Pathum’s POV

Even though it had been a while since she fell asleep, I couldn’t shake off the thought that Scarlet was being stalked. How in the world could people do such horrible things? I mean, why is this person doing this? Whatever the outcome is, I’ll always stick by her side. She needs someone to be there for her. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice my mom glancing at me occasionally.

“Son, what are you daydreaming about her?”

I looked over at her and shook my head.

“No.”

My mom raised an eyebrow at me while handing me a cup of my favorite tea.

“Oh, that’s far from the truth,” she said. “Tell me, what’s happened now?”

Sighing, I took a sip of my beverage before placing it on the table and turning to face her. She was staring at me expectantly, her dark eyes boring deep into my soul. I cleared my throat, prepared to speak.

“Well, Scarlet and her family went to the police and complained to the Chief about the stalking and the pictures.”

My mom gave me a relieved look, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“That’s good. Do they know who’s behind this?”

I nodded.

“Is it someone close to them or a stranger?”

A lump settled in my throat, the thought of him coming to the surface. I had to take a few sips of my beverage before speaking again.

“Yes, it is someone they know.”

My mom gave me a sympathetic look.

“Oh, that’s terrible.”

“Yes, I know,” I said before I finished the tea.

“So, will they catch him?”

“I hope so.”

“Well, let’s hope they do. But don’t think about that too much. Let Scarlet and her family deal with their problems, okay?” she told me, touching my arm with concern across her face.

“Okay,” I replied, but she didn’t look satisfied with my answer.

“I mean it. You must stop worrying about this girl and focus on your studies.”

“I am, mom.”

She shook her head at me.

“No, you’re not.”

I stubbornly stood up and put my hands on my mom’s shoulders. I looked deep into her eyes and spoke with the most severe expression possible.

“I know, but she needs my help.”

My tone must have gotten to her because she sighed within the next few moments. She gave me a defeated look. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she wouldn’t give up before she told me one thing.

“Be careful, son.”

“Trust me, I am,” I smiled, hoping it would eliminate any stress on my face. Luckily, it did. She was pleased with my words and smile.

“I know. But at the end of the day, remember Scarlet is a stranger,” she warned as she caressed my hair.

“A stranger?” I asked, looking into her eyes, which were full of concern.

“You haven’t met her in person, darling. So, she’s technically still a stranger to you.”

“What are you saying?” I asked, trying to deny her words.

“I’m saying you still don’t know her, so don’t argue with me about this, son.” She touched my face. I offered her a grin, but she didn’t say anything before she touched my forehead. “You love this girl, don’t you?” She turned my chin to hers.

“Of course. He is my bestie.”

“Him?” She raised both her brows.

“I meant her,” I corrected.

She laughed slightly before putting her hand up to stop my rambling.

“Calm down. You almost changed her gender.”

“Ah.” I scratched my head.

“You love her, don’t you?” she smiled.

I blushed as I tried to look away from her knowing expression. When I spoke, I was stammering.

“Well, she’s the only friend I have. Even though I have friends in school, they weren’t interested in talking with me. However, she’s very interested, so yes, Mom, I love her,” I said, letting out a breath.

My mom squeezed my cheeks, and her eyes shone with happiness as she looked at me excitedly.

“Oh, I can’t believe my son has grown up, and he even has a girlfriend! But as always, be careful, and don’t get too attached.”

I went into denial almost immediately.

“Mom, she’s not my girlfriend.”

My mom rolled her eyes.

“Oh, stop the drama, boy.”

“What are you talking about?! For the last time, Scarlet isn’t my girlfriend. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her mom.” I averted my gaze and stepped away from her.

My mom glanced at me sideways before her gaze fell to my phone’s screen. She pointed at it as she spoke, amusement permeating her tone.

“Then what about those heart-shaped messages she sent you?”

I let out an irritated huff.

“Mom, she is my bestie. Like I said a few minutes ago, you can ask her about it.”

“Okay, let’s not argue about that now. Focus on this,” she said, pointing towards the pile of books. Of course, it's what I need to focus on.

Once she was gone, I looked up some Chemistry MCQ questions and worked on them.

I didn’t touch my phone as I was focused on my studies, and she was asleep. But only then did I mention a new notification popup from Google Hangouts. It seems like she’s having a difficult time falling asleep. I took a break from studying and opened the app, but to my frustration, it wasn’t Scarlet but him.

Unknown: You don’t seem to understand English, do you?

Pathum: What do you mean by that?

Unknown: Why haven’t you stopped talking to her?

Pathum: Who are you to ask me that?

Unknown: Wow, you’re violent. Did she teach you some anger lessons?

