SEX IN A GLASS HOUSE의 모든 챕터: 챕터 11 - 챕터 20

AUGUST I tried moving around the house, avoiding the spots Levi warned me about. I cleaned, tried new Mexican dishes I saw online, danced and sang to background songs from the video, and placed them. I kept myself busy for the whole day, trying not to think about either man. The house was big, so it took me many hours to clean up. Some dishes turned out good, some burnt, some hurt my stomach, but it was worth the try. I cleaned up the entire kitchen after cooking, snapping the dishes to send to Ama. She called on video call, eager to watch my expression as I tasted the food. We laughed, talked. The most actual fun I'd had in a while. I didn’t remember falling asleep. One moment I was staring at the faint glow of my phone screen as the call ended. Next, I was on my bed, my apron still on, filled with stains of flour and cream. The air in my dream felt warm, familiar, like the way summers used to feel before everything in my life came crashing down. I stood in a very

0014 LEVI I woke up to the heavy sound of footsteps above me. The sound was so strong, it echoed through the floorboards. It was morning already. I could tell by the little light sneaking under the basement door. My back hurt from the cot they’d shoved down here, my stomach growled because last night’s dinner had been cold and almost soured soup from a can, delivered by Maria the maid without a word. They had warned her to stop speaking with me. I was ten years old, and this was day 50 of me living in the basement. I counted the days on the wall with a nail I found in the corner. The door creaked open, and Maria’s voice flowed in. “Levi darling? Are you awake?” “Yeah,” I managed to called back, sitting up. My voice was cracked. I hadn’t spoken to anyone but her in weeks. She came down the stairs slowly, carrying a tray with oatmeal and a glass of milk. No fruit today. Not like I’d tasted it in a while. Her face was tensed, like she was trying not to peek at the

0016 Levi August choking on hot chocolate and blaming it on the wrong pipe was very odd. I knew it was more to that, and that kept on replaying in my head like a bad loop. He was obviously hiding that stupid text in his phone. Immediately the text came, his eyes moved to mine, slowly watching me before he darted them back to his phone. I knew because I had seen the feed from last night when he stripped, touching himself and sending that stupid photo to Nightshade, or to an anonymous person, which is obviously Nightshade. Lucien. He was playing his games and August was just a pawn. I slammed the door so hard, the sound reverberated through the house. I got into my car, driving straight to the company. Lucien was at his desk reviewing documents of his businesses all over the world, and I knew he was just watching the cameras as well. He was always watching, watching every step August made. I coughed, making my presence known to him. "The house tour is done," I s

0018 AUGUST Levi refused to speak to me, even his coldness increased. He didn't even spare me a glass all afternoon. Instead, he assigned me chores without saying a word, just issuing simple commands. I polished the glass till my arms ached, but my mind always drifted to the house design, and the text I got that night. “Atticus was alive.” I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thought. Maybe it was Levi playing pranks on me. He obviously heard when I had the nightmare, and maybe, just maybe I had mentioned Atticus’s name. I tried to navigate my thoughts back to the architecture of the house. What kind of house was crafted in such a weird way? Everything seemed off. The reflections doubled back on themself like it was deliberate, like something was hiding in plain sight. After I finished cleaning, I stayed tracing the glass, unsure of what exactly I was looking for. I wanted to stop, but I heard a faint hum behind like a vibration. Electronics. “Fuck.” I staggered

0020. AUGUST Levi didn't speak to me on that because of what happened yesterday. I tried so hard to sleep, but I couldn't. I turned over my bed. I rolled over multiple times, but I couldn't sleep. My mind kept pondering on the toy and why Levi kept overreacting. It was just a toy. Why did he overreact? I let the thought linger on as sleep dragged me.The next morning, he acted like, I didn't even exist. And somehow this felt worse. More than a cold silence, avoidance. It was clear that he didn't want to be around me anymore. I decided to test it by staying in the kitchen longer than necessary. I went to tease him as usual. I squeezed my face at the first taste of the coffee. "Is the Coffee always thus bitter and bad," I said. "Or did it notice I was here and decide, 'Oh, let's punish August'? " He didn't look up. He kept on cleaning the counter, even though it was more than c