The Kingpin's Possession

58: Sympathizing with a Friend

Kit:Kit let his impulses take over and he left the mansion before dinner that night and headed straight to Earth’s house, without informing any of the guards or taking a car.

Since the entire mansion had been in an uproar after the news, and the staff had been mostly busy preparing for the feast they wanted to have—understandably so—Kit hadn't been able to take the hushed murmurs and the laughter, the delight filtering into his room through the windows.

Kit had felt overwhelmed even when he locked himself in his room, because the news had spread like wildfire and there was no way to suppress the excitement. His heart had felt heavy, so heavy it seemed that the longer he stayed in the house, the more he couldn’t breathe. Even the walls seemed to be closing in on him, suffocating him further.

So when he couldn’t take it anymore, he left.

As he snuck out, he called his friends, but neither Prem nor Ben picked up their phones. Thankfully, Earth answered, and so there Kit went.

He didn’t want to wallow in self-pity and be the martyr who stayed for the dinner celebrating the pregnancy of her sister, with his lover’s child. Hearing the way that sounded, even if it was just in his own mind made him realize how fucked up the situation was.

When P’Kim had first started to pursue him, this had been the exact moment he had dreaded, but in the end, he had given into temptation like a fool, and now, it was too late because he had given his heart away to P’Kim as well, in hopes that he would never trample on it.

But to see everyone so happy… so excited for the arrival of the child, as well as P’Kim’s marriage to P’Kanya in the near future… Kit knew he didn’t have the strength to go through all that during dinner. Because that question will be brought up sooner rather than later, and once he has the date…it’s only going to become more final.

It was wrong to disappear so suddenly, but it was also even worse for him to stay and be suffocated underneath all their joy. So he hoped that P’Kanya will remember where he went and no one will be worried about him enough to force him to return to the house, especially P’Kim.

As soon as he arrived at Earth’s house, the first thing that he did was to look Kit up and down as if assessing him for any kind of damage before asking, “Is something the matter, Kit? Sabai khapKit had already expected that he would ask, because this was the first time he had called up his friends late in the evening just so they could keep him company. True enough, Earth added, “You have never asked if you could spend the night here before. This is quite surprising to me.”

Kit shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he muttered with a sigh. “It’s a personal matter…I’m sorry I asked to spent the night here…I shouldn’t have had involved you with my problems.”

But Earth only looked at him incredulously, one eyebrow raised like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Um… did you forget that we got kidnapped together once?” he reminded Kit. “And that I nearly had my brains blown out by that psycho, kinda-hot, mafia guy, before your faenWell, he did have a point,“Then…” Kit hesitated, before sitting up straighter and deciding to just do it. “Here goes nothing…” Taking a deep breath, he held Earth’s gaze before he started speaking.

He spilled every detail of his life with Earth, from his sister urgently needing money in order to pay for the debts that their father had left them as a cruel form of inheritance, which led to her application for surrogacy, to meeting P’Kim and now, to her pregnancy that was now confirmed with his lover’s child.

“I know,” he said after seeing the stunned look on Earth’s face when Kit finished his story. “It sounds so crazy. My sister, having a baby with my lover? You’d think my life was some cringy drama or a nightmare. But no, it’s the truth, and that’s what I have to live with from now on. It’s something I have to accept for the sake of P’Kim’s happiness...”

“But are you really alright with everything that’s happening in your life? In theirs?” Earth questioned, knowing full well that the answer was ‘no’. But still, he needed to hear his friend say it out loud, get everything off of his chest.

Kit shrugged, looking away. “I’m not,” he admitted. “I’m sure you know that well enough. Nobody in their right mind would feel a hundred percent okay with everything that’s happening. But it’s not like I have a choice, either.”

“And why do you feel like that?” Earth probed, wanting to know. “Why do you feel like you don’t have a say in this?”

He picked at Earth’s bedsheets unmindfully, his stomach dropping as he remembered the scene from this evening. “Just this evening, after the confirmation of my sister’s pregnancy, I saw the smile on everyone’s faces. I saw how absolutely happy they were—how happy P’Kim and P’Kanya were. And I just… I felt like I didn’t belong there…in the middle of all that celebration. I was the only one out of place in that mansion full of people who wanted nothing more than to see that child born. And I knew that if I said anything at that moment, I would be the biggest asshole in the planet. Which brother wouldn’t want their sister to be happy?”

Earth looked at him; eyes filled with sympathy that made Kit tear up.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he joked, hoping Earth couldn’t hear the tremble in his voice. “You’re gonna make me cry.” He sighed, rubbing at his eyes so the tears didn’t spill. “But, you know, I want to be happy for my sister and P’Kim. Of course, I do. I just can’t, for the life of me! And that makes me feel like an asshole. When they were all excitedly preparing for a feast, I felt so out of place that I couldn’t take it any longer, so I got out. Now I’m here.”

If “sympathy” was a person, they would be Earth’s twin. His eyes were so full of pity as he looked at Kit, like he was thinking, Poor you. I could never survive being in your shoes.They sat there in silence for some time, not needing to exchange words between them as they both felt lost in thought. But all that time, Earth kept rubbing on Kit’s back in a comforting manner, hoping to provide some kind of support to his friend even as he grappled with what he could possibly tell him to ease his suffering.

The sharp ring of Kit’s phone pierced the silence of the room, making them jump in surprise. According to the caller ID, it was Prem and Kit answered the phone immediately.

“Sorry Kit, Ben and I were stuck in the library earlier, doing one last assignment together before we can fully enjoy our summer break,” Prem told him sheepishly. “We didn’t have… I mean, that place is a dead spot, seriously! No network anywhere!”

There were shuffling noises on the other end and whispered voices accompanied by the sound of traffic in the background, before someone answered once again. “Anyway, what was it that you needed?” It was Ben. “You called both of us, so it must be urgent.”

Kit blinked, not wanting to burden everyone with his troubles. After all, now that he had told Earth about it, he did feel a little less burdened. Maybe calling all his friends at once had been a bad idea…

“Oh, it’s fine. I’m over here at Ea—” He wasn’t able to finish his sentence, because Earth snatched his phone away and pressed it against his ear.

“Alright, then!” he said loudly, a bit harsh. “Since you two bailed on Kit when he needed you most, I propose that you both move your asses over to my house so we can have a housewarming party! Oh, and also to celebrate the end of the semester.”

Ben and Prem laughed at his impromptu invitation. “Sure, I’d like that,” Ben agreed, while Prem said, “Alright. Fine by me too.”

“Then, we’ll see you! Hurry up!” Earth said. “I’ll order the booze.”

“Yeah, yeah,” came Ben’s dismissive voice from the other end before Earth hung up.

He smirked as he handed back Kit’s phone, “Well, there you have it. Now you have a valid reason to keep staying here and enjoy your night instead of going back to that house.”

Kit leaned over and hugged Earth tightly, which his friend returned without a thought.

“Thank you.” He whispered, his voice trembling from the weight of his emotions.

Earth smiled as he patted Kit’s head. “You’ll always have us, Kit. Remember that.”