Perseverance [Complete]

Chapter 20

Arthit's POV

I had three objectives that had taken over my life. Ensure Rune was safe at all times. Figure out if Kong was a target while keeping him away from Rune. And tracking down the psychopath.

Keeping Rune safe was the priority. He had made sure I knew he was targeting her. Which means he would know I would take actions to protect her. He was prepared for what I would do next where as I was completely in the blind. I didn't know who I was dealing with or what he wanted. It is hard to protect her against threats that are impossible for me to predict. Although the police had started their investigation, other than a few customary questions to my neighbors and building regulars, they kept insisting I hand them a list of my friends.

Along with moving rooms every night in a hotel with security cameras everywhere, I had bought both of us old models of cell phones that were harder to hack. I had also signed her up at dozens of after school classes. They served a dual purpose of always having adult supervision for Rune if I got caught up in something, and Rune never having the time to meet Kong.

The second task related to Kong was tricky. He was sharp and pushy, and that combination was a challenge for me even during regular times. I wanted to maintain as much distance from him as possible until this got resolved, but at the same time I needed to know if he was witnessing anything weird.

So I did the only thing I could think of. Never talk to him in private. The only time I would interact with him would be during lunch with all our friends around. And I took that opportunity to ask him as much as I could about his day. The places he went or the people he ran into. I always tried hard to read his expressions. If something was out of the ordinary, he would definitely notice it and he would let me know. Thankfully it didn't seem like Kong was part of this twisted game.

And finally my last objective. Track down who and why had Rune been targeted. This was the trickiest. I did not know where to begin. I had spoken to all the people the police had questioned and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I had made an extensive list of people that I could remember coming in contact with me or Rune.

I kept going over events in our lives that would even mildly be connected to this and absolutely nothing stood out. I was completely lost about what my next step should be. The only way I would get any more clues was if he tried to send me another message. And I have been trying with all my might for that to not transpire.

It had been a couple of weeks since we had moved to the hotel and I had run out of options to explore. My anxiety was increasing by every passing day. It just seemed inevitable that something would happen soon and I had no control over it.

And then one day I did get my next clue. It....was unexpected. I didn't know what to make of it.

I used to periodically go back to the apartment to pick up things we required and ask around more questions if people had noticed anything. But there was something different in the apartment today. Rune had asked me to specifically pick up a particular dress, but it was missing.

That wasn't what surprised me. What threw me off was that there were dresses there that didn't belong to Rune. For one they were a lot smaller than her size, and second I got an extensive fashion show from Rune on a regular basis. There was nothing I was more familiar with than Rune's wardrobe. These clothes definitely didn't belong to her.

I went through her closet more thoroughly and kept picking out things that weren't hers. Dolls, toys, clothes, shoes. None of that was present the last time I was here. All of it looked new and unused. Some things were still in their original plastic cover. The psychopath bought new things to put in her closet?

I came back every single day after to find more things missing being replaced by newly bought items. I didn't know what to make of this. I tried going to stores around to see if I could track down where they were bought from or who made the purchases but I didn't have any luck. I always made my visits at random times hoping to run into him but that never happened either.

I was ready to pull out my hair in frustration. I just didn't know what else to do anymore. And to top all of that Kong was making his suspicion more obvious as the days went by. I knew he would confront me soon and I hadn't figured out to avoid that situation.

Maybe it was time I told him. I clearly needed help and with my mind always occupied with worrying over Rune I had reached a dead end.

So when Kong confronted me at lunch one day insisting to pick up Rune, I was partially relieved. Rune had been missing him intensely and asked about him all the time. Honestly, I was missing him just as much. I was probably being selfish by involving him in something that could be dangerous but I don't think I can survive this without him.

I texted him the address for Rune's class along with the hotel address, telling him to meet me there once he picked her up. I was pacing the room waiting for them arrive. I was nervous cause I knew he would be beyond angry at me for hiding this from him for so long, but I was also looking forward to the comfort he would provide. Right now I would happily give my right arm for a hug from Kong.

Except neither seemed to be happening. It was over half an hour after her class ended and I couldn't get through either of their phones. Shit! I knew I should have just met Kong there. Now I didn't know either of their whereabouts.

I rushed to her class and found her waiting outside her class thankfully with her teacher who looked none too pleased about me showing up over an hour after class ended.

"Arthit you are very late. You know you can't just use me as your babysitter whenever you like. You need to arrive promptly to pick up your sister. This will be my only warning to you."

I was embarrassed, and relieved, and frustrated but most importantly I was really worried. There was no way Kong wouldn't have come to pick her up. What if something happened to him? He hadn't even gone to his classes today. He wasn't picking up his phone. I needed to find him.

"I am so sorry. This will never happen again. I promise. There was a misunderstanding with my friend."

"Yes, I know. Your friend came by. Arthit, you should know better than to send a stranger to pick her up. I can't just let her go with anyone."

"Wait, Kong came by? But Rune knows him. You could have just called me to confirm."

"No pa. It wasn't P'Kong. He was P'Kong's friend. But you said never to go with anyone I don't know so I waited for P'Kong. How long do you think we have to wait for him? I am getting hungry."

"Wh....what did you say? Someone came to pick you up? He said he was Kong's friend?"

"Yup, he said P'Kong was busy today so he came instead."

I could barely hear what she way saying over the loud beating of my heart against my chest. He had tried to pick up Rune today.