Fear is acid.

Acid that is eating away his insides.

His breath puffed up into the black sky. Thomas looked down over the ledge, into the darkness that is the river underneath. The height gives him vertigo and he lurched, hands gripping tightly on the railings behind him. He takes a deep breath, the cold night air biting into his lungs. The blaring honks of vehicles startled him and he craned his neck to look behind. A lorry was swerving wildly on the road behind him, dangerously close to crashing into the surrounding cars. As he watched, the vehicle righted itself, moving straight as it should. Perhaps the driver had momentarily fallen asleep…

Dangerous blunders.

Blunders that bring about heavy consequences.

He bites his lower lip, tears b in his eyes. That’s what he did. He made careless mistake. A mistake so stupid it’s juvenile. And now he has landed his company in a 300 million debt.

Despairing at the thought, Thomas looked back into the cold abyss underneath him. His insurance should pay off his parents nicely.

He is almost glad he never got married. At least he won’t be abandoning a wife, or worse, a child. His breath was now coming in short sobs. He wished at least to have a chance at building a family. But now, that was never meant to be…

He’s fully crying now, sinking into his knees, closing over the edge. His hands tightened even harder on the fence behind him. He tries to gather the resolve to let go. There is honestly no way to fix his mistake. There’s no repairing the damage.

He squeezes his eyes shut, tears streaming and nose running. His grip weakens and Thomas feels his fingers slip.

He sighs and pitches forward.

Hup!

His descent was interrupted, shirt collar seized tight around his neck. Someone had grabbed the back of his shirt and was screaming at him. Choking and in panic, Thomas’s eyes flew open.

The deep waters seemed to loom up to him. Terrified, his already rapid heart-rate skyrocketed. Thomas flailed and kicked about, unable to scream due to his restricted windpipe. He coughed and made a grab behind him, struggling for purchase on the rails again. But his wild movements have him now precariously swinging over the ledge.

Whoever it was holding him back found strength to somehow haul his entire weight back up and over the fence, dragging him back to the safety of pavement on the other side. The grip was released and Thomas doubled over, coughing and trying to breathe. He’s hyperventilating and feels just about ready to faint.

A person materialised in his blurred vision, gripping his arms and shouting something in his face. He felt fingers loosening his collar and hands soothingly rubbing up and down his back. He slowly calmed down, taking in deep slow breaths. The lightheaded feeling fades and he hears a man softly speaking to him.

“That’s right, in.. and out. Nice and slow.”

His vision clears and he sees the owner. A pale-faced man stared at him with haunted eyes, looking almost as out of breath as he feels. Thomas wiped the saliva and snot off of his face, ashamed and frustrated. He pushed the man’s hands away.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He croaked weakly, eyes shining. His tears were threatening to spill again and he doesn’t want this stranger to see him cry. The man gazed at him piercingly, sending chills down Thomas’s spine. He then pulled out tissues from his pocket and handed them wordlessly over to him, not breaking eye contact.

Thomas averted his gaze. His hands were shaking as he reached out to receive the tissues. He couldn’t tell if it was due to the adrenalin rush or the way the guy was glaring at him. Maybe it’s just him being morbid, but there was something frightening about the way this stranger was regarding him. Thomas involuntarily shivered.

“Are you cold?” Dumb question. Of course he’s cold. They’re by the roadside on a bridge above a river in the dead of the night, hair and clothes roughly tousled by the biting wind. Thomas flexed his fingers. Hell, they’ve gotten numb. He struggles to get back onto his feet.

The man catches his arm. Startled, Thomas froze and looked up at his face. “My name’s Andrew.” He’s smiling now, and whatever scary feature that Thomas found earlier vanished completely. “Have you eaten?”

As if on cue, Thomas’s stomach growled hungrily. Andrew laughed and it sounded like sunshine tickling his ears.

“Where do you live?”

~

“Please, come in.” Andrew politely bowed and moved past him. “Pardon the intrusion.”

Thomas wonders if he’s gone mad. This man saved him, yes, but he’s still a stranger. And now he’s welcoming the said stranger into his house.

A flash of realisation hit him and he frowned. Oh, right. Of course the man would ask for a reward or some sort of compensation. Well too bad for him, Thomas is totally broke. And soon, he will lose this house too.

While he was dwelling in his bitter thoughts, Andrew had made himself at home. He rolled up his sleeves and made a beeline for the kitchen. He checked the fridge and pantry, hunting for ingredients to cook.

“Hey?” He called out to Thomas who was still in a stupor by the door. “Is pasta okay?” The man looked at him before nodding, stepping out of his shoes. Thomas watched Andrew disappear back into his kitchen and wondered out loud, “Why do I feel like a guest in my own house?”

Andrew’s tinkling laughter floated out to him. “Just sit down and relax. I’m sure you’re starving so I’ll make it quick.”

Thomas discarded his coat on the sofa and walked slowly towards the kitchen. He watched the man hurry about, setting up the pot on the stove, and rushing to cut the tomatoes. There was something therapeutic and calming about watching someone cook. Perhaps it reminded him of his mother preparing meals from when he was a child. Andrew glanced back at him and smiled. He found himself smiling back.

Thomas leaned onto the counter and folded his arms, observing the stranger taking over his kitchen.