— people kill for it so much it became a cliche —

Mix had enough.

At first, he thought that he could manage with that annoying dog following him everywhere. That he could just simply ignore him and pretend he wasn't there. But sooner or later, the cup had to overflow,  and for Mix, it was way sooner than later.

It was just a morning after he told himself that the guy standing on the street in front of his window didn't bother him, but then, his friend who helped him to find a place to stay while in Barcelona, visited him and when she was leaving, Mix saw the guy following her around for a bit before he returned to his usual spot. That had changed the situation completely. It was one thing stalking Mix, but his friend had nothing to do with the mess he was in. And he wasn't about to let anyone drag her into it. A lot of people have already been hurt because of him. But enough was enough!

He grabbed the keys from a small coffee table in the entrance hall and ran down the stairs, stepping out of the building and feeling the light rain tickling his skin. He looked from left to right and when he was sure that no car was in sight he crossed the street, making his way straight towards his stalker.

If the guy was surprised to see Mix approaching him, he didn't let it show. Standing calmly like a statue, he watched Mix's every step from under his hat.

"Who are you?" Mix stopped right in front of the guy. "Or you know what? Let me guess, the mafia sent you? You know what? Stalk me how much you want to, but leave my friend alone! Get it?"

"Boss ordered to keep an eye on you until you return home," the man said. His voice stoic. Almost robotic.

"Why does your boss want to keep an eye on me? What does he think I'm going to do all the way here?"

"You have to be safe."

Mix chuckled, "the one who keeps attacking everyone around me wants me to be safe? But you know what? You can tell your boss to not worry—I'm going back to Thailand soon. In fact, I'm going to book a ticket right now!"

Mix didn't wait for the man to say anything else, he just turned around and left as fast as he came, running across the street, he disappeared from the man's view into the building in less than a minute.

Only when he got back to his flat and locked the door he started to feel how fast his heart was beating in his ribcage. He did risk a lot. After all, he wasn't sure that the man who was stalking him was someone from the mafia who didn't have the intention to kill him. It could as easily be some random creep who stalks people before he kills them.

Whatever, Mix threw the keys back on the coffee table and went straight to his laptop to look for the possible flights to Bangkok. His trip to Barcelona was ending way faster than he thought it would. It felt simultaneously like he had just arrived and also like he had been away from Earth for centuries. Earth was actually the only thing that was sparkling some kind of fire of excitement in Mix to actually go back home. Mix knew that he needed to go back sooner or later because of all the things that were happening back home and especially becuase he didn't want to make Earth go through it all alone any longer, but it still felt like it was all happening way too fast.

Was Mix well enough to go back already? He wasn't sure, but he did feel better than he did when he first stepped foot on Spanish land. He missed his mother and he always would, but he could miss her back home just the same.

Sitting down on the sofa, he grabbed a laptop. Both his laptop and his phone, which he forgot to take with him when he ran out to talk to that guy, were flashing with new messages.

They all were from Earth. He tried to contact him many times.

"Shit," Mix mumbled under his breath and dialled Earth's number. He knew that they were supposed to call around this time and he didn't want to make Earth more worried than he already was. But it looked like he already did exactly that.

The phone had barely time to ring and Mix could already hear Earth's worried voice on the other side of the line.

"Why weren't you picking up? I called you at least—"

"Ten times," Mix cut Earth off. "Yeah, I know, I saw the missed calls. I'm sorry I was dealing with a little issue here."

"What issue?"

"Mafia following me around..."

"What?"

"Some random guy that is apparently supposed to follow me around to keep an eye on me and keep me safe... it doesn't matter," Mix sighed, leaning his head on the backrest of the sofa, he closed his eyes. Wonderful, now on top of everything else he had a headache as well.

"It does matter, Mix!" Earth said sternly.

"Earth, it's fine. Really. I talked to that guy. Told him what I think and now I'm going to book a ticket back to you."

"You are... really coming back?" Earth sounded hopeful, but also somewhat nervous.

"I am. I told you that I will get back as soon as possible. Why? Something's wrong? You don't want me back?" Mix tried to joke.

"I do. I want that more than anything, sweetheart," Earth immediately said. "But..."

"But?" Mix shuffled on the sofa nervously. He could hear Earth taking a deep breath.

"Earth, what's wrong? Something's with your father? Did he get worse again—"

"No, nothing like that. Dad is actually completely fine. The doctors said that he only needs physiotherapy for his muscles to get stronger, but other than that he is fine."

"Then what is it? Something about my mom?"

Mix could almost see Earth pressing his lips into a thin line and nodding...

"It's... yeah, it's about your mom. Dad wanted to visit my mom at the cemetery after so many years and obviously, your parents' grave is close so... when we arrived there, we barely stepped foot in the cemetery when we noticed Lee standing above your parents' grave, and then I noticed that he wasn't alone. The mafia... or your uncle... was there and they were talking together and then there was a gunshot and Lee was dead..."

Mix's ears were ringing. His body was stiff. For a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe. Earth was most likely still talking, but Mix heard nothing of it. All that was in his mind was that there was another death because of him. Because of his family. When would it stop? When?

"Sweetheart...? Mix...?"

"Umm... yeah, I'm here... I'm sorry what did you... Lee is dead?"

"He is not only dead, but if your uncle is to be believed, Lee was the one who killed your mother."

Uncle—that word suddenly sounded so weird when it was representing that person.

And Lee... being the one taking Mix's mother away from him? But why? Why?

"I... I don't understand..."

✧✧✧

Even long after Earth explained everything and told Mix that everything was going to be okay and that he couldn't wait to hold him in his arms again, and after they hung up, Mix still sat on the sofa and kept staring at the turned-off TV hanging on the wall.

One parent died because of the money and the other because of love. It was so simple yet so bizarre. Two of the oldest motifs for murder in the world.

But Lee?

Mix thought that he would feel better after all his questions were answered. That all that darkness would finally have a light at the end of the tunnel. But all he felt now was tiredness. It was as if his body finally shut down after it was going on maximum—not only for the last couple of weeks since his mother died but for years. Since that fateful day when they found out that his father was killed. All those years, scrambling around for any clue, doing his best to find out what happened. And when he finally thought that it was all over his mother was killed as well and it felt as if the whole rollercoaster was staring all over again.

But now it was over. Really over and he had no strength to even feel a little bit relieved that at least he knew what happened to his parents. He couldn't save them but he made sure that their deaths wouldn't end up as unsolved cold cases.

Now he was going home and the only thing that he wasn't sure of was, how would he react, what would he do if he one day stood face to face with his... uncle.

✧✧✧

"Sir, he is going back to Thailand."

"You know what to do!"

To be continued...

P.S. We are almost at the end of all the drama and angst 🥳