Novels by Purple Venom

—SATURDAY—It was evening, and Ethan was at home. He was bored, tired of watching movies; his stomach ached from too much ice cream and junks, and he didn’t even feel like going out, so he lay on his bed scrolling through the internet on his phone. Then he saw a post Lucien made two minutes ago, a picture of him holding someone’s hand, captioned “Beautiful evening with someone special.”Ethan scrolled like he did every other post; he didn’t even feel a thing or dwell on it. Then he remembered something: he paints. He quickly got up from bed; that’s a perfect way to kill boredom. He started searching for his paints, brushes and other things he needed to paint, but couldn’t find any. He turned his room upside down but found nothing; he even went as far as checking the closet. Then it clicked: Lucien had once told him it was a waste of time that no one looks at paintings anymore and that he hated the smell of paint, and like a lapdog, he had thrown everything in the basement

Ethan decided to shop again. He parked his car at the front of a mall, got out and walked into the mall. He was swinging the keys in his index finger happily. He started shopping, smiling ear to ear. He made sure to get a lot of chocolates and ice creams. He barely got clothes; his cart was filled with junk, snacks and fragrances. After about an hour of shopping, he paid, got the bags and walked out. He packed everything into the passenger’s seat, got in and drove off.Instead of going home straight, he decided to stop at the beach; it was 7pm already. He parked his car, took off his shoes and walked on the smooth sand, letting the breeze into his gut. He walked into the water, the waves washing past his feet; everything screamed peace. He could stay here forever. He closed his eyes, inhaling the cool breeze like his life depended on it. After about thirty minutes, he decided to go home. He put his shoes back on, hopped into his car and drove off. Getting home, he found Lucien’s

—THE NEXT DAY— Ethan was on the couch; he was on a call with his mum, and his face was flushed from smiling too much. He was on a call with his family, and they were telling him about something that had happened, and he couldn’t stop laughing and also feeling guilty for sacrificing the love and happiness from this family for something that was never worth it.“We miss you, Ethan.” His mother said softly on the other end.“I miss you too,” Ethan whispered.“Don’t forget to come for a visit someday, when you feel like it.” His mother said, sadness evident in her voice.“I’ll be coming over today,” Ethan announced. The other end was silent for a second, just a second before everyone started screaming and jubilation filled the air; Ethan smiled. They talked a bit more, and the call ended. He stared at the blank screen and hugged the phone to his chest; Lucien’s voice interrupted everything.“Who got you all smiles?” Lucien crossed his arms over his chest.“And why do

—THE NEXT DAY— It was already 8:00am when Ethan woke up. He yawned and went into the bathroom to do his morning business. He got out, threw on casual wear and went downstairs. As he took his last step down, he noticed Lucien was still around. He rolled his eyes and was heading to the kitchen when Lucien called,“Not even a good morning?” He said calmly.Ethan was quiet for some seconds before speaking, “Good morning.” He continued his steps, but Lucien stopped him again,“Make me a cup of coffee.” He ordered without looking up.“Ever seen me serving in a coffee shop?” Ethan asked.“What?” Lucien raised a brow.“You’ve got arms and legs for a reason, but if you don’t know any reason, I’ll give you one. Your legs are meant to walk towards the kitchen, and your arms are meant to prepare whatever you want. Do you get it now?” Ethan rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen.After a few minutes, he walked out with a coffee mug in hand. Lucien looked up and smiled,“I

The line on the other end was quiet for about thirty seconds, but it felt like years to Ethan; he stayed, whatever came, he’d accept. And then, her voice came, shaky, unsure, almost scared, “Ethan?”“Mum… how…are you?” Ethan felt guilty and awkward; that was his fault; he had caused this. It wasn’t right to feel awkward talking to one’s parent, but here he was.“I…I’m okay now.” She seemed to smile a little. “How have you been?” She asked.Ethan was quiet, unsure of what to say. Had he been fine? Definitely not, but he can’t say that to her; that would be selfish of him to make her worry over him after everything he had done. “I’m fine.” He lied.His mother was quiet; she could sense the wrong in his voice. “Who are you with on the phone?” Mr Vale’s voice came through. Ethan almost hung up; he wasn’t braced for talking to his dad yet, but he stopped himself, reminding himself that he would take everything they do, because he caused it.“It’s Ethan,” his mother’s voice came through

Lucien furrowed his brows in confusion,” What?” “The….kitchen…is…that…way…make…use…of…it…” Ethan practically spelled out every word. Lucien was quiet for a minute; Ethan had never talked to him in that tone before- that’s not Ethan. Normally, Ethan would apologize, quickly rush to the kitchen to make him breakfast and do anything it takes to satisfy him, but… this time, Ethan looked rather unbothered than sorry. Maybe he’s just angry; he’s obviously angry about something; he’ll come around. Lucien convinced himself, shrugged, grabbed his suitcase and keys, then walked out.Immediately he left, Ethan scoffed, How pathetic I had been in my past life, following his orders like a dog.” He rolled his eyes with irritation as he kept replaying the way Lucien had requested his food. How stupid he had been in his past life to think Lucien loved him, when he practically used the same voice he’d use for a junior staff member in his office to talk to him. Lucien never faked anything; he made