A Vihokratana's tragedy

10. The embrace

"SPEAK. HUMAN. LANGUAGE. NON!"

Nanon could clearly see the annoyance on his brother’s face. It was expected. After all, it was midnight, and Nanon had been speaking gibberish. He knew exactly how Frank would react once he understood what Nanon had to say. Even so, Nanon thought it would be better to seek help from his twin rather than their elder brother, who would just run to their parents and spill everything.

Nanon took a deep breath, inhaling longer than usual.

"I said he’s coming to the farmhouse. He’s the friend I was talking about!"

Silence.

“What the hell! Stop throwing pillows, Frank! Didn’t you say everyone’s asleep?”

“It’s me who should be saying ‘WHAT THE HELL!’ Have you lost your mind? You’re friends with the boy Dad hates, and now you’re bringing him to our farmhouse? Are you stupid?”

“Call me stupid or whatever you want. I don’t care!”

Nanon’s voice finally broke. He no longer cared if anyone woke up to find him and his brother arguing over what some would call "stupid stuff." Luckily, everyone in the house was deep in sleep—just as they were oblivious to the fact that Ohm, the boy Dad despised, was Nanon’s friend. Why couldn’t he be friends with someone his parents didn’t like? Why did he have to end his relationship with someone he cared for, just because of their parents’ feud? Why did he have to bottle everything up?

Why? Why?

An unwanted tear escaped Nanon’s left eye—not from anger, but from the overwhelming pain of holding it all in. It was the pain of the "whys," the lies, and the panic that came with hiding his relationship.

“You think it’s easy to break a friendship with someone I’ve known for so long, just because Dad and he fought? You think it’s easy to say goodbye to the one person I can share all my worries with? To let go of someone who understands my silence? You think it’s easy?”

Nanon’s sobs filled the room as he pounded his chest, desperate to release the unbearable ache.

He didn’t know why he was crying so much. He didn’t know why it hurt so deeply. But his face, soaked in tears, and the cold emptiness in his chest left no room for doubt—he was breaking.

Suddenly, warmth engulfed him. Frank’s arms wrapped around him tightly as Nanon wept. It had been so long since he felt comfort like this. It made him cry harder.

A broken heart trying to heal another broken heart—ironic, wasn’t it?

Nanon whimpered in his brother’s arms, finding solace in their embrace, as if the pain would vanish if he stayed there long enough. As if nothing could harm him anymore.

Then, slowly, the door creaked open.

Nanon's entire body stiffened when he saw his Dad standing in the doorway, looking at his son's tear-soaked face. But Tay didn’t seem angry; instead, Nanon saw sadness in his eyes. Tay’s gaze wandered across Frank’s room and eventually landed on the tissue box. He walked over to his sons, gently wiping away the tears from Nanon’s face, then doing the same for Frank. It seemed like neither Nanon nor Frank had even realized Frank had tears on his face until Tay cleaned them away. 

A heavy silence enveloped the room, and it felt suffocating to Nanon. His father must have heard everything, yet he remained quiet. He simply stood there, watching Nanon. There was something in his eyes that Nanon couldn’t quite decipher. Was it disappointment? It had to be. Of course, his dad must be disappointed in him. Nanon was friends with someone his father didn’t like. And worse, he didn’t even know that Nanon was in a relationship with him.