"…not even a snack?" Rowan asked.
Duke only chuckled and pulled away to leave. "Not even a snack. Good night."
Rowan only turned to look after a few seconds. Duke was no longer in sight, but there was a sound of a door closing in the distance. After that, the evening grew quiet again.
The poor guy only continued to fix up the groceries to clear up the counter. As for his food, he could just simply fry rice or bread. It didn't matter which one he chose to do. Then again, he got his hands on the flour that they bought. A smile then curled his lips.
Sometime later, Duke just had to leave the studio to drink water. However, when he opened the door, he saw a chair next to the wall across the hallway. On it was a tray with a water tumbler and a bread basket. Inside were a few chocolate chip muffins that Rowan must have baked for dinner instead.
…
As if trained to rise early in the morning, Rowan woke up even if the sun had yet to shine. He looked around him and somewhat remembered how Duke was there yesterday. A slight blush showed on Rowan's face as he thought of something. How embarrassing to want to hug someone for no reason.
Rowan just got up and made use of the bathroom connected to the bedroom. He changed into a few clothes that Duke was willing to lend him. However, today's shirt was indeed too loose. Rowan had a rather slender body compared to Duke, but not any more slender than Reeva.
In any case, this shirt was like an adult's shirt on a child. Rowan wondered if this shirt fit Duke any better. After all, it was just too big.
"Rowan? Are you awake?" Duke called out and opened the door, walking in on Rowan changing. His eyes suddenly fell on Rowan's fair legs as the latter had yet put any bottom pieces.
"D-Duke!" Rowan panicked. He couldn't possibly push the man out of the room as if he owned it.
Duke's eyes moved up to take another look at Rowan's red face. However, his attention was taken by how the loose shirt's collar moved to expose the other person's shoulder. Yes, it was that big. It was even like a dress that obscured Rowan's underwear.
He then laughed with a hand covering his mouth. "Wow, so sexy…"
"Huh?" Rowan just walked closer so Duke wouldn't look past his chest. He also pulled on the shirt's hollow shoulder to keep it from falling off.
Rowan asked again, "Uh, did you finish your task last night? Do you need me to do something?"
Duke closed his eyes and nodded. He cleared his throat and said, "I did. Thanks for the food, too. Listen, I have an emergency, so I have to leave again. Don't worry. Think of it as me being a doctor on call. I'm not the one in trouble this time."
"Okay, I hope things will be in your favor…" Rowan didn't smile. He just walked with Duke to the main door to see the other person off. With a wave, he watched Duke leave for the elevator.
Rowan stepped back and closed the door. He walked midpoint the path to the bedroom before turning around to head to the kitchen. Duke would not be home, right? He didn't have to wear more, right?
Today's breakfast was the reheated muffins. He ended up making more than he could eat, so he saved a couple for this morning. While they were in the microwave, he cleaned the water tumbler and the basket left on the counter. The water tumbler had a few gulps of water left, while the basket only had a few crumbs. It seemed like Duke got so hungry indeed.
The TV was left on as Rowan ate in silence. He was sitting cross-legged on the couch, only wearing the loose shirt and last night's underwear. The show was not even eliciting any reaction from him. It was as if some parts of him died that night.
"…the gun was too weak for the bullet…" Rowan repeated what Duke once told Reeva.
Now that he thought about it, the gun looked more like a toy after Rowan discounted his fear and lightheadedness. Could it be 3D-printed? That meant… As long as they couldn't find his blood on the floor, no one could prove that Connie shot him then and there, right?
And Scott… Rowan remembered that scary face Scott made that night. He was angry for no reason, and there was even no precedent of that violent fit. How could Scott go straight to killing Rowan? Did Rowan do something very wrong?
Before Rowan realized it, he had already crushed the muffin in his hand. The crumbs didn't fall off the plate, but the chocolate smeared on his palm and sunk into his nails. Rowan stopped thinking before getting up to deal with his hand. He still ate the mushed muffin, not letting it go to waste.
Amid the sound of pouring water, Rowan seemed to hear a door closing. He turned in its direction and felt like someone had just broken into Duke's house. He dried his hand and wanted to look around. However, he didn't know what took over him when his hand reached out to the side.
Schwing. He pulled out a kitchen knife from the stand and walked out of the kitchen.
Step. Step. Step. Rowan heard footsteps walking around the hallways. Since he was barefoot, it was easier to not make a sound. He stalked the source of the footsteps until he saw a figure walk inside the studio. Since Duke worked on something there last night, Rowan had to keep that person away.
"Heheh, what the hell is this? It's so ugly…"
Rowan heard a boyish voice speak from inside the studio. When he peeked from the open door, the short man had flipped the cover off the ugly painting.
Of course, Rowan didn't mind the painting anymore. Duke already said so. He was a doctor and not a painter. However, he was still the one tasked to do the paintings as if he was not good for anything else. Duke was an on-call doctor, however. This theory didn't stand all that much.
Rowan's eyes suddenly grew big as the short person grabbed a small can of paint. The person huffed. "Humph, playing dumb on me? Let's see what you'll do if I 'fix' your stupid artwork."
"Don't touch that!" Rowan yelled, attracting the attention of the other person. Rowan then charged to make the person back off from the painting. It's just that the other person actually splashed the paint on his face instead.