Love Flavored Latte

Chapter 29 - Believe in Me

Ray's mind was an absolute mess right now. Like millions of threads that seemed impossible to untangle, countless thoughts were running through his head. However, they all revolved around the same words:

"I had to change school because of it."

Did he just say "change school"? that was the question he kept on asking himself, as though he was trying to confirm whether he heard what his boyfriend just said correctly. A part of him didn't want to believe what he had just been told, because he knew that if it was true, then this story wouldn't be a happy one.

It wasn't as if he expected it to be good in the first place—Matt lost his trust in people, so it wouldn't be surprising to hear that he had gone through a tragic experience. But never did Ray expect him to transfer. Having been a formal student and now a professor, he was well aware that changing school wasn't an easy process and no one decided to do it overnight. For as far as he knew, the majority of the transfer students did it because their family moved to somewhere very far away, which made transferring necessary. However, there was another reason for them to do it, but it was a very sad one and Ray desperately hoped that it wasn't the case here.

Going through pain was part and parcel of living and growing up, but he couldn't bear the thought of his partner having to endure it so much that he was broken.

"I..." Matt said, pulling Ray out of his thoughts. "I don't know if I should really go into details about this..."

"Matt." With a firm voice, Ray took hold of Matt's shoulders, slightly startling the latter. Matt slowly removed his gaze from his hands and looked up at Ray, whose eyes were staring at him in a very serious manner as he spoke. "I'm not forcing you to tell me everything, but I want to let you know you can confide in me. I mean it. If you have any trouble that you can't tell anyone, you can always come to me, okay?"

Ray pulled Matt into a warm embrace, hugging him just like the way Matt had always hugged him—gently and lovingly. Silence engulfed the room, but unlike usual, it was probably what they needed right now, especially Matt himself. He needed to calm down before he could do anything else.

It wasn't like he wasn't ready to talk about it yet. During the three years they knew each other, not only had Ray proved that he was a reliable man who always kept his word, but he was also so understanding and non-judgmental. Matt truly found it hard not to place his trust in him, so he had no idea why he hesitated a while ago. Perhaps it was a conditioned reflex, making him flinch at the mention of coming out. Or maybe it was the fear of becoming a burden. He was always willing to let Ray lean on him for emotional support, but when it came to dealing with his own feelings, he never wanted to bother the other with it. He preferred to sort them out himself, not having to depend on anyone.

He sighed, resting his head on his boyfriend's shoulder before returning the hug.

"It's a long story..."

__________

"Well, what do you have to say now, Matthew Parker?"

The voice of the boy before Matt was scary and full of ridicule, but it wasn't what he was afraid of. The voice that absolutely frightened him was the one coming from the other's phone. To be more specific, it was the recording of the conversation he had had with the person he could no longer see as a friend.