CHAPTER 7: WITHOUT
“Where is he?” Toby asked Rob when he answered his phone.
“Here at the office.” Rob said, getting up before opening the door, “Where is Benjie?”
“Just left. Looked freaked out. Don’t know what happened. We were talking and suddenly he was out of here.” Rex said with a shrug.
“Shit.” Rob cursed as he went to his office, grabbing his jacket, “I’ll check the penthouse. Give me 15 minutes. I’ll call you back.” Rob said.
“I swear, Rob, if something happens to him-…”
“I know. I’ll call you.” Rob said, hanging up, “Rex, check my emails and cancel my appointments and meetings.”
“What happened?” Rex asked.
“Do as told for once without questions.” Rob said as he left.
“Yes, boss.” Rex answered with a frown.
“What’s that about?” Rex looked up at Mathew.
“Don’t know. Lovers’ quarrel?” Rex shrugged.
Rob stops at the door of the penthouse, frowning when he found it open. He got his guard up as he pushed it in, seeing everything in its place. He closed the door behind him before heading to Benjie’s room, looking around while he walked through his home. When he was sure it was clear, he entered Benjie’s room, which also was open. He went to the bathroom, the only closed door around. He opened it, frowning when he saw Benjie in the tub. It was the first time since Benjie moved in that he’d been in there, and for the first time he saw the bedding inside the bathtub. A pillow, and a thick blanket lining the bottom while a lighter one was tossed above.
“Benjie.” Rob muttered, making Benjie jump from where he was curled up around himself.
Benjie looked away, covering his head with his arm as he yelled, “Leave!”
“Benjie, what happened?”
“Get out! Leave me alone!” Benjie yelled, his voice breaking as he did.
Rob gulped thickly, closing the door as he walked out, grabbing his phone and calling Tobias who answered in a moment. “So?” He asked.
“He’s home.” Rob said, “Toby, he was fine not an hour ago. What brought this on?”
“How does he seem?” Tobias asked, and even as he did, concern was clear in his voice.
“Broken…” Rob muttered, looking at the closed door, “He kicked me out the moment he saw me. Don’t know what I did though. Haven’t spoken to him since we got to the office. I haven’t seen him this upset for a while now, not since he’s moved here.”
“We will be there soon. Just watch him.” Tobias said.
“Definitely.” Rob said.
Almost half an hour later, Tobias was at the door. Hearing the knock, Rob went to open it, watching Tobias walk past them to Benjie’s room. Rob and Ed followed him, but stayed in the room as Tobias went into the bathroom, closing the door behind himself, eyes glued to Benjie curled around himself, rocking back and forth, small sobs heard from him. He let out a soft breath, slowly walking in. He kicked off his shoes, getting into the tub opposite where Benjie was.
“Been a while since I found you in a tub.” Tobias muttered, his hand touching the blanket draped over the side of it, “You’ve made this one cozy.” Tobias looked at Benjie, frowning at how he looked like he did when he was younger, the way he was wrapped around himself. He pressed his lips before he said, “Come here.” Benjie lifted his head, teary eyes meeting Tobias’s for a moment before he crawled over, laying his head over Tobias’s chest. Tobias’s hand caressed his hair as he cried in his arms. “I was waiting for this. Was telling Ed that it would happen any day now. A year after your brother’s death. A year after Mel. And now, it’s been more than a year since Aria and Lazarus.” He breathed, holding him close, his head leaning against Benjie’s as he said, “You’ve always had trouble dealing with losing people.”
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Bounded To You (To Love)
Romance[BOOK 5 - Short] Robert has become a business tycoon, his business empire having reached across the world. His entire life has become dedicated to one thing: success. All he does is work as if his life depended on it. He had found that it was the on...
