call out my name [2gether]

CH 23 ‼️

THE RACE AGAINST TIME.

Sarawat exhaled tiredly, white smoke pooling between his curved, sultry lips. He was crouching on his tiny balcony, feet bare and back pressed against the flat, cold concrete wall that kept him grounded. His gaze was dark and heavy as he stared angrily out into space, brows angled sharply across his smooth forehead, brown hair messy from the many times he had agitatedly run his hands through it. Sarawat pinched the cigarette between his index finger and thumb as he raised one hand to his mouth, taking another shaky drag and then exhaling deeply, sadly. The cigarette smoke curled lazily upwards and then away, fading out into the sky just like Tine.

Tine was gone.

Tine was fucking gone and Sarawat had never felt so alone, not even when the glass house that was the relationship with his family had started crumbling. That motorcycle accident, where Phukong had taken Sarawat's bike for a ride in a sudden bout of rebellion, had surely ripped their picture perfect family further apart and now it appeared that maybe the accident had ripped apart several other things too, like his is possible bond with Tine.

With Tine gone it felt as if a vital part of Sarawat's body was gone as well. His heart. But also his love and happiness too, the things that Tine now embodied within Sarawat's lethargic world, temporarily making it a more vibrant place to be. Music, as Sarawat's first love, did not even compare to the complexity of his feelings when his mind brushed against the mere thought of Tine stored away for safekeeping inside the folds of his deepest core. The fair skinned young man shone like a fiery beacon inside his mind. Tine was everything. He was life. He was love. And yet, Sarawat had not been able to tell Tine that he loved him too.

Sarawat's whole body felt strangely numb ever since he woke up to the empty, obviously soulless room where all colors seemed grey. Maybe it was from fatigue and the abundance of emotional stress, or maybe it was because Tine had drained him of energy far more than any of them had even realized. And honestly, Sarawat would give anything just to keep Tine longer by his side, see the light shine in his beautiful brown eyes for a little while longer. Except, Tine had made the painful decision for the both of them instead, graciously restoring the order back into the world by leaving the place where he was not meant to be. He was just too good for this world. And obviously Sarawat did not deserve such beauty, especially if his brother had contributed to Tine's demise, then karma would certainly not be on his side.

Shit. Sarawat tugged at the ends of his messy hair with one callused hand. Think. Think, you moron.

Could the dead be raised from their ashes? Was there an actual way to bring Tine back from the other side? He was ready to go any lengths just to bring Tine's lost soul back and if not, then so be it, Sarawat would just follow him beyond the veil. He was not afraid of dying, not now when he had already glimpsed the world beyond. Evidently, it was still possible to maintain a bizarre type of life even if one was dead. They could be undead together.

For a tiny moment bulky clouds shielded the midday sun and a dark, crooked shadow fell over Sarawat's face, giving the young man an eerie, devilish appearance as his thoughts strayed further from the right path. It was a divine warning. But just as quick, the sun peeked right back out from behind the cottony billows.

Sarawat blinked furiously into the bright sunlight, glossy eyelashes lumped together as he wiped the back of his hand harshly over his face. Shit. When had he become so pathetic? He remembered consciously crying only two times in his life before meeting Tine, once when he threw a childish fit when his parents announced that he was going to be a big brother and the second time when the only grandparent that he had been fortunate to meet had passed away, all the others passing before he was even born. Except now he could barely put a lid on his emotions, getting all mushy and soft hearted all because of that insufferable nuisance that made Sarawat feel all the more human than he ever was. A sad, little smile fluttered over his curvy lips as a shining image of Tine flashed inside his mind's eye, salty teardrops glistening on Sarawat's lashes as the corners of his eyes crinkled humorlessly.