And here we have it, the final chapter. SO nervous to put this out, but also very relieved. As far as why it's taken so long for me to publish it, well, I was very, extremely insecure about the original ending and felt I had to rewire everything, and from the comments it seemed like something was lost in translation. Couple that with a move to a new state, starting grade school, working two jobs and working on my other novel, I think I did pretty alright. Lol.

2016 was a HELL of a tough year for me, hope 2017 will be much better for us all. I also did ask that you guys so message or comment you confusions, but didn't really get much feedback, so, after reading and rereading, which took days, I don't think I made any drastic continuation errors. 

Anyways, here is the final hoopla, hope you all enjoy.

TWO TOGETHER, INTERTWINED

      August inspected himself in the mirror properly, the black shirt and trousers he wore a glaring contrast to his pale skin. His dark hair swept to the back in a simple, ever-classic look as the strands glistened, catching the living room light.

      August sighed to himself, unsure of what to do next.

      One of the things he’d quickly come to realize had rubbed off on him from Earn was that was that damn impatience, yet, what else could he do but wait?

      Thai Buddhist funerals had strict rules to be followed, and as far as the “natural order” was concerned, mainly family members stayed at the funeral home for the cremation ceremony. He’d done his part, playing the best friend of the filial son, but for all the rest of the world knew, August Valentino was no family to the Anovas. So, how could he convince the rest of the family to allow him stay through each and every rite?

      He knew it was his rightful place to be there, but mourning days were no time for seeking selfish validation. It was the price he’d know loving Earn would require. 

      He hated it.

      August walked past the living room mirror and plopped on the couch, his heart drumming an irregular beat of sorrow as he tried to take deep breaths to relax his stiff muscles and ease his mind. The floor to ceiling glass provided an uninterrupted view at the beautiful gardens that laid just beyond the walls of the sprawling one-story estate which Earn had built in Chiang Mai for his sickly mother. Sited on over an ace of land, the villa was tucked away from all the city’s major centers in the protected forest zones of the hills overlooking the flatlands.

      Thankfully, that meant building in the area was very strictly regulated by the government, allowing only so much space for very select, very wealthy individuals seeking discretion to purchase a piece of the botanical paradise. This isolation granted Earn’s Chiang Mai compound safety and anonymity, as not only was the estate gated and highly secured, but even within its borders, the individual properties were so far spread apart that one could probably forget that they were other households around. And it was obvious he’d put in a lot of effort into making the house as much of a reprieve as he could without stripping it of its warmth. What, with its palatial gardens, and manmade fountains and lake. It was serenity personified, even Buddha would have been proud.

      Even she was allowed to stay behind and watch the cremation. August vexed. Was this how it was going to be, this great love they shared, hidden from public view forever? Would he ever have the honor of being known as anything other than a former co-star and friend to the love of his life?

      It just wasn’t fair.

      He deserved to be right next to Earn in that cremation room. He too deserved to say his proper farewell before that lifeless body went up in flames.

***

      He startled awake at the pitter-patter of feet against wooden floor.

      In the distanced darkness, he couldn’t quite make out the figure approaching him, but he knew without a doubt who it was before the person stood before him.

      Earn.

      Nobody else’s footsteps could drum so melodically against wooden flooring.

      “You shouldn’t sleep like that, you’ll get aches all over tomorrow.”

      Despite his criticism, the muscular boy forced his weight onto the couch, pushing into his lover, so that they laid facing each other. As Earn loved big couches, it wasn’t too much of a problem fitting himself next to August.

      “How are you feeling?” August muttered, resting his forehead against Earn’s.

      “Honestly, a bit relieved.” Earn huffed back, exhausted. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

      “The funeral or…”

      “Both.” He whispered, choking on the word as his eyes met August’s in the dimness of the room. “Does that make me a horrible person?”

      “No, not at all.” August comforted. His hand finding Earn’s and his fingers sliding into place.

      “It’s just, I—I didn’t want to watch her suffer anymore, Gust. I didn’t want to watch her swallowing pills day in and day out, bedridden and barely hanging on. I know that’s selfish, and it sounds horrible to even hear myself say it out loud—its just… I-I… It’s not right.” His voice shook and his lips quivered.

      “Shh…” August cooed warmly. “It’s okay, it’s all going to be just fine.

—EARN—

      Earn was surprised by the fact that he wasn’t as miserable as he’d expected himself to be. How could he be, with all the beauty surrounding him? Yes, after years of ill-health, his mom had finally taken a permanent reprieve from the harshness of the world in the great beyond, but for more ways than one, Earn felt he had more reasons to celebrate than cry.

      What more could he have done?

