Confounded: Part II - 13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 --==Kit’s POV==--

The following morning, I walked in on Taylan and Dad being back to normal. I’d have found it hard to believe they wouldn’t be; from the sounds I’d heard, they’d more than kissed and made up last night. I’d imagined a nice get together for myself in my mind and, combined with the sounds of lust from the room next to mine, used that for my own satisfaction as well. And again this morning. I felt very relaxed, actually.

Dad called Tom at six, as had been promised to him and then we waited for him to appear at the breakfast table. He didn’t come. Dad went to his room and said, when he came back, that Tom was up, fully dressed and all. When he’d asked if he was hungry, Tom had shaken his head.

Taylan shrugged at that and we ate. At first I thought Tom was just being defiant by refusing to eat, but when we came home from the office that evening, Tay told us he hadn’t come out of his room, all day. He hadn’t eaten lunch either.

What he had done was remove the TV from his room. By himself. He’d put it outside in the hall. He also put his laptop there, the DVD player and every DVD he’d had in there, and the x-box. It was like he was trying to outdo Taylan’s punishment. But he kept his books and mp3-player.

Then, when dinner time came, Taylan called him and again, he didn’t come. That, to me, was just petty and stupid on Tom’s part, but Tay just let him be. I guess he didn’t want to give in either, but he made a plate and brought it to Tom’s room.

He didn’t eat it.

**********

He kept that up for three days, days in which I’d been going into the office with dad, and I witnessed something then that I’d never expect to see; Tay was beginning to crack. He was getting worried and, to be honest, so was I. What was Tom doing; try to starve himself? I’d decided not to try and talk to him, for now, but that resolution quickly approached the end-date.

Idiot!

“Dammit,” Taylan said, that evening when we were at the dinner table again. “What’s that stupid kid think he’s doing?”

“Getting to you?” I answered, pushing my own food around my plate.

“Yes, thank you for that sharp observation,” he snapped back.
I raised my hands; what’d I do?

“Tay…” dad said, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t take it out on him.”
Taylan sighed and put down his fork, sending me an apologetic smile.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said. I could understand, you know. “But umm…maybe you should lessen the punishment?”

What he was doing was dangerous. He could end up in the hospital. Maybe lifting some of the punishment would make him at least go back to eating. I also thought the punishment was too harsh, even for Tom, and he could make life very easy on himself if he just talked to the grownups! Tay would lift his punishment in a second, if he found out what the reason behind all of this was.

“Why? It doesn’t seem to affect him. Instead, he’s punishing me.”

“It’s working,” dad chimed in.
Yeah, that much was obvious.

“Yeah, I know; he’s got me feeling guilty now. And worried. He can’t do this, not eat for three days. That’s just…wrong.”

I couldn’t help but grin at that. Tay had an opponent that was as relentless as he was, just in other ways. He wasn’t used to that.

“Want me to go talk to him?” I offered. “Try and get him to eat something?”

“Would you?” Tay asked.

“Sure.”
I doubted it would help; he probably wouldn’t accept anything from me, out of principle. But maybe, using a little leverage…

“Thank you.”
He picked up the empty plate from the place setting opposite from me and filled it, and handed it to me.

**********

“Tom?” I called, knocking on his door softly. He didn’t answer. “Can I come in?”
I waited for at least a minute; then, when no answer came, I opened the door.

He was lying on his bed and his eyes were closed and I held my breath; he seemed more pale since the last time I’d seen him; he cheeks were drawn in, hollow, making his bones look sharper. And then a thought suddenly crept into my brain; what if he was dead! The thought was stupid, and I knew that, but at first glance, it appeared that way. Then I breathed a sigh of relief when his chest rose.

He was just sleeping.

I looked around for a place to set the platter; there was plenty of space in here now. The room was basically empty, almost Spartan. My old synthesizer, a fad I’d had a few years ago, stood in the corner; I hadn’t touched it for the same amount of time. A book was lying on the floor, about half read through and several more were stacked close by; a water bottle was there also, almost empty. And it was cold in here. He had the air-conditioning turned on. I switched it off, shivering and then walked to the bed, sitting down next to him, holding the plate.

Shaking him, I tried to wake him.

“Tom? Wake up.”
It took me several tries; then he suddenly opened his eyes.
“Hey.”
He scooted backwards as soon as he saw me sitting there and I frowned. What did he think I was going to do; hit him? I lifted the plate.
“I brought you something to eat.”
He shook his head.
“Could you please say something? You’re creeping me out,” I said.

“Get out.”
He really hadn’t used his voice in days; it sounded raspy, metallic. But he spoke, so that was a small victory, although I hadn’t thought he’d pull that one on me. Not with what I knew.

“No. Not until you eat.”

“Not hungry.”
The growl of his stomach spoke to itself.

“Don’t be stupid. You have to eat; you’ve got us all worried now.”

“Don’t care.”

“Right. Sure you don’t. Okay, so how about this; if you don’t eat, I’ll just force it down your throat. How’s that sound?”

I grinned while I said it but made sure he knew I was serious about it. And I would. Enough was enough. If that didn’t work, the threat of the truth would surely do it. But I held off on that one, in case of trouble in the future. A calculated risk.

“Fuck off.”

“Yeah, yeah; eat.”
I held out the plate. When he didn’t take it, I sighed.
“Fine. We’ll do it the hard way then.”
I made as if to rise; then he quickly took it. And then he started eating, wolfing it down really. I watched him for a while.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why are you so annoying?” He shot back, cleaning the plate; he’d finished it in record time.

“Didn’t you know? I was put on this earth just for that specific reason; to annoy you.”

“You’re good at it.”

“Thanks.”
He held out the empty plate.

“There, happy now?”

“Yes.”
I actually was.

“Good. Get out.”
He laid back down.

“No.”
I looked around again.
“Love what you’ve done with the place.”

“I like minimalism. Get out.”
I looked down, narrowing my eyes at him. Then I nodded.

“Alright. You’ll eat, from now on?”

“Yes.”

I picked up the empty plate and rose. Then I left.