L*ck Me If You Can-Chapter 130

The station announcement rang out, informing passengers that the train was arriving soon. Ashley, unable to sit still any longer, got up and paced back and forth near his seat. Time kept ticking.

But there was still no sign of Koi.

Maybe three hours had been too short.

Regret crept in, gnawing at him. He’d chosen to meet at the station instead of going to get Koi, worried that his father’s people might already be following him. But maybe he should’ve just gone to pick him up. Maybe asking Koi to ride a bike all that way had been too much.

Nothing happened to him... right?

Fighting down the rising panic, Ashley checked his phone. Still no calls.

“Ko...”

A boy around Koi’s height entered his field of vision, and Ashley almost called out—but it wasn’t him. Disappointment settled in as he looked back at his phone again.

There really wasn’t much time left now.

Finally, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and tapped in the number.

The dry tone of the ringing signal filled his ears. Even as he waited, his eyes scanned the station, watching the sparse flow of people.

His brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Another announcement echoed through the station—this time, the train’s actual arrival.

*

Koi sat silently, watching his father sleep.

The hospital room was quiet, the occasional beeps of machines the only sound. Under the bright lights—so different from the dim bulb in the motorhome—Koi saw his father clearly for the first time in ages.

Lying in the bed was a man who looked so frail and withered, it was hard to believe he’d ever seemed so large and imposing. His face was pale, lips cracked, bones jutting under paper-thin skin.

Koi couldn’t believe this was his father.

<You didn’t know, huh.>

The doctor’s voice echoed in his head. He’d explained that Victor Niles had already been diagnosed at this hospital—cancer that had metastasized throughout his body, too far gone to treat.

Suddenly, Koi remembered all the times his father had seemed like he wanted to tell him something but hadn’t. He also hadn’t hit him recently.

Was that why?

<At most, he’s got six months.>

That’s what the doctor had said. Then he’d looked at Koi with pity.

But even now, it didn’t feel real. Cancer? Six months?

Who could believe that?

Yet Koi had seen it—his father coughing up blood and collapsing. And seeing this man—this brittle, dry shell—no one could deny he was gravely ill.

No way...

Koi covered his face with both hands, overwhelmed.

Then he heard it—a faint groan. He slowly lifted his head and saw his father stirring, brows furrowed as if trying to wake up.

Koi sat still as his father opened his eyes and slowly focused. Breathing shallowly, the man stared at the ceiling, then turned his head.

Their eyes met.

At first, he didn’t seem to recognize Koi. He blinked a few times in a daze—then tried to sit up, but immediately fell back down.

Koi flinched, heart racing, watching him struggle.

“Koi...”

His father finally said his name, voice rough and hoarse. Koi said nothing, just looked at him. Tears quickly filled the man’s eyes.

“You stayed... You didn’t leave me...”

He had simply been unable to leave someone who was bleeding right in front of him. Especially when it was his father. But what came out of Koi’s mouth was something else entirely.

“...I heard you’re really sick.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The soft, almost whispered words made his father pause. After a moment, he let out a slow breath and replied.

“I was going to tell you...”

Koi had seen it—that hesitation, those moments where his father opened his mouth, then closed it again. Eyes shut, face pale, he murmured,

“I was afraid. I didn’t have the courage... Saying it out loud would’ve meant admitting I was dying.”

But now, here they were. There was no denying it anymore.

Silence settled over them again. His father stared at the IV drip as it slowly released drops into the line, then spoke in a faint voice.

“That day... when that woman told me you were with that boy... I lost it. I should’ve heard it from you first. But I had a bad day—didn’t get paid, and then I drank...”

He trailed off and shook his head.

“No, that’s just an excuse. Nothing can justify hitting you like that.”

Koi just listened.

His father continued.

“When I realized you’d left home with him, it hit me. I might never see you again.”

His voice began to tremble.

“I’ve never regretted anything so much. I should’ve told you long ago. I should’ve... apologized.”

Koi stared blankly, still unable to find words. This wasn’t what he had expected at all. His father went on.

“Since the diagnosis, I’ve thought about it constantly. That I needed to apologize to you. I’ve done terrible things... You were just a little kid, and you lost your mom too...”

His voice broke, and he covered his face with his arms.

“It wasn’t your fault. I knew that. We were just unlucky... but I needed someone to blame. And I dumped it all on you. God, I’m garbage.”

He started to cry. Koi saw the tears pouring from the corners of his eyes as his body shook.

“I’m sorry, Koi. I’m so sorry... Please, just give me one last chance. Just until I die... a few months... Stay with me, just a little longer. If you leave too, I... I...”

He couldn’t finish. His body trembled like a child as he cried.

Koi just sat there and watched.

Then suddenly, memories from long ago surfaced.

His father washing the car. His older brother swinging a hose at him. Him running to his mother, squealing. Her laughing as she watched.

Why did that memory come back now—so vivid and clear?

Happy days don’t disappear. They sleep, deep down, and wake without warning to shake your heart.

The air that day. The wind against his cheek. The water splashing against his skin. The sound of their laughter.

He could see it all—right in front of him.

<Koi, my little pea pod.>

His father’s joyful voice as he lifted him in the air blurred into the man lying in the hospital bed now.

Koi’s vision clouded. Tears streamed down his ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) cheeks as his father’s quiet sobbing echoed through the sterile hospital room.

*

♬♪♪♫♬♪.......

“Koi?!” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

The moment the phone rang, Ashley snatched it up and shouted. There was a pause—then a reply.

—Yeah, Ash. It’s me. Sorry for calling late.

“Haah...”

Ashley let out a sigh of relief, running his hand through his hair.

The train had long since departed. Ashley had waited for what felt like forever, fearing something terrible had happened. He’d called over and over, watching train after train pull out of the station—while the one person he waited for never appeared.

He never wanted to experience anything like that again.

“What happened? Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

He bombarded Koi with questions. The boy replied in a low, mumbled voice.

—I’m okay... I’m sorry. I couldn’t call. It wasn’t possible.

Hearing his voice, Ashley’s worst fears faded. No disaster, no accident. He sighed again—but anxiety immediately returned.

“Koi, what’s going on? Where are you? Do you want me to come get you?”

If he picked Koi up now, they could still catch the last train. If not, they could drive to the next stop and catch the first train from there. The plan could change—none of that mattered.

As long as Koi was there.

As long as Koi was with him.

—Ash.

Koi’s trembling voice called his name.

—I’m sorry. I... I can’t go.

Ashley thought he misheard. He blinked and asked again.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t catch that—what did you just say?”

Even then, he still believed. He believed Koi would never betray him.

—I’m sorry.

Koi apologized again. His voice came through in a ragged whisper, shaky and weak.

—I can’t go with you... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

Ashley stood frozen in place, numb, as if the world had stopped moving.