Alone Together

21: Determination

Melvin opened his eyes after Ryou had closed the door to his room. There was a big, silly grin on his face as he pulled his pillow closer to himself.

"He even tucked me in." He said, feeling warm and fuzzy and happy.

No one had ever tucked him in before; it just felt nice to know that someone didn't want you to go cold as you slept.

Ryou was obviously suspicious about the tea, but surprisingly he didn't accuse him for the safety pins on the curtains, nor the hidden alarm clock.
He probably didn't even notice that the carton of milk in the fridge was empty. That was Melvin's greatest calcium intake in his entire life.

Still, more damage was to be done. That was his only motivation for the day; the only reason he would get out of bed.
Ryou didn't really do anything to "deserve" it, , but then again, no one ever "deserves" anything that happens to them. Shit happens to everyone, so deal with it.

Melvin did eventually get out of bed. When he did, he still felt warmth at his chest and couldn't help but feel like something in the back of his mind didn't want him to continue. Something told him that he should just lounge in bed all day instead.

As pleasant as that sounded, he remembered that this bed wasn't his, nor was the food his own, nor the apartment he was staying at. It all belonged to Ryou, and if he were to get comfortable here, then Ryou would grow more attached to him, and soon enough he would see sides of him that he had hidden away.

He'd rather have Ryou attached to the reins in his hands, and be under his control.

And how would he do that?

By eating everything in the fridge.

***

Melvin lay on the couch with the worst headache and intolerable nausea. Not only did he drink every single raw egg in the carton (due to the fact that he had no idea how to properly cook eggs), he ate containers of food that he wasn't sure how long they'd been there.

He clutched his stomach tightly and wondered if he could just vomit on the floor. It would be asshole-y, right?
Yes. Yes it would.
But a little too much.

Instead, Melvin just got up and hugged the toilet for about ten minutes.
After vomiting everything his stomach held, he lay on the cold floor, feeling miserable.

This was one of the few times where Melvin actually asked himself, "Why did/would I do something like that?"

He had no idea if Ryou had any medicines he might've needed or where they would've been. Hell, his hair was dropping and he was lost without his cape. He missed his apartment and everything in it-- even if it was just a cleaned out, lemon-scented den.

Melvin forced himself to get up off the floor and walk it off. He had this sudden determination to at least get back the access to his own place. He missed his cape and his gel and his weapons.

He needed to go find Bakura and get his stuff back.

In the kitchen, under all the empty cartons and dirty containers were the keys and phone that Ryou had left him. It was just a stupid and naive act of "trust". Melvin just snagged them and shoved them into his pocket.

With a quick glance out the window, he saw some clouds in the sky that were friendlier than before, but weren't exactly rainless.
It didn't matter. Rain washed away evidence.