Finding my way [Complete]

Chapter 32

Kong's POV

It was the weekend two weeks after classes had resumed. I was making my over to see grandpa. I was so angry, so upset. Grandpa could help me find the answers I desperately needed.

"Does P'Arthit not have parents?"

"No"

"Since when?"

"He told me he entered the orphanage at 4."

I slumped down falling on to the chair. 4. He was just a child. He was so young.

"How did you find out?"

"P'Prem and Aim broke into the university records."

The day grandpa had told me he would help P'Arthit was the day I decided I was done with secrets. I was going to figure out everything about the man I loved and find a way to help him. He might not want to share his troubles, but they didn't call me stubborn for no reason. I didn't know how much grandpa would reveal to me and I couldn't stand just waiting around for something to happen.

The first thing I did was call our friends. I needed help digging for further information and with school starting I couldn't do it alone. I told them everything about P'Arthit. The potential reason he got hurt, about Mike, about his night job. Everything except my disastrous confession ofcourse. They had the same emotions I did, sadness, anger, frustration. There was no need for him to have not shared things with us. If he needed to work extra, we would have helped. If he had trouble with his brother, we would have supported him.

Classes started but P'Arthit was no where to be found. Although he lived right across from me he had become an expert at evading me. At one point we considered going to his night job to confront him, but it was too soon. I didn't want to make the mistake of having only partial information again. So we started tailing Mike. Between all of us there was atleast 1 person always following him.

The day we realized there was no information on his family or parents was because he didn't have a family was particularly challenging for everyone. I was so angry at P'Arthit for not telling me. For lying to me about it for close to 2 years. But at the same time I felt crushed. I kept imagining P'Arthit as a child, alone, no one to hug him or comfort him. Taking on the world all on his own. It broke my heart thinking of the things he must have faced. Problems he had to solve all by himself.

I snapped back to the present and saw grandpa observing me closely.

"What else did you boys manage to find out?"

"Mike is a drug addict."

"Ding ding ding. You just won the jackpot!"

I released a long breath and slumped down the chair further.

"Do you understand why he was keeping you away from Mike now?"

"Yes. Mike loans money for his drugs and tells people his brother will pay them back and then they go after P'Arthit."

"It's slightly more complicated than that. The people he borrows money from are the same people from whom he buys drugs. They want to keep him an addict so that he keeps borrowing more money and Arthit's loan keeps rising."

"Aghh!! Grandpa can't you please just help P'Arthit pay off the loan. I will pay you back every last penny. I promise. Just please help him get away from these people."

"I don't need your money. I have more than enough of my own. But it is not that simple."

"It is. It is that simple. Please just help him."

"Stop it Kong. You are smarter than this. Even if I pay off the loan what is stopping Mike from borrowing again? Addicts don't just quit overnight."

"Then P'Arthit just has to tell them that he can't pay off Mike's debts anymore. It's Mike's problem anyway. And if Mike can't pay the loan then...then it's..."

"Then what? What do you think they will do to Mike?"

"But how is any of this P'Arthit's fault? He shouldn't have to deal with any of this. He needs to not care about what happens to Mike so that he can get out of this."

"Kong, this is the first time I am actually disappointed in you. Don't you know Arthit at all? What makes you think he will forsake his own brother?"

"I.... I ... just feel so helpless. I just don't know what to do."

"Now imagine what Arthit must be feeling."

I buried my head in my hands. I felt all the energy leave my body. I felt defeated. "So now what?"

"I already told you I am going to help Arthit. Do you want to lend a hand?"