Kit:Kit rolled over in bed, his hands stretched along the space next to him, searching for the warmth of the bigger body that had held him all through last night. However, now, the space beside him was cold, isolated.
He opened his eyes with a start, his eyes instantly roaming around the humongous bedroom for the familiar face of the man that had brought him here the night before.
Was this some kind of paybackWas he gone because the last time they had sex, he had been the first to leave?But all his thoughts were dispelled when he found a tiny yellow paper stuck to the pillow next to his.
Sitting up in bed, he took the paper into his hands and wiped the sleep from his eyes so he could read the note in the clear handwriting that was clearly left for him to find.
‘Had to leave early. Will make it up when I get back.’Kit furrowed his eyebrows, reading the note once again before sitting up in bed and going through the note once again.
When he finally understood what P’Kim had meant by ‘make it up’ once he got back, Kit’s ears ere bright red and his eyes as wide as saucers as he quickly tossed the note aside.
“ShiaaaIt felt like they had hardly had any sleep last night. Because Kit had clearly heard the birds in the distance when his head had finally hit the pillows.
Getting up from the bed, wincing a bit when he felt the soreness down to his leg, Kit made his way to the shower, so he could get ready for college. However, it wasn’t until he saw his reflection on the bathroom mirror that he was left grasping for words.
Hickies covered most of his chest and neck and the marks were all bright red and eye-catchy. He would have to button up his shirt all the way to the collar if he wanted to survive the day. Otherwise, his friends would never let him survive the rest of the year without constantly reminding him of today.
But the more he thought about his friends, the more he began to worry about Ben.
He hadn't heard anything from them and neither did he remember where his old phone was. The last time he had his phone with him had been before the kidnapping and then…the rest of his memory was pretty much blank.
What happened to his backpack? His books? His phone?
Everything was a blur and he could only remember sinking into P’Kim’s embrace last night to forget about everything that he had witnessed in the afternoon.
What kind of world was he getting into? The blood, the torture…the bullets. Ever since P’Kim had entered his life…he’s seen more blood than he would have in any butcher shop.
And he was starting to not care. He was starting to feel like this was his new normal…and now the cruelty of this world seems to have reached his friends as well.
Getting out of the shower as quickly as he could, with only a towel wrapped around his waist… he went into the living area to find a few items laid out for him on the table, along with another one of the yellow notes that he had woken up to this morning.
‘I’ve arranged for new school supplies and clothes. There are a few gifts for your friends. Hand it to them at the University. Aawut will drive you.’Once again, he found P’Kim’s neat handwriting on the paper, making him feel more at ease almost instantly.
Sometimes, he wondered what exactly it was about P’Kim that often made him forget reasoning and made him take risks that he would usually shy away from.
Nevertheless, he was glad he had something to wear to the Uni other than yesterday’s clothes.
Changing into the new clothes provided for him, he checked the phone and as expected, it was the latest model of iPhone for him as well as his friends. He didn’t have their numbers all memorized, so he’d wait till his friends got the new phone so they could exchange numbers once again.
He left the room almost immediately after, grabbing his new backpack and supplies on the way. It was almost eleven, so he decided that breakfast could wait until he reached the University and found out if all his friends were safe or not.
Ben was the person he was worried about most.
P’Aawut was sitting on one of the sofas in the waiting area when Kit exited the elevator. He stood up and walked towards him as soon as he saw Kit’s face.
“Ready to head to Uni?” He asked in his usual business-like tone. “Should I buy you some breakfast on the way?”
“No, that’s fine…thank you.” Kit shook his head immediately. “I’ll get something at the canteen.”
P’Aawut frowned at him in disapproval, but all he could do was offer a small smile in return.
It wasn’t long before he was in the car and being driven to the University in one of P’Kim’s luxury cars. He thought himself extremely lucky to have this privilege.
“Do you know…where P’Kim is?” He asked P’Aawut after a little bit of hesitation. P’Aawut wasn’t the chatty kind and sometimes, he looked even more unapproachable than P’Kim. That’s why he wasn’t exactly expecting an answer.
“He had to go to Pattaya to take care of some urgent business.” Surprisingly, P’Aawut did humor him.
“Did he say anything about when he’ll be back?” Kit tried his luck again.
“In a couple of days at most.” He saw P’Aawut’s shoulders lift in a shrug before he looked back at him through the rear-view mirror. “He has orders for you to stay at this house until he comes back. Or you can go back to the mansion if you want to. It’ll be safer to avoid any more run-ins with P’First and his clan.”
Just the name of that man was enough to send chills down Kit’s spine.
“I’ll stay at the mansion with my sister…if that’s alright?” He asked. Even if P’Kim hadn’t ‘ordered’ him to stay alone…he didn’t think he was ready to be alone anytime soon.
Even if he were to stay at the condo, he would’ve asked his friends to stay over for a couple nights.
“We’re here.” P’Aawut said after a few minutes of silence. “I’ll pick you up after school and drive you back to the mansion.”
“Okay.” Kit nodded in relief. “I’ll see you.”
However, as he was about to exit the car, P’Aawut’s voice stopped him. “Please remember not to tell Khun Kanya about yesterday. Khun Kim is worried about upsetting your sister.”
“Of course.” Kit blinked back his surprise as he quickly got out of the car.
His sister was the last person he wanted to tell about the incident. Having Earth and Ben involved in this was bad enough…he would never inflict such a burden on her.
He saw the car drive away only after he was well inside the campus perimeters and then he turned and headed to his faculty to meet up with his friends.
However, when he approached the usual area of the stone tables where he and his friends usually hung out, he found only Prem and Earth sitting there with no signs of Ben for miles.
His heart thrashed against his rib-cage out of worry.
Was Ben alright? What had happened to him after they left? Did P’First really…
NO!
He refused to think of the worst. P’Kim had promised him that P’First wouldn’t harm his friend like that…and he would rather keep his faith in P’Kim for the time being.
“Kit.” Prem called out as soon as he saw him, but his shout got the attention of Earth, who jumped up from the seat as soon as he saw Kit and walked towards him with quick steps.
“Kit!” He asked urgently, keeping his voice low. “What happened to Ben? Where is he? There’s absolutely no sign of him!”
“He hasn’t come to school yet?” Kit looked around helplessly, as if searching for him would magically make him appear out of nowhere…
“I wouldn’t be asking you if he had!” Earth, for the first time in his life, sounded angry. “Ai satKit was taken aback as Earth grabbed onto his collar, raising his hand as if to punch him in the face.
Kit closed his eyes, readying himself for the impact of the punch. Vaguely, he heard Prem’s shocked voice calling out to them in the background.
And he asked himself the exact same question that Earth just had.
What exactly did they get themselves into…?