A Vihokratana's tragedy

4. Sneaking out.

"You are being unreasonable, Win," Bright shouted, frustration evident in his voice. "How long do you plan to keep this up?" This wasn’t the first time they had fought; in fact, it had become a familiar routine. Their arguments had started just two months into their marriage, but now they had settled into a pattern of fighting until one of them succumbed to exhaustion. It was exhaustion, not surrender. After all, pride ran high—higher than their love.

"Amazing! I’m the unreasonable one?" Win shot back, his voice rising. "You’re the one who decided to go on a date and then made me wait for hours at that hell of a mall like some kind of joke. You didn’t even bother to send a message that you wouldn’t make it, Bright. All this for that assho—"

"Enough, Win! You can't just disrespect him. He’s someone I admire and respect. So, you better not say another word of dishonour, or I don’t know how I’ll control myself."

"Oh really? Like hell you’ve ever managed that. You’re shouting at me right now, Bright. At your husband of a year and a half. You’re in the wrong for ditching me, and you won’t even apologize. You know what? I’m ashamed. Ashamed that you admire someone as cheap as that Chakrii."

"Enough, WIN!" Bright’s patience finally snapped. He raised his hand, ready to slap Win, but stopped halfway, realizing the gravity of what he was about to do.

"Why stop? Just go ahead. Why?" Win’s tears betrayed him, falling despite his efforts to hold them back. Stupid tears. Now was not the time. He packed his belongings and left the house, just like always. Bright remained frozen in place, not lifting a finger. Just like always. Stupid Bright, stupid fights.

....

"Here. My birthday cake. Have some," Frank said as he settled beside Drake on his bed.

Drake stared at Frank, taking in his appearance: a white turtleneck under a black suit, adorned with the crown brooch Pluem had gifted him two years ago and the silver dragon and snake yin-yang necklace Drake had given him. Yes, he had seen Frank half an hour ago, but he had been too focused on helping him with his attack to appreciate how good he looked.

"Stop ogling and just eat the cake," Frank chuckled, noticing Drake's flustered expression. Cute, he thought. "Thanks for coming at the right time, as always." Frank was able to attend his party without any issues, largely due to Drake's support. Though he was still a bit shaky from the rapid beating of his heart, he managed to hold it together thanks to Drake.

Drake hummed as he took his first bite of the speckled malted coconut cake. Delicious. "Are you feeling better now? You need to avoid triggering those symptoms. Next time, stay away from movies that might upset you."

So Drake must have been nearby when Frank was in therapy earlier that day.

"You heard everything, right?" Frank didn’t frame it as a question; he merely wanted to confirm.

"Someone needs to know everything about you to help you in tough situations, Frank. Uncle can’t be there every time, and your family—well, you chose not to involve them. That leaves me as the only one who knows everything about you. I need to keep track of your well-being. So, sorry, but I’m not guilty."

"It’s okay. It’s not like I wouldn’t have told you how my symptoms were triggered." Pluem and Nanon had invited Frank to watch a movie with them—‘Siblings' time.’ He had agreed, knowing he couldn’t always spend time with Pluem, who was overloaded with business studies. But the movie was not the rom-com he had expected; it started that way but quickly took a dark turn.

"By the way, I have news for you—good or bad, you decide."

Frank's face changed dramatically when he heard someone sneaking into his brother’s room, and worse, his brother kissing that someone by the window. He had suspected something was off about Nanon’s behavior earlier, especially after he helped cover up the broken vase this morning, but to think he had a secret boyfriend was a surprise. Oh Lord, what was with the Vihokratana kids and their secret relationships? Oops! Not Frank—he just had a secret, nothing more.

"I need to go back to the party. You should leave too," Frank said, noticing the concern on Drake's face. "Don't worry; I won’t have those nightmares again. Actually, I would have asked you to stay since it’s already night, but Non has plans, and he’ll come to my room. I won’t be able to hide you."

"It’s okay. I drove here; I’ll be safe going home, but you’ll be alright, right?" Drake didn’t want to leave Frank alone, but he knew he had to.

After some reluctance, Drake left, and Frank made his way back to his birthday party.

....

Anong saw her son sleeping in the window nook. His position looked uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to wake him, knowing that once he was up, he wouldn’t fall back asleep.

Gently, she stroked Perth’s hair after covering him with a blanket. She raised the AC temperature, aware that her son easily caught colds, and then left the room.

....

"Hey," Nanon said as he quietly entered Frank's room. It was already past bedtime, and he needed to sneak in. Frank had arranged snacks and drinks for them. "Wow! What’s all this?"

"I thought we might need it for the party."

"Idiot, we’re going out to party."

"Oh, oka—What? Non, it’s so late already. Dad will scold us if we stay up too late, and now you want to go out? Fine, die alone if you want—I still want to live."

....

That’s what Frank had said, but here he was, standing at the back of their house, trying to sneak out with his younger and older brothers. Pluem was helping Nanon climb over the wall to escape the compound. Come to think of it, wasn’t Pluem paying too much attention to Nanon lately? He used to spend more time with Frank, but now he seemed focused solely on Nanon, taking care of him while neglecting Frank. It left Frank feeling unpleasantly sidelined. Just the other day, when he tripped and fell, only Nanon seemed to care. It felt like he had suddenly become invisible to Pluem, his once-favorite brother. Frank tried to shake off these feelings, but it was becoming too difficult.

"Hey Pluem, I know you love him more, but could you at least pretend to care about me?" The words slipped out more rudely than Frank intended, but he didn’t care anymore; he needed to express how he felt, uncle said so.

Pluem was taken aback by Frank’s outburst.

"What are you talking about, Frank?" Nanon smiled, coming down with Pluem's help, thinking Frank was just joking.

"Nothing. Just kidding. Why did you come down? Let’s get out of here before someone finds us," Frank quickly switched his expression from sorrowful to cheerful, masking his true feelings. He didn’t want to drag Nanon into this.

Pluem wasn’t convinced. He had noticed something was off with Frank for the past few days and was starting to understand what it might be. He resolved to talk to Frank about it once they were alone—sooner rather than later.

Just as Nanon prepared to climb back up, they heard a familiar voice from behind.

"What are you boys doing out so late at night?"

As they turned around, they saw her again after almost a year.

"Mom!!!" The twins shouted in joy, momentarily forgetting they had been caught, while Pluem simply bowed his head in embarrassment.