The Sinner

Punishment

"Are you alright, Sky?" Rain asks and feels stupid for asking immediately after. Obviously, not.

But Sky still flashes him a smile albeit weak and with a bruise on the side of his lip and replies, "I'm fine, Rain. Thanks."

Rain sighs. "I'm sorry, Sky." He says as he sits down next to the boy.

At this, Sky chuckles, "For what?"

And it's then Rain tells him, "I should've told you. I should've told you that Ple wasn't actually grieving her father's loss. I-I saw her, she spat on her father's grave and I heard from P'Phayu that they hardly ever visited their dad in the hospital."

Sky looks visibly taken aback but he remains silent.

"I should've told you, then maybe...you would've broken up with her and you and P'Pai could've started fresh without having to sneak around. I'm so sorry." Rain's voice gets smaller and smaller, feeling genuinely regretful.

But Sky places a hand over his and when Rain's eyes flick up to meet his, Sky tells him with a warm gaze, "This isn't your fault, Rain. Even if what you say is true, that doesn't change the fact that I used Ple to try and lie to myself and everyone around me.

"There's no one else to blame but me."

"But still..." Rain sniffles, being the crybaby he tends to be.

"It'll be fine, Rain." Sky assures him even though he himself is not sure. "Ple is just angry but I know she's a good person. My parents didn't seem to have a clue so that means she didn't send that photo to them and that's enough for me."

There's evident fear in his eyes but he's doing his best to hold it together. "I can stand getting torn apart by everyone here...but I won't forgive myself if P'Pai gets punished by my father because of me."

"But how do you plan to keep this from him?" Rain asks to which Sky replies with, "I don't. I just...it needs to come from me. If my father finds out like this, he'll be outraged."

And Rain knows it all too well; his father went berserk when Rain was outed by his cousin. He nods his head and non-verbally wishes Sky luck so that, at least, one of them gets to come out in his own terms.

Meanwhile, Prapai can't be found because he's having a talk with someone in private. They're in the old school clinic which now serves as just a storage for medicine and first aid.

"Believe it or not...I tried taking it down." Ple tells her senior, her eyes darting left and right before she fixes a firm-ish gaze on Prapai. "But it's too late and I don't have it in me to apologize to either of you."

Prapai nods. "Okay, it is what it is. And I'm sure Sky understands."

Ple clenches her jaw at this. "Why the fuck are you both pretending to be nice? You are the villains here! Sky cheated on me with you!" She snaps at Prapai but the male keeps a stern gaze and tells her albeit gently, "Nong Ple, I'm sorry that we hurt you, I am. But...I would do it over again if I could turn back time. Or maybe, I wouldn't even let things get this far."

"What?" Ple questions, bristling.

"I'm sure at one point, you realized something isn't right about your relationship." Prapai continues, knowing full well he's stepping into dangerous waters. "Although you're not to blame, Sky isn't either. His own family hurt and threatened him. And if it were you or me in his shoes, we'd struggle to live honestly too.

"This may not be the best way for him to come out, but I'm at least relieved that he doesn't have to hide anymore. So if you truly love Sky, Nong Ple, just set him free."