Out of nowhere, this chubby guy strolled over and started chatting with Zaara and another brown-skinned girl sitting close by. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but they both smiled, laughing like he'd just told the funniest joke on earth.
I watched closely—then saw Zaara hand over her untouched plate to him. Just like that.
And the guy? He didn't even hesitate. He dug right in, right there on the spot.
I blinked. Wait, what the hell?
She didn't eat breakfast. Now she gave her dinner away? To some random dude? I mean… how were we even sure they'd feed us again today? This wasn't exactly a five-star hotel. We were lucky to even get food once, and she was out here handing hers off like it was nothing?
I couldn't take it anymore.
A few minutes passed. The chubby guy and the other girl walked off to another corner, still talking and laughing as they walked away.
This was my chance.I waited until she looked a little less distracted, then casually strolled past her bed like I just happened to be walking by.
I leaned down and whispered, "So… is there like… poison in the food or something? You gotta tell me."
She raised one eyebrow, confused. "Huh?"
I cleared my throat and repeated the question.
She just blinked at me for a moment. "I heard you the first time," she said slowly, tilting her head looking straight to my eyes. I felt really nervous as I saw those eyes closely. "I'm just making sure I didn't hear something ridiculous. Are you seriously accusing me of poisoning the food?"
"What? No! God, no," I panicked, hands up slightly. "That's not what I meant. I swear…..I was just worried. You didn't eat this morning either, and I noticed. I thought… maybe something's wrong with it, or…"
That's when she burst into laughter.
Like, real laughter. The kind that made her whole face glow.
"I'm just messing with you, pretty boy," she said giggling. "You should've seen your face….you looked terrified. You were so serious, it was hilarious."
"Wow. Hilarious. So funny," I said dryly, pretending to be annoyed, but I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips.
"Relax," she said, still chuckling. "I've got allergies. There were nuts in the bread. I don't like nuts, and my body doesn't either."
"Ohhh," I said, nodding slowly, feeling dumb but kind of relieved. "Well… that makes sense."
"Of course it does. Now stop spying on my meals," she said, giving me a playful side-eye.
I chuckled. "No promises."
Honestly? I'd never been this relieved to be made fun of.
"Oh, there's no nuts in mine," I said, pulling the bread I'd wrapped earlier from my pocket. I stretched my hand toward her. "Here, you can have it."
She gave me a look and smirked. "You keep bread in your pockets? What are you, from Sector C?" she whispered, half-joking. "That's some survival-level life hack right there..I can relate,"she winked at me.
I laughed a little, shrugging. "What can I say, I'm resourceful."
I laughed as she took the bread from me. "Thanks," she said. "Honestly, I was starting to get a little hungry."
I watched as she took a bite.
As she began eating, I cleared my throat. "By the way… what you did earlier for Piper. That was really impressive. It was kind of you to stand up for her. And yeah, you were right… no one should've come at her like that."
Zaara rolled her eyes and tilted her head toward Nomi, who was glaring from across the room. "Tell that to your girlfriend over there."
I followed her gaze and saw Nomi, sitting across the room, staring at us.
"Nomi?" I blinked. "No, no…she's not my girlfriend. We literally met this morning."
Zaara arched an eyebrow at me.
"I mean it," I said quickly. "She's actually really chill. I actually think you two might get along if you talked. You've both got… strong personalities."
Zaara squinted at me. "Mmhmm. You sure? Because she's been giving me weird looks since you walked over here."
I held up a hand like I was swearing an oath. "I promise. Just teammates."
There was a pause before she gave a small smile. "I'm Zaara, by the way."
"Vincent," I replied. "It was nice talking to you. And, y'know… glad you liked the bread."
She nodded, already reaching for her sketchbook again. "Yeah. Thanks for the bread, resourceful guy."
I smiled, backing away slowly. "So… talk to you later, maybe?"
She didn't answer, she was already focused on sketching, but that tiny grin on her face said enough.
I walked back to my bed, feeling… weirdly satisfied. Like lighter, somehow.
It had to be night already, though I had no way of knowing for sure. No windows. No clocks. Just cold lights and steel walls, but I felt drained.
Still, I climbed into bed, pulled the thin blanket over myself, and shut my eyes.
Few Hours Later, I started hearing it—those sounds. Soft sobbing, barely there, echoing through the cold dark room. It hit something deep in me, something I thought I'd buried. It was the kind of sound that used to haunt me in my sleep. The same sound that gave me nightmares as a kid.
I remembered those nights like they never left….my mom sobbing behind closed doors, her voice cracking from whatever hell my dad was putting her through,whenever they had fights and he eventually raised his hands to hit her. I remembered locking myself in the cupboard just to block it out… and Valerie, running to my room and wrapping her tiny arms around me as we both cried in silence.
It was hell.
I jolted awake, my body drenched with sweat. My chest was tight. I unzipped the top half of my grey jumpsuit and tied the sleeves around my waist, trying to cool down.But the sobbing didn't stop…it was real. Not a memory. It was coming from somewhere nearby, soft whispering too. The whole room was dark. Everyone else was asleep.
I followed the sound.
I followed the sound, moving quietly until I saw her…Piper. She was sitting on the floor in the corner somewhere, curled up, sobbing into her knees. Zaara was beside her, sitting close, Trina to comfort her. She looked up as I approached.
As I approached, Zaara looked up. "You're awake."
"What happened?" I asked, crouching next to them.
"She's been like this for a while now," Zaara sighed. "Something's clearly bothering her… but she won't talk. She's just been crying. Won't say a word."
I turned toward Piper and knelt in front of her, trying to catch her eyes, but she didn't even lift her head. "Hey… are you okay?" I asked quietly.
She didn't say a word. Didn't even look up. Just kept sobbing.