BETELGEUSE

CHAPTER 7

John: "Now I am with you. Take some rest."

Sky replied, "Yes. Now I have no worried."

When morning came and Sky woke up, he found John fast asleep right beside him, resting his hand gently on Sky's stomach.

Sky nudged him softly and called, "Joh—John."

John murmured in a sleepy voice, "Yeah—Yeah."

Sky requested weakly, "W—Water."

John immediately sat up and gave water to Sky. Once he had finished drinking, John asked, "How was your night? Did you sleep well?"

Sky nodded cutely and said, "Yes."

John smiled and cupped his face in his hands. "Oh! My cute boy. What would you like to eat in breakfast? Fruits are okay or should I bring sthg?"

Sky looked away and answered, "RN—I don't want to eat anything." He then paused and asked, "What about your school?"

John reassured him, "I will stay with you until you are in hospital."

Sky frowned slightly and asked, "And what about your school? You are missing your school."John answered dismissively, "I will also miss."

Many weeks passed like this until Sky was finally discharged from the hospital. However, the moment they both entered their house, they were horrified to see blood actively pooling and flowing out from the home. Panic-stricken, they looked up and realized the blood was dripping down heavily from upstairs. They rushed upstairs as fast as they could, and when they arrived, they saw his mother lying completely motionless on the floor.Blood was coming out of her head, and his father was standing right along with her. John rushed toward his mom and held her in his hands, while Sky cried out, "M-Mom, open your eyes!" John sat at her back and looked closely at her, placing his fingers on her neck to check her pulse rate. Sky watched him with anxious, curious eyes until John silently nodded to signal "no." Realizing she was gone, Sky started to cry without a voice. John hugged him tightly, staring directly at his father.

Recognizing that Sky was completely in shock and not in his right senses, John lifted him up in his arms and carried him to another room. Once he had gently placed Sky onto the bed, John marched back out of the room, found his father, and grabbed him violently by his collar.

John shouted furiously, "Why did you kill her?!"

His father sneered, "It is none of your business."

John fired back, "But it is the business of my future husband! Tell me... tell me!"

His father stammered slightly, "Bcz... bcz..."John demanded, "Tell me! I said tell me."

His father challenged him, "What if I don't?"

John narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is it because she finally found out what you did to Sky? Hmm? Don't you feel ashamed—loving your own son's boyfriend? You..."

His father cut him off sharply, snapped, "Mind your language!"

John growled, "See who is telling me. I am leaving right now, but I will take my revenge. Just wait."

After making his threat, John went back, lifted up her body, and carefully cleaned away her blood. He then informed everyone about her sudden death. Once he had finished dealing with all arrangements, he finally came back into the room to be with Sky.Sky was still in a deep sleep when John placed his hand on his forehead.

John whispered to himself, "Oh no, he has a fever."

John immediately went to place some wet pieces of cloth on his forehead to help cool him down. After some time had passed, Sky finally opened his eyes and panicked, saying, "J-John, I had a nightmare. In it, my mom died. Where is my mom? Call her?!"

John looked at him gently but seriously and replied, "It was not a nightmare. It is reality."

Hearing this, Sky started crying loudly. Through his tears, he wept, "I told you your father will do anything with my mom."

John tried to comfort him, saying, "You already have a fever, don't cry."

After some time, Sky stopped crying altogether, and when John looked down at him, he saw that Sky had already fallen back asleep. John settled him comfortably on the bed and then went downstairs to continue making the arrangements for the funeral.

The next morning, when Sky woke up, John was in the bathroom washing his face,having likely just woken up himself. John walked out, looked over at Sky, and said, "Ohh! You woke up. Do you need anything?"

Sky shook his head and replied, "Anni (No), I just want to rest."

John nodded and said, "I am downstairs, so don't get worried."

After saying this, he left the room. Left alone, Sky's eyes filled with tears all over again as he thought deeply about his mother's death. Two hours later, he finally brought himself to come downstairs, where he saw his mom lying in state. He stepped forward, wanting to see her face one last time, but as soon as he reached her, John stepped in and stopped him.

Confused and heartbroken, Sky asked, "What happened? Why are you not letting me see her face?"John: "It is not in condition to see."

Sky cried desperately, "Plz! let me see."

John firmly replied, "No, I don't want it to stay in your dreams."

With that, John took Sky back into his room and instructed, "Don't come down."

Many weeks passed like this, and over time, Sky slowly started to accept that his mother had left him. One day, while he was hanging out with John, John turned to him with a request.

John: "I am going on a trip with my friends. You wanna come?"

Sky declined anxiously, "No. But am I going to live alone with father?"

John sighed, "Yes. You have to, we have no else option."

Sky hesitated, "But—"

John cut in reassuringly, "I will come back in 2 days."

He gently patted Sky's head and left. Watching him walk away, Sky could tell John wasn't feeling very good about leaving. After saying his goodbyes, John officially left for his trip.

Fortunately, when Sky went to his room, his father wasn't actually at home; he was currently out of the country on business.