Chapter 6: Rain in Your Eyes

"Pst, hey Bernard, you…"

"Yeah, I noticed." The chef whispered back to his coworker. He didn't have to wait for him to him to know what he wanted to say, as it was rather obvious and completely different from what they were used to in their daily repetitive schedule. "He's been pacing back and forth all morning, like he's waiting for some-"

"Bernard."

"Y-Yes chef!" Bernard quickly turned to look at his boss Vincent, trying his best not to look like he was sweating bullets. He had not been here for too long, at least not as long as some other veteran chefs here, but he was at least here for enough time to know if Vincent ever approached you in the middle of work, it could either mean two things-trouble or disaster. It rarely ever meant something good, as he usually left you alone to your work and would only step in when you messed up, and everyone here knew he did not like his employees messing up.

However, both he and his coworker Denis took good one look at Vincent and could tell their boss wasn't like his usual self today. Instead of a collected, occasionally pissed off chef that looked like he wanted to give up on life sometimes, they saw a nervous, almost antsy man with his arms crossed and a body that seemed as though it could not stop moving, otherwise he would get even more overwhelmed than he already was. Even his voice was unlike how it normally was. The calm, monotone voice that he usually carried was now replaced by one that wavered as he spoke.

"Did you see Rody come in yet?"

Bernard and Denis shot each other a quick glance, and both of them could just catch that the other person had the exact same thought. Bernard almost couldn't hold back a snicker so Denis jumped in to answer Vincent instead, before they were both yelled at. "No, chef."

"Damn it." Vincent gritted his teeth, becoming even more frustrated than before.

Bernard knew this could be the end of him, but curiosity got the best of him. "Chef, may I ask why-you wanted to ask about Rody-"

"Well, those dishes aren't going to serve themselves now, are they?"

"U-Understood, chef!"

Bernard and Denis both scurried back to their work, both very well aware that one more push and it would not go well for them, or the rest of their coworkers. But that was not until they exchanged another glance, giggling to each other as they both knew what the other was thinking-it probably wasn't the real reason Vincent was so anxious about Rody's arrival. And they were right, but for the wrong reason.

During his entire life, Vincent had spent many sleepless nights before, but not for a person, especially not someone like Rody. However, turned out he could be sleepless for someone like Rody, from the way he couldn't fall asleep despite having lied in his bed for hours last night. One night had never felt so long to Vincent before. Each waking second was long like an eternity and each minute he failed to sleep was torturous. He squeezed his eyes shut, tossed himself back and forth, pulled the cover over his head, did some work to tire himself out, took deep breaths… yet nothing worked, and his mind refused to shut up, specifically about Rody and what just transpired just a hour before when the party just ended. His thoughts, they kept on running, they wouldn't stop, they were all filled with Rody, and they kept reminding him of what would've happened if Vincent had not snapped out and pushed Rody onto this very bed he was curled up on. Those thoughts, they were too much, and moreover, they were not of Vincent, at least that was what he wanted to tell himself. Something was wrong with him, the Vincent Charbonneau he worked so hard to maintain would not dare let them have the chance to even manifest. The Vincent Charbonneau he knew was a man of ambitions, not someone who would meddle with such minor, silly little matters. The only thing that helped put him to sleep was reassuring himself that tomorrow morning, he would look Rody in the eyes and said he was purely just upset, that it was a mistake, and he was terribly sorry.

Except, it was tomorrow morning, and Rody had yet to be seen.

"He's just late again", Vincent told himself, so he waited, and waited. One minute went by, no problem at all, it was only one minute. Three minutes, he must be on his way here. Five minutes, he should be arriving any minute now… right?

Before Vincent knew it, it had been fifteen minutes, and still no sight of Rody. Vincent kept pacing back and forth with his arms crossed, constantly mumbling to himself as though to distract himself from all the intrusive thoughts telling him every possibility of why this could be horribly, horribly wrong. To his employees right now, he must look like a crazy person, which was absolutely not an image he ever wanted to present, but he couldn't care less when all he could wonder about was Rody's whereabouts. Was Rody just running very late like last time? Was he sick? At home? On the street? Got into an accident? Should Vincent call him to make sure? Or should he not, in case Rody was afraid of him now? Or even hated his guts-

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the opening sound of the door. Whipping his head around towards the backdoor of the building, he saw Rody at last, standing at the doorway with the same stupid messy hair and that stupid little face.

