novelraw Chapter 13: Staying or Running Away…
Chapter 13: Staying or Running Away…
Chapter 13: Staying or Running Away…
Kit:
Kit opened his eyes to the bright morning light streaming in through the large glass windows at the end of the room.
He tried to raise his hand to his eyes, feeling exhausted like he had never felt before. His entire body was aching and there was a dull throb in his head that threatened to turn into a migraine at any moment.
A low groan left his throat. He wanted that light gone…it was too much. But he didn’t have the strength to go over and pull the curtains.
As if someone had heard his thoughts, the curtains in that direction were pulled shut, cutting off the light and providing him with instant relief as the room was shrouded in darkness. Actually, it wasn’t really that dark, but the sudden change made the room seem darker than usual.
“How are you feeling?” A familiar deep voice washed over his senses as a cool hand landed on his forehead. He recognized the voice…but he was having trouble matching it to a face.
The hand slowly began to retreat but Kit caught onto it and pressed it to his cheek instead, not wanting to let go of the cool comfort it provided.
“Kit…”
Suddenly, his memories from last night began to return full force, causing that dull throb to turn into pinpricks that pierced his skull like hundreds of needles. This time, he groaned painfully as his hand went to his head to try and stop the pain.
He remembered now…he remembered who the person in the room was; who that voice belonged to. P’Kim…his savior…
“Here, take these. Can you get up?” His voice asked, this time urgently.
Kit nodded his head slowly, careful not to trigger that throbbing pain. His eyes were yet unfocused as two hands helped remove the covers from his body and then helped him sit up against the headboard of the bed, with soft pillows at his back to act like cushions. Before he knew it, P’Kim’s fingers were at his lips, nudging them apart softly so he could insert the medicine into his mouth before holding the glass of water to his lips.
Kit drank slowly before shaking his head that he didn’t want any more. Kim immediately obliged and once again, pressed his hand to his forehead…his cheek and finally his neck to see if he had a fever. Thankfully he didn’t.
He opened his eyes once again, blinking slowly to get rid of the last vestiges of sleep. He didn’t know if it was morning or afternoon but at least the sun was still up in the sky. Finally, his eyes went to P’Kim to find him sitting on the chair beside the bed in a light yellow shirt and brown tailored pants. His hair was messy but it looked like he had shaved and showered earlier. But still, he could tell that P’Kim had been worried.
“Where is P’Kanya?” Kit asked, feeling guilty that he had been rude to his sister last night, but now that he remembered the whole truth…he did not regret what he said about their father.
“She went to freshen up.” P’Kim told him calmly. “She was up all night, worrying about you. She should be here any moment.”
Kit nodded his head slowly, before swallowing the lump forming in his throat. “P’Kim…”
“Yes?” Kim reached out to touch his hand lightly, just the merest of touches, but they both felt the little tingles jolt up as their skin connected. “Do you want something? Are you hungry?”
“No…I…” Kit shook his head instantly, finding it difficult to get the words out. “There’s something I want to tell you…I’m just not sure if I should say this P’Kanya yet…”
“You can tell me anything.” Suddenly, P’Kim’s voice seemed hard. “Is it about those men? Did they do something to you?”
“No!” He shook his head immediately, not wanting P’Kim to get the wrong idea. “P’Kim, it’s not like that…it’s just…before P’Num’s men started hitting me, I asked him why our debt never seems to reduce even though my mother died from being seriously overworked and my sister was trying so hard to make ends meet while paying back whatever she could…”
Kim stayed quiet, letting Kit get everything out of his system. He had a hunch about what it might be, but still, he let Kit say it by himself.
“Turns out…my father never fled.” Kit laughed humorlessly. “He’s still out there, living his life by borrowing money from those men constantly and then he asks the debtors to collect the money from us instead.”
Kit’s eyes watered even though he didn’t want to cry or show weakness to anyone. Closing them, he took deep breaths to control his emotions. But they weren’t actually helping. A tear still spilled over and rolled down his cheek anyway…only to be wiped away by strong fingers that cupped his cheeks in their calloused palms, forcing him to open his eyes once again to look into dark brown eyes of the older man.
“For the time being…let it be our secret only. There’s no need for Kaya to find out yet.” P’Kim told him in a soothing voice. “We both know she’s too soft hearted…the truth might startle her and she is still getting over how she almost lost you.”
Kim held onto his cheeks when Kit was about to lower his head in shame. “It’s not your fault.” He reminded his Nong. “Trust me…it wasn’t your fault. Going back to that apartment…you had every right to do that since it’s your home. No one expected those goons to show up like they did. But don’t worry…they will no longer be a problem.”
Kit squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered the gunshots. It made him glad that he was almost unconscious at that point.
He knew P’Kim was the Mafia boss, the man who had saved both him and his sister…but that didn’t mean he was thrilled to see him kill people. He hated those who caused violence and spilled blood of the innocent, but he also knew that P’Num’s people were not innocent in any way or form. That also didn’t mean he wanted to see P’Kim kill them…
Kit didn’t understand the internal conflict he was going through either, but all he could tell was that he didn’t want any more blood on P’Kim’s hands, especially when he might be the cause for it.
“Kaya and I have decided that it’s best for you guys to stay here for the time being.” Kim told Kit while he remained silent. He could tell from the boy’s expression that he was wondering about the blood that had been spilled last night, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
“Until the matter with those thugs is permanently settled, the two of you must stay here.” Kim said once more. “I will try my best to find out more about your father…don’t worry, I won’t harm him, but I will warn him that if he ever borrows in the name of his children…he will have hell to pay.”
“And what about P’Kanya?” Kit asked quietly, looking down at his hands on his lap. “What about the surrogacy?”
“We have talked about it as well.” Kim assured him. “Your sister isn’t ready to make a decision yet. We’ll see what happens when she does. Let’s take on one hurdle at a time, shall we?”
Kim placed his hand on top of Kit’s once more, giving it a small squeeze.
Kit nodded his head in understanding. If his sister was alright with it…then there shouldn’t be a problem.
“P’Kanya can stay…” Kit said quietly. “But I would like to move to a dorm near my campus. I’ll try and get a part time job to pay for the rent…but I think it’s best for everyone if I move out.”
“Best for everyone?” Kim raised his eyebrows at his Nong.
“Well…this mansion is too far from my University…so it’s better to just move out…it’ll help me study easier and there won’t be any problems if I have friends over.”
Kit didn’t want to say it out loud but he couldn’t exactly bring his friends to the Chao Pho Mansion. And with his sister in the mix…the situation between P’Kim and him was already complicated enough…was it truly just a few days ago that he had ended up accidentally sleeping with P’Kim?
“Is that truly the reason why you want to move out, Nong Kit?” Kim asked finally. “Or are you just finding an excuse to run away from your problems?”
And not for the first time…Kit didn’t have an answer for him.