Ryan,a seventeen years old boy finally escaped from his abusive adoptive father after getting beaten to pulp. And ran away in a new city where he knew no one except his childhood buddy, Darius who lived in that city for his studies. This young man was delighted to hear from Ryan, who had gone incognito for over a year. Atleast finally Darius would get a chance to confess his feelings but he decided not to rush. However,when Ryan met Owen, a good-looking guy in the book store, he felt something. Something so different and dificult to understand for a teen boy who never went out of the mansion his adoptive father kept him like a prisoner. Will his budding feelings for Owen Davenport, son of a CEO, lead him to happiness with acceptance or someone else will take his heart, like his childhood friend who was blessed to have him again in his life? What will happen when Ryan tells Owen about his feelings? Acceptance or a heartbroken rejection, Read the novel to find
View MoreHe was running away in the middle of the night, trying to escape his hellish reality.
In that dark forest, he clutched his bag to his chest. Far away there was a small light glancing at him, leading the way to the end of the jungle. He couldn’t see clearly that far clearly as he lost his glasses while running.
A gleam of light shone in front of his eyes, making him desperate to reach that beam of light like a mayfly. He sped up, hoping to end his sufferings, checking around to see if anyone’s there, tumbling over a puddle, spraining his left ankle. He couldn’t let a sound off his mouth. Withstanding the pain, he kept on leaping around that sprained ankle. Eventually, he saw that beam of light up close. It was the street light of the road where the forest ends. He panted, drooping on the ground, sweat and dirt dripping all over his face. He left a long sigh, murmuring, “I reached the end! Now no one can find me.”
Though it wasn’t the end of his escape, he took a quick break on a large stone right below the street lamp. There was a bus stop beside him.
Sitting on the stone there, he took out a crumbled sandwich, wrapped in a plastic foil, he had in his backpack. It won’t make him full, but he only had this at the moment.
He took off his shoes to see his left ankle swollen and reddened. Small bruises all over his feet from scratching on sharp branches made it unbearable to watch. He wrapped peony printed handkerchief tightly on the wound it was given to him. Placing his leg on a small stone like a footrest, he rested there for a while.
A white bus stopped at the bus stop in front of him, waiting for him to get on. That road was always quiet, no people uses this bus stop ever. So if someone’s been waiting for something in the middle of the night there, it must be this bus, as it’s the last bus for that night, to the next city.
Hurriedly, he put on his shoes, took his bag and got on the bus in one jump, feeling numb down his feet.
This bus was quite old, the fabrics on the seats were torn at places, but it’s the only bus to go next city in that midnight.
He sat at a window seat in the very back of the bus, his heart still pounding from both excitement and fear. His legs trembled as sweat dripped all over his body.
The tranquil icy breeze brushed his face, making him calmed for a moment.
The bus was almost empty at this hour, with only a few passengers here and there. It was too dark inside. He looked out the window.
The bright full moon lit up the entire forest. He smiled as the leaves on the tree waved him goodbye.
At the next bus stop, a young man sat beside him, wearing an expensive tuxedo suit. The way his suit gleamed, even a child can say it’s an expensive or limited edition one. His bitter face made him look like a young CEO of a big company, but it was unusual for someone like him to be on a bus and in this middle of a night.
He couldn’t think much, just hid his face beneath his hoodie, staring at the window. Slowly, he fell asleep, enjoying the breeze.
Two young boys, around 5-6 years old, were playing in the sand on a sunny day in an empty playground. One of them couldn’t make a sand castle no matter what. Though his friend helped him, his castle fell down repeatedly as soon as he built it. That place was as quiet as a desert.
“Ryan, let’s play something else,” his friend asked him, tugging his arm.
“What should we play?”
“Hm… We can play a role-play game as a family. Ryan, you be my wife. I’ll work for you and you’ll cook me food.” They were playing by themselves for quite a long time when his mother called him over from a distance, “Ryan, let’s go home.”
Their mothers were chitchatting while they were playing. Ryan waved his friend Darius a goodbye and went with his mom.
His dad was reading a book in their study room when they reached home. They were a loving, happy family with a big house, comfortable and cozy. One could feel warmth in their everyday life.
He dashed to his father, laughing and talking about how he spent his day playing with Darius. Suddenly, he heard something breaking down behind him, turned to see his mom, standing at some distance while the walls crumbling in front of her. She faded away in front of his eyes, his face saddened, eyes filled with tears. He cried and ran to save her. Only to notice his father too was disappearing, he ran to catch his dad, but to no avail, he lost his perfect happy family in front of his eyes.
