Callum woke up with an empty space beside him. Panic and fear shot up inside his body, throwing himself off of the bed like bread popping out of a toaster. He was about to run out the door to look for Lian when he heard whimpers coming from the bathroom. He pushed the door open and saw Lian in the tub, shivering. Callum cursed under his breath and grabbed a towel before attempting to pull Lian out of the tub."Lian, you're going to get yourself sick. You need to get out of the tub," Callum said.Lian weakly pushed his hand away, his body still shivering. "Just a few more minutes, please," Lian quietly begged. "Why?""You know why," Lian muttered under his breath.Callum sighed and pulled Lian out of the tub despite his weak protests. He quickly covered him up with the towel before ushering him to the bed. Callum made sure that Lain was thoroughly wrapped up with the blankets before grabbing a hair dryer. Lian had his eyes closed as Callum dried his hair, the air coming from the drye
A few weeks passed and it seemed that everything had gone back to normal. Lian made an effort to tell Lyle or Callum whenever he felt like sticking a needle in his arm. In everyone's eyes, Lian was getting better again but Lian saw otherwise. The need to be alone and away from the world was getting stronger. He wanted to push everyone away and deal with everything on his own.Lian couldn't even understand why he was feeling this way. It was as if there were two versions of him fighting one another. If it weren't for his fear of losing his brother again, and even Callum and Keane, he would've run away a long time ago but he knew he would only turn for the worse if he did but somehow, somewhere in his mind, a voice keeps telling him to run away, be alone, he doesn't deserve the people around him.Everyone around Lian noticed this about him despite him thinking that he was hiding it well. When he would hesitate when approaching when he would spend hours staring out the door, and when he
Lian woke up to an empty space beside him. Luckily before he even had the chance to panic and overthink, Callum, Lyle, and Keane walked into the room holding with Callum was holding a stack of pancakes overflowing with syrup with a bunch of candles stuck at the top."Happy birthday to you~~~" the three sang.It was his birthday, something he lost the luxury of celebrating. He hated how he spent his past birthdays sulking because his parents couldn't be bothered to be even present on that day. He spent years thinking about how he should've been grateful that Lyle always made an effort to celebrate his birthday with him. When he lost it all, he wished to have it all back. To have Lyle annoy him into blowing the big candle stuck on a small cupcake at precisely twelve midnight. The song finished and Lian blew out the cupcakes as tears clouded his vision. He had forgotten when his birthday was with how long he had spent not celebrating it. Lyle wiped his tears away before giving him a gen
The next few weeks were spent preparing for the opening of the tea shop. Keane and Lyle already handled the location and marketing and Callum helped Lian in developing recipes if helping meant dishwashing. Lian wouldn't let him near the ingredients or the oven after burning a batch of cookies because he followed the Fahrenheit temperature in the recipe instead of celsius. After that, he was banished from doing the dishes. Lian had also decided to continue his therapy and after a visit to a psychiatrist, he was prescribed some medication for anxiety and depression. Lian feared that the medication would do him more harm than good given his history with drugs but his psychiatrist assured him that his medication is not addictive and it proved true as Lian continued to take them.Lian was staring out the window as they drove to the location of the shop. Lian has no idea what the shop looks like seeing how Lyle and Keane designed everything. Callum placed his hand on Lian's thigh which wou
"Lian!" Callum called as he ran toward his best friend."Shit, slow down!" Lian tried to warn but it was too late.Callum threw himself on Lian but the boy was unable to keep his balance. The two fell on the floor with a thud, Lian taking the brunt of it. Callum hurriedly got off of his best friend as he groaned in pain."Oh fuck, I'm so sorry," Callum quickly apologized as he tried to help Lian up but his hand was just swatted away."I'm going to fucking kill you," Lian grumbled as he pushed himself up from the ground. Callum kept his distance as Lian dusted off his clothes. He definitely does not take Lian's threats lightly. "Why did you run me over anyway?" Lian asked in annoyance. "I just missed you, man," he shrugged. "I mean, we're supposed to be spending the last weeks of senior year hanging out but you spent the last month traveling around Europe," Callum complained."Oh no, god forbid I spend time with my family," he rolled his eyes. "You're an ass you know that," Callum
Callum and Lian parted ways after a quick kiss. Lian was smiling like an idiot. Thankfully the night has set in and no one could see how he looked like the joker with how much he was smiling, but it soon turned into a frown when he saw a piece of luggage, his luggage, being loaded up in an unknown car. A man wearing black approached him and all his senses went haywire.Lian turned to run but the man was too fast. He was quickly held down with a rag placed over his nose. He tried making a sound but it came out muffled. Lian felt a prick on his neck and his vision was starting to get hazy and his body was going numb. Lian desperately tried to fight it off as he felt his hands and legs get tied up. The dark made it impossible for other people to see them. Lian could only cry as his world got blurry with each blink. Hours had passed and Lian was awoken by the harsh winds and the sun glaring at his face. His whole body felt sore as he tried to get up from the cold ground. The harsh and pu
6 years later..."Leaving so soon? You've been here for barely a week," Caela muttered. "Sorry, sis. I really have to go. We're setting up our new office in a new city. I have to make sure everything will go accordingly," Calum said as he put on his coat."I know that. Are you sure it's just that? I know what date it is tomorrow, Callum. It's been six years," Caela said.Callum tensed at his sister's accusation but he quickly composed himself. "Can we not talk about that, please," Callum almost begged. "We never talked about it. Callum, you need to-""Stop it, okay? Can't I just leave without any argument issuing between us," he cut off."I'm not starting an argument. You just act so hostile every time I bring that up," Caela defended. "If you're that fucking adamant on leaving, then go," she huffed before turning her back on her brother and running back to her room.Callum sighed as he rubbed his temples. It was not something he wished to deal with. He already had enough on his sh
The night was much colder than the day and Lian's tattered jacket was not doing much to combat the cold. It was still the same jacket that Callum gave him years ago. It had Callum's last name and his player number. Callum was part of the varsity for baseball and Lian remembered attending every game that he could.He hugged the jacket closer to his body, imagining the warmth he used to feel when Callum would wrap his arms around him. He knows there is one thing that could distract him from the cold but he vowed never to use it again, but as the winds became stronger, so did the temptation. I should've grabbed the blanket. Lian thought to himself. A strong gush of wind passed him, making him shiver. Lian could no longer take it. He cursed under his breath and walked the path he vowed to no longer take months ago. His feet took him in front of a steel door with a single light bulb illuminating it. The guard immediately recognized him and opened the door."Long time no see," the guard s