25
Throat felt parched and acidic, stomach uncomfortably bloated, and nausea curled in his gut as though he might throw up at any moment. His head throbbed painfully, like it was about to split open, but strangely, the sensation was not unfamiliar.
Jude squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before slowly forcing his heavy lids open, squinting against the sunlight spilling into the room. He froze when he realized Sky was sitting right in front of him, shirtless. His eyes snapped wide in alarm, his pulse spiking at the sudden realization.
“Time to get up,” Sky said flatly as he stood up, his tone as indifferent as ever.
Jude jolted upright on the bed, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. Sky had already turned away, pulling on his shirt. His tattoo-covered back was fully visible, ink spread across his skin, covering almost every space as he moved.
“Oh,” Jude muttered under his breath when Sky turned to glance at him.
Jude immediately lowered his head, fidgeting as his fingers pinched almost savagely between his folded legs.
The green-painted walls and the old ceiling fan above him, creaking as it spun sluggishly, made it clear this was not his room.
The faded white sheets beneath him were wrinkled.
The bed was narrow and rough. The unpleasant smell only deepened his unease.
Jude looked around, his worry building in his chest. The small space was almost empty—just a bed, a tiny table with a broken lamp, a lone chair, and a dirty old jalousie window to get air through.
It took him a little longer to piece together his surroundings and remember what had happened.
Shit…there’s only one bed. Jude thought, panic creeping into his chest.
“W-where are we?” he managed to ask.
Jude’s voice was unsteady, hoping his suspicion was wrong.
“In a motel,” Sky replied coldly.
Heat rushed to Jude’s face at the answer, his heartbeat racing wildly in his chest; his throat clogged as his breathing turned uneven. He fell silent, worry and confusion gnawing at him. His mind flickered through fragments of last night, though nothing felt clear.
“Stop overthinking, fag,” Sky cut in before he could imagine further. “You were completely wasted last night and ended up throwing up all over me. This was the closest place near the bar, so I didn’t really have a choice but to crash here for the night.”
Sky spoke like he could read every thought crossing Jude’s mind. In his defense, the hole underneath his boxer was not sore.
But why did I feel something huge poking me?
Embarrassment flooded through Jude. He almost wished the bed would crack open and swallow him whole.
He sat frozen, completely tongue-tied, trying to piece together whatever fractured recollection he could acquire from the night before.
It took him a long moment before he finally reached a shaky conclusion.
“I-I’m s-sorry about l-last night, Sky,” he stammered.
“Can you stop apologizing?” Sky cut in immediately.
Jude’s head dropped at once in mortification, his fingers fidgeting nervously again as he pinched them between his hands. His palms had grown damp with sweat.
“Get ready to leave,” Sky continued. “We’re going out for breakfast before heading home.”
Jude gave a small shake of his head in refusal.
Sky had already spent so much on him. He had not even brought his wallet.
It was still in his bag outside their house, and even if he had, he would not have been able to afford the drinks anyway.
From what he could recall, he had drunk far too much tequila the night before, and it had definitely been an expensive brand.
Add to that the motel and transportation, and the costs were already piling up.
He could not let Sky spend any more on him, not even for breakfast. It would be better to save whatever money was left for the ride home.
“N-no, y-you’ve s-spent so much on me a-already,” Jude sputtered.
The moment he refused, his stomach betrayed him with a loud growl. Jude froze, mortified. He felt his face burn as heat rushed up to his cheeks.
“I’ll wait outside, and we’re going out for breakfast.” Sky looked at his eyes, then down to his stomach. “Stop complaining before I change my mind,” he said sternly, ending the conversation.
Without looking back, Sky walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him, making Jude flinch at the sudden sound. Jude could not tell whether Sky was annoyed because he kept protesting or upset at the thought of spending more money on him again.
Jude was left completely dumbfounded.
The moment Sky stepped out of the room, his thoughts drifted back to the chaos of the previous night.
Everything had been such a mess. The only reason he had crossed paths with Sky in the first place was that Sky had saved him from getting hit by a truck.
And the reason he had gotten drunk beyond control was because of the devastating truth that shattered his world—the people he had known as his biological parents, the family he had lived with for nineteen years, were not truly his by blood.
He had been adopted all along.
A familiar stab of pain shot through his chest, and before Jude even realized it, tears were already streaming down his face.
He curled into himself on the bed, clutching the sheets tightly as though they were the only thing keeping him together.
The pain was unbearable, so overwhelming that his quiet sobs soon became audible cries.
No matter how hard he tried to calm himself, everything felt too heavy to endure.
The ache in his chest deepened into a relentless, torturing throb.
Jude drew in a shaky breath, desperately trying to push away the thoughts tearing him apart.
Jude had to keep moving forward. He could not allow himself to dwell on it now. As absurd as it sounded, it felt like he had already been given a second life.
Using the hem of Sky’s oversized shirt, Jude wiped the tears from his face before searching for his glasses.
He found them resting on the small table beneath an old lamp.
There were slight cracks on the lenses, but when he carefully put them on, his vision still became a little clearer.
Jude had kept three spare pairs back home in case one got broken—a precaution he had learned to make and invested in because of the bullying he endured almost every day.
As Jude went to the bathroom, a weird, chlorine-like smell filled his nose.
He completely ignored it. He stared at his reflection in the mirror and grimaced at the sight before him.
His eyes were swollen, with dark bags puffed beneath them.
His hair was a complete mess, and small cuts marked his lips.
Bruises and wounds lined the side of his face, less swollen than before, but still terrible enough to make him wince at his own appearance.
Combined with the pounding hangover and splitting headache he was already enduring at the moment.
Letting out a sigh, Jude removed his glasses and leaned over the sink, splashing his face with the cold water trickling from the rusty faucet.
Since he did not have a toothbrush with him, he simply rinsed and gargled his mouth twice with tap water.
Heat immediately rushed to his cheeks the moment he stepped out of the motel room.
He had accidentally caught sight of an older man and a woman, probably somewhere in their thirties, locked in a passionate kiss as they stumbled down the hallway, impatiently searching for their room.
To Jude’s horror, the room they stopped in front of was the very same one he and Sky had spent the night in.
He instantly looked away, praying they had not noticed him, and quickly hurried off without wasting another second.
Out of breath, Jude spotted Sky leaning against the wall, his hands tucked casually inside his pockets like always. Jude slowed to a stop beside him.
A brief silence settled between them before Sky finally pushed himself away from the concrete wall.
“Did you cry again?” Sky asked, his brows furrowing as he carefully examined Jude’s face.
Towering over him, Sky’s presence alone made Jude shrink nervously in place.
Avoiding his gaze, Jude quickly shook his head and stared down at the ground, pretending otherwise.
Jude was sure Sky was irritated. Without saying another word, Sky turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.
After a moment of hesitation, Jude quietly followed behind him, torn between running away and staying close.
Since he did not even have money for transportation, he reluctantly settled on the second option.
Sky did not spare Jude a single glance as they walked deeper into the heart of the secluded town.
Jude quietly took the opportunity to observe the unfamiliar place around them.
Compared to the area where he grew up, this town felt peaceful and refreshing.
Vast rice fields stretched across the land, framed by towering green mountains in the distance.
There were no flashy establishments or towering buildings like the ones owned by big companies in the city.
The streets were quiet and far from crowded, lined mostly with old wooden structures and weathered maroon-brick buildings.
Traffic was light, with only a few old pickup trucks, mostly worn-down Chevys, rolling along the narrow roads.
On the sides of the streets, children ran around freely, laughing and playing beneath the open sky, completely immersed in the quiet beauty of the town.