Fool Me Once | T. Drake ✔

[11] Guilt

Tim had come to wake Roxanne up for breakfast and knocked on the bedroom door lightly but got no response from inside. Thinking she would be asleep, he pushed open the door but saw that she was sitting up on his bed, her knees pulled close to her chest and her head resting on top.

He couldn't yet see her face but it felt that she had been crying.

"Roxanne?" He called in a soft tone, gently reaching out to touch her shoulder, "are you okay?"

She wasn't asleep, that much he could see but it seemed she didn't want to look up at him either. Knowing that it was rather unusual behavior from her, he sat down close to her, trying to talk to her again.

"What happened? You were fine when I left," he gently pushed her hair back from her face. 

She reluctantly looked up at him, bloodshot eyes meeting his concerned blue. It seemed she hadn't gone to sleep the entire night and kept shedding tears for her eyes to be so swollen and red.

Seeing her like that only worried him more. 

"Hey, don't cry." His hands gently cupped her face, wiping away the tears tenderly, "tell me what happened. I will try my best to solve things."

"Tim, why...?" But the words got stuck in her throat and she couldn't complete the question.

He brought her close in a hug, realizing she was quite disturbed about something. She didn't hug him back, her arms were frozen and she was still as a statue. And seeing her like that was worrying him a lot.

The makeup concealing her bruises from last night had been washed off and his eyes frantically searched for any new ones than those he had seen. But that didn't seem to be the case and he felt she was worried about something else entirely.

She couldn't have found out that he was with her on an agenda too. He didn't leave anything in his room for her to connect the dots. And if she had, she wouldn't have let him get close to her.

"You met Romero and you didn't tell me," she breathed out at last, her voice shaking with worry, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to worry you," he replied, "your brother warned me to stay away from you but he doesn't know about the contract. So despite his warning, I can't stay away from you when I have agreed to stay with you and keep you safe."

"He told you about Adrian," she pulled apart from him, her eyes searching his face for the truth, "he told you I killed him."

"There is no proof," he replied, concealing the fact that he had been disturbed by that revelation, "I am not an idiot to believe an accusation without any proof. And all the evidence points against him not you."

She raised an eyebrow, "evidence? So you do know about Adrian?"

"I had to make sure what he was telling me was the truth or not. But whether or not I know about Adrian can't change the fact that the contract between us hasn't been terminated," he replied calmly, not fazed by the fact that she had caught his slip-up, "this changes nothing."

She looked at him closely and then took in a deep breath to calm herself down. He was right, it changed nothing. 

Tim was probably looking after her due to the contract, there was no other sentiment involved. He was making sure she was okay because he had to, whether or not she had killed someone wasn't his concern.

Nevertheless, she wanted to tell him that she didn't kill Adrian. But she stopped herself, knowing that even if the wounds hadn't been given to him by her, she had still been a primary cause of his death.

"I am sorry. I have been nothing but a pain to you since last night," she took in another deep breath, looking away from him, "I should just go home now. I've bothered you enough..."

"Roxanne, look here," he made her look into his eyes, that soft shade of blue that she felt drawn to each time she looked at him, "your brother might be the person sending you death threats after all. He might really want you out of the way. And even if he isn't, the way he controls you and abuses you isn't right. You shouldn't go back home. He will hurt you."

"I am used to it," she remarked, unable to look into his eyes anymore because she felt guilty seeing the concern there, "besides, it's not going to kill me."

She didn't want him to get ruined because of her. She should never have let him sign the contract.

But then she was selfish and she had put herself first, unlike him who had started to care for such a selfish and materialistic person like her too.

"You can stay here," he offered again, "this way both your problems would be solved. You won't have to deal with your brother and whoever is sending you death threats won't be able to get to you too."

She shook her head as she had already made up her mind, "I appreciate you looking out for me but I can manage. I'll have to go back."

Tim felt instinctively worried at the thought of her going back to her place. He knew Romero had warned him to stay away from her yet she had still ended up staying the night at his place. So Romero had a reason to take his anger out on Roxanne if she went back.

And if she didn't go back, that anger would be directed toward Tim. 

Her hands gently closed onto his wrists, bringing his hands down that were cupping her face earlier. Brown eyes gazed softly, almost wistfully, into his blue ones as she replied, "I'm going to be fine, trust me. Rom would never kill me and I know it."

"But..." His eyes lingered on the bruises on her skin, the thought of her having to go through that again made him feel sick.

Perhaps that was the way he was with everyone. And in the few days they had gotten to know each other, she was no longer just a stranger to him. Perhaps he considered her a close enough acquaintance for him to care.

"Timothy, I specified in the contract that we will not interfere with each other's personal lives. And that includes not burdening the other with our problems," she spoke in a gentle tone, her hands holding his reassuringly as she tried to convince him, "this is my problem and I will deal with it. How, I don't know. When, I don't know that either. But I didn't choose you to help me out with this. Focus only on what you are required to do for me according to the contract. Nothing less, nothing more."

He nodded, understanding the unspoken message behind her words as he retrieved his hands from hers at last, "will you at least have breakfast with us before you go?"

"Alright. But you'll drop me off after breakfast."

"Fine," he agreed, "everyone else is waiting downstairs."

He had stood up to leave but then just remembered something at which his cheeks shaded very slightly pink.

"Oh, and I ought to give you a heads up. They are all going to tease you about last night because that photo did end up on the first page of Gotham Weekly."

She raised an eyebrow, "what photo?"

"You'll see soon. I'm going to the kitchen too. Call me if you get lost though I think you'll find your way just fine. The kitchen is on the first floor, left to the stairs landing."

"Yeah, I think I remember. You don't have to worry."

He nodded one last time and then left while Roxanne was pondering on whether she had made the right choice to drag such a caring soul as Timothy Drake into the mess her life was already in.

But feeling guilty for it wasn't going to solve things. She hoped the people giving her death threats would get caught so that she would be able to terminate the contract and free Tim from having to look after a person like her.

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