      He’d built this villa, with its sprawling bungalows and never ending gardens for her. It had been a secret project he’d taken on without letting anyone other than Kim know. Their house in Chiang Mai was multi-leveled and Earn had known his mother was having a hard time getting around the few days she could actually get out of bed. Especially after she’d been diagnosed with an extreme case of cardiovascular disease, due to years of battling Rheumatoid Arthritis. That was why it was so important to him to build a single storied haven for her. They’d all known her time was limited, it was all he could do. He’d taken an indefinite break from shooting to spend time by her side, and he’d even introduced her to the man he loved, of course under the guise of a close friend. But most of all, he’d given her the promise of replenishing the family tree.

      The promise of a grandchild.

      “Good, you’re up.” August said, walking into the room as he zipped up his pants.

      “Just barely,” Earn replied, yawning and stretching. “What time is it?”

      “Time for you to go shower, and get dressed. We have to be at the airport in an hour.”

      “Ugh, I hate morning flights, can’t they just push it back to later? I mean, it’s a charter after all.”

      “Hey, you’re the one who insisted you wanted to say goodbye in person, even after P’Kim told you it wasn’t necessary. Besides, Kim’s got an agency to run, so no, it can’t be pushed back.”

      “Okay, okay.” Earn grumbled, forcing himself off the couch they’d spent the night on, and wincing as his bones cracked while he tried to stand up.

      “And what about you, when did you say you had the music video shoot again?”

      “It was originally scheduled to be held in two days’ time, but I got Korn to push it back for another week. The director wasn’t too happy about it but my money, my time.”

      “Really?!” Earn asked, his face lighting up for the first time since his mother’s passing.

      “Of course.  I mean, unless you don’t want me here… in which case I can just leave…”

      Whack!

      “Ow!” August gasped, his palm cupping his back-head where Earn had just smacked.

      “Don’t say foolish things like that around me.” Earn warned, cheekily. “There’s nothing in this world that would make me not want you by my side. Get that through that big head of yours.”

      With that, he walked out of the guest house parlor, through the corridor and into the bedroom. After stripping himself of the black outfit he’d worn for the final ceremony, he walked into the bathroom stall and the shower.

      As the warm water cascaded from the shower head unto his body, Earn allowed himself to think back on the past few months.

      Everything had changed the moment he’d woken up at the hospital, vision blurred, throat parched. Disorientated and aching. He hadn’t been sure if the steady beating sound was a pounding in his head or that of a nearby heart monitor. As it turned out, he’d been wrong on both guesses.

      It’d been that of August’s heart.

      As it turned out, August was on the bed with him, sleeping soundly, caressing his face against his chest.

      For a guy Earn had thought had betrayed him, he was surprised to feel his muscles immediately relax at the sound of August’s heartbeat against his ear, and in that moment, although he believed their tryst had come to a startling end, Earn allowed himself to enjoy those few hours, coiled up against his lover. If anything, because he believed with all his might that it would be their last night together.

      So many questions had run through Earn’s mind during those few hours, as he laid there in the arms of the man he loved. Why had August betrayed his trust? Had he been a fool all along? Was any of it real? Had Kim been right in her earlier warnings to steer clear of August? What had been in that damn folder he’d never gotten to read? Where the hell was Kim?

      It was so unlikely that she’d not have some sort of security service at the front of his door, not to talk of allowing August to share his bed, all things considered. Nothing added up to him. None of it had made any sense.

      Somewhere between his worry, his silent tears and his relishing their last night together, Earn had fallen asleep again, only to wake up hours later to the sound of voices.

      “…Much needed rest. As soon as he wakes we could run some more tests just to ensure that everything is okay, and all you’ll need to do is sign the paper work to have him released immediately.” A gruff masculine voice said.

      “Thank you so much, doctor, really, for everything.” Kim. Earn’s vision was still blurry, but he couldn’t have mistaken that voice.

      “P-P’Kim…” August struggled once he heard the doctor leave the room. His tongue was heavy against the roof of his mouth and tasted sour. “P’Kim!”

      Thankfully Kim had heard him the second time and rushed to his side, eyes wide open, filled with concern.

      “Earn?! Earn! Oh, thank God you’re finally awake. I was worried sick, you know that. Damn it, Earn.”

      “W-where am I?” As the seconds went by, his sight got clearer, and a single look around made it obvious he’d been in the hospital. “Why am I in the hospital?”

      “You fainted yesterday, remember? Well, I guess you wouldn’t. But you did. Scared the living hell out of me, you did. With all that was happening I thought for sure you’d had a heart attack or something.” Kim fussed over Earn. “Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me. You scare me like that again and I swear I’d kill you myself and get the damn thing over with.”

      “P’, please go easy on him, he’s just now waking up.” Another very recognizable voice had said from the corner of the room. Earn hadn’t even realized August was with them in the lofty hospital suite.

