29. I'm home late, I'm sorry

Standing steadily on that spot, Zan gulped the lump inside his throat. He was looking at the old woman sitting on the side gutter. Her old ragged clothes looked damp and dirty from head to toe. Just by looking at the old lady, you'd know in one glance that she smelled nasty. Her long white hair were obviously tangled for decades. Her skin was dry and her lips were chapped.

Zan inhaled deeply, shut his eyes closed which resulted for his grain like tears to fall nonstop. He walked towards the old woman and looked down at her. Amidst the dark shadow of a man standing in front of her, the old woman managed to recognize that silhouette. Zan was sobbing, he was crying like a kid while wiping his eyes using the back of his hands. Yibo had seen Zan cried a lot of times, except the murder incident, he had never seen Zan cried like a kid being bullied. At first, the granny looked confused whether it was really Zan or not. But when she heard Zan cries like a baby, she was definitely sure that this man was the tiny kid who used to give her tap water to drink.

"Zan?" the granny called and smiled at Zan. Zan didn't answer nor respond. He felt like breaking into pieces. He didn't want to ask because he was afraid of what might be the old woman's answer to his question. He wanted to avoid the question. He tried to convince himself that the old man who used to pat his head when he was a kid just went out for the night and that he would return the next day. He was hoping to see him another day.

"Grandpa is dead" the old lady said and smiled bitterly at Zan. Her smile was forced and her eyes wrinkled. She tried her best not to look so sad in front of Zan so the child would not cry too much.

Hearing the news, Zan dropped his knees on the ground and bowed his head in front of the old woman.

"It was an accident" the old woman said. She cried hopelessly this time.

"It was an accident but I can't accept it. It was so unfair for my husband. He was just trying to help" the old woman said and clutched her chest.

"Please tell me, grandma" Zan begged and cried.

"That was the first time I was never happy that my husband did a good thing for the sake of others" the old lady started.

It was dark that night when the old couple decided to sleep on the sidewalk. The night was cold yet peaceful. The couple had only a tiny blanket that even if they'd sleep top and tail, they would never be able to share the sheet. The old man let his wife used the blanket and endured the cold all night.

"A cold night is nothing for a man" the old man said and even tried to warm his wife's body by rubbing her arms with his palms.

"Sleep now" he said to the old woman. Despite knowing that her husband is cold, the lady pretended to feel comfortable. Even if she wanted to say that she knew he was feeling cold, she didn't. She had to pretend that she was okay so the man would stop worrying about her.

Sometimes you have to pretend that you're okay to lessen the worries of those who cared for you the most. Sometimes you have to let those people know that you are proud of them for being strong.

As the night went deep, the street became quiet that only the sounds of cricket could be heard everywhere.

Suddenly, a group of students, particularly gangsters, happened to walked through the shortcut. People cared less because they were used to it. They just have to pretend to be asleep so the gangsters would not pick on them.

"That fucking king! Who does he think he is?! Making me kneel in front of him and even made me transfer to another school just because I beat his older brother!" The bald guy yelled and broke the bottle of vodka he was holding. He was drunk and stumbling on the ground. The other guys were laughing at him because he was complaining again.

"You should have come back to him and made him pay for what he did to you!" one of the guys said to the bald guy.

"Easy for you to say that! If you only knew how terrifying that motherfucker is, you'll wished you'd never seen his face!" The bald guy shivered just by remembering those deadful eyes seeking for blood. Those eyes who would never look away from the enemy's gaze. Those eyes who could make you kneel on the ground without being told. Those killer eyes.

"Hey! Are you okay?!" one of the drunk guys asked the bald guy when they noticed he froze on his feet. The old couple were pretending to fall asleep on the side as they listened to the gangsters' argument. It sounded like the usual scenes they hear at night. A group of gangsters complaining about how strong their opponent was. The shortcut was sometimes called 'The Street of Complains'. Hopeless people usually curse in that place and complain. They would just vent their exhaustion and shout. Because they knew that no matter how noisy or disturbing they are, no one would give a damn care about them.

"You shouldn't have provoked him then" The other guy sneered and smoked weed.

"Fuck you. That fucking king told us before that he never cared about that fucking transferee, he even told us that he would never care whatever happens to that guy. But then, he's got a complicated mind. Turning the tables up and suddenly beating everyone who dares to lay a finger on that fucking nerd!" the bald guy complained. Viens popping out from his forehead and neck.

"Then, you shouldn't have toyed with the nerd at all" the other guy laughed.

"If I had known that he cared for his adoptive brother in the first place, I would never touch even a single strand of hair of that guy named Zan!" the bald guy explained. Hearing the name mentioned, the old man's ear moved. Like a rat hearing a snake's noise. He paid more attention to the gangsters' quarrel now.

