The After Kingdom: UnOrdinary (Arlo x John)

Chapter 6

John knew that Sera didn't wanted him to continue his job, and he also had a feeling that Arlo somehow talked her into this. But seeing Sera's reaction when she found out about his job... John wasn't so sure.

He wasn't expecting Arlo to make Sera meet up with him, and John didn't know the blond's objective for doing that.

Did Arlo really wanted to help John? Was it just Arlo's fixation with the order? Was he doing this because he's expecting something in return?

It was really confusing. Arlo made it clear that he was disgusted with John, he thinks that the dark haired man was dirty, and that seeing him hurts his eyes. Yet despite what Arlo have said, he still helped him.

John sees himself as filthy too, so he couldn't really blame Arlo for being disgusted with him.

Seraphina asked him about what happened when he disappeared three years ago, and he couldn't bring himself to tell her.

John didn't really mean what happened that night... It was just an accident!! He was just so mad and... It was his fault.

Because of him... His father was suffering.

That day, John learned the truth about his mother and he got mad at him. His mother wasn't dead, she just left them and John couldn't accept it. She doesn't care about John and she even told him that she never wanted to see him ever again.

It really hurts... It was so hard to accept for John that his mother didn't even loved him, and that his father lied to him about her.

When he was young, he wished to have a complete family and he've always wanted to be held by his mother. He thought that she died giving birth but she didn't... Before, he used to looked at photographs of her, wondering what it would be like if she was alive. His father told him that she was the loveliest person he've ever met, and that if she was alive, she'd love him more than anyone else.

He asked his father why he had to lie with him, but John was too childish at that time. He was so mad at his father, and he ran away from home, telling him how much he hated him. His father chased after him, pulling John's arms in the middle of the road. John pushed him away, causing his father to get hit by a truck.

The memory still haunts John until now. He remembered a lot of blood, crying and regrets. Unlike him, his father was a cripple, and his body was much weaker than him.

Fortunately, his father didn't die, he was rushed to the hospital, and was in a coma until now.

John still haven't graduated college, and he didn't have enough money for the bills. Finding a job that pays enough was difficult, whether he hid his ability or not. He was desperate, not wanting to lose his only family.

He tried finding his mother again, he asked her for help, but did she cared? She didn't.

So in the end, John sold his body to anyone. He sleeps with strangers at night, and worked as a cashier during the day-- he even moved out for a cheaper rent but still, it wasn't enough. He wasn't getting enough money, and he barely had any sleep.

He ended up applying as a stripper at a well known bar. They had him strip, inspecting every part of his body and touching him and seeing how he could perform. 

The thing is, they only accept low tiers, and John hid the level of his ability and told them that he could only sense their aura. Fortunately, he was accepted. While working, he found out that being a stripper at that bar makes him earn depending how good he is.

The people who watch him are usually rich politicians, celebrities and those from the authorities. As long as John can please them, they would give him a lot, and he'll have enough money to pay his father's bills. Sometimes, he sleeps with some of them, depending on how much they offered. Although they mocked him, humiliated him and treated him like dirt, he endured all of it.

John felt disgusted with himself, but he needed money, and he'd do anything just to make his father live.

He've cut all of his connections with Sera, because he knew that she'll stop him, and for John, it's better if he just disappeared from her without telling anything.

She's back now, and she really was trying to stop John from doing his job. The dark haired man knew that she just cared for him but, he had to do this. He could ask Seraphina for help, but he would forever owe her in his life.

John may be strong, but he was still weak. He knew that his father wouldn't be proud of him, but it doesn't matter to John right now. He just wanted him to live, is that too much to ask?

It's been three years, but his father still haven't woke up and John was slowly losing his hope.

He visited him once Arlo paid him the amount he promised, and he didn't came to his work again at that night. He just sat beside his father, telling him things, hoping that he could still hear him.

Maybe, John really was a monster. Whether he used his ability or not-- that doesn't change what he is. Maybe, this is why his mother doesn't want anything to do with him.

He've hurt Claire and everyone he knew.

He've hurt Seraphina too, although she was  able to forgive him.

And now, he've hurt his father and he might lose him at any minute.

Crying won't do anything, and it would only make things hurt more. He wanted his father to wake up, but there isn't any sign of him. He felt so filthy, and sometimes, afraid, but he couldn't do anything. John was strong, but he felt so powerless.