My Dear Annabelle

Chapter - 10 The Distance Between Us

Lian couldn't shake the uneasy feeling building inside him as he drove. Kuea's smile when he slid into the passenger seat was soft, familiar, yet it carried an undercurrent of something Lian couldn't quite place. Something wasn't right.

As they drove in silence, Lian replayed Kuea's words in his head. "She left already," Kuea had said casually, but it gnawed at Lian. She? Kuea wasn't the type to mention new friends, especially not a girl, without some context.

Their circle had always been small, tight-knit. He couldn't recall a time when Kuea had hung out with anyone outside their group, let alone with someone he hadn't mentioned before. The more he thought about it, the more his mind raced.

Questions swirled in Lian's head, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. He glanced over at Kuea, who was staring out the window, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. The silence between them was palpable, heavier than usual.

Lian's heart squeezed with worry, but he knew that now wasn't the time to press Kuea too hard about it. He didn't want to push him away. Not when he already felt so distant.

But the more he tried to shake off the unease, the more it consumed him.

After a few more moments of driving, Lian finally gave in to the storm of questions in his mind. He pulled the car to the side of the road, the tires crunching softly on the gravel.

Kuea frowned, turning toward him with confusion in his eyes. "Hia, why are you stopping here?"

Lian inhaled deeply, steadying his breath as he prepared himself for the conversation. He could feel the weight of the unspoken words between them, the tension that had been building for so long.

"Kuea," Lian started, his voice quieter than usual, laced with a seriousness that made Kuea sit up straighter. "I have something I need to clarify with you."

Kuea's confusion deepened, but he just nodded, waiting for Lian to continue. "What is it?" he asked, his tone casual, though his gaze lingered on Lian's expression as if trying to decipher the intensity he felt radiating from him.

Lian turned in his seat, facing Kuea fully. His eyes searched Kuea's face, seeking some flicker of recognition or understanding. He needed to know where they stood, needed to understand what was really going on behind Kuea's walls.

"Do you trust me?" Lian asked, his voice steady but thick with emotion.

Kuea blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question. A small, uneasy laugh escaped his lips as he tried to shake off the tension. "What kind of question is that, hia? Of course, I trust you. Is this what you wanted to clarify?" His tone was light, almost playful, as if trying to defuse the seriousness of the moment.

But Lian wasn't swayed by Kuea's deflection. His gaze remained intense, piercing, as he looked at him. "If you really trusted me," Lian's voice trembled slightly, but he kept his eyes locked on Kuea, "why didn't you tell me about the bullying you've been going through since middle school?"

Kuea's expression immediately froze, the playful glint in his eyes extinguished. The air between them grew heavy, thick with the weight of the words Lian had just spoken.

Lian's heart clenched painfully, but he pressed on. "Every time I asked you about the bruises on your body, every time I noticed something was wrong, you never told me the truth. Why?" His voice cracked, betraying the depth of his pain.

Kuea's face shifted, his entire demeanor changing in an instant. The warmth, the familiar softness that Lian had always known, was gone.

In its place was something cold, distant, as if Kuea had erected an impenetrable wall around himself.