thirty

- Mew -

"Mew, son, she will be your new mom. She is Phaelin. Greet her."

I knew it. Another ''new mom". 

"Sawasdee krub." 

I forced a smile at her. If I know, she's only after Por's money. She will not even last a month or a week, maybe.

But that's what I thought. She's kind and caring. Opposite of what I totally thought of her. Now, I really feel so guilty of judging her so early, before she can even prove herself. I must say, Por is so lucky that she met her. Maybe if Mom is still alive, she will be as good as her. Or better.

"I have already convinced my son to live here. I am so excited for you two to meet, Mew." She looked at dad who jokingly glared at her. "Of course, and you, too." And we all laughed. The mood here in the house totally changed since she came here. Even dad changed. I wonder how it will be like if her son, my stepbrother, moves in with us. I feel so excited. 

 Days later, he came.

My stepbrother came.

With his big luggage. This is it. I'll be having a new brother now.

"Sawasdee krub."

I greeted at the guy whom I think goes around my age. He's a bit taller than me, I guess. Fair-skinned just like his mom. He actually looks like the twin brother of mom, that's how they look the same.

I smiled at him. Of course, I am excited and I cannot hide it. But he didn't greet me back. Instead, he went straight inside the house, pulling his luggage. 

"New, this is your dad's son, Mew. Funny how you two got almost the same name, right?" Mom followed him. He didn't answer mom. He just kept looking around the house. 

"Whatever." 

I didn't expect he'd talk to his own mother like that. How dare is he?

"Don't you think you're a bit disrespectful of your mother, huh?" I just can't stand it anymore. 

He looked at me from my head to toe, like I'm sort of shit to him. But he's worse than me!

"So, you are the chosen one."

"Huh?"

"How does it feel to steal a mom and make her like she's your own, huh? Is my mom caring and loving? Oh, don't just look at me, answer me. I am here to see how my mother treats someone else's son rather than her own. I bet she treats you better. Am I right, mom?"

Right there, his face meets mom's palm. 

Mom left crying.

"You better behave yourself or else. Go and apologize to your mom. Quick!" dad said with his voice raised. But New seems unbothered. He just sat there with his legs crossed and his arms spread across the back of the sofa.

I didn't know New would be like this. I thought he's like his  mom, soft. But I wonder if I was the one who turned him into that. I hope not. 

It has been months now since we all live under the same roof. New is still the same as the first time he came here. Rude to everyone, though we treat him nice. He is still pushing that thing about stealing his mom. I can't blame him for feeling that way but I just hope he sees how his mom tries to fill in the gaps between them. It is him who keeps pushing her away but has the audacity to say she's not acting like a mom to him.

There has also been incidents when I found my things either missing or ruined. I don't want to accuse New for that but my instinct is telling me so. I just let those things slip smoothly like nothing happened but there is just one thing I will not tolerate anymore. And that is, him  messing up with Gulf.

One time he confronted me if Gulf is my boyfriend. He said he saw my lock screen one time, that's why. I told him yes. But it gave me a bad feeling. I don't know if I saw him smirking that time or not but still, I know he's plotting something. I don't want to drag Gulf into this mess. He's innocent.

"P'Mew, someone messaged me on LINE. He said he found my wallet and he wanted to meet with me so he can return it." Gulf said while showing me his phone. 

"What time are you meeting him?" 

"He says around 4 PM."

"Oh. I cannot come with you. I still have classes."

"I can manage, P'."

"You sure?" and he nodded.

"By the way, what's his name?"

"New. Almost your name, P' hahaha."

My jaw almost dropped when I heard who is he meeting. 

It is okay if he vent his anger on me but dragging Gulf into this? I won't let that happen.

"I'm coming with you."

"But didn't you say you have a test?"

So, apparently I didn't win over him. I have to take my test first on my one subject and we agreed meeting afterwards. It's just that I don't feel comfortable now that he's meeting New, alone. I don't know.  

 And that's the biggest mistake I have ever done in my whole life. 

I run as fast as I can to their meeting place. 

But I was too late.

