Late Night Feast

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Lillian spoke up, looking up from the array of dishes which were splayed before her on the bed.

She was back in the same room which she had escaped earlier. But this time she wasn't on her own as her saviour was accompanying her for the late night feast. Unlike her, he was not occupying the bed. He was sitting on a black stool which he had brought over from his office earlier.

"We can eat first. It is not considered good to be talking while eating." Blake muttered softly. Whatever he wanted to say to her could wait for a little longer when he had waited for this long already.

"No. I want you to talk." She refused to listen to Blake. "We can talk and eat at the same time."

"No. Eat first!" Blake shook his head sideways as he refused to give into her demands.

What was the use of talking while eating when neither could you enjoy your food, nor talk properly? For him, it was one of the things which he didn't prefer, and once he had decided his mind on one thing, there was no way anyone could get him to change it.

"Eat!" Seeing the disheartened look of the girl's face, he added sternly before passing her a clean ceramic plate.

Not given any other choice, Lillian decided to listen to him. Being scolded by a guy who was merely a couple of years older than her wasn't something which she wanted to happen.

It wasn't because she was afraid of him, but rather because she respected him for saving her life. If it was one of those goons, she would have let her mouth run and replied with something sarcastic. But, since it was him, she chose not to do it.

"Thanks." She mumbled, accepting the white plate from him.

The next twenty minutes went by in silence where the only disturbances were the faint sound of dishes being passed around along with the faint clicking of the utensils as they pecked the polished ceramic surface every now and then.

"So, can we talk now?" Lillian muttered right after pushing her plate away. Her eyes jumped to his plate which still had some food left. She heaved out a frustrated sigh after realizing that she might have still had to wait for him to finish his food.

Instead of replying to the girl, he just continued to savour the stir fried vegetables. He ate what was left on his plate at his own pace, not bothering to hurry up either. He could feel her eyes boring hole into the crown of his head, but he couldn't care any less.

All this while, she just kept observing his fluent movements. How he would poke some vegetables using his fork and then dip them into the groundnut sauce which he had dished out on one corner of his plate. His movements seemed flawless to her. They didn't seem forced, but it wasn't hard for her to tell that he had refined them over years.

"You aren't just an ordinary goon, right?" She was unable to hold her curiosity back in and muttered out. She was hoping to get an answer, but didn't. A simple yes or no would have sufficed for her, but Blake refused to make any sound as he silently chewed on his food.

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes in annoyance, thinking of an alternate way to make him either talk, or finish his food quickly. With the pace he was consuming it, she doubted that he would be able to finish it even in an hour.

'What if he wants to add more to his plates?' She thought to herself, drawing her eyebrows together.

"Why don't we do one thing?" She added gleefully as an idea popped up in her mind. Seeing that he was just silently staring back at her, she decided to continue. "Since I am no longer eating, I can talk. And you are still eating, so you cannot talk."

Blake raised his eyebrows as he stared back at her. She was sitting with her legs tucked under her, her hands resting on either of her knees. She was stating the obvious as if she had made some new discovery.

"Soooo…" She puffed her cheeks and exhaled out a long breath as if weighing her words down before letting them leave her mouth. "Why don't I do the talking and you just listen? You can reply to me either with a nod or a shake of your head and enjoy your food too at the same time." She looked at him intently, waiting for his response.

"Hmm." He briefly replied with a low hum before shifting his attention back to his food.

It wasn't hard for him to tell that she was anxious. Asking him such a question he had already declined her twice, wasn't an easy feat for her. If it was someone else, he would have already declined them down, or worse, left the room long ago. Since it was her, and after going through the headache of making her feel better in this place, he decided to give into her demands.

"Umm…" She pursed her lips together, thinking over her words carefully. "Where are the other children?" She muttered. Earlier, she wasn't in her right frame of mind. But now that she was doing much better, it didn't take her long to think of those children who were with her there.

Blake just looked up at her briefly before trailing his eyes to the platters before him. He was deciding over which dish he would go for next as he still had a corner of his stomach unfilled.

Realizing her mistake, she bit her lower lip before thinking over her words again. "Are they safe and sound?" She mumbled to get a slight node.

She heaved out a low relaxed sigh as relief washed over her, before continuing with her questions. "Are they here as well?"

Blake shook his head in a no.

"If they are not here then they are at someplace safe?" She added, getting a nod in response. "What about me? Will I join them too?" She questioned him, tilting her head.