Safety in The Form Of a Knight (Madeleine x Espresso)

12. A Minor Setback

⚠️This chapter contains mentions of abuse and neglect⚠️

Espresso felt his way through the darkness. He barely had the strength to stand up. Leaning lightly against the wall, to keep his balance, he slowly inched farther down the hall towards the kitchen.

It was just past midnight, meaning that father should be asleep, which was good. He couldn't afford to get caught now. Espresso knew he would get hurt if he was caught.

He was absolutely starving, the hunger was unbearable, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed food.

He neared the kitchen door, about five feet away, and took a quiet, deep breath. He was almost there.

He carefully stepped from one floorboard to another, skipping the ones he knew creaked. He couldn't be heard. Not now. He was too close.

Only a couple of floorboards left, he could make it. A few more steps... He needed to step over this board.. and the rest should be safe.

No... The one that creaked was to the right. The one in front of him was fine. He had a straight path to the kitchen...

Doubt filled his mind. He couldn't remember which boards were safe and which weren't. He was so tired and hungry. He couldn't think straight. He tried to remember, he really did. He tried to think back to the many times he had carefully practiced during the day.

Espresso frowned. He couldn't remember. He glanced back behind him, afraid, wondering if he should turn back. He could go back to his room. Surely father would feed him soon. It would only be a matter of days until he would be fed.

That's when it hit him. He hadn't practiced going back to his room.

Panic started to rise inside of him. No... Why hadn't he practiced going back?! He was too tired to try to work backwards.. He could barely remember the way forward.

His breathing grew faster. He was stuck. Unsure where to go. What could he do?? He turned back to face the kitchen. He was so close.. His mouth started to water. Food... He needed food... Espresso couldn't wait any longer. He needed food. Now.

There were only two feet of boards between him and the kitchen. He could easily make the jump, but he might be heard when he landed. He looked down at the boards. It was his only option.

He thought back to his practices. The board in front of him was safe, and the one to the right was the creaking one.

He was sure of it.

Carefully, slowly, he took a step forward...

The board creaked.

Espresso's blood ran cold. He froze in place. No... How could he let this happen..!? He closed his eyes tightly, and hoped, prayed that there was a small change his father hadn't heard... Maybe luck was finally on his side. Maybe he would just ignore it, and go back to sleep. Maybe...

"Espresso."

He jumped, and his heart sank. Damn it. He was so close.

Trembling, he turned around. His father was standing just outside the bedroom, looking straight at him. He looked mad.

Espresso sank to the floor. His legs couldn't hold up his weight anymore, he was too hungry, too tired.

And he could have fixed that if he were more careful.