"Call an ambulance!"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

My hands are shaking and my heart is beating so fast. People are starting to gather around the guy lying on the ground, swimming in his own blood.

"Gulf!!! What happened!?"

My vision is getting blurry because of my tears that I can't even stop from falling. What happened to you, Gulf? Didn't we agree on meeting after you got your wallet, right? But why are you lying like that on the ground? You don't like it when it's dirty, right? Then, what are you doing there? Gulf, wake up. Please, wake up. 

The ambulance came and they took him. 

I heard it was a black car which hit him and run away like nothing had happened. I can't help but to suspect New for doing this but there's no CCTV footage around the area. But what's sure is that, there is a black car in our garage. And it's New's.

Since the accident, he hasn't wake up yet. He's in a comatose and the doctors can't tell when he is going to wake up. 

It pains me to see him like that. He should be enjoying things he likes, not like this; spending his days, weeks, months sleeping. 

Everyday, I visit him every lunch break. It is the only time I am free due to hectic class schedules. Every 11:45 AM to 12 noon, I am here, sitting next to him. Talking to him like he's awake. I've got a lot of things to tell him even if he's not able to hear them, what more if he's awake. 

Those 15 minutes feels like 1 minute every time I visit him. But I have no choice. He will get mad at me if I skip classes. I still keep my promise to him even if it means short time seeing him. I don't want to upset him once he learnt I was skipping school just to see him. I know him very well. He's the type of person who doesn't want to be a burden to someone, even if he's not.

I remember how he liked my dog tag necklace before, to the point he secretly snatched it from my drawer. I brought it with me and put it on him. If only I know, I should have gave it to him earlier so I can see how happy he is to have it. But I saw his finger moved when I was putting it on him. Maybe because of its coldness. It was a good sign though. He is responsive.

There's also a time when everyone panicked because Gulf had a cardiac arrest. I saw them pumped on his chest, trying to bring back the sound that indicates his life. We were all relieved when the machine returned beating. He's back. I was so scared that time. Any time, he can be lost forever. I was so afraid, that I didn't leave his side for how many days. His friends, Pete and Top, got worried and told me to take a rest. Thanks to them, there's someone who could look after Gulf. 

The doctor said he'll be needing more time to recover because of the arrest. We waited. Until we didn't notice it's already six months. 

"Gulf, you're awake!"

"Gulf, it's me, Top. Your friend. Thank goodness, after six months, you're now awake. Nurse! Nurse! He's now awake."

"What do you mean six months?"

"You've been unconscious for six months, Gulf. This is the first time you wake up since the accident." said Pete.

"Where's P'Mew?"

"Uh..."

"Where's P'Mew!?"

I know and I can hear him calling my name. I told Top and Pete to keep it from him that I am visiting him. I just feel so guilty. I don't have the guts to face him after all that had happened. It's all my fault.

But that's what I thought.

He started crying.

And I can't stand seeing him crying like that.

I walked towards him. I saw the happiness in his eyes the moment our eyes met and once again, he called my name. 

"P'Mew." and he hugged me.

I lost it. My tears fell. And they keep falling, until my whole face is wet because of my tears. He's really back. Gulf is back. I am so happy.

"I'm sorry, Gulf. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault."

"Why are you sorry? Shhh." He let go of the hug and he held my hands instead.

"Wait. Where's your bracelet? You told me to never remove it on my hand but look at you not wearing it." 

"Huh? What bracelet, Gulf?" 

"The clasp bracelet we bought near your neighborhood. The black one. Like this." He showed me his hand but there is no bracelet.

"Uh that's weird. Did you remove my bracelet? Where did you put it?" He tried searching it under his blanket and under his pillow. I don't remember us wearing a bracelet that we "bought near my neighborhood".

"What do you mean? We never bought bracelets, Gulf. What are you talking about?"

"No, I swear we bought them. I was the one who chose them, remember?"

 "I don't." I looked at Pete and Top who are as confused as I am now.

"We bought them days before the camping, don't you remember? Pete, remember the bracelet you told me beautiful during the camp? That's the bracelet."

"But Gulf, there was never a camping."

***

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