Rhink One Shots

(Don't) Find Me | (Part 4)

Warning: a little bit of violence (there's a slap by the end of the chapter).

Link Neal took his job very seriously, unlike some of his colleagues. He knew if he messed up, the consequences would be bigger than he could ever imagine. So, for him, everything needed to be perfectly organized, written, delivered in time. There was no time and space for mistakes. That's how it worked when you are one of the majors at a company that is very close to the government.
Link wasn't sure in what he was getting into when he first applied there. He was an innocent 25 year old guy who enjoyed drinking beer with friends and calm nights out. Go there, ask for information. You'll surely be selected. They need guys like you. Jonathan, longtime friend of the dark haired man, told him when they were having lunch near to the building of the company. The restaurant was filled with people in expensive clothes and serious looks. Link wasn't sure what he was doing there. He never really imagined himself doing something like that. Paperwork, endless numbers, impossible to imagine amounts of money, secrets that you and only you could know. It was surreal.
He shrugged at the suggestion, but the clock was ticking and Lincoln was actually getting pretty frustrated with himself for not even trying to find a job. So, a week from there, he got a crappy cheap suit that didn't match at all, and made his way back to that huge building with at least ten security guys standing at the entrance door. He swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous as if he had committed some crime and they could see right through him. All of their eyes were landed on the dark haired and Lincoln almost gave up. Until another guy bumped into him and basically pushed him inside. The other man didn't even look behind, not giving Link a "sorry" not expecting one from him. And it was now too late to run away.

Another five days run by. But this time, Lincoln developed a system. The key of the door was still his best friend and he only turned it when he really needed to do so.
At this point, the dark haired had memorized Rhett's schedule. He'd go to work around 10am and come back around 4pm. A small bubble of curiosity wandered on the back of Link's mind, taking a couple of guesses where could possibly the blond man work, but he tried not to focus too much on it. Rhett wasn't worth to be in his thoughts for even a second.
Instead, Link focused on making sure it didn't even seem like he had left the room while the other guy was absent. He took quick showers and made sure to clean up everything perfectly after he made food for himself. But that didn't happen too often. He didn't want to risk it too much. What exactly? Not even Link knew. He just wanted to be careful... about everything. He wanted to show Rhett he wasn't slipping up. No. He wanted to show him he persistently stayed in the room all day. He wanted for Rhett to realize he was not going to give up.
With more food and showers, Link felt healthier and fresher again. Almost like he was trapped somewhere for the longest time and now finally got out. Except, he didn't. It still felt pretty surreal to think that this happened to him. There were days Link didn't even feel like he was there against his will. He'd just lie silently on the bed, that simple act seeming like he was just resting at a hotel room. Somehow, some times, he found that comforting...

