From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

160. Demons within

Day and night, while coming and going,

there'll be a hundred meetings

Move on forwards, leaving behind the talks

On the roads

there are even more faces that are standing

Today, fix Your gaze on those

This moment shall get lost

It won't come back

Stop it on its path

Whatever that is destined to happen, shall happen

You know you're so hot,

you're on fire 123 go!

Boun pressed the pause button and threw the iPad to the other side of the bed.

Fluke had sent him the music video of the ost of their series for review before it was aired. But he wasn't in a condition to take a proper look at it. He couldn't concentrate.

It had been weeks since he last met Prem. He didn't know what had gotten into his head that night that he promised Prem that he would talk to his mother.

Not many days were left before their cousins' engagement and he had made zero progress in his mission of having a chat with his mother.

Boun was already planning to go to Chonburi to attend the engagement of his cousin whom he didn't even know personally, so that he would get to be with Prem without the watchful eyes of the spies sent by his father and brother.

His going to Chonburi would also mean that he would have to be in the same space as Tessa.

"Argh! " He screamed into the pillow in frustration. He knew he had to figure out a way to fulfil his promise to Prem.

Ding dong

The sound of the doorbell made him raise his head up from the bed.

" Who is here at this hour? " He muttered to himself, getting off the bed.

He rarely had guests. Rarer were the ones who came unannounced. Other than Ohm, Kao, Bosston and April, no one would visit him without making a prior appointment.

Boun grabbed a random t-shirt and put it on before answering the door.

"Mae? " He was surprised to see that it was Ann. He thought that she had already gone back to the Netherlands.

" May I come in? " Ann asked, looking at the ground.

"Of course, Mae. " Boun was giddy. He felt that he could have a breakthrough in his problem of conversing with his mother.

He closed the door behind them and followed her to the living area.

Ann sat down on the couch, biting her lip. She was there to talk to Boun about the things Ohm had told her on the day he left.

She had long wanted to visit her nephew and clear things up with Boun, but she couldn't find enough courage within her to face him.

" What happened, Mae? " Boun felt puzzled seeing Ann act out of her character.

She didn't smile at him like she normally does whenever she visited him, nor did she give the mandatory hugs.

"Boun... I... " Ann raised her head and met her nephew's gaze. She felt guiltier seeing the evident concern in his eyes.

"Mae? " Boun scooted closer to his aunt. He was getting worried. He held her palms within his. " Mae, is something wrong? "

Ann stared at her nephew who resembled her best friend a lot. She suddenly hugged him. " I'm sorry, dear. " She sobbed hard.

She had failed the kid. She had promised to be there for him always, but she couldn't fulfil her promise.

So much happened in his life and she had no idea of anything till his own son burst out in anger at her uncharacteristically. "I'm sorry that I didn't spend much time with you. I'm sorry that I was so involved in my work that I couldn't stay by your side when you needed me."

Boun could only rub her back and try to soothe her even though he was still clueless about why Ann was apologizing to him out of the blue.

"I'm really sorry son, I should have been beside you all this while. I don't know why I didn't notice that you were having a hard time." her hoarse nasal voice echoed in the room.

Boun bit his lips, wondering if he should tell her that he was more than grateful that she wasn't there. He didn't want her to see him as the mess he was during the past few years. He didn't want her to know about his deteriorating physical and mental conditions. He only wanted her to see him as the perfect child just like Ohm.

She might not know, but for him, her presence in his life was a saving grace that pulled him out of the darkness that he was falling into when his mother pushed him away and sent him to his grandparent's place to live.

He remembered the days he used to hide inside the little tent built inside his room all by himself, refusing to come out and talk to anyone. He was then terrified of his strict grandfather and that mansion which was too foreign to him.

If not for Ann forcefully breaking down his walls, accompanying him inside the little tent till he got the guts to go out and explore the new place, he might have stayed alone forever inside that tent, wallowing in self-pity.

Finally, when he realised that staying at his grandparent's place wasn't as scary as he thought, he made it his mission to be the best child Ann could ever ask for. But he had a very tough competition to face, Ohm.

Trying to compete with Ohm was a very stupid move from his side. Whenever they competed either the competition would end in a tie or with Ohm being the winner. The younger never went easy on him.

The only time he truly felt that he was the winner was when Ann spent more time with him than Ohm.

He was well aware that Ohm used to hate him for the same reason when they were kids. He remember seeing Ohm's contort in jealousy when Ann made his favourite food when she was home rather than her son's. He loved watching that little bit of expression on his stone-faced cousin, who somehow always managed to hide it from his mother.

Not that he himself was an angel. He too had his own demons. He was a human after all.

There were times when he was jealous of Ohm as well. He longed to have things that Ohm had. Like Ohm's dusky tanned skin, which he felt, made his cousin look tougher, or the cold aura that could scare even the bullies away or Ohm's ability to distinguish the kind of person in front of him at a single glance, all these made him feel weaker.

He did admit that he had a charming aura, that commanded the attention of everyone. But that attention had only attracted trouble for him.

For example when the he attracted the attention of the bullies who surrounded him because he had flawless skin (That he is now proud of) and teased him calling him girlish or when they snatched his pocket money, and he couldn't even fight back because there were too many of them, but Ohm made them return everything to him just with a glare.

Or when Ohm got into trouble for beating up those bullies till they cried for their father and all Seth asked him while walking out of the Disciplining office was, if he had managed to teach those kids a lesson or not. He could even recalled the bike Seth got for Ohm for rebelling for the first time.

So, Ann had always been his Black card against Ohm. Having a cousin the same age as you wasn't a good thing in all sense.