𝘾𝙊𝘿𝙀𝙋𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀 - Rio x Reader

•Chapter 9•

It could have been your body finally taking control of the situation in a desperate effort of self preservation- but you actually got a full night's sleep. Well.... more than a full night's sleep. When you had finally stirred from your dreamless mini-coma on the couch, the clock read 4:00 PM. You almost freaked out and thought you had way overslept for work, but then you remembered- you don't have a job. You almost pulled out your phone to search indeed for another place of employment- particularly one without a pervert boss and insane hours but then you remembered- you don't have a phone. You got up to go wake V up and get her ready for the day but halfway into the hall- you remembered- she's not here.

You passed the time by cleaning... everything. And by everything, you made sure not a spot in that house had a speck of dust or dirt on it. From using your moms old toothbrush to scrub the baseboards to wiping every surface down with bleach twice, the house practically sparkles. When there wasn't anything else to clean, you turned the TV up as loud as it would go- anything to keep your mind occupied. So now you sit on the couch, arms crossed, watching a documentary on polar bears. In any other state of mind, you would have been mindful of the neighbors and the volume of the TV, but you couldn't care less about anything- not anymore.

Your eyes flick to the large oak grandfather clock in the corner. 9:13PM. Being so wrapped up in polar bear facts, you missed your departure time by thirteen minutes. You mutter curses to yourself and rush into your bedroom. It's going to a long cold walk, so it's best that you layer up. You throw on two pairs of sweatpants over your leggings and two sweatshirts. Gloves and a toboggan get thrown into the mix. By the time you're rushing out the door, you're sweating underneath all the clothes. In your hurry to get out the door, the TV got left on, blaring the documentary that had your attention just moments ago.

The cold isn't as bitter as you had remembered it to be last night. Dusts of snow line the curbs and the windshields of cars parked along them. Distant wails of sirens, the howling wind, and your shoes tapping the ground fill your ears. Very soon though, it isn't loud enough. You begin a steady jog and hum the tune to a song you don't quite remember the lyrics to. Just anything at all to keep your mind occupied.

-

You catch your breath as you make it to the parking garage. The cold air filling your lungs in labored breaths burns your throat. You sniffle back what little your nose had started running and interlock your fingers behind your head- sucking air through your nose and exhaling from your mouth. Every muscle in your body burns. Ambulances rush by- sirens blaring either to or from the hospital. Their red and orange flashing lights illuminate the side of the parking garage as they zip past. When you've caught enough breath to continue on without passing out, you slip into the garage.

Of course, he would be the floor just below the top. If you thought your legs were burning before- you were wrong. Each step takes an impressionable amount of willpower, but the burning almost works better than the noise. That is until, you bring your eyes up from the concrete below and find Rio standing at the back of a black G-wagon, wearing a nicer black coat this time, black collared shirt, and black slacks. Jesus, he loves black. Just when you thought it couldn't get any harder to shove one foot in front of the other, your eyes lock with his dark ones.

"You're late.", he announces, his deep voice echoes off the mostly empty garage.

His hands are shoved into the pockets of his coat and the same hard expression is plastered on his face.

"It's a long walk.", you bat back.

He notices the empty look in your eyes, how they're not as fearful as they've been times before. Something about you was different.

"Ever heard of Uber?", he asks.

You scoff and shake your head.

"Yeah. Yeah, uh, that would require having a phone to call one.", you answer blankly.