you little... I mean, little boss?" Luca asked Helio.

"Are you crazy, dude? Now tell the servant to bring him some food," Helio replied, and Luca went out of the room. But he looked suspicious about the incident. Of course, Luca wasn't an idiot; he knew something was fishy.