"Morning, sorry I-"

Before Rody could finish his sentence, he was cut off by two hands slamming on his shoulders so forcefully that he almost stumbled from it. As he tried to balance on his two feet again, he caught a glimpse of Vincent's face and he nearly let out a gasp of surprise. Vincent's widened eyes were locked with his, his hands squeezing his shoulders like he was afraid Rody was going to run away, and he was letting out quiet yet heavy breathing as he struggled to speak.

"M-Morning Vince?" Rody chuckled as an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, especially when he could feel the entire staff room's attention on them. Whether that worked or not, Vincent did let out a gasp as though he just snapped out of a trance before swiftly letting go of Rody and adjusting his posture.

"Ah, erm, good morning, Rody." Vincent maintained his gaze on Rody, his face emotionless as ever, but Rody could somehow tell there was something else going in those deep dark eyes of his. "Mind explaining why you were fifteen minutes late?"

"I uh-" Rody looked away, scratching his head and smiling sheepishly. "I overslept haha-"

Normally, if someone ever told Vincent that with a straight face, every staff would fear for that person's employment and their very life. But since it was Rody, they were just shaking their head and chuckling to themselves because they knew Rody would be fine, and they would be correct.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood today." Vincent groaned into his palm as he lied through his teeth, pretending to be disappointed when he actually felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "You'd better get ready for work now, you're already so late-"

"Well, actually-" This time it was Rody who interrupted Vincent. "I came here to say I quit."

Vincent wasn't sure what happened to him, but he felt like his entire existence just froze right there. His body. His mind. His heart.

His soul.

"Pardon-?" His mind went from silent to running on multiple train of thoughts at once in a matter of seconds. Out of all the things he thought might happen today, this was definitely not on the list. Although, should he have expected it, considering what just happened last night? Struggling to maintain his upright posture with a quivering body, he stared at Rody in disbelief. That stupid face of his, he looked so unbothered. Those stupid eyes of his, they were still as glaring bright as ever. Those moles, they were still sitting cutely there on his cheeks. And those stupid lips of his, on it was a smile. Stupid Rody, how could he be smiling while Vincent's heart was crumbling inside? Why? Why so sudden? Vincent desperately wanted to beg and ask what was wrong, but on the other hand, he felt like he should've seen this coming.

Was this what Rody felt when Manon ended their relationship? Was Vincent finally seeing why Rody was still so hung over her?

"I quit, I uh-" Rody glanced away again as he chuckled, but this time in a rather apologetic way. "You said this was a temporary replacement for someone, remember?"

Time seemed to have stopped around Vincent as it dawned on him. Yes, how could he forget this was how this all started. Vincent put up a hiring sign for a temporary position for a waiter, and shortly after, Rody came into his office, looking extremely nervous. Just one glance from the resume and Vincent already made up in his mind that he was going to reject this person, but it all changed when his eyes locked with Rody's. Those eyes that looked anxious yet were filled with ambitions and love, they captivated Vincent in a way he couldn't describe, and as though hypnotized by them, Vincent accepted him before he even realized he had gotten himself into-this inevitable moment.

"I know I'm supposed to give you my two weeks but you've been seeming pretty antsy and uptight lately, so-" Rody laughed whole-heartedly, but all Vincent could hear is sadness. "You're probably waiting for someone more qualified for the position."

Vincent's heart stung with guilt at Rody's words. All this time, he thought it was going to last. All this time, he put Rody under the assumption that he was unwanted here, that he was only a replacement, and now he was even hesitating to tell Vincent that he was leaving, like he thought he had to.

Vincent couldn't remember the last time he called himself a fool, but he was sure he was going to remember this time for many years to come.

"Well, the position's still available if you need." It took Vincent a few seconds of silence before he could find his voice, but even then he almost choked on his own words. He crossed his arms but it definitely lacked the confidence he always exuded. Instead, it was as though he was trying to make himself smaller to hide from the world, from everyone else, from his own thoughts, and from Rody. "You sounded… fairly desperate when you first asked to work there."

"Yeah, and you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Rody gave him the biggest grin ever, and somehow it just pained Vincent more, along with his heart that felt as though it was going to jump out of his chest at any time. That grin that he always thought as dumb, he couldn't believe he wouldn't ever get to see it again.

