Chapter Text
Link dropped Jessie off at home, but didn’t immediately drive to his own house. He sat in the driveway for a long time, motionless. Waking up that morning in the tent with Rhett’s arm heavily draped over him might as well have been a million years ago.
And a million thoughts were now racing through his mind, but he couldn’t allow them to penetrate his being. There was so much to do now. He had to get to the studio. He had to figure out what to tell the crew, and worst of all, what to tell the audience. Who knew how long Rhett would be out of commission?
This could be the end.
A tear traced its way down Link’s face. This had been their dream. And so much hung in the balance. They were in their 10th season of their show, their scripted series was coming out in the next few months, and they were coming up on 1000 episodes. It was the worst possible time for this … whatever it was.
In his mind, Link was looking up at a younger, clean shaven Rhett, as they cut their palms so many years ago. He had made a promise to that boy, and that promise was so close to fulfillment he could taste it. He could taste the blood of that promise, and it was metallic and sweet.
Link raised a hand to his mouth and realized he’d grimaced so hard that he had bit his lip.
He let out a sad chuckle and wiped his fingers on his jeans.
“I’m not going to let you down, Rhett,” he said, putting the car in gear. “You are going to come through this.”
He drove to the studio and found it deserted. He was grateful for that. Telling the crew in person could wait. But tonight, he needed to record something on his own.
He set up the camera and hit record before sitting down in his usual place at the desk. The empty space beside him was enormous and cold. But he took a deep breath and began.
“Mythical beasts. I’m here tonight, by myself, to …” Link took a deep breath, unsure how to begin. He could already hear the quiver in his voice. He needed to do this quickly. “The truth is, this afternoon, I had to take Rhett to the hospital. He’s okay, and he’s in good hands, but he needs some time to rest and recover, so he’ll be taking some time off. We have a few episodes already filmed; I’ll be honest, I forget how many. But we’ll be airing those on schedule, and then if we have to, we’ll take a break until Rhett is back on his feet. I’ll try and keep you updated as to when that will be. In the meantime, I just ask that you respect Rhett’s privacy and keep him in your thoughts and prayers. And as always, keep being your mythical best.”
Link sniffed as he stood up to turn off the camera. He hoped he had been able to hold back all of the emotions stirring within him, but he didn’t want to rewatch it to find out. Not even to edit it, which he would normally be meticulous in doing. So he quickly got the video ready and uploaded it to their various social media accounts and sent a brief email to the crew so they wouldn’t be blindsided by the video.
As soon as it was done, he shut his phone off, not wanting to be bombarded with questions. He wouldn’t be able to answer them, so seeing them would just make him anxious. As it was, he was already sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night.
When he arrived home, at an hour far past when he would normally be in bed, he found his wife, Christy, waiting at the kitchen table in her pajamas. Her eyes were red and bleary.
Link had texted her from the hospital hours ago, with only the briefest of explanations. He had been dreading talking to Christy. For some reason, telling Jessie had been easy.
Though perhaps easy was the wrong word. He could get the words out, and while it obviously hurt her deeply, she felt only worry for her husband’s mental state, not betrayal.
Then again, he hadn’t told her about the kiss.
And that is what he would have to tell Christy. Eventually.
But not tonight, not while she wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, telling him that everything would be okay and that Rhett would get better. Not tonight, not while she took him to bed and curled herself around him while he sobbed and heaved. Not tonight, not while she stroked his hair in her lap after he’d thrown up from crying so hard.
He eventually fell into a fitful sleep, but was haunted all the long hours of the night by the fact that he hadn’t immediately pushed Rhett away.