Now, as proof of how he felt, he left her alone to think instead of claiming over and over that she had no choice and to take her. As soon as he realized it was the wrong move, he stopped.
Just this once, she was willing to chalk it up to a mistake. If he made any move like that again, however, she’d never forgive him. Destiny or not, some things weren’t okay no matter what.
The more she thought about her life and her situation, the more she realized this was where she needed to be. Now she just needed to know if she could love this alien Rock or not. Only time would tell. And she would get that time.
Chapter 4
The next day, she woke up and explored. The hallways and rooms were all neat and incredibly uniform. The architecture was strange, with no corners or right angles.
Large veined tubes ran in a crisscross pattern along the walls, almost pulsating as though they breathed. Or they had a heartbeat.
Each room had computers with displays of an entirely unfamiliar language to it. The floors were all light, instead of the ceiling, yet somehow it helped her see instead of made it worse. Eventually, she found her way through a hallway and into a tall, wide building.
There at the far end was a table and Rock moving back and forth along it as though arranging items in a specific order. As she got closer, she found he had provided her with all the food she could possibly eat in a day.
There were sliced fruits arranged in a decorative fashion, cooked meat, vegetables, eggs, cheese, and any number of other things. It was incredible.
Always calling her fat, her stepfather restricted the amount of food she could eat as well as what type. Just looking at all of this on the table made her ache.
“Do you see something you like? I don’t know your tastes yet, so I decided to err on the side of too much rather than too little. I can get more.”
“No, no,” she said quickly, “it all looks so delicious.”
“You are pleased?”
She looked to him and said clearly, “I’m very pleased. Thank you for all of your trouble.”
In a single breath, she saw him puff up happily with pride. At the side she saw a collection of different oats, grains, and rice, and she gagged to the point of nearly vomiting.
“That,” she said pointing, “I don’t want. All he made me eat was oatmeal and rice cakes. The whole time sitting there eating bacon and laughing at me.”
In a swift brush of his arm, Rock leaned over and swept that whole section of the table onto the floor away from her.
Gloria laughed and had to hold onto the table to steady herself.
“You didn’t have to do that. You could’ve just taken it back to the kitchen.”
“Kitchen?”
“Yeah. Or wherever you keep all the food.”
“It is replicated.”
“Replicated?” she asked.
This was fascinating, but she was also starving and there was far too much food here for her to ignore. She moved to the plate he’d set aside and began picking out fruit and meat.
“Yes, our technology rapidly recreates the fibrous structure of your foods. It adds the necessary chemicals for taste and color.”
“So, wait,” she said as she picked up a red succulent looking piece of melon.
“This isn’t real watermelon?”
“Only your mind could know the difference. Your body does not.”
“Only my mind? Because I know it’s not?”
“Correct.”
Curious as to how accurate this machine of his was, she popped the piece in her mouth and chewed. The juice escaped her fingers and ran in a single line down her chin as the flavor nearly exploded in her mouth.
Months of eating nothing but bland oats and rice cakes, the taste of watermelon was exquisite. If this wasn’t real, she couldn’t tell the difference.
“It’s delicious.”
“As it’s meant to be. The multi-nutritional fibers all of the food is constructed of ensures you receive the balance of nutrients your body needs regardless of what you eat.”
“Wait, regardless of what I eat? So, I’d be getting vitamin C from eating that watermelon?”
“Yes. Or this slice of ham. Or that egg. Or this piece of lettuce.”
“What about protein? Is there protein in that chocolate cake?”
“Yes. As well as vitamin D, minerals, correct amounts of sodium.”
“What about sugar and saturated fats?”
“Only the healthful amount you need in a meal.”
“So I can eat as much of anything I want, and get all the benefits as though I ate a healthy balanced meal?”
“Yes.”
For just a moment she was tempted to dump the plate off to the floor like Rock had done with the oats and rice, but she stopped.
She could eat as much cake as she wanted, but what happened after? What happened if she ate and ate until she didn’t like cake anymore?
Just because she could didn’t necessarily mean she should. Besides, there was all of this delicious food to choose from. For the first time in her life, she had variety to choose from.