After Forever

Part 12

Bright, Tay, New and Win excused themselves from the boys and exited Pluem's dorm room one by one.

"Let's go talk outside," Bright said as he led them down the stairs into the dorm's reception area.

They were already walking out of the dorm's main entrance when Bright turned around and approached the woman manning the front desk.

"Hello miss," he said. "Do you still have vacant rooms here? Preferably near room 207?"

New, Tay, and Win, curiously listened in, wondering what Bright was up to.

"Uh, let me check," the woman answered as she went through an excel file on her computer. "210 is available, the room opposite 207. It's a big room though, good for two people."

"That's perfect. I'll take it. How much is the monthly rent and how much do I need to pay to get it right now?"

"15,000 per month. 1 month advance payment and 2 months deposit. I will have to prepare the contract first so you may come back tomorrow afternoon to sign it."

Bright checked his wallet. "I don't have enough cash right now. Where's the nearest ATM here?"

The lady smiled. "No need to rush sir. You can give the payment tomorrow."

"Can you please reserve the room for me?"

"Sure sir, no problem. Actually, we have a couple of vacant rooms right now. The dorm management is very strict with curfew these days and we also require IDs from visitors. Some students moved to condos so they can go home whenever they want and can have parties inside their rooms."

"That's good news," Bright commented. "I mean, it's good that you have a strict curfew. You still have 24-hour security right?"

"Yes sir."

"And do you have CCTV cameras?"

"We have one at the gate, then one at the main door, and one here at the reception."

"None along the corridors?"

"No sir."

Bright nodded. "Okay. Is it possible to meet the dorm manager tomorrow?"

"Sure sir, he will be the one to go over the contract with you."

"All right, thanks!"

---

"What was that about?" Tay asked Bright when they were already at the dorm's parking lot. There was no other person around aside from them.

"I want Fiat to move here temporarily. It's hard to trust anyone these days. You know we have several helpers at home. A couple of maids, a cook, drivers, security personnel. Some of them are new and I don't really know them. I'd feel more at peace if Fiat stayed here in this dorm, close to Pluem. He also won't have to drive to school anymore. USC is a thirty-minute drive from our house. So many things can happen along the way. I'll also assign a security personnel to follow him around, from a distance of course. I won't even tell Fiat about it.

"Fuck," Bright said as he kicked a pebble on the ground out of frustration. "I'm seriously worried about my brother guys."

New wrapped his arms around Bright. "We understand."

Win slowly approached them and stroked Bright's back. "We're here if you need us. We love Fiat too and we will do everything to protect him."

Tay waited for New to let go of Bright before he hugged him himself. "Dude, it's not just Fiat that we have to be worried about. Those guys are also after you."