Vincent just sighed heavily. He couldn't see it coming but this was probably the end, and it was time to accept it. Ah, what was strange about this anyway? Not like he didn't have to bid goodbye to plenty of people in the past who suddenly decided they wanted nothing to do with him anymore, leading to him having no expectations for any of his later relationships, romantic or not. And that definitely wasn't what he suspected was the cause behind his loveless cooking, one of them at least. Except, this time it was all his damn fault. He brought this upon himself, and now he must accept the foreseeable conclusion to it.

"Do you like the meals at least?" Exhausted from all the emotions inside him, he thought this was the least he could ask, to ease his mind and to care for Rody one last time.

"Huh?" Rody raised an eyebrow, and Vincent quickly corrected himself.

"The-The leftovers."

"Oh!" Rody nodded happily. "I'll reheat the rest tonight for sure, it's pretty bitter though."

Vincent sighed once again, but this time at himself. He had this one short chance and he couldn't even do it right. What a failure of a chef, he grimaced.

"Right." Vincent straightened up himself once again. The least he could do right now was to look presentable. "Wait here, I'll go get your pay."

He turned on his heels, even though it felt like he was staggering from each step and his legs felt like they wanted to stay and make this moment last as much as he could. He wanted to buy some time, to say goodbye for longer, but he knew he had to do it, so he would rather rip his heart out and went against what it hoped for, rather than following it and risked making it harder to part ways. You idiot, Vincent scolded himself as he walked further and further away with heavy steps. This isn't even anything that serious, he's just an employee and people come and go, there's no reason to make this so dramatic. It's not like someone died.

No, someone did die today, and it was his hope that he never thought he had for this short-lived relationship.

That was, until he heard snickering behind him, followed by a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Vince!" Rody looked like he was holding back laughter but failing miserably. "Where are you going?"

"To… get your pay? For this week?"

The more Vincent raised his eyebrow, the less Rody could control himself, and slowly but surely, the snicker turned into full-blown hysterical laughter. Vincent couldn't help just staring at Rody in the most confused, flabbergasted, dumbfounded look his chronically deadpan face muscles could ever muster up.

"W-What's going on?"

"V-Vince! Oh my god! Boss!" Rody was struggling to stand on his two feet now, to the point he looked like he could just fall to the floor laughing. "I was joking!"

All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the room felt so much lighter, Vincent not even being aware of the pending gloom looming over everyone present just a second ago. Some chefs actually couldn't help chuckling along with Rody from the contagious energy, meanwhile Vincent just stood there, like a goddamn fool he said he was. The only thing he could do was to held his hand up to Rody's forehead and flicked it, hard, as it was the only way he could hold his millions of emotions back from being unleashed all at once. There was too much and trying to sort through all of them would be too exhausting right now, especially with everyone around.

"Ow!" Rody exclaimed, holding his forehead while still trying to compose himself. "Hey, what for?"

"For whatever you just did there." Vincent wasn't even sure if his voice sounded upset, annoyed or sad. Or perhaps it was all of them.

"I can't"-Rody let out a long, breathless wheeze-"I can't believe you fell for it, Vince!"

"What do you even mean by that?" Vincent said, refusing to stop his deadpan, borderline annoyed stare on Rody.

"I mean-" It was only now that Rody managed to calm down. "You don't seem to be the kind of person to fall for, how do I say it, pranks like that?"

"That wasn't a prank, Rody." Vincent groaned as he pinched his nose. "You just-You can't say 'I quit' and expect me to take it as a joke. Of course I'm going to take it seriously!"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean it like that, I-" Rody glanced away and rubbed his chin, as though unsure how to word his thoughts. "I mean, like, I didn't think you'd care that much."

The annoyed expression on Vincent turned into a surprised one, tilting his head as he spoke. "What-do you mean, I'd not care?"

"Well, erm-I thought you'd just-uh, like, you'd just tell me 'okay' and leave or something. Because… like I said, I'm just a temporary replacement, yeah?"

Vincent just stood there in silence, his gaze down the floor and bit his lips, as if that same sense of guilt was coming back. It took him a good moment to look up again with the same indifferent face he always wore, although this time Vincent could tell there was a hint of… relief?

"Yes, but it doesn't mean I don't value your work."