It was Friday night when the dark haired couldn't stop turning from one side to another of the bed. All of the sudden, it felt uncomfortable. The room felt too hot. Everything was just bothering. He haven't drank coffee in ages, but the lack of sleep that night made it seem like the drink was injected in his bloodstream.
The dark haired threw the sheets away and sat on the border of the bed. The room was mostly dark, only just a little light peeking from behind the curtains. He sighed while looking over the windows. In the dark, the room felt almost like a place Link has never been in. It made an impression of being bigger, the objects washed with darkness made the strangest shades. Lincoln tried to keep his fear of dark, trapped in the back of his head. Not now.
Lincoln stood up and with his bare feet walked to the door so silently he was sure not even a microphone could pick that up. The floor felt warm. There was also no sound coming from the other side of the room, which made the dark haired wonder if it was really late or Rhett just went to sleep earlier. The clock on his bedside table felt pretty useless since he couldn't see the numbers and the pointers. Link put it back on the small table and put on his glasses.
Slowly and equally silently, he turned the key, unlocking the door. Then, almost without breathing, he opened the door.
The corridor was mostly dark. A small blue-ish presence light illuminated the space slightly, making Link feel a little better. He disliked darkness quite a lot, so this was pretty soothing.
He walked out of his room, carefully looking around him. Nothing seemed to move. The silence could fool anyone into believing there was no one inside. This somehow made Link feel more relaxed. He looked at the stairs that led to Rhett's office. Carefully, he made his way to the room on the upper floor, not really sure why he was doing this at all.
With his arms extended in front of him, Link slowly walked to the bureau, praying to not hit anything on his way there since it was quite too dark to see if there were objects on his way. Fortunately, he arrived there successfully, after that quickly turning on the light of an old styled lamp that was maybe too big to be put on top of something. The dark haired was glad the light wasn't too strong.
The huge shelves filled up with books didn't fail to once again leave Link surprised. In his current position, they almost seemed intimidating. Link took two steps further, standing now a lot closer to it. Despite being huge and intimidating, the appeal of going through all the books almost took the best of Link. He looked at them curiously. Some were where thicker than other. History, arts, architecture, more arts...
What the hell are you doing, suddenly his own self woke Link up from the trance. Wasting time on looking at books, resisting the temptation to grab them and see what they're were about, was pretty hard at that moment, but at the same time irrational. He couldn't be spending time on something so insignificant. Link backed away from the shelf and turned to the desk in front of him.
With shaky hands, the dark haired slid open one of the wooden drawers. Phone. Maybe his phone was here! Or any phone! Yes, search for a phone! But nothing... Just papers and notebooks and pencils, until Link opened the third drawer and a pair of scissors jumped to his view. Scissors, found simply, just like that. How more unprofessional Rhett could be? An absolute amateur at whatever he was trying to do with Link...
The dark haired placed his hand on top of one of them, feeling the cold metal under his warm skin. A brief thought passed through his head. He should take them with him. He should keep them. He should act when Rhett least expected him to. Yes. Those could be his key to freedom. Those could...
- Found anything interesting?
Link jumped back when suddenly a raspy pretty sleepy voice sounded from a dark corner of the room. He muttered a "crap" under his breath when the back of his head hit the wooden shelf behind him. His heart was about to jump out of his chest. How was it possible he got distracted so easily?!
- Can't I at least have my phone back? Take off the card. I didn't have internet here anyways... - he said with his voice low, gently rubbing the back of his head that was still hurting a little. – I'm bored.
Rhett sighed. – No can do, sorry. I think it got lost on your way here...
- Your way here... - Link looked at the floor, correcting the other man with an ironic tone.
- Had any important information there?
- No. It was just a stupid phone... - the dark haired answered, after that getting confused why he was talking at all. He should just run back to his room.
His eyes looked up through the fallen pieces of his hair that rested on his forehead. Rhett's sleepy figure made the dark haired wonder if he had woken up for any other reason than Link being out of his room. His shirt was way bigger than a size Rhett would normally wear, which made the tall guy seem a bit smaller. It made the dark haired feel a little more confident since at this moment, Rhett didn't seem that intimidating.
Suddenly, Rhett took a step forward, to which Link immediately reacted, taking a step back, only to be stopped by the wooden shelf behind him.
- Don't get close to me. – the smaller spoke defensively, making Rhett lock eyes with him.
- Is your head okay? – the blond ignored and walked even closer, being now less than a step away from Link.
- Rhett, I swear I'll scream again. – Lincoln spoke, now taking his hand away from his head. It didn't hurt anymore, he was just too distracted to put it down again.
- I think I told you there was no one living at the floor. Or other floors near to this one. – the blond took one of his hands to his eye and brushed it gently. – There's no need for you to lose your voice again.
Link felt defeated once again. It was like his body had gained twenty more kilos out of the sudden. He felt tired, exhausted! And it was just from simple words. Also, annoyance mixed in. Rhett was able to make him lose his patience only with a few words, though those were just simple sentences, Link was aware. How could a man make someone feel so many things at once? How was that even humanly possible? Link hated the fact that he let himself get so affected by that.
The smaller shook his head and made one step to the side, then making his way to the stairs. The wave of confidence he had suddenly gained, impressed the dark haired. He didn't even look back to see if Rhett was following him or not. He just walked away. Rhett could simply grab him, pin him down. Link was in a vulnerable position. But he didn't care. He just walked away like nothing had happened. Like he was alone in the house. Like he wasn't holding his breath the whole time, at the same time trying not to jump with the slightest noise that happened, most part of those being cause by his walking. He just walked away and went back to his room, releasing his breath after the door was locked with that little key that never failed at making Link feel safer.