I can't let his mom worry. A fond smile adorned his face as he instantly remembered how his mom would always be calling him whenever he missed curfew.
I should tell her that Xal is fine. He answered the phone and realized she had started a video call.
Flustered, bowing his head, he greeted her with a small 'Hello'.
"Who… who are you? Why are you answering Xal's phone? Where is he?" his mom asked, her worry clearly growing.
"Oh, Aunty, my name is Kian. I met Xal today during the interview. Actually, he kind of fell asleep because he got too drunk." For the first time in his life, he prayed that someone was an alcoholic as he lied through his teeth as the words burnt his throat.
"I tried to ask where he lives, but he couldn't remember." Kian chuckled to lighten the mood before continuing. "So I took him with me until he sobered up."
To prove his point, he pointed the camera at Xal's sleeping form. At that, his mom relaxed and started speaking with Kian casually, complimenting his kind gesture, and slowly the conversation turned into admiring his good looks.
Xal's father's voice came from the background, telling her to stop terrorizing the kid and cut the call. Kian wondered if he really sounded like a kid, but he made sure to assure her that Xal was fine and he would let him know they had called.
His mother continued small talk for a few more minutes while Kian lied through most of her questions, feeling guiltier by each passed second, because Xal's mother was so much like his own.
Finally, she ended the call, saying she would invite him to dinner soon as a gesture of gratitude for taking care of Xal.
Barely holding back from saying that Xal was a grown man and what he did was simply a normal act any other man would do, he ended the call with a smiley goodbye and placed the phone beside Xal.
A beat. Another.
His breath shuddered when he realized the situation he had created.
Xal's parents obviously loved him just like his parents loved him and his brother.
If they were to lose Xal because of him...
Another beat.
The smile vanished as all too familiar dreadfulness settled in the pit of his stomach.
This was a mistake.