"Eh-?" It was now Rody's turn to be taken off guard.

"Rody, just because you wouldn't be here for long, doesn't mean you don't matter." Vincent locked eyes with Rody as he spoke, a perplexed expression in his eyes that Rody couldn't decipher, but still left him with many questions and wonders. "It-doesn't mean I'd not care if you quitted. Yes, I've talked about how I wouldn't care less if you, or anyone else for that matter, dropped dead right in front of my goddamn eyes, but-did you think I really meant that? Of course I'd care if you were late. Of course I'd care if you didn't show up to work. And of course… I'd care if you quitted. I wouldn't make you stay, but I wouldn't, like, dismiss you or anything, like you were nothing-"

Before Vincent could realize it, he was already out of breath and gasping for air. For some odd reason, saying all of that nearly took all of his energy, and he found it hard to stand up straight. Perhaps it was because he was finally letting out all these thoughts, all these emotions that he had held up inside. Even if it was only for a minute, it felt like hours had passed, and they were slowly eating him up inside before he was even aware it was happening. With his eyes down with his hand on his chest, it was a complete mystery on what Rody's face looked like, what expression he had on his face and what thoughts were possibly going on his head. That was, until he heard his voice.

"See, this is why I've decided to stay."

Vincent stared at Rody, who had on his signature stupid grin that looked as though it had not a care in the world. "Come again?"

"Well the thing was, that 'prank' had some truth in it." Rody chuckled almost remorsefully, looking away as he fiddled with his collar. "When I applied for this job, I also planned for this to be temporary, just one week in and I'm gone, you know? But… I've grown to like this place, and you, Vince."

Rody paused to leaned in closer in a teasing manner to Vincent, who immediately took a step back against his body's will. "Since you said the position's available if I needed it, guess I'm staying a little longer. Plus I can't pass up on the free food now, can I?"

As though it was a learned mechanism, Vincent quickly turned away and slammed a hand over his mouth as an attempt to hide away the blush slowly creeping on his cheeks. God, how he absolutely despised this guy. Where did he learn this? When did he turn from a desperate guy desperate for a job at Vincent's office, to a stupid little tease? And why was Vincent not willing to let him go?

Before he could have a moment of peace at last after the storm had passed, a realization crossed him and he involuntarily let out a gasp-now that Rody was here, it was time to tell him what had been on his mind since last night. How could he have lost track of his original intention, the very reason he had anticipated Rody's arrival, and all of a sudden, he felt too afraid to.

C'mon, Vincent, it's just a few words, he urged himself, but his mouth felt dry, his throat felt like it was about to close up and his hands felt sweaty. It didn't feel this nerve-wracking when he thought of doing this, yet with Rody standing there in front of him with those stupid carefree eyes of his, Vincent couldn't help gulping. Damn it, why was he so anxious? He couldn't even bother to worry about his exams back in college, because he knew he would do well, and he was right about that as he always came out with one of the highest, if not the highest grades in his class. And he wasn't even nervous meeting with the most well-known critics in the country, because he was sure in the end, the article would be overridden with overwhelmingly positive words about his techniques and skills. Yet, right now, after having established his place in the culinary world, after so many encounters with a wide variety of people, he was sweating bullets while trying to tell his waiter, who always seemed like the world could end and he would be wondering what was for dinner, about how he was sorry for his mistake? However, hesitant or not, he knew if he didn't take this chance, he would never be able to make it right again.

"Rody"-Vincent took in a deep breath-"I just want to let you know, that scared the living hell out of me because I thought you weren't coming in because of… that."

Rody tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Hm?"

"T-That thing-"

Rody raised his eyebrow even more, on his face an intrigued look. "What thing, Vince?"

"Like-Yesterday-"

At this point, it had caught the attention of a few chefs, but they didn't think much of it and were mostly just focused on their own work.

"Do I really have to spell it out?" Vincent groaned as the curious look on Rody slowly morphed into an almost confused one.

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about-"

"What happened last night in my bedroom, you idiot!"

Now this certainly had caught the attention of not just one, not two, but every chef there. The busy kitchen immediately fell into an eerie silence, which was only broken why the sound of a metal spatula falling, and Rody could feel the eyes of every single person present there on him, so much that it gave him chills down his spine.

