Another time, Joey made a vow to himself. Vowed to never again be the bed-warmer of the person who kept holding him down, or the walking toilet of the asshole man he cried out to when he reached the peak of orgasm. But unfortunately, she had broken that vow not once but twice. Like being trapped in a vicious circle, the pattern was always the same.
Joey took a deep breath as he looked up at the ceiling of the room where he lay. Domenico was next to him, sleeping face down. Just like Joey, the man was not wearing anything under the blanket that covered their bodies.
In the dimly lit room, silence dominated. Joey felt it wasn't quite fair; after their activities were over-he was wide awake with a load of thoughts, while the man who had exhausted his energy was sleeping soundly. Joey remembers that he once fainted on set, exhausted from the hectic schedule. And now he's been resting more since the murder case. But even that kept Joey from sleeping well, let alone fainting.
Turning to Domenico, Joey had the urge to wake the man up, begging to 'punish' him unconscious. Joey failed to do so. He was about to repeat the vicious cycle. And there were only two ways to break the vicious circle. Between him and Domenico, one of them had to die.
Damn, insomnia almost drove Joey crazy. He could just imagine the moment he woke up and stabbed Domenico with the scissors he had taken from the drawer. Take the man's life, then calmly leave the mansion like nothing happened. Joey was just waiting for the consequences to come for what he had done. After all, Joey felt that his life wasn't worth much even though he was also afraid of death.
Joey sat up when he remembered something. He got up from the bed without caring about his naked body to look for it.
Domenico used to keep an anesthetic in his room, no matter what it was used for, on anyone, including him. Joey needed it now. He rummaged through all the cabinets, drawers and storage areas. It took a little effort, until Joey finally found a small glass tube filled with liquid.
To inhale or drink? Joey wasn't sure, but he was desperate to use it. Joey didn't even wait to get back into bed. He immediately opened the cap and directed the liquid in the tube to his mouth.
"What are you doing?" Domenico's big hand stopped Joey's movement when the tube touched his lips.
Joey turned his head to find Domenico looking at him seriously. The man's eyes were slightly red, indicating that he was still sleepy. It seemed that Joey's actions in searching Domenico's room disturbed the 'Ndrangheta boss' sleep.
"I need something to make me sleep," Joey replied, wanting to continue but Domenico's fingers held his wrist. "You keep dope-"
"It's not anesthetic, it's afrosidiac," informed Domenico who managed to take the tube back from Joey's hand.
The young man sighed heavily, his eyes closed tightly for a moment. Once again, he was about to throw himself into a vicious circle. If only that bastard man hadn't prevented him.
"Why didn't you tell me you couldn't sleep?" Domenico put the vial back in its original place, the drawer containing the same item.
Joey didn't answer the man's question. He was too busy thinking about why Domenico didn't just let him drink the liquid. Because if that happened, Domenico was the one who benefited; dominating Joey as a whole, he hadn't done that in a long time. Staring at Domenico who went to the other side of his room, Joey realized that the man was already wearing black pants. A shirtless man approached while carrying something.
"According to the doctor's prescription for sleep disorders."
Joey accepted the medicine while looking at Domenico.
"There's only medicine powder," Domenico knew Joey couldn't take medicine powder, but the young man had no choice.
Walking over to the bed, Domenico sat on the edge of the mattress before retrieving the cigarette case and lighter from the drawer of the side table.
"You still smoking?" asked Joey approaching, too lazy to find something to wear, he stood in front of Domenico. Normally the man would be snacking on menthol candies instead of cigarettes. Because, Joey always complained about the smoke.
Domenico was about to answer, but Joey was ahead of him. "Give me a cigarette." He sat next to Domenico who gladly gave him his cigarette.
The ends of their cigarettes touched as they met the flame from the lighter. Inhaling the nicotine in unison, the smoke filled the oral cavity. Joey was a little uncomfortable, hurriedly expelling the smoke before it filled his lungs. He tried to relax himself a la Domenico. Mimicking the man's movements when he smoked another cigarette. One of Joey's other hands was holding sleeping pills. He will take it after the cigarette is finished.
Not a word was spoken between the two men whose ages were quite far apart. Joey looked at the prescription and saw Domenico's name on it.
"When did you start taking sleeping pills?" asked Joey, unable to resist the question.
Domenico didn't answer immediately. He smoked a cigarette and then exhaled. "I forgot," he said briefly.
Joey wasn't surprised. He guessed that Domenico had probably been taking sleeping pills for a while.
Domenico's treatment when rubbing the top of his head made Joey comfortable, always like that. "They don't take care of you as well as I take care of you. I was right, wasn't I."
Joey hated to admit that fact. After all, he felt quite capable of taking care of himself. Putting out his half-lit cigarette, Joey stopped smoking nicotine, he needed sleeping pills more. The bitter taste filling his mouth was more tolerable than the smoke from Domenico's favorite Dunhill cigarette. The man was also done with his cigarette, leading Joey to lie down after taking his medicine and a few sips of water. Domenico pulled up the blanket, wrapped it around their bodies and took Joey into his arms. In that moment, the young man obeyed like a good boy.
There was a moment of silence. Domenico tightened his embrace and said, "I sent Roger. You know he's reliable. Your problem will be solved quickly. I promise."
Joey nodded slowly. His eyelids felt heavy as the reaction of the medicine began to work, plus Domenico's warm embrace. Then the young man fell into a deep sleep.