      “You…” Earn sneered, pushing himself off the bed, which proved to be a mistake on his part as he was immediately slapped with a dizzy spell that send his head crashing back on the pillow.

      “Take it easy, boy. It’s okay, just relax.” Kim tried soothed, restraining him from attempting another daring move.

      “Why are you here? P’, Why’d you let him into my room? W-Why?!” Earn hyperventilated. “Get out! Leave!”

      “Earn, calm down.” August said approaching the bed, now within sight, Earn silently cursed himself for noticing first and foremost how handsome he looked with his disheveled bed hair and light stub.

      “P’, you were right. I should have listened to you. You were right all along. How could I have been so stupid.” His words came out slurred, and the scrapping of his throat didn’t make his verbal deliveries any easier. He watched strained to look around Kim’s hovering head as August exited the room.

      “Earn, listen to me!” Kim commanded, hands pressing against Earn’s chest so hard that it had knocked the wind out of him. “Listen, child—No, I was not right. At least not entirely. This whole thing, it’s been just one big, messy, misunderstanding.” She sighed and relaxed the pressure she was pushing into his chest. “And I’m sorry for the part that I played in making it more so, and I promise, once we get out of this wretched place I—will explain everything to you, okay?”

      Earn had struggled to wrap his head around those words. The simple fact that Kim was not only defending August, but had apologized had been enough to subdue his budding tantrum.

      Within an hour of his waking up they were on their way home, after the doctor had ran some standard tests and explained to him what exactly had caused his black out. Low blood pressure. Apparently, his acute exhaustion caused by long hours of filming and little sleep, poor nutritional diet over the past month, dehydration and some sort of catalyst—no doubt finding August in Aim’s apartment—had caused a staggering drop in his blood pressure and ensued a black-out. Thankfully, his sudden visit to the hospital had not been met with publicity, and had saved him the unwanted paparazzi upon his exit.

      It was only then in the car, on their way towards Sukhumvit, that Kim had revealed to him the details of everything that had led to that point. A compilation of August and Aim’s statements as per the documents given to her by the interrogations officer handling the case. Earn thought he was going to suffer another fainting spell when he pieced the time frames together. The first night he’d allowed Aim lure him into her bed, their sudden intruder. The morning he’d almost ran August over, barefooted and bleeding.

      He’d had to beg the chauffeur to pull up to the side of the road so he could lean out of his door and retch on the sidewalk. Fortunately, he’d not had anything to eat since the previous night, so all that came puking out was a thick gulp of spit.

      “Earn, are you okay?” Kim had said, rubbing his back. “Let’s get you back to the hospital, the doctor assured me it was nothing too serious, but now this?!”

      “I’m fine P’,” August managed, in shallow breaths. “I’m just—I’m fine.”

      “Are you sure?” Her voice shook.

      August nodded, leaning back into the firm leather of the sedan as he slammed his door shut.

      The car revved forward.

      “But the folder… You gave me a folder. You said there was something there I had to see.” Earn knew he was just trying to validate his innocence at that point. How could he have gotten it all so wrong? How could he have felt so much hate for August when he was the one that had shredded his life into a million pieces?

      Their previous conversations came back to mind. That day in his bed when August had shameful allowed him into his pain. That betrayal that had caused him to walk in front of moving car as if to end his own life. Earn couldn’t accept that it had all been because of him.

      “Ah, yes. I did, didn’t I?” Kim sighed, “Those were just some files I’d gathered up on August. Work portfolio over the past years, legal residence paperwork, credit account info, you know the like. He’d not been getting steady work and had taken out a loan or two and—I just thought maybe he was after you, you know, blackmail or extortion. I thought by showing it to you, you’d have seen things my way, but now that I think about it, I was just grasping at straws.”

      They sat in silence the rest of the way, each looking out of their respective windows.  It was only after the vehicle had pulled to stop that Kim had said the last thing August had expected to hear.

      “I’m sorry, Earn. I really am. August, he’s a good kid. A genuine kid. I mean, I guess I’ve known that for a while now, but last night, yet again, he proved me wrong. After all those hours of interrogation do you know what the first thing was that he did once he was released from his holding cell? He took a taxi straight for the hospital. Even after all he’d been through just yesterday, he refused to leave your side for a second. All night long he was in that suite, until you—The point I’m trying to make is...” She sighed deeply. “Earn, if that isn’t love, real, genuine love, then love must not exist at all.”

      “EARN!!!” August screeched from the parlor, “How long are you going to be in there?!”

      That was as good a slap of reality as any, dragging Earn’s consciousness back to the present day.  He’d completely lost track of time, thinking of the past.

