Five Minutes In Summer

20. Sad Story

"Gosh, why did that happen?" Beam asked in surprise.

"I don't know. I just want to help her. After all, the child is my nephew and I can't just let go of responsibility," said Forth, breathing heavily.

He glanced at Beam's smooth white neck, unable to resist immediately painting some hickey on it.

"So, what Enrique said was wrong," muttered Beam.

Forth's eyebrows rose. "Enrique? Who is Enrique?" he asked quickly.

"He's my new friend. The head waiter of the restaurant. He offered me a job as a service staff so I could go to the gala and meet you. They had run out of tickets and I couldn't find another way so I immediately accepted his offer," Beam explained so that Forth wouldn't. misunderstand.

"That's good then. But what he said was wrong?" Forth asked again.

"Enrique said that Elliana was the queen of sensation. She married rich men and made them bankrupt after divorcing them. It's not him who thinks so, but that's public opinion," said Beam.

"Her first husband liked to torture her until she had a miscarriage, so Elliana divorced him after she did something to make him bankrupt. Her second husband liked to gamble and play with prostitutes, so Elliana hatched a plan to trap him before divorcing him," answered Forth while touching Beam's neck.

"Oh? Wow, she's a great woman. So what about the child? How is she sure it's your uncle's child?" Beam asked, still curious.

"They were always together during the two months my uncle stopped here. Elliana was traumatized by marriage and my uncle is not a person who can commit. But, one week after my uncle left, Elliana realized she was pregnant," said Forth while stroking Beam's neck. "So he asked me to pretend to be his fiancé so that my uncle, wherever he is now, hears the news and comes back looking for her."

"Aahhh ... Phi, that's ticklish," Beam sighed while holding Forth's hand which was now tickling behind his ear.

"Enough about Elliana. You can hear from her later. I'll definitely introduce you to her later. Now, tell me, why are you here?" Forth asked.

Beam's face turned red. He wasn't sure whether to say everything or not. However, Forth is not a child who will simply accept the simple explanation that Beam gives.

After all, Beam wants to be honest with himself. He was tired of being alone and had a little hope that Forth might be able to understand his fears all this time. Beam closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I ... miss you, Phi," Beam answered quietly. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since then."

Forth stopped his hand which was playing around Beam's neck. He looked at the charming man in front of him, whose voice was low and trembling, his gaze was full of confusion and his lips were pale.

He grabbed Beam's face and cupped it with both hands. "Hey, Baby, what's wrong? Why are you like this? You are the man who made me fall in love for the first time in my life and also the man who later broke my heart, in Malibu. Where is he now? I only see a man full of doubts and fears in front of me. Why?"

Beam had never heard someone speak the way Forth spoke to him now. Forth's voice was not soft or low, as if he was pitying him and worried that he would be sad or annoyed.

Forth spoke as if he was having a normal conversation, discussing college or work material.

"I ... am always left behind," said Beam in a flat tone. "My parents worked since I was little and were never there for me. They were always out of town or abroad for their jobs. I went from one nanny to another. Then, one day, I had an accident and was in a coma for two weeks. After that, my parents decided to work somewhere closer, so they could still be there for me."

Beam's voice was hoarse now. Forth rubbed Beam's cheek gently, as if giving him the strength to continue. Beam looked at Forth and smiled.

"At first I was very happy because they were finally together with me. But, that's just a while. However, quarrel after quarrel continued, then they stopped fighting and kept quiet. My house became very cold. Then, one day, a woman came and said that she was pregnant with my father's child," continued Beam.

This time, his eyes filled with sadness and his voice slowed down. Forth kissed Beam's lips gently and hugged him tightly.

"Just stop, Baby. I don't want to hear it if it hurts you," said Forth into Beam's hair.

The man in his arms shook his head. "No, Phi, I won't hide anything anymore. Let me finish."

Beam broke free from Forth's embrace and grabbed the older man's hand and held it tightly, looking for strength.

"After the woman's arrival, my mother left for a month and my father kept himself busy avoiding me. Then, when my mother returned, she brought divorce documents. What happened next was very fast. They divorced, my mother returned to her old job abroad and instead took the position of expedition leader. While my father went with his girlfriend. They moved to Japan. Like a second hand thing, they handed me over to my grandmother."

Forth let out a breath that felt like it was squeezing his chest. Beam told the story very clearly, even though his voice was shaking and his eyes were blurry. But his tears didn't fall and he smiled faintly.

For Forth, this is a very dangerous situation because it indicates that a feeling may have died within Beam.

"Is your grandmother still around now?" Forth asked softly.

Beam shook his head. "She died after I graduated from high school. She left me a huge inheritance and I think I could be optimistic about calling myself a rich young man after she died. But, I think I'd be better off not having anything as long as she was still alive with me. She was the only person who was always there with me when I was neglected by my parents. Her love for me was so great, beyond my parents. However, even though I was sure she hadn't left me, death didn't care about that and still took her from me. I was abandoned and alone again."

Discussing his grandmother always made Beam sad and he nuzzled his head into Forth's chest.

Slowly, Forth felt his shirt get wet. Beam cried silently and his hand squeezed Forth's hand hard, as if he was trying to hold back his tears.

Forth took Beam into his arms without saying a word and just kissed Beam's thick, soft, lemon-scented hair. Forth understood why Beam rejected him when he confessed his feelings to him.

Beam doesn't want to be in a relationship because he's afraid of being abandoned again. Beam has experienced many losses at a young age.

The people he loved left his life in painful ways and he was always alone and lonely. He must be afraid, Forth might be like that too.

After a while, Beam stopped crying and he lifted his face and looked at Forth with a thinly smile.

"Sorry," Beam said. "I shouldn't be whiny like this. I got carried away."

Forth grabbed Beam's face and looked at him deeply. No one would have thought that this handsome and beautiful face actually covered various bitter feelings that its owner was hiding through his charming smile.

"Baby, I need to call someone now, okay?" Forth asked.

Beam nodded. He thought maybe Forth was worried that Elliana would look for him because the gala night wasn't over yet.

He didn't want to mess up Forth and Elliana's plans because there was an innocent baby-to-be involved.

Forth kissed Beam's forehead and got out of sofa, took his phone from his jacket pocket and called someone.

Forth stood at the side of the sofa, continuing to stare at Beam.

"Hello?" said Forth, when his call was answered. He reached out his hand to Beam and held it tightly when Beam took his hand.

"Yes, Mom, I'm still in Brazil. Have you heard from Uncle Joen? Ah, okay."

Forth was silent, listening to the person he contacted speak. Looks like that's his mother, Beam guessed to himself.

"Mom, is Dad there? No? OK, you can help me tell him then. I want to tell you something, Mom."

Forth squeezed Beam's hand harder. "I'm getting married."

***