Late and drunk...

This latest installment of the Rob & Maddy story comes courtesy of some inebriation. Apologies for any mistakes or errors that have come as a result of having a few too many drinks. But, rain or shine, drunk or sober, I am determined to not keep my readers waiting.

On another note, Blogger has been having some technical difficulties lately and I have noticed that the last Rob & Maddy post is missing. The forums state that this should be temporary, but I'm a little bit skeptical. I'll fix up the post order etc at a later date, if Blogger is unable to do so. Happy reading.

Rob and Maddy: 8
Tim Harvey

Rob saw the look in Maddy's eyes. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was bothering her, but he could tell that she was uneasy. He turned his head to see a group of huge looking thugs approaching them. At the centre of the group he saw James, beaten and battered, leading the thugs towards their position at the table.
Rob put his hand over Maddy's and stood. He gave her a weak smile and looked deeply into her eyes. He wanted to shout “run!” Rob seized her hand and took off into the crowd. She followed him, holding tightly onto his strong hand.
'Move,' Rob whispered into her ear as they ran through the crowds. The people seemed to shift aimlessly around them as they made their escape. Seeming to feel their apprehension, the crowd shifted around them like a fluid machine, letting them pass. When he looked over his shoulder, the crowd had shifted back to their original positions, blocking the path of James and his entourage.
Away from the food area, they ran. Darting and dashing through the mass of people. Rob felt a horrible weight in his chest. He felt like vomiting as he pushed and glided through the crush of bodies.
'In there!' Rob exclaimed to Maddy as he pulled her into an empty tent. It was a merchandise stall that had closed up shop earlier that day. There were a few t-shirts hanging from hooks in the walls of the tent.
A guy packing items of merchandise into a cardboard box gave them an awkward glance.
'Can we stay here for a bit?' Rob asked, his hand still firmly attached to Maddy's.
'Sure,' the guy said with a shrug, apparently noticing Rob's anxiety.
He packed his box and left the tent, and the couple, with a nod of approval.
'Thank you so much,' Maddy said as he left the tent. He gave them a brief smile that was both comforting and naïve.
Rob examined Maddy's terrified face and rested his hands on her upper arms. He felt warmth tingle through his body when she stopped shaking, at his touch.
'We're okay now,' Rob said.
'Sure?' Maddy asked. She had a wild look in her eyes that Rob wanted to subdue.
'They have no idea that we're here,' Rob said, trying to slow her racing heart.
He looked behind him, towards the tent flap and tried to listen for any hostile footsteps.
None came and he turned to Maddy, giving her his most comfortable smile.
Please feel hat we're safe, Rob thought. Please feel safe with me, he added in his mind, hoping that she could somehow read his thoughts.

With his hands on her arms, and his gentle words, Maddy felt at ease.
'I'm okay,' she said after taking a deep breath. She heard footsteps outside the tent and froze. If James and his thugs found them, they would surely give Rob the beating of a lifetime.
She pictured him, bloody and beaten on the floor of the tent and in her mind she knelt to comfort him. The ghastly image of Rob dying in the dirt sent a deep and strong shudder through her body.
Rob's hands on her arms helped to ease the shudder, but she was sure that he felt it too, as the footsteps passed the tent.
'Rob,' she exclaimed staring deeply into his eyes. She rested her palms against his heaving chest. The muscles under his shirt tensed and relaxed with every deep breath. After a moment of this awkward embrace, she felt his breathing deepen, but his heart rate decrease. He exhaled a long held breath and began to rub her upper arms with his thumbs.
'Rob,' Maddy repeated, her chest tightening. She felt his powerful grip on her arms, with an uneasy hesitation in his fingers. He stroked her arms with great difficulty. She could read it on his face.
'Maddy,' he managed to choke out. His breathing was erratic and he took deep breaths in through his nose, but intermittently let them out through his lips. His chest tightened under her gentle grasp and she pressed harder, feeling his powerful muscles contract with her touch.
'I'm sorry,' he whispered so quietly, so gently that she could have almost imagined it.
She stepped closer, pressing her chest against his torso. She wanted to let him be at ease. She brashly stroked his chest and pushed her chin out to him, beckoning a kiss. She needed him to calm down. She wanted him to feel at ease. His clear fright of the impending pain and terror that her ex boyfriend threatened was her fault.
She hoped he could feel comfortable, even just for a moment. They weren't going to beat her and she knew this. Rob knew this too and despite her physical contact, he couldn't calm down.