      Hurriedly, he dashed from the bathroom, to the bedroom, throwing on a simple over-sized T-shirt and a pair of joggers before joining August in the living room.

      “Ready.” He confirmed.

      “Took you long enough,” August snarked, “What, you couldn’t find a better time to than when we have somewhere to be?”

      “Sorry, couldn’t help it, I was thinking about you.” Earn shot back, wiggling his brows.

      “You’re such a horndog, you know that.” August chuckled, pushing past Earn, on his way to the front door. “Move your , we literally have exactly twenty-five minutes left.”

      Earn followed August out of the guest quarter bungalows, through the manicured path of the garden, and to the gated front yard. It was only after the engine revved to life that Earn started questioning his decision to accept August’s proposal to come along.

      An uncomfortable silence fell upon the duo as the vehicle swerved out of the gates and down the bushy roadway of the estate.

      They had not been this uncomfortable around each other since that night.

      After Kim had dropped him off, Earn had made the longest journey of his life, from the lobby to the penthouse. What hadn’t he thought about on that long way up in the elevator? What possibilities hadn’t sprung to mind as a solution for the sudden turn of events?

      Did August know that it had been him, Earn, on his bed, that night, digging into his girlfriend? Had he pieced the puzzle together?

      If he had, what did that mean for them?

      Could they salvage this beautiful thing they had created?

      Was there even anything left to salvage?

      The elevator dinged and Earn stepped off, lost in his thoughts he barely even remembered swiping his access card against his door. For a late morning, the sunlight streaming in through the glass walls had never seemed more gray.

      Yes, Earn had been lost in himself all along, thinking up possibilities of how to fix this great big misunderstanding, that is if August would ever even want to see him again. But the one thing that had not crossed his mind was the probability of his partner reaching out to him first, whether to mend their broken fences, or to light them up to hell; so, to say he was shocked to find August, lounged on the couch, one hand behind his head, as he walked into the living room of their duplex, would have been a gross understated.

      “Kim texted me you were on your way home.” August said, seating up. “Come sit.”

      Earn’s body reacted before his mind, doing as he was told.  The couch was plush and wide enough for the two of them to share without bumping into each other. Earn hadn’t been sure if he’d still maintained the right to touch August ever again.

      “How are you feeling?” August had asked, eyes forward, as if simply thinking out loud.

      “Better. Good.”

      “Good.”

      Silence.

      “On our way here P’Kim told me about the whole thing with the police—are you okay?” Earn had wondered if he still so much as maintained the right to talk to August ever again.

      “Yeah—no… I don’t know. I’m just so tired.” August sniffled.

      Earn hadn’t been sure just how much August knew about everything that had happened. He knew he was smart enough to analyze each angle, but just in case the realization hadn’t yet set in, it was up to him to own up to what he’d done.

      “August there’s something I have to tell—“

      “I know.” The words had been nothing more than a whisper.

      Silence.

      “I’m so sorry, Gust. I didn’t—I—I’m…”

      “Of what use is it to say sorry now?” There was a calmness in August’s voice that had set each of Earn’s body hairs on edge. “You and Aim, what are the chances. My savior turned out to be my nemesis. The two great loves of my life broke me down just to build me up.

      “But why?” August had turned to look at Earn for the first time that day. His face pale and gaunt, his lips dry and jagged. “Why can’t I bring myself to hate you? Why can’t I bring myself to even so much as dislike you enough to walk away?”

      A heavy tear had rolled down his cheek, around the curve of his nose and rested on his upper lip.

      “Why am I still so grateful to you despite everything? Why is my biggest fear still of waking up one day and knowing you belong to someone that isn’t me? Earn, what have you done to me?!”

      Using the back of his hand, August had wiped the tears streaming down his face, before standing.

      “I don’t hate you. I should, but I don’t think I could even if I tried. So, I’m not going to waste my time. What I am going to do, however, is take my up those stairs and get some well-deserved rest, and if you know what’s best for you, you’d better be next to me when I wake up.”

      And that had been the end of it. Well, at least that second part of the bad news. And just as August had instructed, Earn had been right there, arm around his waist, in bed, when he’d awoken in the late afternoon.

      They’d showered together, silently, and it was only after August had gone downstairs to usher in the dinner they’d ordered from the kitchen that Earn had thought to check his cellphone. Four missed calls from Kareena and a voice mail telling him that they’d moved to a nearby hotel. She’d been under the impression that the reason he wasn’t coming home had to do with them invading his privacy. If only she knew. Then they’d been a voicemail from a shaken Kim, urging him to call her back. As it turned out, she’d been dying to let him in on the worst best news of his existence.