Ryan woke up from a sudden yell beside him with teary eyes. Looking around, he saw the familiar shops leaving behind, where Mr. Dayholt took him to buy all of his favorite stuffs, when he noticed the guy beside him yelling at his mobile.
“How the hell did you get to be my manager? You can’t even take care of my car…” That guy shouted at his phone, “In this middle of the night I can’t even get a taxi.”
“Sorry Mr. Davenport, it was my negligence. I am driving there to pick you up,” his manager replied over the phone, his voice trembling like he can predict it’s the last day of his job.
“No need, you go back, I’m already in a bus, I’ll meet you at my office, don’t waste time anymore… And take my car from there and arrange my flight ticket for tomorrow evening, don’t forget,” he hung up the phone.
Ryan stared at his sharp jawline, which made his face more graceful the more he looked. That guy was a tall and bulky one, unlike Ryan, a skinny skeleton.
Hours later, in the early morning he reached the next city, a calm breeze blew through him, freshening his mind. He didn’t want to remember any of his past that happened in these few years, though it haunted him every second.
Ryan’s father was a high-ranking employee in a famous company five years ago, but he lost his job. He harassed a female co-worker in a year ending party. After losing his job, he started gambling with his saved up money, hoping to earn a lot more money without even working, but blew them over in a blink of an eye.
Even to put food on the table, money, he gambled over their house. They lost both their house and dignity.
They moved to a small room apartment after being homeless like that. But his father’s temperament worsened. He went mad for even a tiny bit of mistake by his wife or son. Beating them whether he was drunk. The only difference was when drunk, he acted like a beast, breaking everything in their tiny house, beating anyone he find in front of him.
Every time his father went on a rampage, his mother put him in their small bedroom and locked him. That room was small, with just an old mattress on the floor lying. Ryan cuddled in that mattress, covering his ears. He never wanted to hear her screaming like that.
When his father beat her enough, then he started a hunt for his son.
Ryan looked at a scar on his hand near his elbow and thought, “I shouldn’t dwell on my past… I am going to live my life fullest from now on”.
He walked past an alley searching for the said address on the small note he had in his hand. The next alley was the one. He put aside the note in the front pocket of his denims.
That narrow alley could only fit two people walking together through there. He walked down there, passing two apartment buildings in the search of 25/A/1 B Lane.
At a corner of an old building, he found the written address, but it was too old and rusty. All over the writing, he couldn’t read it properly.
Without hesitation, Ryan rang the doorbell. No response came. He was about to call his friend’s number when he heard the door opening sound. He stood there properly straight and neatly to greet his friend.
“Darius! At last I found the correct place,” Ryan sighed, as it relieved him to see him.
“Well, come on, my room’s on first floor, let’s go,” he guided his friend to his room, walking through those narrow stairway.
“How long have you been living here?” he almost stumbled over while stepping on the step of stairs.
“Hmmm… about 3 years,” Darius noticed him, taking his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Ryan’s feet were numb and swollen, but somehow he tried to walk as normally as possible. His friend might worry about this small thing.
“Dad and mom are working all the time, so I have to live on my own anyway,… so here, I’m living,” He smiled at him, unlocking the door of his room.
“All by yourself?”
“Yeah! It’s easy, don’t worry, you’ll get accustomed. Well, I’ve got a roommate for the first time you see.”
They entered a relatively enormous apartment. It’s Darius’s room. Relatively big because the apartment Ryan lived before with his parents was only an apartment with a small bedroom and hall cum kitchen with a cramped bathroom. But Darius’s house is a lot bigger, with a bedroom cum study room. Although piles of books scattered literally everywhere, clothes all around the bed, chair and also from the cupboard hanging.
“It’s quite messy now I know,” Darius hurried to gather his shirts and stuck them in the cupboard, stacking the books and comics on the table, “Now, now, you sit here.”
“Um, this is a single bed.” Rubbing the bedsheet, Ryan looked around to find another bedroom but there wasn’t any, “It’s quite small.”
“Yeah, I’ve talked to the owner. She will manage another bed. It’ll come in the next few days, so adjust for now, haha.” Darius brought him a bottle of water while talking.
“… Thanks,” for Ryan. He was the savior. It’d be troublesome for him to find a place when he didn’t even have enough money.
Darius realized he might feel guilty. He smiled, “You can stay here as long as you want, don’t take any stress about anything. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll be at your service,” he chuckled.
