Happiness is a Myth

Chapter 2

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The pain radiating from Link's side forced him to pause before entering the office he shared with Rhett. Link has gotten into the habit of putting cold water-soaked hand towels on his bruises because he read somewhere that it reduces the risk of them spreading. He wanted to go in and do that in their shared 'boss bathroom' but the last time he stayed there for more than 5 minutes, Rhett made him regret it. He can still hear his angry shouts and comments in his head.

He turned on his heel and headed towards one of the staff restrooms instead. It was odd but at least no one will yell at him there. He stood in front of the sinks and stared at the already black and blue bruise blossoming on his side. Link thought to himself in disbelief: 'Why does it look like I've been in an accident? How hard can Rhett pinch?'

He moved his shirt a little bit higher so he can concentrate on nursing his bruises with the cold towels. He closed his eyes to take a few deep breaths to center himself. He knew that he was falling apart even though he can't afford it. People around him needed him and he can't be selfish now. He was going through the list he just read on his phone to distract himself from the pain when the restroom door opens, making him flinch. Link cursed himself. He should've locked the door..

David Hill did not react to the disturbing scene before him. He calmly went to the furthest sink from his boss and silently looked at the colors decorating his exposed torso through the mirror while washing the dirt from his hand and shirt.

Link slowly lowered his shirt, praying to God that David doesn't start a conversation over what he saw. He was a lousy liar and they all know it.

He resoaked the towel to take it with him and when he turned to leave, David finally spoke up: "Who did that to you?"

Link chuckled awkwardly at him: "You know how clumsy I can be.."

David turns to glare at him: "Last time I checked, we don't have hands laying around the set that you can land on.."

Link hated himself and Rhett at that moment. He sounded like one of those abuse victims and he didn't want to play that role ever in his life. Rhett's hand prints cannot be justified with any lie he can come up with. That's why he resorted to wearing long sleeves and baggy clothes to cover his body.

Link drops the act and says: "I don't have to explain myself to you, David. Thank you though.. for asking.."

With one last grateful smile, Link flees the restroom leaving David with a worried frown on his face.

An hour later, Rhett was tapping his nails on the wooden table, waiting for Link to show up. His patience is about to snap any moment. Rhett feels that lately Link has been deliberately trying to piss him off any chance he gets. From breathing too hard to pushing all his buttons. The smaller man feels like a giant sore spot to Rhett.

He sees Jenna rushing in, wringing her hands like she's afraid to say something. He snaps at her: "Where is he?"

She looks worriedly at Stevie before replying to Rhett: "He's sleeping on the couch in your office. I tried waking him up.."

Rhett groans loudly and storms out of the set. Stevie rushes after him, followed by a frowning David. He is not that close to his bosses but he couldn't shake what he saw an hour ago from his mind.

Rhett bangs the office door open, causing Link to snap awake with a gasp: "Wah?"

Rhett grabs the closest thing to him, which happened to be a glass cup and throws it across the room, causing it to smash into small pieces: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

Link looks around in confusion. Stevie sees how disoriented he is and pushes Rhett out of the way and stands between them: "Rhett, calm down!"

The taller man points at Link, who's rubbing his head and trying to get his brain to start: "Don't you dare defend him, Stevie! He's been careless and fucking up everything he does for the past few months! We have a job to do!"

Stevie pushed Rhett away and said in a calming voice: "Lower your voice. It's not a big deal. We still have time to shoot the episode."

She turns to look at Link as he tries to stand and wavers in his spot. She screams his name and instinctively tries to catch him when his eyes roll at the back of his head and he starts to fall. She manages to hold his head before he cracks it open on the ground and gently taps his cheek: "Link.. Link.. come on.. Open your eyes!"

Rhett sighs loudly at his friend and throws his hands in the air, frustrated and pissed that he has to deal with this. Stevie glares at him: "Stop being a jerk! Come help me lift him up."

Rhett crosses his arms and glares back: "He's just acting! Throw some cold water on his face or something.."

Link groans as he wakes up and rubs his head. He was so dizzy. Stevie helps him sit up and rubs his back: "Are you ok? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

Link reaches out to grab the couch's cushion to steady himself: "No.. It's fine. I just got up too fast."

Rhett scoffs, loud enough for them to hear: "Drama queen.."

Stevie sends a glare at Rhett as Link tries to think of a way to get up without fainting again. He was so light headed but didn't want to say anything. Rhett says: "Are we done here? Can we go do our jobs now, princess?"

Link looked up to glare at his friend but sensed something warm on his lip. He reaches up to touch it and sees his fingers were covered in blood. A few more drops travel past his lips and splash on his jeans as his brain tries to understand what he's seeing. He whispers: "My nose is bleeding.."

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