The Bedshare Agreement

Chapter 9: I want to help Sarawat

Tine's POV
"Phukong.. He—he had a fight in the prison and they are saying he got badly hurt."

"What? How did that happen? Did they give any details?"

"They just informed me that Phukong had an altercation with another inmate. But they said I am not allowed to meet him until Monday, visiting hours"

"That is some absolute bullshit. They can't stop an inmate from meeting their family member when they are hurt inside the prison. We are going there right now"

I tried getting up from the bed right away only to have pain vibrating through my leg. "Ah. Fuck." I was so worried about Sarawat, I completely forgot about my swollen ankle. 

"Tine, no. You are already hurt. You don't need to help me. I will figure something out. I'll try calling Phukong's lawyers"

I took a deep breath. Why was this guy so utterly handsome and so considerate of others all the time? I am trying to get over my crush and he is making things difficult with every passing second.

"Sarawat..." I put my hand over his shoulder. "Please let me help. I want to help. You don't need to go through every problem alone"

He didn't say anything back. He just looked at me and I could see his eyes getting musty. I knew exactly what he wanted to say even without him saying anything.

"Now, can you may be turn around for a few minutes so that I can wear back my clothes. I am starting to feel cold in this towel."

Sarawat finally laughed. "I don't have to turn around you know--"

"SARAWAT!"

"Okay. Okay" He raised his hands and finally turned around

We drove off from the beach right away, leaving behind a lot of sweet and salty memories. This day wasn't turning out to be anything I had thought it would be. One bad thing after the other, but I honestly didn't mind it at all — as long as Sarawat was with me.

The prison was on the outskirts of Bangkok, so we were able to bypass all the city traffic and get there quickly. Sarawat had been trying to reach out to his lawyer all through the ride, but he was only able to reach his secretary who said the lawyer was out on leave for a week.

Honestly, what lawyer can afford to go on a week's leave without even informing his client?

We reached the prison and I could see the beads of sweat forming on Sarawat's forehead. He was staring out the window and there was utter confusion on his face.

"Wat.." I put my hand over his. "Help me get out of the car. We'll figure this out together"

Sarawat looked out the window. There was a man standing right outside the main prison door, talking on the phone. "That's the prison guard here. I'll go talk to him. I can handle this. You can just stay in the car"

Before I could say anything, Sarawat had already walked out and closed the car door. I took a few deep breaths still trying to understand Sarawat's behavior. I wasn't sure if he didn't want me to be a part of this or he just didn't want to bother me.

There was no way I could hear his conversation with the prison guard from inside the car, but I could notice his body language — He was getting angrier with every passing second and it seemed like the prison guard was asking him to leave.

At this point, I didn't care if Sarawat wanted me to stay in the car. I needed to get out there.

I took the ID card out of my pocket and wore my leather jacket over the tshirt to look at least a little bit like a lawyer. Checking my hair in the car mirror, I slapped my face a few times and put on my work mode. "Lets do this"

I got out of the car, trying my best to mask the ankle pain which was only getting worse with every step. The prison guard looked at me all confused, and as soon as I showed him my ID, his confusion turned into panic .

"Hi, I am Tine Teepakorn, Mr Guntithanon's lawyer. Can I ask you why you are not letting his family member meet him when he has clearly been attacked and in a vulnerable state?"

"Oh. You told me you didn't get your lawyer here?" The prison guard looked at Sarawat.

"I asked him not to say anything. I was giving you a chance to abide by the laws. Clearly, you don't care for them, which is why I had to step in. So, tell me again why can't the family member visit my client? You are required to allow them to meet unless my client is in the hospital"

"He's not in the hospital—"

"I am hoping he isn't because you would be legally required to tell us about that. If you are lying, I will be filing a formal complaint against you."

"I said he is not in the hosp—"

"I can't take your word for it. Let us meet Phukong and assess his injuries right now. Or else, I will be coming out with a complaint for the whole prison, the administration, and you, especially." I looked at my watch. "Its only 2pm, I can get the formal complaint letter before the end of the day and meet Phukong, if you would like to do things the hard way"

The guard had obviously started panicking. "Okay, okay — I will let him meet his brother. But you are now allowed inside. Lawyers can only meet inmates during the visiting hours"

I cracked a faint simple, careful to not show too much to the guard. I still had to keep my work face on. "Fine by me. But if he tells me that my client is way more hurt that you initially implied then I will be coming in and things won't be pretty then.

Sarawat, go in and talk to Phukong. Call me the minute you think something is wrong, okay?"

"Thank you so much Tine!" Sarawat ran straight inside and the prison guard followed.

I walked back to the car, and stood outside leaning towards the door. The god forsaken ankle was now burning with pain, but I was too nervous to even sit inside the car. I had heard cases like these happen at the prison far too many times and in most cases, the guards had lied about the number of injuries. I was hoping with all my heart that Phukong's case was different, that he was safe. I kept my phone in my hand, just in case Sarawat called.

The call didn't come, but Sarawat did finally come out 45 minutes later. He seemed more relaxed and he was smiling at me.

Sarawat ran straight towards me and hugged me tightly. "Phukong's okay. He just has a black eye, no other injuries. The prison guard was just being a bitch"

Shocked by the sudden closeness, I was at a loss of words. My hands were still up in the air and I couldn't decide if I should hug Sarawat back not. "That's... that's good"

Sarawat hugged me even tighter. "Thank you so much, Tine. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't with me

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A/N: I love writing chapters where Tine channels his inner boss mode and transforms into a kickass lawyer. And I know a lot of you were pissed about the way the last chapter ended -- Sarawat and Tine will get closer slowly and steadily