Chada
The way a tragedy can bring people together or drive them apart, that is often an indication of how close one is to the other, or how deep the stakes lay.
"Go, okay? Go. I'll be fine. Find Abyss and fix this." Sarit looked at me a bit pained upon hearing those words.
"I trust you," I said from under the lumber. I had expected, given all the threats Sarit had made on my life all these months, that he wouldn't hesitate. Yet, here the boy in front of me looked like he was torn between two separate worlds. I smiled at him weakly, finally I had made him grow attached to me.
We'd been relaxing watching some BL he liked in the morning before work, a new ritual we created that had carved out a soft time together that was for more than just sensual matters. It was a time we could acclimate to each other and exchange little bits of banter.
Sarit looked at peace, despite his little grumblings here and there. He stopped fixating on the small things and enjoyed my company. I started to see him open up more.
"My mother never told me about series like this," he said watching the TV. I nodded and told him, "Yeah there weren't really any of these before 2015, so she was probably not familiar with them herself."
"Whoa, 2015? That means it's been such a baby. To become such a big thing so fast is a lot of change."
"Yeah, the world is changing faster than we often realize. Often people think for the bad, I can't deny there is a lot of that. However when it comes to LGBT matters and gender equality and so on, we really have been making so much improvement. In fact, the law recently passed here in this country that allows gay marriage now." I said back to him, softly stroking his hair as he somewhat leaned against me.
"It wasn't before now?" he asked, surprised.
"Unfortunately not, but this country is the first in South East Asia to pass the law permitting it. That means that we're setting a precedent. Hopefully soon, more will follow." I said to him optimistically.
He nodded, smiling softly, as if this was exciting to him. He turned back to the TV when our time was disturbed by a low rumble, the thunder from a storm that seemed so intense it shook the ground.
Sarit instantly started up, looking around. He was no longer calm now as he seemed to silently observe the area.
I said nothing at first. I had expected maybe it was just a normal storm. It wasn't as if Thailand didn't regularly have storms and monsoons. I didn't say anything though, and instead waited for Sarit to come to his own conclusions. Since the day they pulled me back when Onyx had entered the water, I learned sometimes they sensed things and knew things that I was not in tune to.
I was the only non sea creature out of the four of us. It felt a bit weak not being able to help them much, but I was content with my position.
"Something feels off," he said on edge, his tone turning to a concerned pitch as he looked as if he was about to bolt. "I can feel magick," he breathed.
I looked at him wondering what we're supposed to do. "You can go check up on your waters or Abyss if you need to," I said to him, figuring business comes first and he'd come back after.
He nodded with an uncertain look, already getting up to go, when the storm seemed to surge. It was as if it was trying to rip off the roof. I got up startled, "Okay, that doesn't look good. Let's get to safety," I said urgently, feeling we had no time.
The beachwood pillar of my precious home was in between the both of us as I was trying to make my way to him. Suddenly the bar seemed to snap. I felt my body tense as I looked at it falling.
The pillar seemed to crack and collapse a bit, it was cascading down in the direction of Sarit who'd turned to face me after I spoke.
"Watch out!" I said to him, and without thinking, instantly dashed to him. I was not a strong, particularly skilled individual. I had no magick powers. I could only try to be there for him, like a pillar of support that doesn't break. I wanted to be there to give him a beaming smile and protect him. That was at least what I hoped I could do despite being a human.
I caught the pillar before it crushed him, but it seemed to break off its wood and impaled the outer layer of his arm. If not for the urgency of the situation, worry would have overcome me.
I had no time to do that though, as I wasn't strong enough. It ended up falling onto my leg and abdomen, trapping me underneath.
"Chada can you move?" he asked me, both worried and feeling as if he shouldn't be. You could almost sense the trepidation in his voice as he looked at me in this situation.
"No I can't move," I said, wincing as I tried to squirm around a bit. I realized already as this was happening, the storm was worsening dramatically and I feared the house collapsing on him as he stayed.
"Just go, I'll be fine. You need to find Abyss. Maybe he can help fix this situation or you can help him fix it. I'm worried about your arm. If he is with Onyx, maybe he can heal you."
"I shouldn't have told you about Onyx's powers if you're just going to tell me to go away whenever you want. If you can nag me and enter my life whenever you want, who says you can tell me to go whenever you want," he replied a bit feisty and angry, a bit as if he wasn't sure himself if he should just go. It was as if something was holding him here though. Something more that during this situation he couldn't ignore.
I laughed at him softly, "Oh, you're being dramatic, and as cute as it is, you've seen too much BL. I'm just asking you to go get a medic or call 191. I'm not asking you to leave me forever. In fact, you're not getting rid of me that easily, babe."
His facial expression flickered for just a brief moment at me calling him babe, before returning to the urgent matter at hand. "Give me your phone," he said, looking at me.
I pointed. "It's by the door, hurry and go okay? It's in that bowl there where I keep my car keys. Call the number like I taught you. Tell them the address, and go find Abyss."
He looked at me with a determined nod and dashed over to the phone and the exit while the building continued to crumble even further.
He looked back at me as if very unsure if he should really leave. I nodded and smiled at him, watching as he exited the building.
I sighed in relief, I told him he was being overdramatic and got him to leave for his own safety, but I couldn't feel my lower leg right now. I knew what this likely meant, as I looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't regret a thing, Sarit," I said to the empty air where dust swirled around me and the building threatened me with each passing minute.
I did not know if he would return as my body passed out.
I awoke to the white lights of a hospital. I figured pretty quickly that emergency services had arrived and helped me. I felt a sharp stinging pain in my abdomen, but still not my leg. I tried to ignore whatever nagging suspicion I had now and open my eyes slowly.
I hoped like in the movies, I would meet my eyes with a worried Sarit. My room though, was empty.
I groaned and lifted myself up trying to get a better look at the situation. The beep of a machine next to me was the only thing other than myself breaking the silence. I pressed the call button to ask the staff what happened.
"Oh you're awake?" a nurse asked, while going around the side of my bed to properly check the vitals.
"What happened. Where is Sarit?"
"Sarit?" the nurse asked. "A gorgeous seductive looking boy?" I said back, hoping the description would ring a bell.
"Sorry, I haven't seen anyone like this. We can help you call someone if you like. We just found you because someone called emergency services and we saw the damage and pulled you and other neighbors out," she said, nicely explaining the situation. "Quite the storm wasn't it?"
"Yeah..." I trailed off. I figured calling Sarit would be hard if he was still in the water. However, worry consumed me now remembering his arm and that he'd gone off to find Abyss and Onyx.
I instead called my sister, but I felt the loneliness in that hospital. When she arrived, tears consumed me and she didn't know why. She tried to distract me and give me fruit to eat, noticing the lack of the boy she knew I was interested in. She didn't ask though, she thought better of it. Hours went by, and I still saw no sign of Sarit.
Nothing happened to him right? He would come back to me right?