Beneath the Surface: Secrets of an Obsessed Heart
Chapter 78 - 77

Chapter 78: Chapter 77

“Oh yes. Your Brother stayed all night with your sister.” The nurse answered, “I’ll take the phone to him now.”

Hiro’s eyes remained fixed on the phone as he waited for what felt like an eternity for his brother to take the call. His heart was racing with anxiety, his mind replaying his words of promise he had relayed to his brother the night before. He felt like he was going to be sick.

Finally, the nurse handed the phone over to Sora. As Hiro’s eyes locked onto his brother’s serious expression, his composure crumbled. Tears began to well up in his eyes, and before he could stop them, they spilled down his cheeks.

"Brother, I’m sorry," Hiro choked out, his voice cracking with emotion. "I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Pease forgive me. I’m sorry.”

Sora’s expression quickly changed from calm to panic. “Hey hey Roro, what’s wrong? Stop crying. What happened?"

Hiro sniffled and wiped away his tears with the back of his hand, but more tears kept falling. "I-I didn’t fulfill my promise... I’m so sorry... I couldn’t get Raiden to help," he choked out between sobs.

Sora let out a sigh of relief, his worry easing slightly. For a second there, he thought Raiden hurt his baby brother. "Hey, stop crying, okay? I didn’t do the video last night. It was cancelled. Everything’s fine."

Hiro’s tears slowed to a stop as he looked up at his brother in confusion. "Huh?" he asked, his voice still shaking. “It was cancelled?”

Sora’s expression turned reassuring. "Yes. The actress came down with a flu so I was asked to go home but return tonight. I was really lucky.”

As Sora’s words sank in, Hiro’s body relaxed, and his tension dissipated like a deflating balloon. The weight of his guilt and anxiety lifted off his shoulders, and he felt a sense of relief wash over him like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.

His tears, which had been streaming down his face just moments before, slowed to a stop, and his chest no longer felt constricted. Hiro let out a deep breath, feeling his shoulders drop in relief as the air escaped his lungs. He sat on the bed and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. “But you still have to go back tonight?”

Sora sighed. “Unfortunately. Look, Roro, don’t bother Raiden again okay? I got myself into this mess and I’m gonna get myself out. You should focus on taking care of yourself. Spend lots of that idiot’s money and have a good time. Do not worry about me.”

Hiro pursed his lips when he heard Sora call Raiden an idiot but he chose not to address it. He didn’t want his brother thinking he was taking Raiden’s side. “How can I not worry about you?” He asked instead. “I don’t like what Big Tony is going to make you do. I’ll still talk to Raiden and see if I can persuade him.”

“No.” Sora said firmly. “I said I’ll handle it. Do not interfere.”

“Then how are you going to handle it?” Hiro asked, frowning. He really hated it when his brother tried to do things alone. “Are you going to get a loan from someone else? What about the interest? It’ll keep rising you know. It will get to extent where you won’t be able to pay anymore and they’ll keep on coming after us like Ginro did. If it weren’t for Raiden, we would have lost Big sis.”

Knowing Hiro was right, Sora leaned back on the couch and let out a deep sigh. “You’re right Roro. But I don’t want to be indebted to Raiden anymore than I already am. Last night was a moment of weakness. I just didn’t know what to do and the deadline was getting close. That’s why I asked you to ask Raiden for help but I’ll think of something today. Don’t beg him for anything. I can do this on my own.”

Hiro suddenly felt annoyed. “This isn’t about you wanting to do things on your own. This is about Raiden personally, isn’t it? If it were someone else I wanted to ask for help, would you have accepted it.”

Sora remained silent which gave Hiro his answer.

Hiro couldn’t believe it. “Why? Why do you hate him so much? He has been nothing but nice to me. When no one was willing to help us, he did. Why are you so hostile to him?”

“Because he’s a freaking psycho and he has managed to get his hands on you.” Sora answered angrily. “And I don’t just hate him. I despise him. Knowing you’re living with him and it’s all my fault makes my blood boil. Have you forgotten how creepy he was back in school? How can you be so comfortable around him? Have you forgotten the things he used to say to you? How he stalked you? His whole room was littered with pictures of you Hiro. Raiden is a psychopath.”

Hiro’s eyes widened as Sora’s words washed over him like a cold wave. His mind flashed back to those terrifying days when Raiden had seemed to be everywhere, always watching, always lurking. Raiden would always follow him home from school, staying a respectable distance away. He would show up in the most bizarre places, claiming it was a coincidence. Their family vacation, a trip with friends, shopping, a birthday party of a person he was sure Raiden didn’t even know. There was even a time Raiden managed to secure an invitation card to their grandmother’s birthday which was meant to be exclusive. Only family was invited but Raiden showed up, shocking everyone. Hiro remembered that Sora had to throw him out but Raiden didn’t leave.

He could recall peering down over the balcony, his heart racing when he saw Raiden, sitting alone on the stairs, his head bowed and his face wet with tears.

“I didn’t want to tell you this because I didn’t want to scare you but I’m very sure Raiden helped us so he could get you.” Sora continued. “Something didn’t seem right from the beginning and when I thought about it, I realised that the only person he has always ever wanted is you, Hiro. I have this feeling that Raiden would do anything for you so you have to be careful. Let’s not let him sink his claws further into you.”

Hiro thought about it more and shook his head. It wasn’t good to judge people based on their past actions and Raiden’s present actions showed him that Raiden was not the stalker he used to be.