“Which lady?” Daniel asked again, his heart beating faster.
“It’s nothing,” Robert said flatly, exchanging a look with his wife. “Wrong number.”
The hell it was.
He turned to Robert, forcing his voice to come out steady. “If someone looked for me, I would like to speak with them, sir.”
“Now, why would a woman from the bank look for you?”
He didn’t know why. He didn’t remember ever being in a bank.
“Let it go, dear.” Kim added a touch of warning to her voice.
He knew he should keep his mouth shut, but his instincts prevented him from backing off. He put his fork and knife down and crossed his arms. “I would like to know why the bank wanted to speak with me.Please.”
“What you want,” Robert said slowly, “is to eat the food your mother worked hard to put on this table.”
Daniel almost rolled his eyes. Kim could barely find the kitchen. She had people bringing in cooked food every day.
“Daniel,” Trevor whispered, “eat.”
He tried to make his hand pick up the fork, but his body wouldn’t obey. He had grown accustomed to bowing down to these people, to their whims and desires. But every instinct he had refused to allow him to bow down this time. “I would like to know who called me and why.”
Robert sighed. “Bring me your plate.”
“Iasked, who called me and why?”
“Daniel!”Robert slammed his fist on the table, rattling silverware.
Daniel stood up and took his plate to Robert, all eyes watching him. His hands shook and his stomach churned, but he refused to apologize, and not only because it mattered little. Robert took the plate and placed it on the floor.
“Get down and finish your meal.”
He sank to his hands and knees, lowering his face to eat. Before he could get two bites in, Robert shoved his face into the plate, rubbing it against pasta, meat, and gravy. The food was hot, but not enough to burn. When Robert finally let go, Daniel continued to eat, his eyesshut because of the gravy on his face.
Moments later, Kim began to talk about her upcoming party and how marvelous it was going to be.
Daniel didn’t know if he’d be punished later for his disobedience, but his mind was already busy elsewhere. He had to get the information they were trying to hide from him, no matter the cost.
*
Later that evening, he managed to slip away from Trevor’s watchful eyes and walked to Andy’s room, likely the first time he had done so willingly.
Andy immediately opened the door. “Hi, Daniel!”
“Shh, keep your voice down.” He slid inside and closed the door behind him. Andy’s room looked like a six-year-old’s, with superhero posters on every wall and some of Mickey Mouse.
“I got new comics,” Andy said. “You want some?”
He didn’t like comic books, but other than the heavy texts Robert made him read, he only had limited access to fiction, which made Andy’s comics more appealing.
“Yes, I’d like to read them. Thank you.”
“Sure thing!”
Knowing he didn’t have much time before Trevor came looking for him, he said, “Earlier at dinner, you mentioned someone calling here to speak with me, someone from the bank.”
Andy shook his head and clapped his lips tight.
