Insufferable

Part 12

Alex woke up later the next day with a wide smile on his face seeing Henry laid besides him on bed snoring in his sleep. Alex couldn't stop his heart from racing when he saw Henry and the memory of last night came back into his mind. His eyes gaze upon Henry's eyes that are still closed, the way his eyelashes creates a shadow underneath although he does have swollen lower eyelid before but Alex never care for it. He loves how his nose collides into Alex's cheek when they kissed. The way his cupids bow curved right above his upper lip and Alex wants to kiss him. He smiles wanted to lean closer to sleeping Henry but later was interrupted by his phone vibrating on his side.

He turned to grab his phone and found an unknown number call with unfamiliar country code on his screen. "Hello?" He answered and the line went silence for a seconds before he could hear the person's voice. "Can we talk? Privately?" He recognized that voice although they both talked once, but he remembers it well.

Alex sat up from the bed and headed towards the door leaving Henry still asleep on the bed. He smiled before he closed the door slowly not wanting to wake Henry up and decides to walk further into the end of the hallway so Henry won't be able to hear their conversation. "Talk." Alex says after he turned on one corner and sat on the bench that pressed against the wall. He is only wearing his simple plain white shirt with his boxers and he regretted not getting his sweater before he left.

"How is he?" Phillip asks and Alex sighed. "He was devastated by what you said. I never seen him so - upset." He can hear Phillip took a sharp breath, "I suspect." The line went silence again and Alex could hear Phillip breathing through his phone so he knows that the line isn't frozen or anything. "Why did you said that to him?" Alex finally asks breaking their silence. He could hear Phillip sighed tiredly before he answered.

"I was upset that he would rather stay at the dorm than coming home. I thought being miles apart would make him miss mum more. They haven't talk in a while. I thought some distance would do them some good." He explained and Alex could hear his voice breaking in tears. "He misses you more than her. You were the only person he talks about, not your mum, not even your sister. He's only doing this for you and coming home because of you Phillip. Why can't you see that?" Alex asks and he can almost hear him holding on to his shuddering breath before he broke into his tears.

"Because if I don't, he will never let that string detached. He needs to know that I might never be there for him. He needs to do this on his own. Otherwise he will still tethered to me." Alex rubs his temple after he heard Phillip's explanation. "What if one day he really needs you and you weren't there to save him?" He could hear the shuffled from Phillip sides and later a door creaked open and close. "Did Henry expressed his thoughts to you?" He asks and Alex trying to remember the time Henry told him pieces of his dark thoughts. "The littlest information I could get. Henry is protective of his own thoughts." Phillip was silence for a few seconds before he asks again.

"Any of those thoughts - suicidal?" He asks and Alex remember the time when they are at the barn and Henry did mentioned disappearing but he didn't exactly mentioned dying. "I- I don't know, I'm not sure." He says and it got Phillip angry. "Is there or isn't there? Tell me what he said." His voice stern and demanding and Alex finds it irritating that he is in between these two siblings drama.

"He just said that he wanted to disappear. That it would be a whole lot better. That's it." Alex said remembering every detailed of Henry and their conversation.

"Alex you need to keep an eye on him. You need to tell me if he'd ever say anything like that again." Phillip stern voice made Alex even more annoyed thinking that he could just commanded him to do stuff for him while he should take full responsibilities for what he did to Henry. "You know what, maybe you should be more kinder to your brother Phillip. He had suffered too much being here and you are just putting more salt to his wound." Alex yelled into his phone and it took Phillip forever to answer.