Pha's pov:
I noticed he seems to be thinking about something all the way back home.
It doesn't seem to be anything negative as he looks fine but i can tell it's bothering him.
"Ming?" I called him after i stopped in the garage.
He didn't hear me.
"Ming." I shook him gently.
He snapped out of it and turned to me.
"We're here." I said.
He looked around and finally noticed we were in the garage.
We got out of the car and grabbed the bags before heading inside.
"Something bothering you?" I asked Ming.
"It's nothing. Just some useless things." He smiled.
I knew he was lying but decided not to push.
"Woah...." He muttered when we went inside.
"This house is smaller than mom and dad's so this room is not as big as the one there." I said.
"But it's still really beautiful." He smiled widely.
I smiled.
"Let's starts arranging these books."
He nodded.
We arranged the books by their genre and type.
By the time we finished, it was already 4 o'clock in the evening.
"P' i want to ask you something." He spoke up after we sat down on the couches.
"Hm?" I looked at him.
He looked hesitant.
I got up and knelt infront of him.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's....." He fiddled with his fingers.
I gripped his hands reassuringly.
"Today.... When that girl tried to flirt with you...." He looked at me.
I waited for him to continue.
"I felt angry.... I didn't like her touching you.... I wanted to pry her hands off your arm..." He bit his lips.
I blinked profusely.
"I don't know what it is completely but.... I don't see you as a brother.... thinking about you as my brother doesn't sit well with me.....I feel something more.... I don't know what this is.... I'm confused..." He frowned.
My jaw hung low.
He looked at me waiting for me to say something.
But i didn't know what to say.
The things he has just told me, i can relate to those things.
I've also been feeling them.
I've been trying to ignore them but everyday when i see him these feelings grow stronger.
"I.... I also feel something like that towards you..." I said finally.
He blinked profusely.
"I don't want to see you as a brother. I feel uncomfortable when i try to think of you as one. I've never cared about anyone this much. Not even Max, my own brother. I want to protect you from every bad thing in the world and only let you see the good things. I want to keep you by my side at all times and never let you out of my sight. And today when Beam hugged you, i could feel anger boiling up inside me. I wanted to pull you to me and not allow anyone else to touch you. I'm not sure what these feelings are either. " I confessed.
His jaws was also hanging low by the end of it.
I put my chin on his lap and sighed deeply.
"I thought you see me as a kid." He said after a while.
"A kid huh..." I scoffed.
"I don't see you as a kid. True you look like one but your demeanor is that of an adult. Like i've said before i know you're way more mature than your age. And if i saw you as a kid i wouldn't be having these kind of thoughts about you." I explained.
He slowly nodded.
"So what should we do now? Neither of us can figure these feelings out." He asked after a while.
"I honestly don't know either." I folded my arms on his lap and put my chin on them.
He gently ran his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation.
We sat like that for a while in comfortable silence.
"How about we take our time and figure these things out slowly?" He asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at him.
"That's a good idea. Rushing won't do any good. So let's just go with the flow for now and figure things out little by little." I smiled.
He smiled back and nodded.
"Now i kind of have this really intense urge to grow up quickly and actually look my age." He tilted his head.
I burst into laughter.
"Why so suddenly?"
"I don't know. I don't want to be seen as your younger brother i guess." He smiled.
"Then you'll have to eat a lot and drink a lot of milk."
He grimaced.
"You still hate milk huh?" I chuckled.
He nodded.
"I wondered why you drank the whole thing obediently whenever mom gave you a glass of milk even though you hate it so much." I tilted my head.
"I didn't want to waste anything. I realized just how important every single drop is while living out in the streets." He smile thinly.
I pursed my lips.
"You like chocolate milk don't you? You just hate plain milk." I said changing the topic.
He nodded.
"Then you can drink that. As long as it has all the necessary nutrients your body will grow."
He smiled and nodded again.
I ruffled his hair.
Just then my phone rang.
I took it from the desk where i had kept it before starting to arrange the books.
I frowned deeply.
It was Pring.
I sighed deeply and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hey baby!" She answered cheerfully.
I cringed at the pet name.
"I'm not your baby. You have the wrong number." I said flatly.
"No Pha! I don't have the wrong number! I worked so hard to find this number after you changed your old one!"
I gritted my teeth.
"What do you want?"
"Why did you quit so suddenly? You didn't even tell me!"
"I don't need to tell you what i do. We have nothing to do with each other."
"How can you say that Pha baby? I love you so much! We were so happy together!"
"Happy? Don't fuck with me. We were never happy together. You kept harassing me nonstop even after i told you i'm not interested."
"But baby i love you so much! Why would you reject me like this? And you're not working anywhere even! Why did you quit?"
"I quit because i was sick and tired of you, all the rotten doctors and the management. Don't worry about me. I can get a job somewhere else easily if i want to. You can try to pull all the string you can but you won't be able to stop that."
"But baabyyy..."
"For the last time i'm not your baby. Don't call me again." I hung up.
I made sure to block her number so she won't be able to call me again.
I looked at Ming.
He was frowning.
I smiled at the sight.
"Angry?"
He looked down and nodded.
"Don't worry i blocked her number." I said.
He nodded again.
Just then his phone started ringing.
"It's p'Yo." He said and picked it up.
"Yes p'.... No we're at p'Pha's house.... we came here this morning.... The news? Why?" He frowned.
He took his phone from his ear and stared at the screen with a confused expression.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"He asked if i saw the news..." He looked at me.
I blinked.
I took my phone and searched today's news on the web.
I froze when i came across a certain article.
They went all out huh.... I sighed internally when i saw the pictures.
Ming peeked at my phone.
Realisation hit me and i immediately turned off my phone.
But it was too late.
He already saw them.
He was frozen.
"W-were those..." He looked at me wide eyed.
I pursed my lips.
"You don't need to worry about that. Forget about them." I said quickly.
He was silent for a few seconds.
"Ming. Hey." I called him worriedly.
"Why don't i feel sad or worried? My parents were hurt but i don't feel sad or worried about them." He looked at me teary eyed.
I got up and pulled him to sit on my lap facing me while i sat on the couch.
"It's ok to not feel sad. It's ok to not feel worried about them. They abandoned you when you so small. And they never showed any affection towards you. so it's ok to not feel anything about them. You don't need to think about anything. Just focus on me and what's infront of you ok?" I wiped his tears.
He slowly nodded and hugged me tightly.
I hugged him with one arm and took my phone with the other.
I texted Kit.
Me: WHY THE FUCK DID YOU ASK HIM ABOUT THAT?! HE DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT SHIT!! I BROUGHT HIM TO MY HOUSE FOR A REASON YOU KNOW?!
Kit: We're sorry :'( We were just worried whether he was ok.
I sighed after reading that text.
Me: Next time you're worried call me. Not him.
Kit: Got it. We'll keep that in mind.
I kept my phone aside and looked at Ming.
He was staring at me.
"What is it?" I tilted my head.
"Don't leave me behind...." Fresh tears formed in his eyes.
I blinked.
"I won't leave you behind. I'm staying right here. And if i go anywhere, I'm bringing you with me." I kissed his forehead lightly.
He whined softly and buried his face in my neck.
I gently rubbed his back.
I reached between us and put my hand on his chest.
It's not very slow. Just a little below normal.
I breathed a relieved sigh.
"I have some new video games actually. Ones which weren't there at mom and dad's place. You want to play?" I asked trying to change the subject.
He immediately lit up and nodded enthusiastically.
"Let's go." I put him down and we headed to the living room.