To Crush a Rose - Floyd & Riddle

Chapter 3

Without windows, it was hard to tell how long it had been since he'd been invited to leave the room again. Floyd would come, bring him food, and talk with him, but without any other stimuli, the days dragged on and on. Sometimes he'd hear the front door open, presumably for the demon to catch his next victim, and he could see his mother's eyes, a much brighter blue than his, telling him to head back to the clinic without her. Sometimes he wondered if things would be different if he had put up a bigger fight when he thought something was following them. Other times he knew that by then it was already too late for them. There was no doubt in his mind anymore that Floyd had been what had been watching them, though he didn't dare ask for confirmation. It didn't matter anyways.

When the older of the two finally did hold the door open for him again, Riddle stared at it in disbelief. His initial thought was to run, to run out the door and hope that he could outrun the other, but that hadn't worked out the first time. He needed to be smarter if he wanted to live through this. But through the doorway he could see a window on the other side of the living room and even that tiny bit of sunlight was enough to make tears threaten to spill over.

Floyd seemed ecstatic at the change of heart. He moved out of the door frame as Riddle inched closer, still uncertain if the other would keep his word not to attack him until he was older. His hand trembled as he reached for the door frame, placing his hand there as he gave a tentative glance towards the demon rocking back and forth on his feet with his lips curled into a pleased smile.

"H-How long have I been here?" The child wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

Floyd thought for a moment, obviously not used to contemplating time himself. "About a week or so?"

The redhead gave him a slightly annoyed glance. For someone who sometimes seemed so terrifying, he also came off as an airhead. "You're not certain?"

The teal haired boy stopped rocking back and forth and pouted. "You can go back in there if you want, Goldfishy."

" No! " The words came out of his mouth before he even had the chance to think it over. His fingers curled tightly around the doorframe, knuckles turning white as he watched the smile return to Floyd's lips. "I just..." He wasn't even sure where he was going with that comment himself. Was hoping someone would have found me by now? No, that seemed unlikely. Am afraid I might have been going crazy in there? Probably not the best thing to mention to the person who ate your mother. Either way, it seemed like his idea of playing it cool was quickly going out the window. "I don't know."

"That's alright~" A hand moved to ruffle his red hair. The boy jumped slightly at the sudden physical contact, gaze darting towards the other. He certainly wasn't used to physical contact--he couldn't even really remember the last time his mother had ruffled his hair or even hugged him. Floyd's brows knit tightly together as he took in Riddle's uncomfortable expression and he immediately ruffled his short hair once more.

" Stop ." The child said, feeling warmth tugging at his cheeks. No, don't get mad at him . He tried to tell himself. That'll only end up bad for you .

"You're getting all red again, Goldfishy~"

"I am not ." Riddle snapped, smacking the other's hand away. "I just don't like to be touched."

"Eh?" The teenager blinked a couple times before draping his arms around the kid's shoulders to lean on him. "Don't be so mean!" The ten-year-old stiffened underneath the other's weight, his mind racing at the sudden drastic change of physical contact. Is this a joke? Having your mother's murderer tease you about your physical boundaries was not something he'd expected to happen, but he had to admit--this was probably one of the least weird things that had happened to him recently. The boy shrugged the other off, probably a bit more violently than was safe, but the older of the two just laughed it off.