Trash Polka | ForthBeam

Chapter 7

Forth deepened the kiss.

The pain on his hands was washed when they landed on Beam's jaw, the ache in his abdomen was gone when Beam leaned on it, and the sting at the corner of his lips was wiped off when Beam kissed him back.

If this were the treatment he was going to get every time he got into a fight, Forth would gladly offer himself to be beaten up.

Beam, on the other hand, was feeling conflicted. On one side, he wanted them to continue this, whatever this was. On the other side, he didn't want Forth to kiss him only because it was a spur of the moment. He didn't want Forth to kiss him just because they shared the same tattoos.

"Beam..." Forth spoke when their lips parted. "I'll explain everything, okay? Please don't go."

Beam stuttered, "O-Okay. You better do, Forth. I don't want to... assume things."

Forth was grateful Beam was willing to listen. If the rest of the university were at least half as critical as Beam, they would have asked for a proper explanation from him rather than believing an easy lie.

"The guy I beat up... isn't innocent, Beam," Forth began. "He was about to rape the girl. My gang and I were on our way back from the hazer meeting when we saw the two of them. I..."

Beam saw a flash of hesitance in his eyes, so he took Forth's hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Forth took a deep breath, calming himself.

"I... have a bad experience with rapists, so I just... lost control, I guess," he continued, his voice wavering.

Beam's breath hitched. What does that mean? Was he...?

"I beat him up without mercy... but I had no regret," Forth continued. He took his hands and propped his temples with them, massaging them to reduce the incoming headache. "The girl is unconscious when we brought her to the hospital. I really hope she's okay... and I hope she's willing to at least give an explanation about what happened. She's the only one whose voice can be heard..."

Beam's heart hurt seeing Forth look so helpless in front of him. The person who had always looked strong and intimidating turned out to be so vulnerable. Beam took his arms and wrapped it around Forth's neck before pulling him closer. Forth's arms snaked around his waist.

"I-If only I didn't lose control," Forth croaked. "They wouldn't have... Their names are tainted, Beam, because of me."

"Forth, it's not your fault," Beam assured.

"But it is..." Forth whispered helplessly.

"We can always ask the girl for a statement, right?" Beam offered, pulling back slightly to meet his eyes.

Forth shook his head dejectedly. "When we brought the girl to the hospital, we received a notification from Facebook about the video... and so we left her. When we came back the next day... she was already discharged. The nurse said her family took her back and was unable to give out any information regarding her due to... well, obvious reasons."

"How did you know it was Nong Suthee who posted it? It was sent anonymously," Beam asked.

"I confronted the page admin," Forth said. "It was a gamble, but considering I have nothing to lose anymore, I threatened him to tell us."

"You— What the fuck?"

"Hey, I had no other choice," Forth reasoned. "Taking down the post is useless because it has spread like wildfire, so the second best thing is to find the person who sent the video: Suthee. Who knows, maybe he's willing to give an explanation saying it was a misunderstanding?"