PART III
"Hello?" Kento flung open the back door of his house that led into the back part of the kitchen for the restaurant.
His mother appeared in the kitchen. "Hello Kento dear," she said, kissing him on the head. "No little Cye today?"
"Nah, he had to go home today."
Mama Fung, as she was affectionately known to family and friends, sat down at the kitchen table. "No Rowen either, I suppose."
Kento sighed and let his bookbag fall from his shoulder. "He turned me down again. I'm afraid that if he goes home and something... happens, he won't come here."
"He knows he'd be safe here."
"Yeah, but he's been reluctant to come here ever since..." Ever since I really started being friends with Cye, Kento finished in his mind.
Mama Fung knew the unspoken truth. "It's not your fault. All you can do is be the best friend you can to both of them and hope for the best."
"But they won't even give each other a chance, and it's been over a month already!"
"I know. Just give them a bit more time. When they get used to the idea that you'll be a friend to both of them whether they like it or not, I'm sure they'll come around."
Kento gave his mother a small smile. "Thanks Mama. I hope you're right."
"Don't you worry too much about it. Now you go on upstairs and I'll call you when I need you, okay?"
"Sure Mama." Kento grabbed his bookbag and headed upstairs.
* * * * * * * * * *
Later that night, Kento sat in his room listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops as he did his homework. Bored and frustrated, he slammed shut his math book. "Damn geometry proofs. Who needs 'em anyway?" he muttered.
He leaned on his windowsill and stared blankly at the myriad drops that fell from the sky. A bit of lightning flashed and Kento frowned as he focused on the sidewalk. Had he just seen...? No, couldn't be. He ran down the hall to his parent's room to get a better look.
This window looked out over what little of a backyard he had. Kento looked down but couldn't see anything. Then the lightning flashed again. "Shit." Kento raced down the stairs taking the steps two at a time.
He flung open the back door to see his blue haired friend wet, shivering, and bruised.
"Rowen."
Kento held out his hand and ushered in his soggy friend. "Lemme get you a towel. I'll be right back."
Kento returned with a large bath towel and wrapped it gently around Rowen's shoulders. He looked so pitiable standing there, soaking wet, teeth chattering, dripping hair falling in his face, wrapped in a towel.
And the bruises. Oh God, the bruises. They looked especially painful this time. "You wanna take a bath or a shower or something?" Rowen simply nodded and allowed Kento to lead him upstairs to the bathroom.
"You want some help?" Kento asked. Rowen shook his head. "If you need anything," Kento gently placed his hand on Rowen's shoulder. Rowen flinched slightly from the touch, then relaxed.
"Rowen..."
Rowen finally brought his head up to look at Kento. "'m okay," he whispered hoarsely.
Kento gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm gonna go let my mom know you're here, okay?" Rowen nodded again and Kento carefully closed the door behind him.
He went downstairs to the main kitchen where his mother was busy cooking, trying to help his little brother Rinfi with his homework, and giving orders to the other cooks and waitstaff. "Oh good, Kento," she said, "come here and stir this for a minute, would you please?"
"Sure Mama," he said as he took the spoon. "Mama, Rowen's here."
"Child, why didn't you say so! Now you go on back upstairs and -"
"It's okay Mama. He's in the shower. I can stir for a bit longer."
Reluctantly, Mama Fung sat back down next to Rinfi and concentrated on him.
As he stirred, Kento kept an ear on the upstairs. I hope you're okay up there, Ro. Kento looked down and lost himself in the swirling contents of the pot.
He must have been staring for an awfully long time, because eventually he felt the spoon being taken out of his hand. "Go on back upstairs Kento. I'll be up in a while." Kento kissed his mother on the cheek and went back to his room.
Kento opened his door to see Rowen sitting on his bed flipping through his math notebook. Kento cringed inwardly, hoping Rowen hadn't gone back far enough to see the assignments that Cye had obviously helped him with. He sat down on the bed. "Feel better?"
Rowen shook his head as he put the notebook aside. "He hates me."
Kento hesitated, unsure of whether he was talking about Cye or his father. "I'm sure he doesn't, really," he said finally.
Rowen nodded. "Mm hm, he does too. He told me so. And I read somewhere that being drunk doesn't make hate an' stuff come outta nowhere. It just intensifies what's there. So if he hates me, he hates me."
Kento put a comforting arm around Rowen's shoulders. Rowen sniffed and continued. "Everyone thinks I'm so lucky 'cause I'm so smart. Well, if that means I get parents who hate me, then I don't want it."
"Hey, don't say that. You've got a gift Ro, and you can use it. You can get out of there and go wherever you want, and do whatever you want. Don't give up on yourself, 'kay?"
Rowen looked away a moment - then gasped.
"Rowen? What is it?"
He gasped again. And again and again. Shit, Kento thought. Asthma attack. As if he didn't have enough problems. "Rowen look at me. You gotta relax, and don't panic."
Rowen threw Kento a desperate look. "I (gasp) can't (gasp) Help (gasp)..."
"I know you can't. Just relax and trust me. Close you eyes and focus on slow deep breaths," Kento instructed as he'd done many times before. Rowen had had asthma for as long as Kento had known him. Fortunately, the attacks were never bad enough that the breathing technique didn't work. Kento hoped it stayed that way.
Rowen finally felt himself opening up and his breathing returned to normal. He slowly opened his eyes.
"You okay now?" Kento asked. Rowen nodded, still trembling slightly. Kento shoved his homework onto the floor. "Here. Lie down for a sec and relax." Rowen slid down and was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow, leaving Kento to wonder just what the hell he was going to do about all of this.