You are my addiction | Sotus oneshots

Must have been the wind (Part 1)

The sound of a glass shattering startled Kongpob out of his sleep. He thought he must be dreaming until he heard faint muffled sobs from his neighbor's apartment.

His neighbor Arthit was a handsome man. He was kind enough to help Kongpob in handling the huge cardboard boxes during the hectic process of shifting to his new house. 

After that day, their interactions were limited to 'Good morning' and smiles. Arthit's dimpled smile always brightened Kongpob's day but he was too shy to admit it.

Even though they didn't interact much, there had been many nights when Kongpob heard Arthit's muffled cries. The next mornings, Kongpob wouldn't fail to ask him whether he was okay and all those times, Arthit gave him a dimpled smile and walked away from him with a simple 'I'm fine'

This was the first time Kongpob heard such noises from Arthit's apartment. He tried going back to sleep but he was too worried and ended up just tossing and turning before giving up. He wore a t-shirt, walked down the hall and knocked upon Arthit's door. 

"Uhh... Sorry to disturb you, P' but I heard a glass shattering and got worried," Kongpob said as soon as Arhtit opened the door.

"Really? I think your ears must be playing tricks on you. Thank you so much for caring, Nong. That's really nice of you but I have to go back in. I have some work to do."

"But I really heard it."

"I know you are worried. Wish I could tell you about the noise but I didn't hear a thing. It must have been the wind."

Kongpob went back to his room, back to his bed. The noise of the glass shattering and the cries were still fresh in his mind. He didn't know whether what he was thinking was even remotely close to the truth but the fear of something happening to Arthit was strong enough to bring him in front of Arthit's door once again. 

He was about to knock when he noticed the light coming from the little gap at the bottom of the door. The sound of someone crying made it apparent that someone was sitting there crying. Rather than knocking on the door, Kongpob ran back to his room. He took a writing pad along with a pen and wrote a note.

Dear P'Arthit,

Promise I'm not playing tricks on you. You're always welcome to come in for an hour or two if you ever need a friend. We can talk about the noise when you're ready but till then I'll say, "It must have been the wind".

Kongpob silently slipped the note inside Arthit's apartment and came back to his bedroom with a thundering heart. That night, Kongpob couldn't bring himself to sleep. He kept on expecting a knock.

The next morning was no different than others. Arthit once again greeted him with a cute smile and proceeded to go to work.

Months passed and none of them touched the subject again. There were nights when Arthit's cries were heard but he still refused to say anything more than 'I am fine'.

The increasing feelings for him in Kongpob's heart didn't help the hurt Kong felt every time Arthit gave him a fake smile.

One night, Kongpob returned home around midnight and found Arthit sitting outside his door, sleeping in a position that will definitely leave him with a stiff neck.

"Phi? P'Arthit, wake up." 

Arthit's reddish face made him place a hand on Arthit's forehead. Sighing, he opened his door, scooped Arthit in his arms and placed him on his bed. He then rummaged in his apartment for a thermometer.

Once he found an electronic thermometer, he turned it on and pressed it to Arthit's armpit. The beeping sound filled the silent room and the thermometer read 103.7˚F.

Kong filled a bowl with water and dipped a handkerchief in it. He placed the wet handkerchief on arthit's forehead and then proceeded to dip a small handtowel in the water. With shaking hands, he unbuttoned Arthit's shirt and wiped his neck, chest, and stomach.

After an hour of repeating the same process, kong tried going to the kitchen to prepare some hot soup. He hardly took a few steps when arthit's hand clasped around his wrist mumbling, "No. Please, don't involve him in this mess. Mae, stop. He might not even like me. please...mae, please don't involve Kong in this. He doesn't know anything. Mae..."

Seeing Arthit cry and whimper in his sleep made Kongpob feel useless. He couldn't do anything but to remove the long fringes touching Arthit's eyes and wiping away the tears flowing down his cheeks.

TBC