Kael sat on the narrow balcony of the motel room, elbows resting on his knees, his breath fogging in the night air. The buzzing neon sign outside flickered off and on Serene Lodge. There was nothing serene about this place.
Inside, his mother slept restlessly, her face tight even in sleep. The woman who once graced charity galas and afternoon brunches now lay in a room that smelled faintly of wet paint and old wood. Kael turned his phone over in his hand.
Should he call her? His thumb hovered over the screen. He scrolled through his contacts. Tobe. Jude. Dera. Names that once filled his weekends with laughter and loyalty. He tapped on Tobe first , the friend he once bailed out when rent was due, who always swore, "Kael, you're my brother for life." The call rang and rang.
And then… voicemail.
Kael swallowed and tried Dera.
Same thing.
Finally, he tapped on the chat with Sai , his girlfriend. The one person he believed would understand.
Kael: Sai, something happened. Can we meet tonight? He stared at the message, watching the small grey "delivered" tick. No response, he turned the screen off and sighed, running a hand through his hair. The city lights blurred in his vision, but he blinked away the tears. Not yet.
A few hours later, his phone buzzed.
Sai: I'm kind of busy today. Hope you're okay though 💛
Kael stared at it for a long time. He read it again and again.
Busy today?
Hope you are okay though?
After everything? After all the dinners, the trips, the "I love yous"? That was all she had to say?
He didn't reply.
The next morning, he went to see Tobe in person. Maybe the calls just came at a bad time. Maybe face-to-face would make a difference.
Tobe opened the door slowly, wearing a towel around his neck and that fake smile Kael had seen on strangers. "Ah, Kael… what's up, bro?" Tobe said, half-stepping out, clearly not planning to let him in.
Kael explained everything in as few words as possible. how his father kicked them out, how they were staying at a small motel, how he just needed a place for his mom to rest for a night or two. Just until he figured things out.
Tobe scratched the back of his head. "Bro… wow, that's heavy. I really wish I could help. But my parents are around, and they're super strict. Plus, things are tight financially right now. Maybe next week, yeah?"
Kael nodded slowly. "Yeah. Next week."
He walked away before Tobe closed the door fully.
The streets felt colder than usual.
He walked aimlessly, past street hawkers and noisy tricycles, past lives that had always been beneath him, now suddenly at eye level. People passed him by without looking twice. No one knew who he used to be. Maybe no one cared, he thought of Sai. Of all the messages she used to send, The way she used to touch his arm when she laughed. The softness in her voice when she'd say "I'll always be here."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Inside was a folded picture of Sai's, from one of their beach dates. Smiling, wind in her hair.
He stared at it for a long time, then slid it back in.
When he returned to the motel, his mother was still sleeping. Her figure curled on the edge of the mattress, as if afraid to take up too much space, he sank into the worn-out chair by the window, hands on his lap, staring into the dark, for the first time since it all happened, he cried.
Not loud sobs. Just quiet, steady tears that slid down his cheeks like secrets. He didn't want to wake her, he just wanted someone to care.
🧨 Final Line:
"I thought betrayal was losing a home. But now I know , it's hearing silence from those you once called family."