21. Chapter Twenty-One Spin

Chapter Twenty-One: Spin

W hen we're finished filming for the day, I call my sister and tell her our father is back and to stay away from the apartment.

"But…why is he back now?" she asks.

"I have no idea. He probably wants money."

Nok starts to cry. "But, P'Spin, I don't want him to hurt you!"

"He won't. Don't worry. I'm going to stay with P'Park tonight."

She calms after that, and after a few more reassurances and a warning not to let visitors into her dorm, we end the call.

It's dark outside when P'Park and I exit the building. My nerves are on edge, making me jump every time I hear an unusual sound.

"He doesn't know where you work, right?" P'Park asks.

"No."

"Would your friends tell him if he called them? Maybe you should warn them."

"They know all about my dad. When I first met them, I was so freaked out that Pah would show up in town again. I know they'd never tell him anything. But I'll let them know." Getting on our Line chat thread, I type out a message that my father is in town and that I'm avoiding him. Before I can tuck my phone back in my pocket, I get a notification that Kiet's number is no longer reachable.

"He's blocked me!"

"Who?" P'Park asks.

"Fucking Kiet! I can't believe this. She's made him block me." I shake my head. "I guess I should have expected this. She did say it was her or me."

Two more notifications come in back-to-back.

Bass: That sucks, Baby. Stay away from him!

Cushion: If he threatens you, call the police!

It's well past rush-hour, so the drive to P'Park's house doesn't take long. When we enter the gate, Anya comes running out of Khun Anong's house wearing her pajamas and with her backpack on her back.

"I'm not asleep, P!" she calls to her brother. "I waited up for you." When she sees me, she smiles. "Hi, P'Spin! Are you staying the night?"

I nod. "Yes, your brother invited me."

"Yay!" She dances around us.

"Let's get inside before the mosquitoes eat us," P'Park says, waving to Khun Anong as he takes his sister's hand and walks toward the house.

"Auntie and I made a cake today," Anya says. "It's strawberry with white icing. Auntie says we can have some tomorrow after lunch. We'll save you a slice, P'Park. And you, too, P'Spin."

I can't help but smile. Anya is such a cute little thing. It's sad that she lost her parents, but she's so lucky to have P'Park as a brother. The more I've gotten to know him, the more I can see what a caring, giving person he is. The last thing I want is to be a burden to him when he already has so much on his mind.

P'Park hands me some of his clothes to sleep in and suggests I shower while he gets Anya into bed. The pants and shirt absolutely swallow me, but they're soft and smell like him. I roll up the legs and sleeves. While P'Park showers, I scroll through the texts my father's been sending all day.

How dare you hang up on me, you little pillow-biter!

Why aren't you answering my calls?

I'm going to break this damn door down if you don't get here soon. No one locks me out of my own place.

What did you do with the money you got for the house? Don't think I'm going to let you get away with keeping it. That's my hard-earned money!

"You're smiling, that's good," P'Park says when he walks into the room.

"Only because the things my father says are so ridiculous," I say. "All our lives, Nok and I have had to eat at friends' houses or scrounge something up somewhere else. Pah never held a job more than a month at a time, with long intervals of drinking and carousing in between, and he made me work to pay the bills on top of going to school. Now, he's demanding the money we got from the house. I don't know why he would think there was any. The place was falling apart and rotting four years ago. There were so many rats, we had to abandon it. I don't even know if it's still there or if the weeds and woods have taken it over. "

"He's texting you?" P'Park asks, slipping under the covers next to me.

"Yeah." I show him. When he's finished reading the texts, P'Park looks angry.

"Block him." P'Park urges.

"I can't. He's my dad and this is the only way I have of keeping track of him."

P'Park sighs and turns off the light. "I hate that he's doing this to you. Would he physically hurt you, or are those just threats?"

I swallow. "He used to hurt me pretty badly when he could get ahold of me. When he tried it with Nok, I stopped hiding and let him beat me instead." Squeezing my eyes shut against the dark memories, I whisper, "I really thought all that was over."

"What about your neighbors back then? The police?"

"Nok and I stayed scarce after Ma died. When we got older, I tried calling the police, but when Pah told them I liked men, they turned a blind eye on his beatings." I lower my voice. "I guess now you know I'm attracted to guys. In case you didn't, uh, realize that the night we got off on each other."

"It's nobody's business," P'Park says vehemently, adding, "And there's nothing wrong with being gay."

I smile softly. "Thank you, P'Park." I want to ask him if he's bi or if that experience was just some kind of fluke, but I can't bring myself to do it.

"You don't have to thank me for being a decent human being." He frowns up at the ceiling. "I don't want you going back to your apartment when your father could be there waiting."

"I don't have any choice. I can't avoid it forever."

"But you can avoid it for a while. Eventually, your dad will get tired of looking for you and leave. "

"Do you really think so?" I ask, afraid to hope.

"Men like him always do. I can go over there and get some clothes for you and some other stuff. If he doesn't go away in a couple of weeks, I'll go with you to the police."

"I feel like a coward," I say.

"Be honest. What would happen if, say, you and I arrange to meet him somewhere, and we tell him or, better yet, we show him that the house fell apart and you're not holding back money from him. How will he react?"

I shudder. "If he's been drinking, he'll fly into a rage. If he's sober, it'll be worse because he hasn't been able to get a drink. Either way, he'll beat me."

"I wouldn't let him do that."

"And I'm not going to let him beat you instead," I say defiantly. "I don't take after my father. He's huge. You're doing enough to help me." I sigh. "Okay, I'll stay here for a couple of weeks in the hope that Pah gets bored and leaves town again."

"I really think that's the right move."

"P'Park?" I ask after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"I didn't even ask you. Do you want me to sleep on the couch?"

P'Park chuckles softly. "I didn't even think about it. Stay here. You're fine."