"I just destroyed his galsses and got pissed off. But when that king found out, he had gone mad inside our classroom. He threatened the whole class and I was so fucking scared I almost peed my pants" the bald guy said.

"So do you have a plan on making that king pay back?" one of the guys asked.

"Freaking idiots! There's no way I would win against that king. The police favored him and everybody feared him. Do you think I could strike back? My only option is to go on his side. If we ever meet in the streets or somewhre, I would kneel before him" The bald guy said honestly. He looked up at the king since that day. He thought that was really cool. The guys started laughing at him so he got annoyed.

"What a coward you are" the guy who smoke weed sneered.

"What did you just say?" the bald guy asked. Veins popped out of his forehead as he held the doper's neck using his one hand. His other hand was holding a caliber 45 pointing at the trembling guy's mouth.

"Say that again? What did you just call me?" the bald guy loaded the gun and glared at the doper.

"Being a coward is different from acknowledging the enemy's strength, asshole. The king is stronger than me but it doesn't mean that I am a coward. I know that the enemy is strong that is why I am on his side now. That is called idolism. But it doesn't mean that I am afraid of you, am I?" The bald guy hissed and his finger itched to pull the trigger.

"Fine fine I'm sorry! I swear I won't judge you again! I will worship your king if you want me to. Believe me, dude!"

"Are you sure?!!" the bald guy yelled and pointed the gun even closer to the guy's face.

"Yes! Yes! I'm sure! Put the fucking thing away!" the guy swore while looking at the tip of the gun. The atmosphere got very intense that the old man could no longer hold it.

"I should have beaten that nerdy Zan sooner when he was still outside the king's protection. He really pisses me off!" the bald guy said.

"But now, he is untouchable" He concluded.

"Please put the gun down" the doper begged because he saw that the bald guy's temper has gotten worse everytime he speaks about that 'Zan'. He was afraid the gun would be clicked accidentally.

"Young man, please put the gun-?"

BANG!

The bald guy was surprised that in a split second, he aimed the gun to the old man who held his shoulder and pulled the trigger.

"-down..." the old man fell on the ground. He got shot on the chest directly to his heart. Not a single minute has passed, he swam on his own blood. Even the color of his blood beat the dark night. He coughed blood before he took his last breath. The gangsters ran quickly. The old woman then woke up in the morning with his husband being taken away from her by the police.

"I never thought that that was the last night I could be with him. If I had known, I should have thrown away the tiny blanket and hugged him. I should have hugged him very tight that he would never dare to stand up and leave me shivers from the cold. If only I had hugged him so tight, he would not meddle into the kids' fight and would rather hug me back. If only... If only..." the old woman cried heavily.

"...If only I had been selfish that night. If only I told him not to care about other people, he would still be alive right now"

Zan didn't know what to do. He couldn't figure it out whether to feel guilty or to get angry.

"Zan, it is getting cold now. You should go home and don't burden this handsome young man beside you. I will be fine" the woman said and smiled.

"Don't let your new parent get worried for you" She reminded Zan. Zan suddenly remembered Mrs. Huang's face. She was probably waiting for her sons at home right now. Preparing the table and expecting to have a blissful dinner with the two.

Zan's tears flowed like a river, he kept clutching his pocket only to realize that his wallet was in his bag, his bag was inside Yibo's car.

"Give me your wallet. I promise I'll pay you back" Zan said to Yibo and the younger did not hesitate to give his wallet to the older. Even if Zan would never pay him back  won't be a problem.

There were a lot of condoms inside Yibo's wallet but Zan didn't have time to judge the horny guy. Zan kept sniffing his nose, which is now red as blood due to crying. He took all the amount out from Yibo's wallet and handed it to the old lady.

"Please live well. Please live well" Zan cried so hard as he clutched the money on the woman's hands.

"Pl-please live very well" Zan choked. His heart felt so heavy, he felt like dying. The old woman nodded multiple times to let the young man know that she would live well for him.

"I forgot to give this to you" The old woman said and took out something from her pocket. It was a piece of coin which she kept for a very long time.

"The last time you were here, he wanted to give you a little money. But we were very unfortunate to even have our own. He let me keep this so he won't spend this coin. He said he'd give it to you when you come back. What took you so long, Zan?" the old woman asked. Face soaked with tears.

Zan broke into tears and clutched the coin to his chest.

"I am very sorry" he said. He breathed heavily after saying his apology.

Zan realised one thing, it was hard to say sorry. But it was harder waiting for a forgiveness from a person that would never come again.

In his mind, "I'm home, grandpa. I'm sorry I'm late."

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©The Bad Boy's Obsession by Arl Hesse a.k.a AHFictions

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