Pathum: No, she didn’t, and you need to stop doing this. Please, I beg of you, leave her alone, take that picture off your device, and stop torturing her. She hasn’t done any harm to you.

Unknown: She has done some harmful deeds for which I should repay her.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Pathum: Sure, you will. The police will catch you soon.

Unknown: The police? Haha, you’re funny. Tell me some more jokes, please. The officers would kiss my feet and set me free, so stop being hopeful about that idea.

Pathum: What do you want from her?

Unknown: Oh, you already know.

Pathum: Seriously?! Why can’t you leave her alone?

Unknown: The same reason why you can’t. Love, sweet boy, love.

Pathum: Oh, no, no, no, don’t even think for a single second that we’re equal. You and I were never equal.

Unknown: You’re defensive. But the truth is both of us are the same, sweet boy. We both want her, don’t we?

Pathum: NO! I don’t want her the way that you want her. So, could you not compare me to you, you loser?

Unknown: Are you denying that she has a hot body?

Pathum: You fucked up piece of shit; she’s my bestie, not my girlfriend. Do you understand? I don’t give a crap whether she has a body or not. I value her for her heart and mind, not her body, unlike you, you’re insane, you obsessive fucker.

Unknown: How come you haven't fallen for her body? Maybe you are gay.

Pathum: I’m not gay, you idiot. Just because you’re incapable of maintaining respectful relationships with females doesn’t mean every man is like you or must be like you. However, this world is messed up because of people like you who live in delusional fantasies.

Unknown: Wow. Those are some words coming from a sweet little boy who still sleeps with his mother.

Pathum: Shut up. You’re a sick, insane, fucking mess.

Unknown: Sweet boy.

Pathum: The real question should be, aren’t you acting gay?

Unknown: I saw your pictures, too; I admit I questioned whether its Scarlet or you that I want more.

What the heck? I thought, furrowing my eyebrows in disgust before I exited the app.

There’s no more point in talking with this bastard. He undoubtedly has a mental illness. Why haven’t I blocked him? Well, blocking won’t stop him from torturing Scarlet. So, I must help her before resolving my peace. I won’t block him until we find a solution.

So, after finishing the chemistry questions, I moved on to my favourite subject, Biology. And I started to study the ongoing lesson of my class, unit five, about animals and their functions. I learned about epithelial tissues, and due to the precise arrangement of the notes, I could memorize the points—credits to our biology teacher.

I looked over my notes when my grandma entered my bedroom with some teacups.

“Hey, do you want some tea?” she asked, making sure her hand gesture looked like she was holding a cup to her mouth. It was a silly gesture, making me shake my head like a gorilla. I ensured my voice was loud enough to get her attention because she had hearing issues.

“Yes,” I said while maintaining my head movement.

With a smile, she left and returned ten minutes later with a teacup full of steaming hot tea.

I don’t understand why people love tea so much. I’m surprised that foreigners love tea or that Ceylon tea is the most notorious tea brand in Sri Lanka. I want to admire tea like a foreigner but don’t understand the taste. Plain tea is just hot water. I guess we’re poor. So, maybe the tea that the foreigners try is more luxurious.

But is it? Well, we’ll never know until we become rich. I admit when we add powdered milk, it’s excellent, but that’s not tea. Maybe they drink something besides tea, just like the tea tastes better with ginger.

“It’s so sunny outside today, I can’t even look out the window,” my grandma said before taking a sip of her tea.

“Aren’t you going to bathe today?” I asked while looking at the surroundings occupied by trees and the bright, warm sunlight.

“Yeah, I am once I’m finished with this,” she confirmed.

“Do you want any biscuits?” I offered her some while eating one.

She shook her head and laughed.

“No, I’m still eating the first one you gave me.”

Soon, I saw that her cup was almost empty, and I was taking my final sip. But before she finished her tea, I needed to think of a topic to continue this conversation. I first thought about some gossip, but she wasn’t in the mood for that, so I chose to talk about my studies.

“So, Grandma, I just finished studying yesterday’s class notes,” I said and showed her my biology textbook.

She admired it, slowly turning the pages and carefully touching each paper. When she was done, she returned it and smiled at me kindly.

“You have beautiful handwriting.”

Instead of replying, I shook my head, but my heart secretly smiled at her comment.

“Study well, my little son; however, study to become a doctor. It’s a great profession. Saving lives is a great career.” She touched my head, much to my amusement.

She usually does this. I’m her little son, so she always addresses me by that. Her dream is to see me in a doctor’s coat. Luckily for her, it’s also mine, and I believe I can do that.

