Philophobia: A GerIta Story (Rewritten)

Chapter Seven (Ludwig)

I wake up to the smell of coffee, sitting up from the couch and stretching, confused as to why I'm on the couch in the first place when Matthew enters the living room, a plate with two mugs balancing on his legs.

He smiles when he sees I'm awake, handing me one of the cups, which is filled with hot coffee.

"Good morning, Ludwig," he says, and I nod, smiling around the mug as I take a long sip.

"Morning, Matthew, thank you for the coffee."

He hums, petting Amara, who is, like always, desperate for his attention.

"Gilbert is getting dressed for work at the moment, we'll probably leave in maybe thirty minutes? But I think Gilbert mentioned coming back next Tuesday, if that's okay?" He asks.

I nod, "that sounds like a good plan...but I-" I sigh, thinking about Feliciano and how I was actually happy talking to someone.

Someone who I could relate to, at least a little bit.

Matthew takes a sip of what I'm sure is tea, looking at me as I gather my thoughts and try to decide if I'm actually about to do this.

Eventually, Feliciano seems to decide for me.

"I...I was thinking about...about going with...with you to...to group?" I say, and Matthew seems to light up, smiling brightly at me.

"Oh that's wonderful, Ludwig! Everyone is so nice, I'm sure you'll love it!" His smile softens, "and you don't need to worry about sharing anything if you don't want to talk, Ms. Katherine is very adamant that you only have to add to the conversation if you want to; no more, no less."

I smile back unsurely, taking a sip of my coffee as I look away from him, closing in on myself a little.

The two of us finish our drinks in silence, until Gilbert struts in, smirking in his police uniform. He's been on the force since graduating high school, but he's currently training to become a K9 officer, and should be paired with a dog soon that he'll be in charge of training and raising to be a police dog.

Matthew wolf whistles, winking at his fiancé as Gilbert strikes a pose, winking back.

I smile, rolling my eyes at the two of them.

"Gilbert guess what!" Matthew starts, and I look away again, finishing my coffee while hiding behind the cup, "Ludwig agreed to give group a try!"

I sneak a peek to see Gilbert smiling at me, walking over and ruffling my hair a bit.

"That's great, kiddo! Everyone in the group is super nice!" He tells me, and I nod, chuckling a bit.

"So you guys have been telling me..."

I look down at myself, cringing a bit at my dirty, unwashed long sleeve shirt and sweatpants. Not to mention my hair is disgusting.

"Should...should I shower?" I ask, and Matthew shrugs.

"If you would like to, however it's not a requirement, there have been multiple times where people were...not looking their best, hell, I've been that person quite a few times, so it will be perfectly fine if you don't."

I hesitate.

On one hand, I don't want to look disgusting...on the other hand, I want to take a shower even less.

Showers require nudity, they require looking down at yourself.

I don't have the ability to do that today.

"How about I...I do the dry shampoo an-and change...change clothes?" I suggest and they smile.

"If that's what you want to do, Lud."