Aphrodite (RDJ / Scar Jo)

Hope

Third Person’s POV

Belle slowly approached Robert, whose eyes kept staring at her, not able to say any other word.

“Why, Robert?!” she gulped, still having a hard time believing her eyes.

Why was he doing this to himself, again?

He accepted her hug and quickly hugged her back. Quickly shutting his glassy eyes he mumbled, with his typical boyish smirk “I-I was waiting”

Belle looked at him, she knew it would be useless to talk to him in such a state. One thing she was sure though, she was not leaving again

She was not leaving him here, to his own misery.

She should have never left. Or better, she should have never allowed him to return home, alone.

Shutting her eyes tight at the thought, she caressed his hair as he moaned against her, yet remained pretty calm.

Robert was a serious and calm drunken guy.

And he had just made Belle really desperate.

“oh, Rob..” she caressed his face as he let himself be in her embrace, quiet and relaxed.

“Robert?” Tom and Claire also entered the house “God, we finally find you!”

He slowly raised his head to look at them. The way his eyes started at them told everything.

“I was… uh… I live here…” he mumbled, rubbing his face

“Damn you, man…” Tom’s eyes widened “I cannot believe you are…?” he approached him, who was still next to Belle “You are drinking again?!” he snapped

“Woah… woah… hey…” Robert drunkenly raised his arms, chuckling “I am just fine… I could not be… better”

“I cannot believe this!” Tom pushed Robert “LOOK AT YOU!”

Obviously, Robert could barely balance himself and immediately fell to the floor

“TOM!” Belle quickly knelt next to Robert “Don’t do that!”

“Tom, easy…” Claire snapped “It is useless to have an argument right now”

“O-Ouch…” Robert mumbled, slowly closing his eyes and groaning at each tiny movement.

“Look at him!” Tom said “He is just like when I first met him! He’s gonna kill himself!”

“Stop it!” Belle begged “That is not going to happen! Just help me!” she bit her lip, trying not to cry “Help me…” she caressed Robert’s face “he needs a good bath, shave and meal.”

“He will sleep like a baby after a bath” Tom quickly picked him up in his arms.

Belle followed Tom’s lead and soon they found the master bedroom and the huge bathroom in it. It was not hard to clean Robert’s filthy body and even shave him. He quickly fell into a deep sleep as soon as the comfort of the warm water involved his body. “Why did he do this?” Claire asked as they were already dressing him with a t-shirt and shorts

“I thought he was over those suicidal thought” Tom frowned “I thought he was ok! He seemed to be so good!” he snapped in frustration.

Belle knew how bad he still felt for being so harsh with his friend before. But she also knew, perfectly, how Robert never blamed him for such reaction.

She looked down at his sleeping form “He was alone…” she bit her lip “All of us returned home, all of us had company and came back for our families… But he has no family…” she caressed his face “I should have told him to come with me… I should not have left him behind…”