"Rody, you're late again- OH GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"
Well, Rody did look terrible. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was messier than usual, his eyes were red and puffy, and he looked like he had been crying all night and gotten no sleep at all- which technically was true.
"I'm fine, Chef, thanks for giving me the job," Rody muttered, and immediately got to work instead of being eager to talk to Vincent, like he usually would. He also stopped calling Vincent "Vince" or by his name. Yep, something was definitely off.
And Rody did... actually, better than usual! He successfully served all the customers that came that day, which was pretty rare. Although he seemed to be distracted by something. He definitely didn't seem too happy while working, either. He usually would try to start conversations with some of the customers and would also visit Vincent whenever he could to ask him questions and get to know him better, like he was trying to become friends with Vincent. But today, he was surprisingly quiet. He did serve customers really quickly, and no one left because of slow service! However, it was obvious that something wasn't normal with him. Even some of the customers who ate at the bistro often noticed this and pointed this out, being slightly concerned for Rody. He just brushed the remarks off and said he was fine, though.
The day flew by pretty quickly, and soon enough, Rody's shift was over. He was about to head home, and Vincent could've just let him. He didn't know why, but he knew something was wrong, and for some reason he wanted to find out.
"Hey!" Vincent stopped Rody, and Rody turned to look at him.
"Yes, do you need anything?" Rody asked, with almost no emotion in his words.
"Uh, its just that you seem, um, different today, and uh, its just that... uh, are you... okay?" Vincent stuttered, as he wasn't used to socializing too much and didn't know much about asking people about their problems or comforting them.
"....I'm fine, don't worry about me." Rody said after hesitating for a few seconds.
Vincent frowned. "Come on, Rody, we aren't best friends, but I know you better than that. What's wrong, really? You're seem like a new person today. You're not okay... and I-" Vincent paused, as if searching for the right words. "Although I'm just your boss to you now, I care about you."
Vincent didn't expect Rody's response to be bursting into tears. "Did I... say something wrong?" Rody just shook his head. To be honest, he didn't even expect himself to start crying in front of his boss, either, but for some reason, his tears weren't all filled with sadness. He somehow felt... cared for, when Vincent said that, and it had that effect on Rody. Vincent was surprised, but also felt- sympathy? He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew that in some way, he was worrying about Rody. No, more than that, he cared about Rody. He silently pulled Rody into an embrace and held him there while Rody cried onto his shoulder. The two lost track of time, and the only sound was Rody's muffled sobs and the ticking of the clock.
"Do you.... want to talk about it?"
-End of Chapter 2-
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Chef's Kiss
RomanceShe was gone. Rody found it hard to believe. She was the one he thought he was waiting for all his life, and she was also the one who left too quickly. This couldn't be how it would end... yet it all added up- how she was always "busy," how she neve...