"O-Oh, that!" Rody's embarrassment was evident in the way he stuttered and how he wasn't sure what to do with his hands. One moment they were on his hips, another moment one was behind his head. "I-uh-It's-It's n-nothing, I-"

"'Nothing'?" Vincent shot a look of disbelief at Rody. "It wasn't 'nothing', you were-clearly scared. I-I was upset, it was a mistake and it's all on me. For that, please… let me give you an apology-"

"Vincent!" Vincent barely finished his sentence before Rody grabbed his shoulders like he wanted to shake Vincent into his sense. "Seriously, d-don't worry about it! I'm… I'm also sorry for it, I invaded your privacy. It's okay, I mean it!"

He, in fact, did not mean it. Otherwise, he would've had any wink of sleep at all. He wouldn't have tossed back and forth in his bed for hours, struggling to fall asleep, and therefore he wouldn't have been late to work, but Vincent didn't need to know that, just like how he also didn't need to know in some sick twisted way, Rody didn't hate it.

However, the people that seemingly needed to know were his coworkers, who, for the entire shift, did not stop at any chance to ask what in the ever living world they were talking about. Rody's simple answer to that was, he accidentally snooped in Vincent's room-if you could even "accidentally snoop"-and Vincent got upset at him. That was all. Thankfully. Hopefully.

Oh well, he couldn't be concerned with it when he had a date to set up.

With a tiny bit of convincing, he managed to get his early pay for this week from Vincent, who, despite still slightly pissed off from his prank, agreed to it on the condition that at the end of the month, he would only get three-week worth of salary instead of four. So now, he was in the phone booth and putting in Manon's number in with the biggest, most excited smile he had ever had in this entire week. The night was still young, he already had somewhere special in mind, the only thing left was to call Manon and finally hear her voice again after so long.

"This should be enough…" Rody mumbled to himself, a nervous but stupidly happy grin on his face as he waited as the phone rung. Each second felt so long, and with each second, Rody could feel his heart beat increased more and more until at last, the same familiar voice was heard from the other end.

"Hey Manon!" Rody couldn't hide the absolutely joy in his voice, to the point that it was almost shaking. "I know you said we should take a break and all-But I was thinking maybe we could get dinner somewhere. Your choice! I wanted to say sorry and-"

Before he was done talking, he was interrupted by Manon's perplexed voice.

"W-What do you mean, what am I on about? Didn't you say that you wanted to take a break? You know, to clear your mind?"

What Manon told him next made him go quiet, as well as everything else around him. All he knew existed were Manon, himself and his own thoughts.

"Manon, d-don't joke like that! Y-You know that's not true, you told me yourself! Remember?"

"Why am I still trying? Because I thought it was a-I thought we were still-"

"What do you mean, I don't get it…"

"Manon! I'm doing this for you! Everything I've been doing is for you! Of course I get it!"

"That's not what you mean? Then what are you-"

"Manon, you're all that I have…"

"I don't understand… Why am I not allowed to love you?"

"No, wait! Manon! F-Forget dinner, can I just-ask to see you? Can we talk this through? Surely there's a way-"

"Goodbye."

Manon's words rung in the chilling silence, and before Rody could get another word in-

Click.

Vincent halted in his steps and glanced up at the sky. One drop turned into two drops. Two drops turned into three drops, and three drops turned into a thousand little droplets of rain. He just sighed, opened his umbrella and continued walking back to his apartment.

It was a beautiful night he was walking under. The normally busy sounds of the streets were now replaced the calming sound of tiny droplets hitting the top of his umbrella. As he strolled quietly under the falling rain, his reflection visible underneath him on the sidewalk, he let his mind wander. Being the alone here in this tranquil night, there was no pressure to maintain his appearance. There was no fear that his weakness would be discovered. There was no need to pretend. There was no one else here besides him, his thoughts and the dim illumination of the streetlights.

Before he was aware of it, his mind had drifted to that fateful day, the day Rody poked his stupid little head in the restaurant, completely soaked. He wasn't sure how that happened, perhaps it was because that day, it was also raining, or because for the past week, every one of his thought was filled with his image.

They were filled with how those eyes were always so glaringly bright, as though they had not a thought behind them.

They were about that dumb, nonchalant smile he carried all the time on his lips.

They could not stop thinking about that messy, unkempt head of hair that never looked like it was combed for even a day.

