POSSESSION: The Hidden Omega In All Alphas' Academy [BL]-Chapter 206: My only friend

Zenith’s straightforward question froze Barnes briefly, as he held a blank face, staring at the bright blue sky above them. His brown eyes had a hint of glum in them, and his expression gradually turned a bit solemn, as if the question had somehow made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

But Barnes didn’t try to deny or run away from his question, instead after maintaining that brief pause, he admitted with a heavy exhale, "Yes. Master Aiden was...and will always be the only family I am left with, young master Zenith."

Even though the sadness was evident in him, the sincere depth in his voice while giving the answer amazed Zenith, making him realize Barnes still cherishes Aiden from the core of his heart.

He reverted a small smirk, before urging him once again, "Then...aren’t you happy to be reunited with him once again...after all these years?"

"Yes, I am."

Barnes curtly answered with a smile, but gawking at the sadness reflected in his rolled eyes, Zenith muttered after he emitted another big puff of smoke, "Aiden has lost quite a lot of his childhood memories after countering a fatal accident. Well...does that mean—"

"Yes, Master Aiden has completely forgotten about me. He doesn’t seem to remember about my existence at all."

Before Zenith could finish his question as if Barnes could clearly see through him. He uttered in a low voice with his profound sadness engraved in his rolled orbs, but Zenith continued sneaking glances at him as if the look of despair written on his face was making him feel bad for this guy.

Slowly, lifting his gaze down from the horizon, while Barnes still kept a numb silence between them, Zenith discarded his cigarette and exhaled a big sigh, when he spoke, "Then...since you know him from childhood, you must be already aware that Aiden grew up in a dysfunctional family, kind of similar to me. It was quite clear to understand to protect him from some kind of grave trauma, he went into partial amnesia. But I never had a hunch coming that you belonged among the memories he lost, so...I feel it was quite unfair for you, Mr. Barnes. And I am sure, it must’ve hurt you to find out about this here..."

"Well...it serves me right since I was the one who turned my back on him when he needed me the most." The sharp throbbing ache inside his chest grew quite intense when Barnes answered in a low, rigid voice, with a guilt-stricken gaze toward the distant sky. "If I had been a little stronger and braver if I hadn’t run away from the mansion...perhaps...Master Aiden didn’t have to go through so much despair and loneliness in the first place."

"As per what I have found about you...Mr. Barnes, you had to run away from Aiden’s mansion in order to live, right? I don’t think you would’ve stayed alive until now...as you must be already aware...his mother’s a lunatic woman, who never bothers about anyone else’s except her own." While Zenith tried to comfort him, his face turned a little contorted as if he was truly despising to even mention a heartless woman like Lorelia.

But hearing her mention turned Mr. Barnes’s face darker from deep angst, as he finally lifted his gaze at Zenith before stiffening his voice, "Young master, do you know the history about those scars on Master Aiden’s neck and upper chest which he had to hid under those enormous tattoos?"

His low deep mumble made Zenith shrug his broad shoulders, when he answered in a cryptic voice, "I know Aiden from elementary school, and I had heard some rumors floating around him that...his crazy mother was the one who did this to him...despite the fact Aiden has lost all the memories about that incident.

"That guy has grown up into a cold and aloof boy towards the rest of the world, but once he had told me that those painful memories from that particular incident would still haunt his unconscious mind when he’s sleeping, but he wouldn’t recall anything the next day apart from waking up with cold sweat."

Zenith’s intense murmur paused Barnes for a few seconds, making him stare still at him with sadness evident in his eyes. Clenching his fist as Barnes couldn’t resist his urge anymore to light a cigarette, his guilt-stricken voice echoed in his mind, ’It’s all my fault... I shouldn’t have listened to Head Butler on that day and ran away on my own. Even if I was abused furthermore...I should have tried to hold onto a bit more...just for Master Aiden’s sake. Only then...that bright cheerful child wouldn’t have turned into this cold, aloof boy who has been haunted by his nightmares... Right?’

"I feel curious now...do you happen to know the reason behind those scars?"

Watching Barnes suddenly turn silent while holding a surly expression, when Zenith urged him inquisitively, Barnes let out a big puff of smoke from his cigarette with a heavy murmur, "His mother threw that splash hot water on him, making his fragile skin burn so badly to leave those evident scars...still after all these years."

"WHAT? REALLY? THAT CRAZY FUCKIN’ BITCH, WHAT THE FUCK?"

Gritting his jaws from anger, when Zenith growled at his words, Barnes let out a small simper, admitting to him, "I know right, she was truly insane...to do something so horrible to her own son. And...she was the one who almost beat me to death. If I hadn’t left the mansion...I would’ve died there already..."

Even though after countering such traumatic experiences in life, watching Barnes still hold onto his small smile made Zenith admire him, as he exhaled a heavy sigh. He leaned his back against the giant wall and asked for another cigarette, to which Barnes didn’t refuse him this time.

"I know she’s still Aiden’s mother, but...as you can see...he’s the only friend I have who has been stuck with me for so long, despite our moral beliefs clashing with each other often. But...I never paid any attention to those awful rumors about his scars, but today...your words have truly baffled me, Mr. Barnes. I don’t even know how to react to this...apart from controlling my urge to slash her throat with my claws for giving Aiden this lifelong trauma at that young age..."

All this time Barnes had only witnessed Zenith acting kinder whenever it concerned Kylian, but now, hearing his sincere concern for his friend Aiden made him feel a lot relieved, as he realized he could rest easy knowing that Aiden had truly built a strong bond with Zenith.

His small simper tainted from his lips, before he exhaled a heavy breath, "That’s why...it relieved me to hear that Master Aiden does not recall those painful memories...even if he has forgotten my existence as well.

"But...I am certain, he would surely despise me if his memories ever returned, because...I wasn’t there for him at that critical point...when we had promised to be each other’s family."

"If I am being honest with you, Mr. Barnes, you did the greatest thing for Aiden...by staying alive and coming back for him, for regarding the promise you had made to him."

As if watching his gloomy face on the verge of sobbing, Zenith tried to comfort him a little, even though his tone sounded a bit stiff since he wasn’t habituated to comforting others, trying to fit in this positive change of life which he had learned from Kylian. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"Life’s already pretty hard to live, so...you should give yourself a little more credit, other than harshly condemning yourself. When my mother died, there were countless days when I often thought of dying...because living became way too hard for me. But...without realizing it myself, I made another grave mistake of channeling my self-loathe towards innocent weak people who became victims of my bullying.

"I started to find amusement in their misery which was truly heinous...and I didn’t realize, when I had become a cold-hearted devil like everyone named me... I couldn’t have realized my wrongdoings in life...if I hadn’t found Kyle, who became my guiding light, teaching me how much darkness I succumbed to for all these years of existence."

His words sounded a bit glum before, but when Zenith started talking about Kylian, a radiant smile curved his lips which didn’t avert Barnes’s eyes. His smile looked so serene when Zenith continued his mumble, taking a heavy sigh, "After gaining someone precious to me, I realized how much I was absorbed in self-loathing and loneliness.

"But being with someone who looks out for you, who waits for you even if you’re late outside, who expresses their affection for you through sweet little gestures instead of words...made me understand I shouldn’t despise myself so much. I wanted to immerse in this positive change of life...and that’s what I am trying to tell you, Mr. Barnes.

"Despite Aiden losing his memories about you, you didn’t forget the promise you made to him. You had to run away because you were small too, yet still, you lived for him and even came back for him as well. Doesn’t this speak volumes about how much he means to you, Mr. Barnes?"