—AUGUST—

      Earn’s black Mercedes drove down the winding roads of the hills to the flat lands in no time. It was only after they made it halfway to the city that they encountered any sort of obstructive traffic, and even then, it was oddly fluid for a Chiang Mai main street. August found his fingers digging into his skin, the closer they got to their destination, as he scrambled to tell himself the same words he’d been telling Earn over the past few months.

      Breathe!

      Everything is going to be just fine.

      And just when he felt his mantra was beginning to work, the car zoomed by an overhead sign welcoming them to the Nok Airfield. And just like that, the nerves came stomping back with a vengeance.

      What the hell am I so nervous about? August asked himself, trying to rationalize his feelings. Indeed, what did he have to be nervous about? Earn was his. All his, and no one was going to take that away from him. Especially not his ex-girlfriend.

      “That .” August cussed under his breath, leaning back into his seat.

      “What was that?” Earn asked, looking his way, finally breaking their twenty-three-minute spell of silence.

      “N-nothing.” August hurriedly replied, hoping his voice sounded convincing enough not to alert Earn of the butterflies shuffling around in the pit of his guts.

      “You know you don’t have to come out too, right?” Earn said, shooting a quick glance towards August as he made a sharp turn into the open gates of the vicinity. “I’m sure P’Kim would understand if you decided to sit this one out.”

      “D-don’t be silly, why won’t I come say bye to P’Kim.” If August had suspected before that Earn was as nervous as he was, going into this, now stealing a glance his way, he knew for sure.

      Earn’s body language gave it all away. His back was statue-straight, and both hands gripped the wheel so tightly that they seemed to have blanched from the pressure. A far cry from the lean back, one hand on the wheel, the other on the armrest posture he usually cruised in.

      “I’m just saying, it’s been a little while since we were all in the same space…”
      “Yeah, believe me, I know.” August sneered. Surprised by the sudden hostility in his own voice, he quickly added, “But, if this—all of it—is going to work then I have to stop standing guard on the sidelines. I have to be part of the process.”

      Earn’s single nod was his response.

      The car rolled to a stop in front of a simple one-storied building, and without another word, they both stepped out. Side by side, they walked through the entranceway, to the standing desk adjacent to the door.

      August bit his tongue and resigned to his nerves as he watched Earn do his movie star thing, throwing a charming smile at the clerk behind the desk, and within a matter of seconds they were being led through another set of doors, down an all-white hallway that gave way to one of the many hangars on the premises.

      The clerk said something else to Earn that August did not catch before walking away, and leaving them alone with the two black town cars parked side by side. The only other people around were two smartly dressed men who were transferring luggage from the black sedans to the closest jet’s storage compartment.

      The first door opened and out stepped August’s worst nightmare.

      Aim.

      As she struggled out of the car, and walked towards them, August knew in that moment that he couldn’t lie to himself any more than he’d been doing the past few months. What he’d been feeling all along wasn’t rage and disgust as he’d tried mercilessly to make himself believe it was.

      No, it was something far worse.

      It was jealousy.

      Jealousy at this one person that had been allowed to stand side by side to Earn as he watched his mother’s corpse set aflame. Jealousy at this who’d tried to ruin Earn’s life, but had somehow turned around to be one of the most important components of it. Jealousy at how she’d managed to sneak her way into his life just when he thought they’d finally been rid of her all those months ago. Jealousy because he knew she was going to give Earn the one thing no amount of love or love making could bear in their relationship.

      And as if to emphasize the point, Aim wrapped one arm around her protruding stomach as the other waved wildly at them. The glee on her face an absolute contradiction to August’s mental state.

      Damn it, why does she have to look so beautiful. Pregnancy had never looked better on any one mortal as it did on Aim. Her glow was glaring.

      “Are you certain you want to go through with this?” Earn asked again, this time turning his full body away from the waving Aim to address August.

      “No,” August replied honestly, buffing his chest in a show of faux confidence. “But I’d be damned if I run away like a little now.”

      He led the way towards the parked cars as Earn fell behind. There was no way he was going to seem the smaller person here.

      As they inched ever closer, the backdoor to the other black sedan pushed open and Kim stepped out, dressed smartly in an all-black suit, her cellphone pressed against her ear as she rushed to finish her call.

      “Oh my Gawd, look at you!” Aim squealed at August, rushing the rest of the way towards them. “You look so good! Look at those muscles, have you been working out?!”

      “Hey, be careful.” Earn chided, reaching out to stop Aim’s heavy sprint. “Remember what the doctor said, you have to be careful—and are those heels?! Aim! Doctor Mart said absolutely no heels. What if you fall…”

      August gulped as he watched the interaction play out before him. Aim’s almost convincingly nonchalant excitement at seeing him, and Earn’s very convincing show of worry for the carrier of his child.

