Taste of Poison

Chapter Eleven: Gemma

Pretty girl is suffering while he confesses everything/ Pretty soon she'll figure out what his intentions were all about/ That's what you get for falling again/ You can never get him out of your head/ It's the way/ That he makes you feel/ It's the way/ That he kisses you/ It's the way/ That he makes you fall in love – Pretty Girl by Sugarcult

ZAMIEL

I woke up the next morning to the smell of eggs and bacon. My eyes open wide as I sit up in confusion.

Eggs and bacon? I haven't smelled that in a long time. I hardly ever eat breakfast actually. I just skip it and eat a sandwich or something. I haven't had a cooked meal in a really long time.

There's no point cooking if you are alone. There's nobody else there to enjoy it with you. There's nobody there to ask you if it's good. There's nobody there to make you feel good about cooking.

I use to work in a restaurant so I've done my fair share of cooking. It was the only time I actually felt proud of myself because sometimes people would leave notes on their receipts saying that the food was delicious. The waiters would save them for me, and when I read them, it really made me feel good about myself.

That was in Texas.

I was just working on myself down there. No dealing with drugs. No Garret. No crazy ex-girlfriend.

I was there to have some space and work on myself. I had a decent job; I was almost working on getting manager too. I was about to get a pay raise and everything. I think I should have stayed in Texas, but everybody makes mistakes, I guess. I actually felt normal there. I felt like a normal person having a normal job with a normal life.

It was nice.

I didn't meet any girl down there. Actually, I avoided them. I had plenty of opportunities, but I seriously just wanted to work on myself. I didn't want to deal with extra hormones especially estrogen.

Compared to Pia, however, I'm the one that is moody.

I roll out of bed and put on some underwear and a shirt and step out of the bedroom. My living room was cleaned up. Everything that was broken was put in a trash bag...

Several trash bags.

When I step inside the bathroom to take a piss, the bathroom was clean too. My mirror that was above my sink was broken though. It was cleaner now than before though. I have to admit. It had a woman's touch.

I stepped out of the bathroom after pissing and see Pia in the kitchen cooking. The fridge was back upright and the furniture was too.

My eyes widen.

How long was I asleep?

It was like Pia read my mind because she answered me.

"You slept for sixteen hours. It's two in the afternoon," she tells me without turning around.

"Holy shit," I mumble. "Why are you making breakfast now?"

Pia looks over her shoulder to look at me. "Because I tried waking you up so I figured I would just fry some bacon. I knew that would wake you up. It always wakes me up." She turns to go back to cooking.

I walk over to the fridge and open it. Everything was organized inside, but I only had three eggs left.

Scout just bought me a whole carton of eggs though.

Then again, she flipped my fucking fridge last night so those eggs are probably the only survivors from that whole ordeal aside from the three eggs Pia cooked already.