Henry was on the verge of enacting the rescue mission when, after three days, Aster finally appeared at the coffee shop. He was waiting outside in the early morning fog, back against the brick wall. He was smoking his usual brand of cigarettes. Turning his head, Aster spotted Henry and smiled. Henry felt his stomach drop as he saw Aster's black eye. Looking around the parking lot, Henry walked past Aster and quickly unlocked the door before pulling Aster inside.
"What happened?" Henry couldn't help but reach out and brush his fingers against the purple yellowish skin above Aster's cheek. Aster turned away and stared at the floor.
"Thanks for opening the shop for me." Aster then pushed past Henry and headed toward his office. Henry grabbed his wrist and found Aster was trembling "I'm fine."
"You're not." Henry let go of Aster's wrist.
Aster's shoulders shook as he tried to hold back the sobs. The back of his throat burned. Tears overflowed and Aster couldn't stop them. He wiped at his eyes but they just kept coming. Suddenly warm strong arms were around him. Even though Aster knew Trenton would be furious, he let Henry hold him.
"Samantha will be here soon, let's go to your office." Henry said gently as he helped Aster toward his small office.
When Aster was sitting in his chair, Henry knelt beside him and took Aster's shaking hands in his own. Henry didn't know what to say. He wanted to ask questions. Demand answers. Mostly, he wanted to hold Aster and tell him that everything would be okay. However, he knew better. Everything wouldn't be okay. Aster was in over his head and Henry didn't know how to pull him out.
Aster wiped away the tears with his sleeve before taking a shuddering breath. He looked down at Henry and gave him a shaky smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks. I'm okay."
"Aster, what happened?" Henry asked softly.
"I can't tell you." Aster said. He chuckled darkly and put a finger to his lips. "It's a secret."
Henry's stomach clenched. He already knew too much. Still, he couldn't bring himself to tell Aster what he knew. Aster was doing his best to keep Henry safe. Clenching his jaw, Henry squeezed Aster's hands.
"If you need anything, anything at all, just ask." Henry then stood up and ruffled Aster's hair. "I'll help Samantha open up. Just rest this morning."
With that, Henry was gone and Aster was staring at a closed door. He let out a sigh and stared up at the ceiling. Soon, the smell of coffee seeped into the office and Aster was at peace for the first time in four days. Despite the discomfort of the office chair, Aster's exhausted body melted into the chair and he fell asleep.
Henry felt more at ease now that Aster was safely back in the coffee shop. Still, he knew that when the time came for Aster to return home, he'd be returning to Trenton. His head throbbed.
"Hey. Hello? Earth to Henry!" Samantha called out, waving her hand in front of Henry's face.
"Huh? What?" Henry blinked.
"I was asking you if Aster was back. You've been standing in front of his office for, like, five minutes." Samantha looked over Henry's shoulder to the closed door.
"Yeah. He's back, but he's not feeling too well." Henry sighed. Truth be told, he wasn't feeling too well either.
"Okay. Just come out and help me. The rush is about to start." Samantha turned and headed to the front of the shop. Henry had to get it together. Putting on his apron, he left to help Samantha.
Aster didn't leave his office till the morning rush had ended and there was a lull in customers. He stepped out of the back with a forced smile. He couldn't quite fake his usual peaceful demeanor. Samantha faltered when she saw the bruise around Aster's eye.
"Woah, boss, what happened?" She asked. "Did you get into a fight?"
"Kind of. You should see the other guy." Aster pushed himself to laugh despite wanting to throw up. "Just kidding. I fell while out for a hike. You should have seen this hill. Practically a mountain. It's amazing I didn't break something."
Samantha laughed. "You should be more careful."
"I will. Hey, Henry, do you have a second?" Aster asked, seemingly casual as ever.
"Yeah." Henry nodded to the back then followed Aster to his office.
"Do you have my keys on you?" Aster asked, leaning against his desk.
"M-hm." Henry nodded and fished the keys out of his pocket. He dropped them into Aster's hand and watched as Aster gripped the keyring tightly.
"Thanks for opening the shop for the past few days. It didn't interfere with your classes, did it?" Aster asked.
"Nope." Henry looked at the ground between them. In truth, he'd barely made it to several of his classes this past week. His mind had been elsewhere. That was why he couldn't look Aster in the eye.
"That's a relief." Aster let out a sigh. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I understand if you want a couple days off."
"No." Henry said, jaw tightening. Inconvenience? This went deeper and was more complex than a mere inconvenience. Still, despite the heavy workload recently, Henry found himself wanting to be with Aster. He needed to see with his own eyes that Aster was alive and breathing. Each day he'd been held in suspense was hell. "I'll be back this afternoon for my usual shift."
"Okay. You can head out now." Aster said, smiling. He seemed oblivious to Henry's feelings. That was good. Henry couldn't complicate things further with these unidentifiable emotions.
**
When Henry returned to the cafe, Aster was in the front wiping down tables. There was a singular customer dressed in a brown suit staring at Aster as he cleaned. Aster didn't seem bothered by it, so Henry clocked in like usual.
"Heya boss." Henry said as he stepped out of the back, tying his apron.
"Henry!" Aster jumped as he heard his employee's voice. "Sorry, you just startled me."
"No worries." He said, walking up to Aster. "What can I do?"
"Go in back and take stock of the pantry. Since I've been gone for a few days, I need to know what to order." Aster said, nodding to the back.
"You've got it." Henry said, once again eyeing the customer who was now inspecting his drink.
When Henry was in the back, he checked the order logs and the current stock. It was something he had done a hundred times, so why did it feel like Aster was trying to get rid of him? He shook his head. The bell above the door rang and then Aster came into the back of the shop. He looked shaky.
"Hey, you okay?" Henry asked, walking over to Aster.
"Yeah. Peachy." Aster lied.
In truth, everything was getting to him. Not only was he being sexually tortured by Trenton, he was under near-constant surveillance. More than anything, the thing that haunted Aster the most was that he had begun to give in to Trenton. He shook his head, trying to bring himself out of the memories.
