THORN LOVE

The chaotic grandpa

"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." — Mark Twain.

~

It's 5 in the morning, and Kinn has been tossing and turning all night, unable to fall asleep. He rubbed his sore back, trying to ease the persistent ache. While the couch may be cozy and plush, it is not designed for a good night's sleep. All night long, he pondered on how to get Porsche to sit down and talk with him.

Kinn was relieved when Porsche's grandfather told him two days ago that he would be returning to Thailand and to keep a secret from Porsche so he can surprise him. Actually, he also thought about reaching out to his grandfather, hoping that a brief visit would keep Porsche from neglecting his health again. With his grandfather around, Porsche would steer clear of excessive drinking and overworking.

With a grunt, he pushes himself up from the couch and sits upright. His gaze fell upon Porsche, who was sleeping peacefully. He mulls over how he ruined their lives. He is determined to win back Porsche's trust, but a voice in the back of his mind tells him that it might be too late. What he did was a complete betrayal of trust, and the hurt he caused was indescribable. He knew it was a long shot, but he still wanted to try. Though he knew that forgiveness would be hard to come by, he was committed to doing everything he could to earn another chance.

Despite the many thoughts swirling in his mind, he eventually succumbed to sleep without even realizing it.

As the sun illuminates the room, Porsche stirs and opens his eyes. He shifted his weight and stretched his arm to grab his phone and check the time. He got up to take a shower and noticed Kinn's sleeping form out of the corner of his eye. Kinn was sleeping with his neck tilted to one side, making Porsche to roll his eyes.

"Idiot," Porsche muttered to himself before making his way to the bathroom. Every fiber in his body abhors this room.

As Porsche picked out clothes in the closet, a sense of unease crept up on him. When he whirled around, Kinn was there, casually leaning against the wall and staring at him.

"Let me be clear, being in the same room doesn't mean I want you hovering around me," Porsche says, feeling irritated. Sharing a room with him every night is bad enough, but he also has to keep up the charade of being a happy couple. "Stay away from me,"

"Porsche, we need to talk. Can we....," kinn began, hesitantly.

"We have nothing to talk about, Kinn," Porsche said, grabbing a slack and T-shirt to change. He knows what Kinn wants to talk about, but he fears he'll lose his mind again if he hears Kinn's excuse.

"Please," Kinn said softly as he approached Porsche.

Porsche took a step back, avoiding him as he approached. Whenever Kinn is near him, he feels suffocated.

"Stop! My grandfather is here," Porsche said firmly. He doesn't want his grandfather to find out about his messy life and he definitely doesn't want to start a fight with kinn while he's around. "Don't even think about it while he's here,"

With a heavy heart, Kinn left the closet.

***

"Good morning, lovebirds," Porsche's grandfather greeted them with a smile, sipping his cappuccino. He was at the dining table, waiting for them to have breakfast.

"Good morning," Kinn said, pulling out a chair for Porsche.

Porsche suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He puts on a patient façade even though he is annoyed with Kinn.

"Did you get a good night's rest?" Porsche said as he took his seat. Although he was glad to see his grandfather again, he couldn't help feeling nervous about the timing.