Kongpob and Arthit: short stories

La Petite Mort part 11

Chapter 11: oh I'm so sorry...

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Present Day

KONGPOB

He's checked Arthit's apartment over like a detective, looked through all the evidence left lying on the bed - their intimate photos, messages of love and even Arthit's wedding ring that has rolled over the edge of the bed and is lying beside a shot of their union on the floor.

He grasps it in his fingers and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss against the silver surface, then he slips it into his pocket alongside his own. Not the one he wore while he was married to her, but the one Arthit chose for him with their initials entwined on the front.

"Where are you?" He says, voice breaking as he holds up the photo of them, both smiling as they lean in for a kiss.

"Arthit! Where are you?"

ARTHIT

Arthit's whole body is shaking as the fire burns through him, the curse showing him how fragile his human body really is. He claws at the ground, trying to distract himself with the pain as his fingernail tips shatter against the concrete floor.

"Kongpob!" He screams, but his voice just echoes in the cavernous room, bouncing back at him and making fun of his pathetic state.

He tries to fight the desire inside, tries not to be encompassed by the intensity, but it burns.. burns like it's clawing to escape his chest and he bellows at the terrible pain as it sears his mind, flames of lust licking through him.

"Help me! Please! Kong!" He howls, voice high pitched as he fights against the curse surging in his veins.

But no-one comes.

He flops against the ground, curling into a ball, defeated.

KONGPOB

"Mother? Where is Jane?"

Kongpob's mother is silent at the other end of the call, stubbornly ignoring his pleas for help.

Her tries again, "If you EVER want to see me again, if you EVER want me to listen to a word you say, then tell me now, WHERE IS JANE?"

She coughs and Kongpob can hear that it's wet with tears, but she continues to stay silent.

"Fine!" He says, mind swimming as he wonders who on earth can help him now.

"K.." she chokes out and he silently listens as his mother tries to say his name, "Kon.. Kong.."

"Yes?" He says, firmly.

"If I tell you.. please.. please.. don't abandon me?"

Kongpob waits silently, unwilling to say he will or won't, hoping that she'll tell him what she knows no matter what.

"I.. I'm sorry my son. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I won't listen to this, Mother! It has happened! And it's happened because of you! Just tell me what you know!"

She sobs again and there's a moment when he's certain she's not going to tell him anything, a moment when all hope fades from his heart as he imagines Arthit lying helpless, in pain, imagining that Kongpob doesn't care.

His whole body is thrumming, adrenaline rushing through him as he anticipates running to rescue Arthit.

"Mother!" He barks and her sobs stop suddenly, only silence in the stillness. "Tell me now!"

"Soi Bandura. I'm certain she has a place there. I— I had her followed, I didn't trust her!"

Kongpob slams his finger on the 'end call' button, wondering if his mother has ever considered the fact that she didn't trust the woman she trusted to break up her son's relationship. It's madness!

"M? Bandura street!" He says as soon as the next call connects and then he grabs the picture of their wedding, still pristine, still perfect, and, clutching it tightly in his hand for strength, rushes out of Arthit's apartment and down to his car, slamming it into gear and roaring off to rescue the love of his life!

ARTHIT

The pain is curling down his spine, dragging him into a tighter and tighter ball where he lays on the ground.

He's given up screaming, the sound rubbing his throat raw and making his ears ring. Now, he's trying to preserve his energy in case she comes back and he has to fight her off.

He's aware of his erection, stiffer than it's ever been, the twisted desire still coursing through him as he imagines Kongpob beside him, touching him, pressing into him.

It's agonising to know he won't come. That he doesn't care.

Unashamed, tears drip down Arthit's cheeks and he lets them, unable to stop the terror that is clutching at his heart.

KONGPOB

He drives like an idiot, rushing red lights, zipping between lanes as spaces open up, desperation clutching his heart tightly.

He feels like he can't breathe as he gets closer and closer to his destination, terror filling him as he imagines what he's going to find when he arrives.

But he's not scared for himself, all his terror is for Arthit. Aware that whatever happens, it is Arthit who will be the one suffering.

Streaking down the final stretch of road, his heartbeat fills his ears, thumping in time to the rhythm or Arthit's name.

"Please be here, please be here," Kongpob mutters over and over as he gets closer, desperation driving him on.

As he pulls to a stop, his phone blares to life with M's name and he scrambles out of the car as he answers.

"Is he there? M, please?"

ARTHIT

Soft hands touch his cheek and Arthit moans, "Nooo, stop it, please! Don't touch me!"

A voice says his name over and over and the hands keep touching his skin, feeling like a thousand insects crawling all over him.

He lifts his own hands to bat them away, but to his horror they won't move, won't lift upwards, not even an inch.

He cries out, his voice sounding desperate even to himself, "Kongpob, please!"

The voice says his name over and over and the hands keep touching him, but they're not comfort, not warmth, not Kongpob!