My stomach growled awkwardly.
Alistair asked with concern, "Did you not have dinner?"
As he spoke, he was already up and heading for the kitchen, opening the fridge.
Alistair was an excellent cook, and I had always known that. After all, when I fought with my father, Alistair never once let me go hungry.
But why…
Why was it that someone as good as him was always by my side, and yet I was still drawn to Robert, that scumbag? No one ever taught me what love was when I was a child. My mother didn't, and my father was always busy with work. I relied on Alistair, the one who would never leave me.
I thought I saw him as a brother, but I never realized that my dependency on him had long since changed. Outside, the rain pattered softly, a steady rhythm that matched my restless heart.
"It's raining," I murmured.
"Don't worry, I'll take you home," Alistair's voice came from behind me.
And just like that, a steaming bowl of noodles was ready.
I thought about how, when we were children, Alistair would always send me home, no matter how late it was, never complaining. But Robert always seemed to find it a waste of time to take me anywhere.
"Alistair, I don't want to go home tonight," I said.
He paused. If it weren't for this second chance, this god-like perspective, I might never have faced my true feelings. I now understood the difference between anger and love. I owed Alistair an apology, and I owed it to myself too. I had never truly loved myself.
So, I would never again waste time denying my feelings for Alistair.
After a long pause, he quietly said, "Alright."
"There's always a room for you here."
It was something I had casually said when we were younger. Back then, my father's business was booming, and one day, I asked Alistair:
"If we ever go our separate ways, I won't be able to visit you anymore." I remember Alistair was playing the piano at that moment.
The words seemed rehearsed, like something he had said a thousand times before…
"Kinley, my home will always have a room for you." At that time, how could I have understood that this was his silent confession?
