Never close our eyes

Chapter 53- Sympathy

I took a deep breath before entering the cafe.

"Mandy!" I heard a voice call out from behind me so I turned around.

I saw Kent sitting at a table by the window. He waved at me so I walked over to him. Wow, it's been like five years since I last saw him. Yep. He's gone fat. And a bit bald. Well, he is in his thirties... and he does have two kids already so...

I hugged him tightly. "Hey."

"How's my baby sis?" he joked as I sat down in front of him.

"Definitely not a baby anymore, I'll tell you that." I rolled my eyes.

I took a good look at him. His eyes had deep and dark bags around them, like he hasn't slept for days. His hair was just messed up and his eyes were red. He was fat... but he looked so frail. And he had that deep gloom in his eyes. Man, he must've been through a lot.

"How are you doing?" I placed my hand on top of his.

"To be honest, I feel like shit right now." he sighed and looked at my hand. Yep. That's Kent. He's not like the other people who'll say "Oh I'm fine." or "Don't worry about me". He's very honest to himself... and to other people.

"I just- I mean, why the heck does an innocent eight year old kid have to die? And on top of that, why does it have to be my son?" he groaned, his voice hoarse and really worn-out.

"I love Peter, Mandy. I love him so much. When I first carried him when he was born... Well, that must be the best damn thing that's ever happened to me. I just-" his voice trailed off and he couldn't help but cry.

"Hey, it's gonna be fine." I held his hand and patted it.

He sniffed and rubbed his tears away.

"Thanks, Mandy." he smiled and looked up, his eyes red. "The reason why I came here was because I just needed family comfort, you know. The people I'm with there in France... well, they're real great. But they don't know me like you guys." he explained, sniffing every once in a while.

"It's a good thing Lisa allowed me to come here. She actually insisted it too." he smiled, looking at the table mindlessly. Like he was remembering her. Yeah, Lisa... His beautiful wife. She's actually half French and Half American. They met there in France. Talk about destiny right.

"How is she, by the way?" I smiled.

"Heartbroken." he muttered. "If it was me, I would've rather stayed there and died out of misery than leave her in that state, you know. But since I was so sad, she really insisted that I go."

Wow, she's a real great wife, ain't she.

"She's real nice, isn't she?" I complimented.

"Yeah." he sighed.

"There's a family dinner tomorrow night at our parent's house. I mean, you guys are in good terms already, right?" he narrowed his eyebrows and grinned.

"Yeah..." I smiled. "I'll go."

He smiled widely.

"Oh, by the way..." he sniffed. "Bring that Lambert guy tomorrow night." he raised one eyebrow.

Wait, what? He knows?

"Wait... You know?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Have I been living under a rock? Of course. When I arrived US, I immediately saw you guys on twitter and on the paper." he rolled his eyes.

I let out an awkward laugh.

"Anyway, bring him. I wanna see just how straight that guy is." he narrowed his eyes.

"Excuse me?" I scoffed.

"Hey, you're still my baby sis even if you reach eighty, kay? I'll just check to see if he won't hurt you. I mean, he's gay before, right?" he looked at me with seriousness.

Seriously? Why is it that when you say Adam Lambert, people immediately thinks "gay"? He's not just gay, you know. And I mean, he's not gay anymore actually.

"Okay..." I chuckled. But it's great to see him being protective. It's funny. "I'll go tell him that."

"Ya better." he crossed his arms and I laughed.