Regiphobia

The Relief

Gabe glanced at the time. 3:18 AM, Tuesday, May 26th. Four days before his wedding day. He looked to the screen with the camera in the basement on it. He thought for a moment, then sighed. He stood up, shutting off his computer as he left the room. He made his way down to the first floor, shut off the cameras, then went down to the basement. He walked to the locked room, unlocking and opening the door. Goda would have collapsed at his feet had he not kicked Goda further into the room. He walked inside, shutting the door.

Goda forced himself to sit up, trembling badly. "G-G-Gabe-" he rasped, his voice absolutely ruined from periodic dehydration. He crawled up to Gabe, gripping his pant leg. "Gabe-"

Gabe looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. "Have you learned your lesson?"

Goda nodded quickly, "Y-Yes- P-P-Please-"

Gabe pushed Goda away, kneeling down, "Is that so? Well, tell me, Goda. If Officer Cazado attempts to see you again, tell me what you'll do."

"I-I'll- rip up the note- or j-just not go- I-I'll t-tell you- I'll be g-good just please don't leave again- P-please-" Goda begged, staying put. Tears were streaming down his face as he let outs his pleas for freedom.

"And what will you do if he comes to see you?"

"I'll t-tell him to leave- Please let me out I'll do anything you want-" he moved a bit closer to Gabe, looking and sounding pathetic and defeated.

"Good boy," Gabe said, standing up. He reached down, picked Goda up by his collar, and set him on his feet. Goda's knees buckled immediately, so Gabe lifted him up bridal style, carrying him out of the room. The halls were completely empty. He brought Goda upstairs.

Goda clung to Gabe's shirt, trembling. He watched as he was carried into Gabe's room and laid on the bed. Nothing felt quite real. He heard the water running in the bathroom, but he didn't even try to stand up. Gabe came back after a while, picking him up again.

He felt Gabe strip him, laying him in a filled bathtub. He felt miles away from his own body. He stared at the ceiling blankly, hunger and thirst clawing at his chest as he relaxed in the water.

Gabe got up and left again. Being alone made him feel so much worse, but thankfully he wasn't gone long. He came back and held a glass of water to Goda's lips. "Drink," he said, and Goda did as he was told.

"Good boy," Gabe said, pulling it away once it was empty. He set the glass on the counter, then left the room again. Goda curled into a small ball.

Gabe turned back on the cameras when he got to the first floor. He walked to the kitchen, preparing a meal to give to Goda. Little did he know, he had someone tailing him.

Juan was following Gabe, watching him... wait, he wasn't going to the basement this time? He walked upstairs with Gabe, watching him walk into his own room. He waited outside, trying to listen in. He heard someone talking, but couldn't tell who. God, this was hell.

Gabe walked into the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. He stabbed a bit of the salad on his plate with the fork, holding it out for Goda to eat. "Open," he said, watching with a small smile as Goda obeyed immediately. "Such a good boy for me."

Goda ate when he was fed. He then curled up in the water, savoring every moment of warmth. He wrapped his arms around himself.

Gabe grabbed a rag and ran it over Goda's body, trailing soap bubbles over it. Every bit of dust and grime fell away, and Goda leaned into every single touch. After being rinsed off, Gabe helped him stand and wrapped him in a soft, warm towel. As he dried himself off, Gabe picked out some pajamas and got him dressed. "Much better, darling," Gabe hummed, smiling and running a gentle hand through his hair. "Let's get some rest."

Goda nodded as Gabe moved to the bed, patting beside him. Goda laid down, curled up against his side, and passed out immediately.

The next morning, Goda awoke to Gabe nudging him. "Get up," he said. Gabe was already standing. Goda stood, grabbing the clothes on the foot of the bed and getting himself dressed. Gabe's eyes brushed over him.

He offered Goda a hand. "Now, tell me where you've been for the last week, love."

Goda looked a bit confused, then realized. "I-I was... I closed myself up in your room because I got scared of nothing. It was my fault, but you took care of me."

Gabe smiled, "Good boy." He leaned down, kissing his cheek, "We're going to see a movie, now that you've calmed down from your episode."

Goda gave a tiny smile, glad that Gabe wasn't mad at him anymore. Maybe if he was good, marrying him would be easy.

Gabe led him out of the room, leading him up to the theater. He was silent as they walked, hand in hand.

Behind them, Juan's eyes widened. There he was- He was alive! Looking tired and thin, but alive! He was smiling wide. He didn't care where he was all that time, he just cared that he was OK. But his moment didn't last long, and Gabe took Goda into the theater. Juan walked back down to the first floor, smiling. He walked right back to his room, where his brother was resting. "Hermangran, you won't believe who I saw today!" he grinned as he entered.

"Goda?" he said, looking over at him.

"Yeah! He was going into the theater- He looked kind of pale, but it might have been the light, I'm not sure," he said.

"...Well then."

"I'm going to leave a note for him right now!" he said, grabbing a pen and paper. He scratched down a note, "See you in just a minute!"

"You won't, I have work," he said, not even looking over at him.

"...Well, tonight then! Be right back!" he said. He took the note and left, jogging downstairs to the mailroom. He dropped off the note, then ran back to his room. He had a solid few hours. José was already gone as he said.

He flopped on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He took a couple of deep breaths, then realized he had way too much energy for this. He got up, pacing around the room. Then that got boring, so he left the room.

He walked to Léo's office, knocking. There was a pause, then the Head Officer came out. "Ah, Cazado, what seems to be the issue?"

"No issue, sir, but I would like to say I'm cutting my time off work short," he said, "You can put me anywhere you need on the schedule."

"Will do," he said.

They said their brief goodbyes, and then Juan went back to his room. He paced for almost another half an hour before giving up and going outside. He walked out to the side of the yard, just jogging to keep himself occupied. He kept an eye on the time.

Around noon, he headed inside and walked to the meeting spot to wait fruitlessly for Goda.