THORN LOVE

He knew

"There is no terror after the bang of the gun; only the anticipation in it." —Alfred Hitchcock.

~

Porsche?" Mile called out. He knocked a couple times, but there was no answer, so he slowly opened the door and entered the room. He stood there, completely shocked by the scene unfolding before his eyes. Porsche moves away from Tawan. With a heavy sigh, he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Tawan winces as he stands up from the floor, his hand instinctively reaching for his neck. He takes a few deep breaths before abruptly running out of the room. Porsche's gaze drifted upward to the ceiling as he tried to suppress his emotions.

"Why are you here? No....How did you know I'm here?....Are you stalking me now?" Porsche yelled, his voice rising an octave. He is feeling extremely annoyed by Mile's presence at this moment. It's even worse that the man always runs into him at the worst possible times. "GET OUT!"

"I said get out!" Porsche looked him straight in the eyes and yelled again with even more force.

Mile was taken aback for a moment, needing a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "Porsche," Mile's voice was soft as a whisper when he called out. He can see Porsche's eyes were brimming with tears, threatening to spill over.

"I said....," Porsche's words caught in his throat when his voice broke down. Running towards him, Mile wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug. Porsche was unable to hold back the tears that streamed down his face. Mile held onto him, offering a safe space for him to release all the emotions he had been bottling up inside.

***

Kinn had just left in the morning when Mile called him to say hi. As soon as Porsche's hoarse voice reached his ears, he was filled with worry. Porsche reassured him that he was perfectly fine, but Mile remained unconvinced. He warned him that if he didn't see a doctor now, he would have no choice but to take him there himself. Knowing Porsche didn't look well the last few times he saw him, hearing his weak voice, really worried him. Porsche didn't want to cause the man any distress, so he assured him that he was currently receiving care at the hospital. Mile's care for him is genuine, and he knows it. When Mile said he was coming to visit, Porsche declined and said it wasn't necessary.

At the rooftop garden of the hospital, Mile and Porsche sat in silence.

"I'm sorry," Porsche apologies, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. He felt guilty for being harsh on him. "I didn't mean to...."

"Let's not say sorry or thank you to each other," Mile interrupted.

"I hurt him on purpose because I had been holding onto my anger for too long. I don't think I meant anything that I said to him. Actually, I was jealous of him," Porsche admits, glancing at his wedding band.

"My husband, Kinn, really loves him. He was his first love. They'll probably have a happy life together if they got married," Porsche's voice shook as he fought back tears.

"Why did he marry you then?" Mile asked.

"He had no choice but to marry me, which I only found out later. I walked right into a trap, and now I'm drowning and feeling suffocated," Porsche said with a melancholic tone. He takes out his wedding ring and twirls it around his finger.

"Porsche...." Mile starts,

"I know what you're gonna ask. You will never understand my reason,"

Mile could feel Porsche's pain as he watched the tears flow down his face. He knelt before him and gently wiped away his tears. "No matter what, I'm always on your side. I just want to see you happy," Mile's low voice trembled with sadness as he asked. As he looks at the man in front of him, he wonders how anyone could cause him pain. "Tell me.... why can't you leave him?"