By the time Collins left ten days later, most of Roger's violent tendencies were gone. Much to Mark's dismay, the rocker had discovered that he could easily lock himself in his room, and Mark couldn't get him out. Mark was trying to get Roger out of his room when the phone began to ring.
"Speeaak!"
"Mark, hey, it's Sue from Life Support. I'm about to bring-" Mark sprinted across the room, and picked up the phone.
"Hey Sue," he said as he caught his breath. "What can I do for you?"
"I lost the directions to your place, and I'm about to bring by some food for you both." Right as Mark was about to reply, the loft door slid open, and in came Maureen and Joanne.
"One second, Sue." Mark turned to his friends. "Could you try and get Roger out of his room?" he asked them.
"Oo! I bet I can get him out here!" Maureen exclaimed as she sauntered over to Roger's room. Rolling her eyes, Joanne followed so she wouldn't do something dumb.
"Sorry Sue."
"It's okay. Is this a bad time or something, because I can stop by a little later?"
"No, now's fine. Now's probably the best time for you to stop by. Let me give you some quick directions. Are you sure you don't want me to come by and get it or something?"
"I don't mind. Do you guys need anything at the store that I can pick up?" Mark glanced at Maureen and Joanne who were still trying to coax Roger out of his room.
"Do you have a screwdriver you could bring over?" Sue stopped to think.
"Yes I do, I'll bring it over." Mark gave Sue quick directions to the loft. "Thanks Mark. I guess I'll see you in about half an hour then. Bye."
"Bye Sue." Mark hung up the phone, and went to see how it was going with Joanne and Maureen.
"Come on honey, why don't you unlock the door?" Joanne asked in a soothing voice. "What if I make you a deal?" The trio heard Roger move closer to the door, so Joanne continued. "If you unlock this door, I'll take you out on the fire escape for some fresh air."
"Promise?" Roger asked. He sounded like a small child.
"I promise, now come on and unlock this door." The door unlocked, and swung open. Roger was in a tattered tank top and cut-offs. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow. Joanne took his arm, and gently led him towards the fire escape.
"Jo, put the piece of plywood over the exit, and sit on it," Mark called after the duo. Joanne nodded as she climbed out the window with Roger.
Mark went in Roger's room to clean up a little. Figuring she could help out, Maureen followed him. Mark busied himself with the clothes strewn across the floor, while Maureen made the bed. She noticed that the comforter on Roger's bed was Mark's. It wasn't freezing at night, but it was cool, and Mark got cold at night pretty easily. When Maureen brought this up to Mark, he waved off the comment.
"Roger's freezing one second, and burning up the next, so I gave it to him. It's really no big deal."
"Do you need an
extra blanket or something, because Pookie and I could bring you
some?"
"Thanks, but no thanks. We have plenty of blankets
around here."
Half an hour later, Sue arrived at the loft. Roger was still outside with Joanne. He was pacing back and forth muttering under his breath, while Joanne watched helplessly. Mark gave Sue a warm hug before Maureen took the bags of food from her.
"Thank you so much," he said. Maureen put the bags on the table.
"No problem." Sue looked over at Roger. "Is he always like that?" Mark looked at his boyfriend, and shook his head.
"Today's been a fairly good day. He locked himself in his room, which is why I need a screwdriver. I want to flip the lock on his door so we can lock him in and he can't lock us out."
"The screwdriver's in the bag with the food. Don't worry about giving it back, I have an extra at home."
"Thanks Sue." Sue gave Mark a hug. "Let me walk you down to your car." Sue gave in to Mark's kind offer, and the two left the loft.
When Roger saw that Mark was gone, he began to panic and sob openly.
"Marky? Where's Mark going?" he cried. Joanne got up, and gently took Roger's face in her hands.
"Shh, shh, it's okay honey. Mark will be right back."
"No, he's leaving me. I'm too much of a burden. He hates me. He's leaving just like Collins did!"
"Collins went to M.I.T. so you can Mark can have money. Mark's not leaving you, I promise you. Now calm down." Roger broke free of Joanne's grip, and went back to pacing.
Roger perked up the second the loft door slid open. He flew inside, and threw his arms around Mark's neck. Roger kissed the filmmaker roughly before burying his face in the nape of his neck. Mark gently stroked the larger man's hair before wrapping his arms around his shaking form.
"I'm here Rog. All I was doing was walking Sue to her car. Now come on, let's get you something to eat." Roger clung to Mark, refusing to let go of his lover. "What's wrong honey?"
"I'm freezing," Roger replied. Mark firmly rubbed his back.
"Let's get you into something warmer, and then we'll eat." As Joanne came inside, Mark led Roger to his room to change. She and Maureen silently heated up the spaghetti Sue had brought over.
The second Roger came out of his room in sweats and smelled the food, he bolted for the bathroom. The sound of him throwing up quickly followed. Mark rushed to his boyfriend's side, and gently rubbed his back until he was done emptying what little stomach contents he had. When Roger was done, he leaned against Mark, shaking uncontrollably.
"Do you want some soup or something?" Mark asked him in a worried tone. Roger shook his head.
"No, I just want to lie down, and get warm." Mark helped Roger to his feet, and led him to the duct tape covered couch.
Roger curled up on the couch, and closed his eyes. Mark got the pile of blankets off the rocker's bed, and covered him up before sitting down next to him. Right away, Roger rested his head in Mark's lap, and snuggled under the thick layer of blankets. Mark gently ran his fingers through his hair. Roger was soothed by his boyfriend's touch. Joanne came out of the kitchen, and offered Mark a plate of spaghetti. He politely declined. Joanne and Maureen took a seat across from him, each with a plate of food. Roger appeared to be asleep, and was muttering under his breath.
"How've you been Mark?" Joanne asked. Mark shrugged.
"Okay I guess; all things considered. It's been pretty stressful around here at times," he replied.
"When's the last time you picked up your camera to film or even edit some stuff?" Now Mark had to stop and think about Joanne's last question.
"Two, two and a
half weeks, why?"
Maureen said, "What if Pookie and I watch
Roger for a few hours so you could go out and film?" Mark stopped
running his fingers through Roger's hair, causing the rockers to
start moaning.
"Mark? Marky?" he mumbled.
"Shh, it's okay.
I'm right here baby." Roger took Mark's hand in his trembling
hand, and pressed it against his dry lips in an attempt to kiss his
lover before drifting back off to sleep. "I'm sorry you guys,
but I can't leave Roger alone with you both. You saw how he acted
when I left for only a few minutes. Plus, he can still be violent at
times. Maureen, you remember last time, don't you?" Maureen
nodded solemnly. "Thanks for the offer though."
"Let us
know if you change your mind," Joanne said; it was an order, not a
request. She and Maureen stayed for a little while longer before
leaving Mark alone with a fast asleep Roger.
Mark carefully got up, and woke Roger up. Roger groaned, and buried himself under the mass of blankets.
"Come on Rog, let's get you to bed." Roger stumbled off the couch with the blankets still wrapped around him. Mark put his hands on the rocker's shoulders, and steered him towards his room. Roger tumbled into his bed, and immediately closed his eyes. "Night Roger, I love you."
"Please don't got, sleep with me tonight," pleaded Roger. Unable to refuse, Mark crawled into bed, knowing full well that the rocker wanted someone's body heat. Sure enough, Roger pressed himself against Mark, and they both asleep in each other's arms.