      Yes, that’s exactly it! That’s exactly all she is. A carrier. Like a phone case, or a laptop bag. Only as valuable as the content within. She has no stakes in Earn. August told himself, knowing fully well that all his thoughts were simply coping mechanisms. Yes, it was true Earn did not love Aim, this much he knew for fact, but he loved that eight-months old baby as much as he loved August. Maybe even more.

      And why wouldn’t he? It was his child for goodness sakes. His flesh and blood. DNA and all. It was the one thing that had saved Aim against Kim’s wrath that day when they’d had their big revelation in the middle of their former love nest. After she’d been taken into custody, she’d confessed to having just tested positive. So, while August had been taxed with explaining his relationship with Aim to Kim, and trying very hard to vindicate himself of the supposed conspiracy claims being tossed at him, Aim, the master herself had gotten off with a simple piss-on-a-stick. The same way after months of Earn putting his best foot forward, taking time off his busy schedule to dedicate all his hours to his mom, and August flying in at least twice every week to console his lover through the tasking process of slowly watching the woman who gave him life fade away, it was only after Aim finally made time, out of her now busy schedule—thanks entirely to the Earn’s very public admittance of being her baby’s father during an organized press conference—to visit the ailing woman that August saw it in Earn’s eyes that he had made peace with letting her go. Yes, that night when Earn had snuck out of their Chiang Mai compound in the middle of the night, drove down to the hotel he, August, was sleeping in and joined him under the covers, August had felt it. He’d heard the mourning agony of Earn’s wails as they cuddled. The shivering of his body in the dark, heated room, and had gagged on the stench of the sorrow, oozing from his lover’s pores. Yes, that night, after Aim had come to pay her respects to the grandmother of her child, August had known for sure that the weight Earn had been carrying, in is struggle to be the most dutiful son, had been lifted off his shoulders. He, August, had not been there to experience the meeting of matriarch and grandchild, but it was clear it had all gone smoothly. Earn’s willingness to resign to his mother’s fate had made that abundantly evident.

      And there in laid the problem. It wasn’t August’s love that had set Earn free, it was that of the baby. It was Aim’s involvement. And for that August knew in his soul he’d probably hate her for it for as long as he lived.

      He’d hate her because he was grateful to her.

      “Well, if it isn’t Thailand’s most beautiful couple.” Kim said, finally doing away with her cellphone and walking towards August and Earn. “Aren’t they just the most beautiful couple you’ve ever laid eyes on?” She asked Aim, nudging her slightly with her elbow.

      “Y-yes, I guess so.” Aim replied, her face flattening as the sing-song cheerfulness wavered for a second. If August hadn’t been paying attention, he’d have missed it like Earn who was cheesing from ear to ear, completely oblivious of the silent war his had caused.

      “You guess? Oh please, there’s not a soul in this world that can’t see these two were meant for each other. I mean, just look at them…” Kim rambled on, seizing the attention away from Aim and dumping it on the two men. Earn might have been oblivious to it, but August had been raised in a house of -kissers and social climbers. Upstanding members of society who took pride in exhibiting proper etiquette. He’d watched his mother tell his father to off over the dining room table more times than he could count without ever breaking character. Kim might have as well been taken private lessons from his mom. Her smile never faltering as she put Aim in her place with a killing smile. Her compliments were threats, and August knew this as much as Aim. In fact, the only person who was still completely in the dark was the thick-skulled actor.

      “Gawd, look at the time, I really have to go, my photoshoot for Maternity Now is in a few hours and I need a beauty rest before going on set.” Aim interjected, the peppiness in her voice injected with a hint of a sneer. “Earn, will you help me up into the jet? Those steps look a bit steep.”

      Turning on her heel, she half stomped, half strutted towards the berthed plane, one hand on her waist and the other cupped around her belly.

      “Aim!” August heard himself say thanks to the sudden boost of confidence he’d just received watching Kim make Aim squirm. This time when he buffed up his chest and approached her, there was nothing fake about his credence. “Wow, it feels like just yesterday since we last saw each other, but you’ve already gotten so, so huge! I-I just wanted to say thank you. Really, truly. Thank you so much for choosing to go all the way in. Thank you for carrying our baby. And I know it’s all a bit awkward now, but I promise, as soon as this bundle of joy is born, I’ll personally make sure everything falls in its rightfully place.”

      His hand rested on her swollen belly as he said the last part, and as if in a sign of assurance, the baby kicked against his palm. Aim’s eyes bulged as she forced a smile before walking past him without a word. Earn on the other hand gave him a grateful smile and a pat on his shoulder, as lost as ever before, hurrying behind his baby’s carrier. August had dated the for four years, after all. Not only was she a woman, but she was a model. An inch of fat on her body was unacceptable to her. Yes, he knew it was a low blow, but damn, did it feel good.

