Teaching Chay

Seventeen

Chapter 17

When Kim comes to, the first thing he notices is that his head is throbbing, a cottony sensation that makes it hard to think through the pain. He doesn't open his eyes, not yet sure if it's safe to reveal that he's awake, a strange sense of danger inside him. He can feel someone holding his hand as his body, which feels like lead, rests on a soft bed. So maybe he's not being held hostage and hasn't been drugged and kidnapped? Kim tries to think, tries to remember the last thing, the last day, the last week.

Like a bad dream, it all comes back to him, him being in the compound, his reconciliation with Chay, going down to the basement with Arm and Chan and then finding that woman. His mother? His mother is dead, so it must have been one of his father's twisted tricks. He was there when she died, he felt her blood seep through his clothes, felt her body grow heavy and limp on top of his before his three-year-old self lost consciousness.

He slowly opens his eyes, blinking against the dim light in the room, which irritates his head even more. He squeezes the hand that, to his surprise, is not Chay's but Kinn's.

His older brother is holding his hand and he can feel the other gently stroking his hair. Kinn's hands are surprisingly warm and soft, and Kim doesn't know why he ever thought his brother had rough hands. They all know what a regular manicure is, even if Kim only gets it for his rock star self.

"Kim?" Kinn asks, noticing that Kim is awake and his relief is audible in his otherwise tired and slightly hoarse voice.

"Mmh."

"How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts. Ev... everything hurts." Even talking, even whispering, hurts.

"Here," Porchay suddenly appears beside his bed and holds out a glass of water with a straw. Kim drinks, but even lifting his head a little and swallowing feels like too much effort at the moment.

"Toxic gas?" he wonders, remembering that he took off his mask to talk to the woman. Maybe that's why he hallucinated and saw his mother?

"No... you just fainted and now you have a fever." Kinn starts to stroke his hair again, and it feels so good.

"Because of the poison?" Why else would he faint and see things that aren't there?

"No. The doctor thinks it's the shock. You fainted after you found Ma."

"That was real?" He looks at Chay and is beginning to mistrust his brother all over again. Maybe Kinn is in on his father's plan?

"Yes. Mrs Kessarin is alive," Porchay confirms, sitting down on the edge of Kim's bed. It is only then that he realises that he is back in his old room in the compound.

"But..." Kim feels himself becoming agitated again. The pain in his head is getting worse and it's getting harder to breathe. Everything starts to spin around him and he feels nausea creeping up on him.

"Sssshhh, calm down, P'Kim. She's all right now, Khun and Ma are with her down in the clinic. She's dehydrated, too thin and obviously not very well mentally, but she's alive. Do you think you could eat something?

Just the thought makes Kim gag.

"Ok," Porchay must see it in his face. "Then go to sleep, it's late. P'Kinn and I will stay with you, ok?"

"Chan?" Kim wonders where the older guard is now. Why isn't he with his mother? Why isn't he here? Is he all right?

"Chan is helping Hia organise the clearing of the dungeon. They are still down there with a team and have been going since early this morning.