'Are they gone?' Rob asked stupidly. He felt like a child. His mother wasn't here to protect him from the bullies and he pressed against Maddy hoping for the same protection. It was a stupid idea, Rob decided. But he felt a warm comfort from her gentle pushing. He suddenly felt the desire to take it further. He wanted to shove his lips against hers in the darkened, abandoned tent.
'Yes,' Maddy replied. She seemed confident, but Rob was still residing in a whirlwind of terror and pain. He had imagined the thugs brutally beating at his body. Breaking his bones and fracturing his skull was just the beginning. Rob imagined his organs being split and perforated, leaving him rotting and decaying under their humiliating glares. His mind didn't usually drift to such dark places, but for some reason he had let the fear get the better of him.
Once, his father had a bout of deep anxiety, when he had lost his job. Rob was informed that the condition may be hereditary, but he never thought about it. Only in the face of such a terrible ending did Rob's mind revert to a childish fear of pain and torment.
'I'm here,' Maddy whispered gently into his ear. She pressed against him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He felt the rush of warmth roll through his body as he had when she hugged him in the pavilion. But this time, he felt warm tears roll down her cheeks.
Rob pulled away, just for a moment to inspect Maddy's face. She wore the concern of a mother that had lost her child. She clung to him trying to protect every fibre of his being. The look on her face said that she hoped that something pure could last in his threatened state.
He pulled her close and against his will, he kissed her on the head. Holding his head against hers, he repeated the kiss. Her hair was frizzy and red, but he gave her every ounce of affection that he could muster.
She saw his weakness. She saw right into his being and held him close. The fear and powerlessness that he felt consumed by was absorbed by her embrace. She took his fear and held it as her own. Rob pulled her tight, hoping to re-absorb that fear. He didn't want her to feel it.
After a long embrace, Rob realised that he could never take the fear back. She held it as her own, but his embrace was a symbol that it was to be shared. She bounced it back to him through her hands, stroking his back, and he bounced the remnants back to her, gently resting his head against her shoulder.
In the end, the fear and terror hand been bounced around so much that it had lost all of its power. Rob pulled back and smiled at Maddy. She offered a warm glance and a slight chuckle.
'What time is it?' Maddy asked.

Rob checked his phone and saw that it was almost six o'clock. Maddy had to stifle a gasp as they exited the tent. There was no sign of James and his thugs, and Maddy hoped that they wouldn't run into them again that night.
'We should head the the main stage,' Maddy said, practically.
Rob stared longingly into her eyes. He held a gaze of awe and empathy in his look and Maddy felt like curling up in his embrace.
'Maddy,' Rob began, causing her heart the race. 'Thank you.'
She felt her cheeks burn, deeper and harder than they had at any point that day. She stepped closer to him and gently stroked his powerful chest.
'No worries,' she whispered and placed her head gently against his chest. She felt a large, strong arm wrap around her body and a warm easy kiss on her head. She wondered if and when he would kiss her on the lips. Of course the situation in the tent had been rough, especially with him being the prime target for a gang of huge thugs. But she guiltily anticipated his warm soft lips pressing against hers.
Stupid, she thought. Imagine feeling as if you were going to be beaten to a pulp! She pressed against him and offered him the gentle support that she knew he needed. She would have offered him the kiss, but she knew that was a step that he would have to take on his own. She wanted it, but he would have to be the one to do it.
'Let's get to the stage,' Maddy said, pulling gently and easily away from Rob. She clasped his hand firmly and offered him the most seductive smile that she could muster considering the circumstances. He returned her smile with a weak one of his own. He was still shaken by the threat of pain.
Once they had reached the main stage, Rob and Maddy passed, hand in hand, through the security point and onto the sprawling lawn of the general admission area. They were in the prime position to see Arcade Fire live and they both couldn't wait.