      And for the first time in his adult life, August Valentino was proud to be his mother’s son.

      “Well played, sonny.” Kim chuckled, stopping to give August a quick hug before continuing towards the jet. “Stay strong, kiddo.”

      “I intend on it.” August assured to Kim’s retreating back. “Please, keep a hawk’s eye on that one.”

      “Eye, beak and talons.” Kim shot back without breaking her onward march towards the jet. August knew with all his might that if there was one person that was going to protect Earn in more ways than even he could manage against Aim, it was Kim. She might have escaped Kim’s full wrath thanks to her bundle of joy, but she was still very much on the danger radar.

      It was funny, really, to think that that hostility August had hated so much that first day they’d met, him in the wheelchair, she at the foot of the steps, was now the only thing he could rely on to keep him and his safe and secured.

***

     “I swear on everything that is holy, Earn, if you don’t put that damn script down and go get dressed…” August had had enough. 

      “Just five more minutes, Gust.”

      “That’s what you said last time, and the time before that, and the time before that.”

      “I mean it this time…just five more min—Hey!” Earn exclaimed as a pillow grazed his ear, barely missing his head.

      “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” August sighed, exasperated.

      They were already three days into his extended vacation and had not so much as stepped out of the house since they’d dropped off Kim and Aim at the airport. In fact, Earn had barely made any efforts to do anything other than eat, sleep and read endless scripts coming in from different production houses. And though his in-demand status was cause for a major celebration, especially considering the recent scandal of his fathering a child and making no plans to marry its mother, August knew there was more to it than just a dedication to his work. Earn was evading more than just the pillows August was tossing at his head at that moment.

      “I think you might be taking the term throw pillow too literally, Gust.” Earn teased as yet another pillow smashed into his head.

      “And I think you’re taking the whole vacation thing too seriously too.” Was August’s snarky remark. “What part of va-cay-sion don’t you get? We’re supposed to be chilling by the pool, sipping margaritas or something, not cooked up in here like a damn hermit.”

      August felt bad saying those word, all things considered, but he knew Earn wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The fact was, the other boy was in a rot. Yes, it was true he’d made peace with letting his mother go, but even that did not deny him the aches of a mourning son. August knew this. He also knew Earn, and understood that his sudden desire to bury himself in work was a form of grieving. However, as someone who’d come close to his breaking point just a few months earlier, he also knew too much wallowing risked clogging the emotional drain. Though his mother had just recently passed, Earn had had months to say goodbye.

      “You’re doing that thing again, Earn.” August sighed, walking towards his mate who was dressed in nothing but a pair of blue boxer-briefs.

      “What thing?”

      “You’re going into your shell, again.”

      “I am not.”

      “Yes, yes you are, and you know it.” August said, lifting Earn’s head so he could slide under on the couch. “I’m sorry if I’m coming off as a douche… I just really thought the hard part was over. You said so yourself.”

      “And it is, I promise you, it is… it’s just that… I’m not sure what to do with her.” Earn somberly replied resting the script he’d just been reading on his bare chest.

      “Uh—her?”

      “My mom.”

      “Oh…” August muttered, connecting the dots. After the cremation two urns had been created as per Mrs. Anova’s request, one for her son and the other for her husband. “I mean, you can take her to Bangkok with you, I really don’t mind you keeping her in the duplex. Or if it’s the urn you don’t like, then I’m sure we can find a better alternative.”

      “No, that’s not it. I mean, I don’t think I want to subject her to an immortality of confinement, you know. She’s been sick for so long, and couldn’t really travel around, see the world like she always wanted to…”

      “So, what do you have in mind?”

       It was a few seconds later before Earn replied, and the whole while long August could practically hear the wheels in his head pumping out a million ideas. “I really don’t know, Gust. All I know for sure is that I don’t want her stuck within the four walls of any house anymore. Pa is most-likely going to put her on a mantle at the other place and keep her in, I don’t want to do the same.”

      Earn’s dad had opted to move back into their previous house after the passing of his wife, and August could understand why. In times of emotional strain, familiarity breeds comfort. Besides, according to what Earn had personally told him, the Anova’s had bought the house in Chiang Mai after decades of savings and hardwork. It was far from being anything spectacular, true, but it was their prized possession. It was also centrally located, as opposed to Earn’s hilltop haven, and Earn per August’s advised had implored the close neighbors to keep a keen eye on his father now that he was all alone.

      “You said she always wanted to travel, maybe you could disperse her remains somewhere she’s always wanted to go.”