I may be far away from that dream, but I’ll continue my journey. And one day, I’ll be proud of myself.

Now that we had both finished with our tea, my grandma took my cup with her, and after studying nutrition and the digestive system, I stopped. Around five in the evening, I went to have my bath. It took thirty minutes, but when I returned, I found a text from Scarlet.

I opened it up.

Pathum: Good morning, sweetie.

Scarlet: Morning.

Pathum: Is he bothering you again?

Scarlet: Yeah.

She then sent screenshots of his chat, which was short and sweet for him but terrible for us. He said that he was more interested in me than her, so he was probably playing with us.

Pathum: Is he joking?

Scarlet: I think he’s being serious.

Pathum: You’re kidding…..

Scarlet: I’m not, darling. There were rumors about his liking towards males, so I guess he’s being more honest with himself.

Pathum: Well darling, is he cute?

Scarlet: Pathum!!!

Pathum: Does that mean yes?

Scarlet: Ewww!!! That was not funny!

Pathum: I was trying to make you laugh. Anyway, don’t you think he’s a psychotic and peculiar person? Or, in other words, sick.

Scarlet: Yeah, he’s a sick bastard.

Pathum: Wait, how the hell did he get my picture?

Scarlet: I was thinking the same thing since I got those messages.

Pathum: We’ve got to do something about him. The police must be faster in conducting their investigation. But I don’t understand… How does he have access to our devices?

Scarlet: I don’t know, but my head is about to explode.

Pathum: Why can’t he let you go?

Scarlet: Not sure. But anyway, Mom got a call from the police station, and you don’t want to know what they said.

Pathum: Tell me.

Scarlet: Pathum…

Pathum: Yes, sweetie?

Scarlet: They told us the complaint is invalid.

Pathum: What? I don’t understand……

Scarlet: Victor denied it was him.

Pathum: And the police believe that.

Scarlet: Without actual context, we can’t frame someone. So we need proof. But do you know what the funny part is?

Pathum: Hmm?

Scarlet: The police accused me of being a gold digger.

Pathum: Those freaking losers. I thought there was at least one person who was willing to help us out. But it seems to not be the case.

Scarlet: I thought so, too.

Pathum: Now, how can we stop him? He can’t just do this! Scarlet, this isn’t just a silly case. The police ought to do a thorough investigation rather than listen to words and nod their heads at people with golden teeth.

Scarlet: I know… but my mom’s calling me, so I must go.

For God’s sake, this can’t be happening. How can someone access our daily life and meddle with it for fun? The world is unfair, and I wonder where God is in all the crimes. But I hope whoever or wherever God is, he shall take care of this scene soon. He needs to fix this before leading one of us to death. So please, whoever is listening, take this criminal out of our lives and set us free.

I closed my eyes and contemplated my heavy breathing. I don’t know what to make out of it.

Scarlet: Hey, we got another call from the police.

Pathum: Now, what do they want?

Scarlet: The case is still on, but they need more solid evidence within two weeks that someone’s playing with our lives.

Pathum: Aren’t they supposed to do that? Are we the police now, and they’re the court waiting for proof?

Scarlet: Pathum, it’s just messed up. No matter what we do, they can close the case with a briefcase of dollars.

Pathum: So, what do we do?

Scarlet: I could ask the same thing.

Pathum: Uhhhh…..

Scarlet: We need to figure out how he has hacked our devices and is stalking us. If we can do this, we might be able to solve this.

Pathum: Well, what exactly does he know? True, he has taken pictures of you and me, but has he accessed everything? Has he hacked an app or the entire device?

Scarlet: About your picture.

Pathum: Yeah, what about it?

Scarlet: He said he had seen you but didn’t show me. Maybe he’s lying?

Pathum: Ask him and tell him to prove it.

Scarlet: All right. Give me a second.

She took three minutes to confirm it, and she sent me his picture. I studied the image of me, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. I then typed out a message and sent it to Scarlet.

Pathum: Is that everything he has of me?

Scarlet: I’m not certain. According to the way he was talking, it seems to be the only one he has. That’s very strange.

Pathum: What's strange about it?

Scarlet: OMG Pathum…

Pathum: Yes, sweetie, what’s wrong?

Scarlet: It’s the only picture of you that I’ve shared.

Pathum: Shared with whom?

Scarlet: Pathum, pray to God that she didn’t do this.

Pathum: Who is this woman or girl you speak of?

Scarlet: No, I can’t believe it. It can’t be. It’s been a year. I think I might pass out, Pathum. I’m feeling faint.

Pathum: Sweetie, calm down, and tell me who you shared it with.

Scarlet: I AM GONNA KILL HER if it’s true.