Ephemeral: Love, Pleasure and Hidden Pains

Seven

TW// mention of blood, violence

I'm not confident posting this chapter. I don't know what am I doing, being stuck on it. Don't be disappointed.

Mile woke up with a strong headache, the light simply blinded his eyes, preventing him from opening it fully. Squinting his eyes, he look at the surrounding. It is his old room in his mother's house, not his apartment. His slow, fuzzy and puzzled memory trying to put pieces into the right place. Nothing seems to work, his head is spinning. Nauseous hit him. Mile sat up abruptly, hands covering his mouth.

He feels a hand on his back, too large to be his mother, soothing it while putting a plastic bag in front of him. He launched out into it, emptying all the substance he ate yesterday. Yesterday? or the day before? When? Dread consuming him.

Kinn being a front again, he lost. He must have forgotten to eat his medication and not manage his time and stress. It was too much when people kept doubting his ability to run what his father had left behind.

After he feels like nothing could be out of his empty stomach, his body lands on another's hard body on his left. The hand is still soothing his back until the neck, massaging the throbbing head, his headache slowly dissipates.

"P–P'Mile?," a familiar voice hesitated calling his name. Mile body turns rigid. He looked at his side, his head laying on Apo's shoulder, dampening the shoulder area of the black turtleneck clothes with sweat. His heart dropped, then it raced fast. He looked at the younger man who slowly lowered him into the bed and put his dark  green duvet all over him. He is speechless, mouth gap to speak but nothing comes out of it.

Apo eyes full with concentration. He smiles at him as he notices Mile looking at him with widened eyes. "Mae Nalin will come in a bit, I need to throw this," he showed Mile the bag full of his puke. "You had a fever. Rest while I finish preparing your porridge" he said slowly, afraid it could trigger Mile's migraine. He left Mile hanging without him explaining anything.

The door of the room closed, Mile was near hyperventilating, he looked for his phone, it's nowhere to be found. Then his eyes travel to his old computer on the desk. The one that he left after buying a new apartment. He needs to check his email, he needs to check everything. Kinn had been sleeping for a long time, Mile made sure of that, he had been trying to keep his health on the line. With this sudden appearance, he could do anything. He could destroy everything's Mile had built out of scrapping his fathers shareholders left behind, destroying Mile's good image. Kinn is capable of doing things beyond anything, he has no limit to his madness.

Mile's face turned pale as one thought crossed his mind, he could do something to Apo, Mile hands shaking. He looked at the closed door, heart pumping. His heart almost dropped when the door suddenly opened, his mother's worried eyes meeting his panicked eyes. She walked and hugged him. Caressing the sweaty hair.

Without wasting any time he blurted out, "Did Apo know? Did Kinn do something? Anything happened to him?," Mile asked urgently. Nalin hands stop on his neck. Before he heard her whispered slowly

"Your staff had called Apo. He found you passed out. He thought you had high fever," his mother soothes him. Continue stroking the hair, while Mile slowly visibly calms down. Apo knew nothing, he whispered, relieved.

"Apo shouldn't know," Mile mumbled but it was clear as crystal, how desperate he sounded. He needs to create a perfect image in Apo life. Apo only needs to see the beauty of the world, not the violence, he is ready to trade his life for his happiness.

***

"Apo shouldn't know," he heard, Mile's voice was little but clear. Lump forming on his throat, he had been lying to the older, per Nalin request and by his own accord. For years he had to pretend that Mile was not Kinn, and Kinn never did anything for him. It was dreading him inside. Apo sighs, hand holding the handle of the door, it leaves ajar, the porridge on his left hands feels heavier than before. Apo took a deep breath. He needs to pretend. It has to be perfect.