Cold Soup

Chapter Sixteen

Rody felt refreshed, he felt clean, and relaxed. A bath was exactly what he needed after being so stressed for so long.

The water was warm and soothing against his skin, helping aid the painful ach in his body. He felt so calm now, so much more relaxed and at ease.
His mind was clear, and he felt completely at ease.

He allowed himself to rest in the water, until it became lukewarm, which was when he started to clean himself.
He was glad Vince was okay with him taking a bath, because he really did need something like this to calm him down.

His mind had been so jumbled up the past few weeks, he found it hard to relax. But the water helped a lot, it gave him something else to think about besides Manon or his strange new feelings for Vince.

He could finally just relax, and focus on the comforting and soothing water, engulfing his aching body.
He wished he could fall asleep in it, but he knew that would probably make Vince worry.

When the water got too cold, Rody unplugged the drain and got out, wrapping himself up into a towel.
He didn't really want to get out, but the water was cold, and he was rested enough to where he didn't really need to stay there any longer.

Rody began drying himself off, working his way down with the towel. Once he dried off, he grabbed his clothes, and got dressed.
He felt so, so much better now.

He went over to the bathroom mirror, looking at himself. It felt weird wearing Vince's clothes, especially ones that clearly never fit Vince to begin with.
He wondered why he had baggy clothes like these anyway, were they just for comfort or had they belonged to someone else?

Rody wasn't sure, but no matter the reason Vince had them, he really didn't mind. If they'd once belonged to someone else, that was fine. If they were for comfort, that was fine.
Rody didn't really care for the reason, he only cares that they were Vince's clothes, and that they smelled like him.

Rody sighed, and ran his fingers through his damp hair. No matter what he did, his hair always remained a fluffy mess.

As he was trying to somewhat make his hair look better, he saw something. Something behind him in the mirror, something familiar he'd seen too many times.
That dam silhouette of Manon.

He jumped, turning around only to be faced with nothing.

He sighed with relief, thinking he'd only imagined it that time. But the moment he turned back around, it was there.
It wasn't a silhouette anymore, but a distorted version of Manon. Eyes black and bloody, clothes dirty and covered in dirt, her skin pale and rotting.

Rody wanted to scream, but couldn't. He completely froze up, his eyes wide and pricked with tears.

The figure disappeared after a moment, whispering something Rody couldn't understand. He felt terrified, and was just completely frozen where he stood.
Why was this happening to him? Why was that thing after him? What even was that thing!

So many questions, not enough answers.

Rody felt a wave of mixed emotions wash over him, and he suddenly felt a strong horrible urge to hurt himself. An urge he couldn't really resist with how terrible his mindset had been.

-

-

-

Vince waited patiently for Rody, laying back against the headboard of his bed as he read a book.

Rody was only gone for about an hour, and when he came back he looked, upset. His eyes were red and puffy, his hair was way messier than normal, and he looked scared.
Vince noticed this, and the moment Rody walked into the room he closed his book, setting it to the side.

He sat up, tilting his head as he watched Rody walk over to the bed, and promptly crawled onto in and curled up into a ball.
Vince looked at him confused, and laid down beside him.

"Rody, are you alright?" Vince asked, feeling a bit worried for his friend. He knew he was probably fine, but something was telling him otherwise anyway.

Rody sniffled, and pulled up one of his sleeves, being completely quiet as he showed Vince his now bandaged up arms.
After the Manon silhouette thing disappeared, Rody's head was filled with an onslaught of horrible, horrible thoughts. Ones that made him so overwhelmed and upset, he had to take it out on himself.

Vince's eyes widened, and he gently grabbed a hold of Rody's arm, his fingers tracing over the bandages.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, looking at Rody worriedly. "I-i don't even know what happened Vince.." Rody muttered, his eyes a little watery.

Vince sighed, and moved himself closer to Rody. He gently but hesitantly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a warm embrace.

"That's okay, just- rest for now." He said, gently rubbing Rody's back. Rody sniffled, nuzzling into the warm comfort Vince provided.
His mind was still whirling with thoughts, and he began to question his relationship with Vince.

What was their relationship exactly anyway? Were they friends? Or just employee and boss?
Rody didn't know, and he wished he did.
He felt so lost, so scared, so confused.

It was overwhelming to say the least.
He could feel wet tears prick his eyes, and roll down his cheeks, landing against Vince's shirt.

Vince felt Rody's tears, and gently moved a hand to his cheek, moving his head to where he was looking at him. He wanted to kiss him so badly, it was driving him mad.
"Rody.. are you alright?" He asked, his voice soft and gentle.

Rody just sniffled, and leaned into the warm touch Vince gave to him. "Mm.." he whined, closing his eyes.

"I'll be f-fine.. just- need a few moments.." He muttered, his voice quiet and shaky. He felt guilty, always having such a horrible mindset, he bet Vince was tired of dealing with him.

Vince sighed softly, and gently wiped Rody's tears away. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll be right here, for if you need me." He said, his arms wrapping around Rody's waist.
Rody blushed slightly at the contact, his body trembling.

He just nodded weakly, and buried his face against Vince's neck. He wished he could enjoy this moment better, but his mind just kept on racing.

He felt disgusting, for enjoying Vince's touch so much, and for craving his warmth so badly. He was so scared, that if Vince found out about how much he needed his comfort and touch, that he'd surely hate him and leave.
But Vince didn't, even if Rody didn't know that.

Vince cared for Rody, and had rather strong feelings towards him. He'd do anything for him to feel better, it didn't matter what.

His heart ached for seeing Rody like this, and he wished he could burn the world down, just to make him feel better.