Rises the moon. [Akk/Ayan & Akk/Ray]

Chapter sixteen.

"Ah, mom..." Ray walks over to his mother and gently takes her arm. "I'm not feeling very well, can I stay?"

Ray doesn't like the idea of ruining Ayan's happiness. They had planned to go to that convention where Ayan's favorite author would be signing copies of his books and they would have a pretty long trip, but the truth is that Ray doesn't feel like going and he doesn't want his brother to stay because of him.

"I can take care of myself just fine, really," Ray smiles and Phiao doesn't look convinced. "Aye and I take good care of each other when you travel for work. I'll be fine."

"But your uncle is here with you when I have to work. I don't know Ray, I'll stay at home with you."

"No," Ray immediately refuses. "Aye really wants to go and I don't want to ruin anything for him, please. I'll be fine, mom."

Ray has trouble convincing Phiao not to stay, but he succeeds. Phiao hugs his eldest son's tense body and kisses him forehead.

"Explain to Aye for me."

Ray breaks away and enters her house without looking back.

A week alone, that's perfectly fine... No one is going to interrupt him.

Ray watches through the window as the car pulls out of his driveway before locking the door and entering the bathroom.

He fills the tub with warm water and pours a glass of whiskey which sets aside.

Stripping naked feels so liberating, it's a little cold, but he doesn't care about it at all. The clothes felt a little heavy, but now Ray feels as light as a feather and steps into the tub.

His cell phone is off, with no interruptions, not even light music to make him relax.

Sometimes he would like to turn on the old record player in the living room and play one of the many vinyl records arranged alphabetically, but he has no reason to do so. His father liked to listen to music and Ray doesn't want to look like his father. Before, he had tried listening to the same bands and singers as his father, maybe would loves him if they had a similar taste in music.

Now... Well, he now he didn't worry about others liking him too much.

Ray takes the bottle of sleeping pills, opens it, and pours it into his hand.

"If I take this, I will sleep forever..."

If he sleeps forever, then he won't bother Ayan again with the homeworks he sometimes forgets, nor will Ayan have to keep him away from the silly fights he gets into.

If he sleeps forever, his mother won't have to keep arguing with him because his grades at school are sometimes bad and she can give her full attention to Ayan.

If his sleeps forever, his uncle won't have to worry about a lost cause like him.

It doesn't matter if he dies, no one will miss him, no one loves him and if he disappears will be better for everyone. No one likes to carry a weight on their shoulders and Ray is just a burden.

Closing his eyes, he swallows each pill and drinks all the whiskey in the glass.

Ray hears a loud noise outside the bathroom, but he can't concentrate on it and the door opens but he only manages to see a couple of feet before finally falling into an eternal sleep...

Ray had never wondered what it would be like to be dead, but he felt his body or soul floating somewhere and the idea that he was dead disappeared when his eyes opened, but he was blinded by the artificial light and quickly closes his eyes.

Being more self-aware, his body felt heavy and someone held his hand tightly, as wanted him to stay on the earthly plane.

Ray can notice how the artificial light diminishes and he opens his eyes again in a dimly lit room, but it's perfect for his eyes to adjust.