The song that changed my heart

Fear

Coming to work the next day was not ideal for Rody. Not after the run in with his parents the previous day. Yet everything was fine. He had time to chat with his boyfriend. Today wasn't stressful with customers being polite. It brought some relief to Rody as he ended his shift. Being sent home with a leftover plate. Though he was fairly sure Vincent had prepared the plate himself. By now the idea of his parents had been drowned out into a thing of the past. As the night breeze passed him by as he arrived at Mathew's house. "Hey Rody! You back at the apartment?" Mathew asked as Rody put his bike against the wall. "Yep, the burns have almost entirely gone away." Rody replied. "Well that's a good thing, we can't have two of us being injured on stage." Dolly said as she sat up on the stool. "Hey come on. Your leg should be healed by then." Andy said as he dumped his spit valve onto the floor. Dolly shrugged. "You never know. The doctor did say that it could take over a month, and could you maybe not empty your spit valve onto the floor?" Dolly replied back sarcastically as she pointed at the dark stain on the concrete. A new wet wad added to it. "Where do you want me to dump it?" Andy asked. "In the trash." Leo replied as he placed his earplugs in his ears and sat at his set. Andy just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He said as everyone got their places.

Practice ran smoothly. There were a few hiccups here and there, but nothing too bad. "Do you need a ride home?" James asked as he packed up his guitar. "Nah I'm good." Rody replied, also placing his guitar back into its case. "You seemed in a much better mood than last time. Did everything work out with that friend of yours?" James asked. Rody nodded his head. "Yeah, surprisingly." Rody could feel a tint of pink approaching on his cheeks. He hoped James wouldn't notice. It seemed he did however. Though he only raised a brow, and didn't inquire anything further. "Speaking of good moods, I heard from Richard Vincent was in an exceptionally good one at the last orchestra practice. Do you have any idea what that's about Rody? You two do seem to be well acquainted." Dolly asked as Andy helped her off the stool. Rody knew why, but saying it in front of them just felt unnerving. Sure they were friends, but would they accept the fact that he was dating a man. They probably wouldn't. Rody just shrugged. "No clue." Then he remembered something else. Something else that Vincent had inspired. "Oh but I did remember I wrote a spare song for our performance." Everyone looked over at him. "Really?" Leo asked as Rody nodded. "I'll play it at the concert and y'all can tell me if it's good." Rody replied. As Mathew raised a brow. "We don't get to hear it now?" Rody shook his head. "It's a surprise." Rody replied as he slung the case onto his back. "So I'm guessing you're performing it?" Dolly said as Rody nodded. "Alright then that's fine by me." Everyone else nodded. "Well bye." Rody said as he grabbed his bike before getting on it. Everyone else wished him goodbye as he pedaled off into the night. He felt relaxed underneath the stars. The street lamps illuminating his path as he crossed over the sidewalks. Yet something felt off. There was an uneasiness to him. His ears constantly picked up the sound of a car driving nearby yet, it was going oddly slow. He tried to ignore it but halfway through it just got to him. He turned around and almost immediately regretted it. The sight of the familiar blue car that had haunted his childhood slowly approaching from behind. No attempt was made to catch his attention. It was just there, following. Rody immediately shot his head back forward. Narrowly missing a street lamp. Upcoming to his left was an alley. He could take it and lose them there. He began to pedal faster. Hearing the car also slightly pick up pace, but not by much. Without warning he shot straight into the alley. The gravelly road crunched beneath his bike. He was immediately offered an intersection. He made a left turn. Deciding to loop back around being the safest bet. He had to pass by a few buildings. Narrowly missing being in sight of a pair of headlights. He quickly scrambled back onto the street. Crossing it without looking before ducking into another alley and making another left turn the first chance he got. Sending him on route back to his original location. He spent almost the entire rest of the ride in the alleys. Weaving in and out of turns. Past rotting piles of garbage and stray cats picking at the scraps. Eventually the buildings got shorter as he came by to a familiar area. Eventually he was behind the laundromat he and Vincent had been to not so long ago. He crossed the street quickly. Carrying his bike up the stairs and entering his apartment. He wiped sweat off of his brow as he locked the door behind him. He placed his bike over it. As a little way to protect him if someone tried to enter. Though he had his doubts. It was better to be safe than sorry. He looked at the dark space in front of him. His eyes locked on the phone. He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought about calling Vincent. It was late. There could be a possibility he wouldn't answer. Yet there was something in his gut telling him to do so. He picked up the phone and quickly dialed Vincent's number. The phone rang for several seconds. Rody constantly waiting for a reply. It seemed when he had given up all hope the phone picked up. "Hello?" Vincent's deep voice echoed on the other side. "Vince!" Rody exclaimed quietly. Relieved that he had picked. "Rody? Is it happening again?" Vincent asked. Concern clearly lacing his voice. "No, it's not." Rody quickly said, earning a hum from the other man. "They were following me." The line went deadly silent. "They were what?" Vincent asked. His voice was more noticeably hushed. "My parents. I was biking home when I saw their car. Following me. I know they were." Rody replied. His voice also hushed. Despite losing his parents the possibility that they may still find his location was unnerving. They could be right outside his door, and he would never know. "Pack a bag." "Pardon?" Rody asked. "Pack. A. Bag. I am coming to get you." Vincent said. "Vince you don't have to." Rody protested, but it fell quickly. "Rody I am not having you sleep by yourself in your apartment with the risk of your parents breaking in and doing something. At the very least I am coming over for the night. I will go ahead and pack a bag for me if you decide you want to stay, but I am coming over. I'll be there in a few minutes." Vincent replied before Rody could get another word out the phone hung up. Rody sighed as he grabbed a suitcase from the closet, and packed a normal pair of clothes for the next day, his work uniform, and shoes, his notepad, and other necessities. He thought about it under his couch. The binder he had under it. He wouldn't dare risk his parents seeing it again. Especially with the stuff written about Vincent. He tucked it into his suitcase. Packing it between another spare set of clothes to better hide it, before zipping it up. He sat on his couch waiting for several minutes. His eyes started to feel heavy. So he closed them just for a second. Several knocks came at his door. Rody jumped up. He rushed over moving his bike out of the way as he threw the door open. The hall lights were red as his parents stood there, or rather what looked like the outlines of his parents. They were made of shadow. Approaching him slowly as whispers rang throughout the room. Rody backed away as his parents began to walk in. The whispers became louder as the echoey voices of parents screaming at him. Words he couldn't make out but knew he had heard before. Without second thought Rody rushed into the bathroom. Tears started to well in his eyes as his breathing began to escalate. He pressed his body against the door. Hoping to barricade it from whatever was on the other side. "RODY LAMOREE!" His father's voice shouted. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR RIGHT NOW RODY!" The bangs grew louder, heavier. The doorknob jiggled violently. Eventually the banging turned into pounding as the monsters attempted to force it open. At any second he felt as if the door might break right off of his hinges. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" 

A phone rang through the room as Rody's eyes shot open.