Daniel in the Basement

Chapter 14: close

I place a grilled cheese in front of Dan. "Eat up."

"I would if I could." he says glaring at Ruby.

"Ruby, take the hand cuffs off."

"No."

"Ruby, he has to eat. Just uncuff him."

"No, Alex. How do you know he won't run away?"

"I trust him, unlike you."

"I have reasons not to trust him, Alex. I chased him down the pitch black street remember?"

I sigh and roll my eyes, "Just uncuff him already. He needs to eat. You can cuff him back when he's done."

"Fine," Ruby says flatly. She crosses her arms and walks out of the kitchen.

"Wow," Dan starts, "talk about tense."

"What?"

"You guys were going at each other's neck."

I sigh and rub my eyes. "I know. You've put a burden on our friendship."

"Burden?"

"Well, not exactly a burden... Like, stress. You've put stress on our relationship."

"My bad."

"It's not your fault." I smile.

"But you just said it was!" Dan exclaims.

I roll my eyes, "You know what I mean."

Ruby walks into the kitchen and uncuffs Dan's hands. She whispers something and he nods. She walks out of the kitchen without a backwards glance.

Dan whistles and shakes his head. "I can feel the tenseness."

"Shut up," I say pushing his plate towards him, "and eat."

He smiles and bites into the sandwich. "Mmm. This is amazing! Best grilled cheese ever!"

I bow, "Thank you kind sir."

"Mmm." Dan moans.

I laugh and shake my head.

"Wait a minute," Dan says, "what are you gonna eat?"

"I've already eaten."

"But I said I'll eat if you eat, and you're not eating."

"Fine," I grab a banana and peel it. I bite a piece of and smile at Dan. "There, happy now?"

"You have to eat the whole thing."

"Okay," I bite off another piece.

Dan and I eat the rest of our food in silence. When he's done he throws his plate and opens the refrigerator. "Do you have any soda?"

"No, I don't think so..." I say.

"I got the last little bit." Ruby says walking into the kitchen.

"Oh," Dan and I say at the same time.

"Let's get you back downstairs, Daniel." she says.

"He can stay up a little longer." I say.

"No. No he can't. He can't be trusted now. He tried to run away, Alex. You can't trust everyone in the world."

"Fine," I say flatly. I turn on my heel and walk out of the kitchen. I sit on the couch and watch some weird reality TV show.

A few minutes later Ruby sits beside me. She takes my hand. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a bitch. I know you really love Dan and all, but he tried to run away. He doesn't deserve to watch TV with us."