Stumbled In Love [Complete]

39.

I felt her nails dig into my skin, her wiry digits wrapped around my arm painfully as she dragged me forward. And even though I am more than used to her shoving me around whenever she got a little too frustrated with me, at least the adult me had learned long ago to not let her push me around any way she wanted.

But today, today I was simply without any energy. As if having to talk to my oh so wonderful mother wasn't taxing enough, on top of that I had to resist succumbing to Kong's persistence at how we were definitely not going to break up stubbornness. How do I convince the boy that what I am doing is actually for his benefit? And then there was the situation with Sol. I don't even know how to even begin reconciling my emotions when it came to him. So honestly, I wasn't even trying. Barely attempting to shrug out from her clutches. After all it's not like she could repeat what she had done when I was 10 once again, where for the enormous crime of accidentally breaking her good plate, the woman had dragged her blind child to the middle of a deserted road and abandoned him without any way of having the sense of direction. Honestly, if my Sol, who also happened to be only 10 at the time, by the way, hadn't spent hours looking for me, I am pretty sure I would still be tapping my stick away walking in the wrong direction.

Now, years, and over a decade of baggage later, the worse my mother could do was throw a few wayward punches and slaps until she tired herself out and stormed away until she decided it was time she needed me again.

Bracing myself for the first strike, making sure my expressions remained as neutral as possible, cause no way would I give her the satisfaction of seeing how much she still had the power to affect me, when all of a sudden everything around me just stilled when we heard the sounds neither of us was ever expecting to hear from only a few feet away.

"Arthit! Oh sweetie, there you are. "

"Mrs...Mrs. Suthiluck?"

Am I dreaming or is there really a whole parade of footsteps rushing towards us right now? And one of them actually belonging to Mrs. Suthiluck?

Apparently, not, cause both me and my mother stood there frozen like statues, taken completely by surprise as I next heard the highly unexpected voices of the older twins, quickly followed by the younger ones. Boisterously loud sounds drowning each other to the point that my confused brain had literally no idea what the fuck was going on.

And if anyone ever asks in the future, I am going to totally blame this salad of bewildering voices as to why the rest of my senses completely missed the soft footsteps right beside me, or the muted perfume I am only too familiar with, until I felt a warm palm slowly glide down my arm until it circled around my wrist, long, slender fingers lacing through mine as Kong gave my hand a quick squeeze. His other hand moving swiftly to pry away the fingers still clutching my elbow, before taking one step forward, effectively pushing my body behind his.

My mind racing a mile a minute, as it slowly began sinking in what dramatic hell I was currently in the middle of.

Kong was here.

Kong was here!

I mean, do you even understand the severity of the situation?

Kong was here!

Along with most of his family.

Having almost definitely witnessed at least part if not all of the conversation with my mother. All my excuses, all my embarrassments laid bare in front of all of them.

And honestly, I don't know if it was I or my mother who was more shocked at this drastic turn of events, cause I couldn't even find it in me to let out an evil laugh as I heard her stammering voice.