MasukThe line went silent for a minute before Rory spoke again. “Hello, Toby?”There was shuffling behind the scene. Then a loud shriek erupted from the phone.“RORY?!”Rory furrowed his brows. They were together?“Christy? Hey, how are you?”“The fuck do you mean, how am I? How are you? Where have you been? What the heck, men!!!” She shot at rapid fire.“Something happened and—”“Bullshit. Something happened between the night and the next morning? I remember starting to message you at the break of dawn.”“Break of dawn? Why were you awake by that time”“NOT THE POINT!!!!” She yelled. Toby had to pull the phone away from him so she wouldn’t go off on him and probably do the unthinkable virtually by smack him across the face.“First of all, I am glad you are safe,” he began as he turned away from Christy, who was both relieved and annoyed.“Yeah, I am safe. Heading home now. Already in an Uber.” He answered, looking out the window.“That’s good.”“Listen, Toby. Thank you for the money.” He
Rory anxiously bounced his legs as he stared at his phone, inhaling the pine air freshener and old leather of the Uber car.There were even new messages from today. Telling him he was going to file a missing person report, as he hated the idea of him going missing.7:22 AM: My head is pounding. Probably the drink. Probably everything else too.7:23 AM: I still have your contact open on my phone. Just staring at it. Your name on my screen.7:24 AM: Call me back, Rory. Please. I’m begging you. I don’t care how it sounds. I don’t care what it makes me look like. I am begging you.He felt his eyes sting from behind as tears threatened to flow from them. It was impossible for him not to cry. He had gone all weekend to the middle of the week, thinking no one was looking or bothered about him, but he was an active message from his father to him.And as well.Toby and Christy.He had also opened their messages in all similar ways. And Toby went as far as sending him money. Perhaps he got it f
Rory felt his heart hammer behind his chest. Had his father been calling him? Nicholas was worried about his whereabouts. Rory bit his lips as he slammed his card on the table, ready to pay, ready to leave, whether he had finished his coffee or not.He had a total of 104 messages and 67 missed calls, with two credit alerts“I have to go too.” He muttered as he read the series of messages his father had sent to him.1:30 PM Harvey just told me where you are.1:31 PM A date. With Christy.1:32 PM You couldn’t even tell me yourself.1:45 PM So that’s why you’ve been ignoring my calls. You were with HER.1:46 PM Don’t bother coming up with an excuse.2:10 PM I’ve been sitting here like an idiot, worried about you, and you’re out there, what—laughing with her? Letting her touch you?2:11 PM Don’t answer that, actually.2:12 PM Answer it.3:04 PM You know what the worst part is? You didn’t even have the decency to say, “Hey, Daddy, I’m going out.” One sentence. That’s all it would’ve taken.
To say Nicholas was in bad shape would be an understatement. He had drunk himself to a stupor and even vomited on himself. And the worst part is, he was alone in all these.His wife didn’t come back home last night.Harvey didn’t care what happened to Rory and didn’t also come back home. It was Julian who stayed with him through the entire ordeal and who had to—quite literally—clean his vomit.Well, it wasn’t like it was a new thing; they went to high school and college together, and both frequently attended frat parties together. Cleaning each other’s vomit is as frequent as they share beers.But what Julian couldn’t comprehend was why he was seriously beating himself up for it.Like.. like…Julian paused for a moment, feeling the hot water hit the back of his palm. He had allowed Nicholas to wallow in his vomit and drunkenness since the previous day. But today he would have to report a missing person to the police station.He knew he didn’t want to believe something bad had happen
Dr. Patel drove without speaking for the first few minutes, and Rory was truly grateful for it. He didn’t want to speak for now. He was grateful for the time and the darkness. But soon it would come to daylight, but he wouldn’t be in the hospital.Now, it was time to think about whether he should go home or not. Going home, there was a fifty-fifty percent chance that Harvey was home, and if he was coming back before the end of the week… Harvey might actually kill him.The car didn’t have air conditioning, and Dr. Patel had the windows open for fresh air.The outside was slightly dark, but the sky was slowly getting brighter by the second. And they were slowly getting to the main city. Shopfronts with their shutters down. People are going on a walk or jog with their pet dog.Rory sat up, hands pressed on the side of his door underneath his jaw. He watched it all with a hint of exhaustion. He brushed through his red hair, mentally praying for her help or grace that Harvey isn’t going to
The morning air hit Rory’s skin, causing him to shiver. It was refreshing. Everything was nice this morning. Well, if you remove the mental chaos and breakdown that he was having that morning, it was nice.The weather was cool; the sun had not yet fully rising to the sky. And also the park was oddly full. Did that mean all staffs of the hospital that a car?Weird.But it wasn’t his concern. He was just happy things were going fine and he would be home.Harvey.He let out a quiet groan as he clenched his hands over his tummy. He didn’t want to go home, hopefully the car ride would give him some time to think and plan his next monument.Of course, by now, Harvey would have suspected his disappearance and would be doing something about it.He only hopes he is faster than him, in some way or form.Dr. Patel’s car was a dark blue sedan, third row, and she was actively pulling her car keys from her bag.Smart woman.Rory followed behind, with Dr. Martin just adjacent to him. Dr. Patel was a
Rory blinked. He had thought it had a good ending. But he left? Like vanished? Died? Okay, death would probably not make sense after all; he was sitting here, driving him home.Regardless…Toby sighed before he continued, “I took great interest in acting. I might not look it, but I acted anywhere a
Rory furrowed his brows, wondering what that had to do with anything. But still, he nodded slightly.“Yeah. After she fell, Harvey miraculously appeared behind us. Honestly, his appearance at the worst moment. He literally accused me of wanting to fuck another woman on the ground.”Toby’s brows, fi
“OH MY, TOBY!! DEAREST!!” Mrs. Alden called out, joining the conversation. Again, Rory was met with the same lady from the gate.Meanwhile, Toby shivered at her presence. He had taken due diligence to avoid her throughout his time there. He was a good son; he only came for two reasons. One because
Rory visibly shuddered at his words. Which, of course, Harvey noticed, a sly grin appearing on his lips.“My dad and your mother are going somewhere else and charged me to take you home. Let’s go.”“I can take an Uber,” Rory suggested. Being in the same car with Harvey was not his ideal plan on how