“We apologize for what happened. Stan Welsh, reportedly, was sighted in the other area and we fastened security there, but never thought it could be a trap.” Said a bulky police officer in his tidy uniform. Owen and Jim stood on either side of him, listening to him carefully. Jim furrowed his eyebrows to hear him being a murderer. “Stan was on run for several months from the mental facility. At first they hushed up the case, but later they admitted their negligence and were punished for that. He had been hiding with one of his friend whom he later killed by stabbing with a sharp piece of glass. And he dumped his body in the river after it decomposed. Neighbors complained about smell, but he scared them off.” The officer sighed to see Jim’s widened eyes, while Owen looked miserable. Jim saw Amy behind the officer, running towards them when the officer asked for his leave. He nodded, and Amy joined them. “How is he?” “Doctor said. He’s fine. Just lost too much blood and when we found
His doorbell rang as he combed his silvery hairs down to his temples. Looking excited, the person he expected all day had come and on time. The sky illuminated the dusky glow with the setting sun. His heart thumped. It was like a dream. He slapped his cheeks to get out of it, but was glad to see it was real.Ryan walked confidently to the door. This time was different. They had no feud, no disagreement, and they were just going to reconcile officially with whatever dispute they had before. The memory lane of the day he confessed came down to him. The face, he remembered, the stone face insulting his feelings. But it was a long ago.He should not dwell on that painful past and accept this present like a god sent gift. His steps staggered near the door. He took a deep breath and opened the door, his face delighted to think he was meeting him.But the moment he opened the door, his eyes found a strange man peeking at him, a man in his forties, a face
Chapter 61: Linda’s last favorThe hall filled with gloomy conspiracies of how Natalie must have killed her husband and attempted to kill his son too, just for his wealth, and stepped back from her any chance they got. Natalie glared around those people gossiping and found her daughter in a stunning white dress in the crowd, glaring at her. She never saw this kind of look on her face. It was disgust, a pure disgust that Natalie had never received from anyone.The stage was hectic, and a pair of wide hands grabbed Ryan’s neck firmly. He staggered behind. His windpipe tightened, and he felt no air inside him. These hands belonged to Lavenda, who was out of her mind, he guessed. Her blood-red eyes darting him and cursing at her top voice, he heard not much. People from beside them pulled her off when, a minute later, he found his neck released. The sudden gust of air slammed into his lungs. He felt his life coming back slowly.Jim was behind him, holdin
Chapter 60: The eventRyan looked up at the enormous chandelier hung from the white ceiling, sparkling the whole place with its mesmerizing shine. It covered the entire ceiling of the great hall of the banquet palace they hired for this event. He himself dressed up like a prince in his all white three-piece suit, a glimmering wrist watch, his grandfather gave him two days ago.His grandfather called him a day before yesterday evening suddenly to his mansion. Although not quite satisfied with this family, Ryan reconciled with him and decided to throw this event on his grandfather’s eighty-fifth birthday. He was more than delighted to hear his arrangements and Lavenda too, threw a family get together for her father but on Ryan’s request they turned it into a big event.He looked at his square golden watch. Mr. Dayholt specially ordered it from France to gift him. It was around eight o’clock and the hall was filling with their expected guests. He
Jim lunged at his feet, startling her, and he mistakenly stepped on her feet and was about to scream in shock, but Amy slapped her palm on his lips, forced to mute him. Her strength made him stagger, and his back stamped on the wall behind.Amanda, on top of him, glared at him to stay quiet. Her feet must have hurt a lot. He saw her watery eyes. The torch rolled down the ground; it lit the entire floor.The lady outside quieted down and her heels slapped against the floor further away. Amanda sighed with relief, still cupping his mouth in her palm. Jim tried to speak to tell her about the uncomfortable position they were in. His chest pressed against hers, his ears burning. He felt his torso tensing up, and wanted to push her off, but he can’t thrust her off with a person lingering outside.“Shhhhh…” she flapped her finger on her lips, “I think it’s Stephanie. She must have stayed late,” she wh
A faint caramel aroma spread through the table where Amanda sat alone. People around her gossiped on their table in their own world, trying out the delicious desserts they ordered. The walls on her side had peculiar looking arts hanging through the entire wall.Maybe art lovers will see the beauty in it, but Amy only saw some unusual blocks and colors mixed together. The owner must be a well off art lover to afford these art pieces, she reckoned when a gentle young boy, around in his teen, walked in with a tray full of desserts and served the ones she ordered.He looked as delicious as those desserts, but she had to refrain her hungry heart from doing some terrible act of flirting with a teenager. The boy left for another table and she addressed the desserts. The mouthwatering fragrance choked her. Now she understood why this place was so popular on the internet. It was far from where she worked now but a safer place in case someone eavesdrop at the
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