Sotus Short Stories

Divorce Lawyer in Love (Part 7)

Arthit

He felt out of place. For the past couple of hours, Arthit still could not wrap his head around the fact that he had almost died not once but twice that night. He was still inside Kongpob's car as the man had gone to pick up Yo from his mother's home. He was in there for a very long time leaving Arthit alone with his thoughts and the pain that his body was feeling.

What would he do now? He had missed his only chance of leaving Thailand. Yet at the same time he could not help but feel relieved. He'd wanted to escape so badly, he'd forgotten that by doing so he would be alone. He had spent the past five years in complete loneliness. Him moving away to a place where he did not know anyone by himself. In the end, it would still be a miserable life by himself too. 

It wasn't until he had seen his friends again that he realized just how completely lonely he had been. He wanted his old life back, not a new one. He wanted a life where he could roam free without having to look over his shoulder.  He wanted to paint again. He hoped to travel to Paris. He hoped that he could smile again and laugh. 

Love... it was too soon for him to think about that. He just wanted to go back to being a human again. 

The sound of the car opening startled him and when Arthit looked up he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was only Kongpob. He had a sleeping Yo in his arms. 

"We can go home now," Kongpob said to him before he placed Yo in his car seat. The little boy seemed to stir for a moment before he went back to sleep. Arthit would have placed the blanket on him but it was covered in blood. Instead, he took off the hoodie that Beam had let him borrow and used it as a blanket to cover Yo up. 

Kongpob started the car up again after getting back inside. Neither spoke a word and the two simply began to drive in silence. Arthit looked out of the window, knowing well that he could relax again. They were far away from danger and he just hoped that for now he would be safe. 

He looked at the man that had helped him. Arthit had not expected it. He had been so used to people turning a blind eye and pretending as though his pain and suffering was not real. He had expected Kongpob to be the same. Why? Because he was Knot's business partner. Knot and Kongpob had grown up together. He knew from Knot that Kongpob was more of a brother than a best friend.

Part of Arthit had always believed that Kongpob had known what was going on with him. He could not believe that the man was not only risking his friendship with Knot but that in fact he had been willing to risk his own life to help him. He thought back to just a few hours prior. Kongpob had bravely put himself in harm's way for him. Arthit was sure that Kongpob would be killed because those men had guns with them. 

In the end, he was too afraid and traumatized to do much to help himself or Kongpob and he had run. His mind kept flashing back to Jae Ha, who had been left unconscious or maybe even dead at that art gallery. What would Byul think? Would she blame him? Would she hate him? What about Ming who was Jae Ha's younger brother. 

He had put the only people that cared about him in danger all because he had believed he could be happy with a man who in the end had not loved him. The image of Knot covered in blood came to his mind again. 

In spite of everything that the man had ever done to him Arthit still cared. It wasn't because he loved him. That feeling had died inside him so long ago. Arthit doesn't really think that what he felt for that man was love. But what he does feel is concern. Not for the man he once loved, but for the man that his sister had once loved. 

He felt so confused about his own feelings because even though he wished Knot lived he also did wish he would die. If there was a way that the part of Knot that had become this demon could die then Arthit hoped this was the way. Freedom would never truly come again. He would always have it at the tip of his fingers but as long as Knot lived, as long as Knot refused to let him go he would never truly be free.