They couldn't forget the shape of his, standing afar with his hair cutely swaying with his clumsy movements as he barely managed to catch up with every client present in the restaurant.

In fact, his shape were so imprinted in his mind that he almost could see it there right in front of his eyes, not too far from where he was standing.

Wait-Huh? Vincent let out a gasp before shaking his head back to reality. After blinking and rubbing his eyes multiple times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating-and he rarely ever second-guessed himself on what he saw-it was confirmed. That was indeed Rody, standing under the rain without anything to cover himself.

Even with a blurry view of him, Vincent could tell something was terribly wrong with him. The carefree energy he usually exudes even at the worst of circumstances, it was gone. With his back leaning against the phone booth, his head was down, his hair that was now completely drenched under the rain was covering his entire face. His hands were crossed, his entire body curled up, and his fingers were digging into his arms, as though he was trying to hide himself from the world. He could not care the rain was pouring on his body, soaking his clothes and hair to the point it was sticking to his skin. He was just… there, motionless, with not a care about anything else happening around him, or what could happen to him.

Blue. His shape, it was blue. A dark, gloomy blue.

"Rody!" Vincent's scream echoed through the quiet night, his heels making tiny pitter patter sound as they run across the dampened sidewalk. As though he couldn't hear a thing, there was no reason from Rody, not even a flinch. It wasn't until Vincent placed a hand on his shoulder that Rody seemed to finally notice with a weak shudder. As though afraid to look up, it took him a long while to do so, and when Vincent got to see his face at least, his heart felt like it was shot through by an arrow. Those eyes of him that Vincent would often describe as being too stupidly innocent for this world, they were dull. There was no life in them, like someone had snatched the spark in them away and left him a husk of the person he once was. And even through his drenched face, Vincent could make out the tears in his eyes, his eyes red like he had been crying for who knew how long.

"I…" He muttered under his breath. Even though he had come to, his mind seemed to only catch up now. "V-Vincent? What are you doing here-"

"I should be asking that." Vincent leaned in closer to Rody and said straight into his face, panic clearly visible in his voice. This time, however, he didn't even bother to hide it. "What the fuck are you standing here for? You're completely soaked!"

Like he just realized he was indeed drenched in the rain, he looked down, touched his shirt and stroked his hair before chuckling, even though it was missing the happy and mischievous ring in it. In fact, he sounded like he was barely holding back tears. "Oh… haha… Sorry, you shouldn't be seeing me like this…"

As though instincts kicked in, Vincent couldn't care any less about staying dry any longer. Using both hands, he gripped Rody's shoulders tightly, so tight Rody nearly stumbled over, the umbrella making a splashing sound as it landed onto the puddle on the street. Letting out a small gasp, Rody widened his eyes as Vincent closed the distance between them, their face inches away. Rody could feel Vincent's hot breath on him as the cold rain soaked them both, droplets of water running down Vincent's fair skin, tracing his jawline, kissing his eyelashes like dews of the early morning and messing up his usually perfect hair.

Under the rain, Vincent looked imperfect, yet to Rody, he looked perfect in a light he had never seen Vincent in. It was perfect because he was imperfect.

"What in the world are you apologizing for?" Vincent whispered, his tone low and deep. "You're standing here under the rain, alone, drenched, looking like you're actually dead, and you're apologizing to me?"

Rody breathed heavily as Vincent's eyes locked with his. He wanted to turn away. Letting Vincent see him in this state was simply too shameful for him to handle, yet for some reason, he wasn't able to. Not when those deep, dark eyes filled with such complex emotions were too irresistible to ignore.

"I..." Out of habit, he almost said sorry again. But if he couldn't apologize, what else could he say? He tried to talk, but it was as if the words were stuck in his throat. "But I-"

"Save that for later-" Vincent turned to pick up his umbrella and nudged the bag of grocery up over his elbow. "You're coming back with me."

"What-Why-" Rody pushed himself off the phone booth both in a confused and frantic way. "Seriously, I'm okay, you don't need to-"

Vincent didn't wait for Rody to finish his sentence before grabbing his shirt.

"You think I believe that? Well too bad, I don't." Vincent pulled Rody under the umbrella with him and practically dragged him along. "If you're going to lie through your teeth like that, at least do it while you're dry and not standing under the damn rain by yourself."