The Devil, the Beauty, and the Beast (short story)

Chapter 1

"Phiii!"

Prapai groans as he fastens the towel around his waist and pulls another one from the shelf to start drying his hair. Can't he even take a shower in peace for once without his little brother crawling out of the woodwork and needing attention all of a sudden?

"What is it, you absolute nuisance?"

"P'Phayu's calling! He says it's really important!" Plerng shouts back.

With a furious snarl, Prapai yanks the towel from his head and slings it around his shoulders while he runs a brush through his damp hair, fuming in advance. The damn brat is looking to get his ass handed to him again, isn't he? Mama is going to return the favor if he finds out, but burn that bridge, you know.

"What the fuck are you doing on my damn phone? Tell him I'll call him back in a second and put it down on my bed!"

Quick steps approach, accompanied by a provocative giggle. Then the bathroom door opens a crack without prior warning and Plerng's hand appears, waving Prapai's phone teasingly.

"P'Phayu says it's important and the only excuse you have for not answering is if you're on the brink of death. I even got permission to kick you in the balls if you don't talk to him right now!"

Oh, screw that so-called best friend of his. Prapai snatches the phone from his little brother and delivers a solid punch through the half-opened door for good measure, hearing Plerng yelp in pain with grim satisfaction.

"Now get out of my fucking room before I break your arms and legs and turn you into a damn pretzel!"

As he lifts the phone to his ear, he can just so hear Plerng howling for their parents as he retreats. Shit. That means he's got about five minutes before the puppy protection kicks in and no matter how warranted his insults have been, Mama is going to chew him out. Phayu better have a good fucking reason for getting him into this much trouble.

"You better be quick about what you want because I think you just got me grounded for at least a week," he says with a grin, bending forward slightly as he gazes into the mirror to fix his hair.

"Not if you're out of the house within two minutes like I need you to be."

Phayu's voice sounds pressed, a mixture between unease and rage. Immediately, Prapai straightens back up and his smile falters. He undoes the towel around his waist and throws it into the hamper before he leaves the en-suite bathroom and puts his phone on speaker, tossing it onto the bed.

A few days ago, Phayu has set out for Italy on a business trip for his architecture office, and he's been sending the most gorgeous of pictures all this time up until now, of sunny beaches and breathtaking churches, picturesque little streets, and delicious-looking dishes from restaurants he has been eating at, sporting a smile in every single photo.

To hear him this stressed all of a sudden—

"What happened?" Prapai asks sharply while sliding his closet open and grasping the first shirt within reach.

"Rain," Phayu replies, and Prapai can tell from the sound of his voice that he's got that tense look on his face, brows furrowed, eyes even darker than usual. "Rain, he— Pai, check on him for me. He's not picking up his phone."

For a moment, Prapai freezes, then he scrambles to slide the shirt on, fighting with the buttons to get them closed as fast as humanly possible. He's been around long enough to know it's an established rule between Rain and Phayu to always pick up the phone, even when they're arguing. The fear of something happening again is too ingrained in both of them.

"Phayu, he's alright," Prapai says as he tugs on a pair of beige dress slacks, not even bothering with a belt before he steps into his shoes and grabs the phone from the bed, "I swear he's alright."