      “Ha, where would I begin? She always wanted to go to Europe. Paris for the Eiffel Tower, London for the bridge, Rome for the ruins and Santorini for the beach. The water. She loved water. And snow. She never got to experience snow. She always said it was one of God’s little wonders.”

      August could hear the frustration in the other boy’s voice. Earn was fiercely loyal to his family, that much had already been made clear, and though August was not sure he could relate entirely, he knew there was one thing all parents shared, and that was for their children to know happiness. In all that his very own parents had done, he could understand, now more so than ever. He’d learned that lesson over the past few months watching Earn’s interactions with Aim. He knew Earn didn’t love Aim, but he’d seen hints of it in his eyes every time he came back from a doctor’s appointment with Aim, and that had only grown stronger in accordance to the baby bump. And he could see the apologetic looks Earn threw his way after every medical check-up or public appearance they were forced to attend together sans August. It had taken time, but August understood it now. Wholly, truly. Earn was no longer just his. That unborn, unnamed seed kicking in that spiteful woman’s stomach was fated to be his biggest rival, and after having felt that kick for the very first time in the hangar a few days’ past, August couldn’t deny he too would love and protect it as fiercely as Earn. That was what it meant to be a parent, ensuring the well-being of your child, even at a heavy cost.

      His parents had done a banged-up job at it, yes, but August now took consolation in the understanding that their intentions had always been well-meaning. They’d forced their ideologies into him because it was how they knew to love him. To cope. To feel a semblance of success, of happiness.

      Earn’s mother would have wanted exactly that for her only son, of this August was certain.

      “Earn, look at me.” August said, using his fingers to gently tip his lovers head so that their eyes met, then worked their way up to trace the defined line of his outer lip. “What do you want to do?”

      He saw the confusion in Earn’s eyes. “It’s not about what I want…”

      “Actually, I think it is. Think about it, if she’d had any specific intentions as to what she wanted you and your pa to do with her remains I’m sure she would have made it known. I mean, she did ask for her ashes to be divided between father and son, it couldn’t have been more than her to make any other inquiries of you if she really wanted to.”

      “I see your point.” Earn huffed after few seconds of contemplation. “But it still doesn’t give me an answer as to what to do with the Urn.”

      “Think, Earn. You’ve travelled to a lot of places for shoots, surely there’s somewhere you wish you could show her. Some place dear to you heart…”

      “Someplace warm and sunny, with crystal blue waters and white fine sand. Somewhere quiet and safe.” Earn continued, slowly sitting up from August’s lap as he spoke. August could practically see the light bulb glowing bright over his head.

      “Sounds like you’ve got someplace in mind.” August urged on, trying to get Earn to divulge his thoughts.

      “I think I do. I think I know the perfect place…” Earn said with a shy smile, leaning back into August’s lap.

      “Mind sharing?” August finally asked, giving into his curiosity.

      “The place where the fool fell in love with the King.” Earn teased chuckling to himself as if at an inside joke. August’s brain scrambled, trying to make meaning of his parable. Earn looked up at August’s face expectantly, and when he noticed his words seemed to not be ringing any bells, he tried again. “The place where the serpent seduced the innocent god in Paradise.”

      Paradise…

      Paradise…

      It was August’s turn to house the lightbulb of understanding. “Ariara.”

      Earn cheesed and nodded in agreement. “Exactly. If this is about me, then there’s no other place I think I’d want to share with her than that island—That night, in our room... I don’t think I’d ever been happier in my life as I was that day.”

      They both blushed lightly, as those words took them back to that moment of passion.

      It really was paradise, Ariara.

      Paradise…

      “Wait, so, who is the serpent and who is the god?” August asked, if anything to distract from the sudden heat rushing to his nether regions.

      “What do you think.” What Earn’s snarky response.

      Whack!

      “OW! Gust, what’d you do that for?!”

THE END!

+++

TEHEHEHE

IF it wasn't obvious I've set it up for a sequel which I'm totally down for doing. I'm not entirely sure when i'll start, but I'm thinking mid to late june. I feel there're still a few things to flesh out, and I will be doing so with the sequel, if anything to tie it all up into a neat little bun.

Hope you guys liked it, thank you all so much for sticking through the thick and thin with me as I tried to navigate this horrible thing called adulthood, and last but MOST DEFINITELY NOT LEAST,

The full , NEW VERSION of the story is online now on Amazon, and I've gotten a few buys but not any reviews, so if you could please drop some good words for yours truly, it would be much appreciated. Any questions what so ever please comment or message. Though I won't be writing on here for a while, I will still be logging in to keep up with some of my serial fanfics so I'll definitely see all your comments. Well, that's all. 

Buh-bye for now. 

LINK TO KINDLE BOOK:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Beautiful-Taboo-Eugene-Kenyatta-ebook/dp/B01M64617Z