BETELGEUSE

CHAPTER 4

Father: "Your lips taste so good."

Meanwhile, John returned and went into Sky's room. When he didn't find Sky there, he assumed he must have gone up to the rooftop. John immediately headed upstairs, and when he reached the top, he was shocked to see his father kissing Sky's cheeks while Sky was crying uncontrollably. Reacting instantly, John rushed forward, pushed his father away from Sky, and demanded:

John: "Dad! What were you doing with him?"

His father turned to him coldly and replied, "It is none of your business. Mind your own business."

John shouted in pure anger and was just about to punch his father when Sky suddenly hugged him from behind, begging him to stop. Seeing this, John glared at his father and ordered:

John: "Leave—leave right now."Once their father finally left, John pulled Sky down to sit on the floor with him. Sky was still crying heavily, so John pulled him into a tight hug, trying his best to calm him down. Once Sky's breathing slowed, John gently asked:

John: "What was he doing?"

Sky looked up with tear-filled eyes and begged, "Promise me! You will not tell this to mom."

John nodded reassuringly and said, "Ok, I will not. First, tell me everything."

Sky took a deep breath and began to explain, "Before my mother got married to your father... my first father—I mean, my biological father—used to taunt my mom. He would always say that she was a woman who could only give birth to a gay child. I was the only child of my...my parents. After some time, my father divorced my mom, and she went to live with her own mother, my grandmother. Unfortunately, my grandmother used to beat her constantly. I remember times when my mom would cry to me, saying, 'Why was I born? I wish you were never born; you are a burden on me.' Eventually, my mom got married to your father. At that time, I was only 13 years old. On the very night of their marriage, he left your mom and came directly into my room. When I saw him entering my space, I immediately started to shout at him. However, he quickly put his hand over my mouth, pinned me against the wall, and told me, 'You are mine from now on.' Ever since then, he has been doing these terrible things to me," Sky explained, crying heavily as he spoke.

John listened in shock and asked, "And why haven't you told your mom?"

Sky wiped his eyes and replied, "Because I don't want my mother to worry any more than she already does."

John comforted him and said, "Ok. Wipe away your tears.Now, come with me downstairs."

They both walked downstairs together and went straight into John’s room. John had Sky sit down comfortably on the bed and handed him a glass of water to help him calm down. After drinking the water, Sky set the glass down on the table. John turned and was just about to leave the room when Sky called out to him.

Sky asked softly, "Can you stay with me?"

John stopped, looked back, and replied, "Yeah! I was just going out to give......you some space."

Instead of leaving, John came back and sat down right next to Sky.

Looking up at him, Sky asked quietly, "Are you still gonna accept me?"

John answered without hesitation, "Yes! Of course. I will never leave you."

Hearing those words, Sky rested his head onto John's shoulder and closed his eyes. Even though tears were still leaking from his eyes, Sky managed to fall asleep right there on his shoulder. John gently helped him lay down on the bed, lay down right beside him, and wrapped his arms around him. Holding each other, they both drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning, when John woke up, he saw that Sky was still fast asleep. He gently woke him up. After a little while, Sky went back to his own room, got dressed for school, and came downstairs. Their father had already left for his office, so Sky quickly ate his breakfast and they left for school together. The rest of his school day passed normally. Once classes were over, they came back home.After some time had passed, Sky walked over and knocked on John's bedroom door.

John called out, "Yes. Come in."

Sky stepped inside and said hesitantly, "I—I just wanna ask, can I stay with you the half-hour you are at home? I am comfortable with you. I am scared to stay alone."

John smiled and replied, "You don't have to ask for it."

After that half-hour passed, John got ready to leave for his part-time job. Right before heading out, he said, "Make sure to lock the door," and gently kissed Sky's forehead. Sky came ...to his room and locked the door. After some time, Sky found out that his father had gone out of the country for business. Many weeks passed like this, falling into a quiet routine; they would go to school, come back home, and Sky would stay in John's room, making sure to lock the door before sleeping. Two months later, when they returned from school one afternoon, they learned that their mom had to leave the city because one of her relatives had passed away. Before John left for his shift that evening, Sky asked for his permission to stay in his room.

John replied affectionately, "Yes, baby boy. You can stay in my room ever for the night if you want."

Sky smiled and said, "Thank you, John. I love you."

John smiled back, saying, "I love you too, babe."Once John left, Sky was all alone in the room. He comforted himself with the thought that his father couldn't enter the room since he had already locked the door securely. Sky was quietly doing his homework when he suddenly heard the sound of someone trying to unlock the door from the outside. Confused and deeply scared, he jumped to his feet, quickly pushed some heavy furniture in front of the door to block it, and frantically started calling John. However, John didn't answer at first because he was busy at his work. After a few tense moments, John finally noticed his phone and picked up the call.

John answered happily, "My baby is missing me."

Sky panicked, crying out, "John, p-plz... come back home plz. Father—"

Before he could say anything else, his father forced his way into the room, grabbed the phone, and threw it violently onto the floor. He then turned to Sky and chillingly started untying his clothes and opening his buttons of his shirt. He then pushed Sky onto the bed and leaned over him completely. Meanwhile, John was still on the phone call and instantly understood everything that was happening. He rushed frantically towards his car and drove home as fast as he could. When he finally entered his room, Sky was screaming and desperately asking for help, while his father was biting his lips wildly. John rushed forward, pushed his father away from him, and punched him so hard that his father's nose started to bleed.

John shouted out in pure rage, "Get out! Can't you hear me? I said get out."

His father wiped the blood and grumbled, "Why do you always come at the wrong time? I was enjoying it with my baby boy."

After saying this cruel remark, he finally left. John immediately locked the door behind him and turned his attention to Sky, who was still crying hysterically while laying on the bed. His lips were bleeding, his shirt was completely ripped, and his hair was a messy disaster.