Page 52 of No Darker Temptation

She casts a wayward glance in my direction, displeased with the innuendo as well as the joke made at her expense. Farina isn’t meant to cook too long otherwise when it cools, it becomes dense and thick, almost heavy and paste-like in texture.

She takes the bowl from my hand and digs around the utensil drawer for this one specific spoon she uses to eat everything with. It’s almost the size of her palm but I’ve never seen her eat with a fork before.

Dahlia doesn’t say anything as she sits on a stool and moves the spoon around in her bowl, adding a bit more milk and sugar. Her hair is all over the place having not been braided the night before and I reach out to tuck errant strands behind her ears, kissing her forehead when she leans forward.

“¿Dormiste bien?” A short nod in response. “¿Tienes planes para hoy?”

She pauses. Shakes her head.

“Después del desayuno, voy a la oficina para arreglar unos asuntos con Diego. Quieres venir conmigo?”

She sighs. “Alex⁠—”

“Translate it first,” I urge gently. “You have to practice.”

I hadn’t noticed before but she’s barely eaten anything. Milk keeps spilling onto the counter because of her incessant stirring. “You said you’re going to the office…what’s asuntos?”

“Literal translation?” I ask and she nods. “A subject or matter, something you deal with.”

“Well, you’re going to take care of a few things in the office and you want to know if I’d like to go with you.” Her gaze is glued to the bowl on the counter. “It’s all right. Your new desk is getting delivered today and I want to be here when it arrives. The floors in the study were just polished and I’m afraid the movers are going to damage them.”

“¿A qué hora⁠—?”

“Alejandro, I’m really not in the mood to play Duolingo with you right now.”

“Duolingo isn’t a game, it’s an app. One I keep telling you to use if your grammar is going to improve.”

I kiss the side of her head but she doesn’t respond, choosing instead to linger in a silence that astounds me. Dahlia’s never this quiet in the morning. Unlike Lettie who’s a sleepyhead beast before eleven am, Dahlia thrives in the early hours, possessing an energy and joviality I often envy. I tuck my hand under her chin and tilt her head back so her gaze meets mine. Her eyes are red and bloodshot, as if she hadn’t slept a wink last night.

Concern whips through me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she says and the speed with which she pulls away tells me there is something wrong.

“Dahlia.”

“I just…I slept poorly last night.” She drops her forehead against her palm and sighs. “And I have a horrible migraine. I want to go lie down.”

Her voice catches at the end and I know better than to push any further. When she hops off the stool I take the bowl from her and put it in the sink. “I’ll check in on you again this afternoon. Okay?” she nods and I lean down to kiss her. “Go to bed. I’ll tell Doña Ana you’re resting.”

She wraps her arms around herself and tiptoes out of the room, shoulders slumped forward, head dropped.

“I love you,” I call after her.

“Love you too,” she grumbles and disappears up the stairs.

TRUE NATURE

Dahlia

Last night, I had a nightmare.

It was the kind where one dream bled into another and no matter how many times you woke up, you were still in the midst of it. When my alarm finally went off, I had to peel back the layers of each dream in order to decipher whether or not I had returned to reality. I've forgotten most of it by now but a nagging, impending sense of doom stays with me the rest of the day.

Later in the morning, the movers arrive and leave the new desk in Alejandro’s study. It was the last piece of furniture I was waiting on and now the space is completely functional. All that’s left is to set up the computer and printer but Diego said he’d take care of it this coming weekend.

I’ve kept Regina’s phone number in my pocket since yesterday, the thin strip of paper burning against my skin. At some point in the afternoon, I manage to force myself out of bed because taking another nap isn’t going to make me feel better. I need to tell him and I need to tell him today. Alejandro and I have never kept a secret from each other and the guilt is eating away at me with a determination and ferocity that lights a fire under my ass. If I don’t tell him and something happens, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Even if Regina is lying, and I’m not entirely convinced she is, I’d rather have told the truth than kept it to myself.

Dimitrio isn’t around today, which is odd, considering he’s usually my guard when Beni isn’t here. On my way out, Pedro and Oscar are taking over for Manuel and Rodrigo who man the front entrance where a set of iron gates grant access to the underground garage. I wave at them and Manuel is the first one to spot me.