Pitbabe S2, Chapter 29 pg 3

 Pitbabe S2, Chapter 29 pg 3

   But my approach didn’t work as I’d hoped. Phii Alan stayed tight-lipped, offering nothing beyond a thank you. The only thing my embarrassing story confirmed was that something in him was changing—something big. Otherwise, this big brother wouldn’t be this hardened. Honestly, I’ve known Alan for ages. I’ve seen every side of him. But this is the first time I’ve felt like I don’t know him at all.

   “You’re amazing, Dean, for getting through all that. You’ve really grown up,” the Captain said, looking at me with genuine pride. But at the same time, I could feel him blaming himself with every word of praise he gave me. “I’m so proud of you. Next season, you’re gonna kill it, I’m sure.”

   The saddest part is that he believed in me completely but didn’t have a shred of that faith left for himself.

   “Oh, look who’s here!”

   I called out brightly the moment I saw the team’s big shot stroll into the lab, his face radiating full-on cheer. His glowing expression was like that of an innocent young guy who’d never faced a shred of danger in this world—not at all like someone who’d survived death time and again, with hands stained by blood countless times. Truly remarkable.

   “Stop it, Phii Chris,” Charlie said, rolling his eyes. Lately, he’s been accusing me of being sarcastic all the time, even though I’m just talking normally, with no hidden agenda whatsoever.

   “What? Just saying hi.”

   “Swear.”

   “People who don’t feel guilty about anything wouldn’t read into others’ words like that,” I said, scanning the summary of the latest experiment on my tablet. I sat back, legs crossed, leaning against the sofa’s backrest, relaxed. No need to furrow my brow and act all serious like the handsome guy standing with his hands on his hips by the door. “You’re overthinking it.”

   “Phii Chris.”

   “Yeah?”

   “I thought you’d be happy that Babe and I are good again.”

   “When did I say I wasn’t happy?”

   “So this attitude means you’re happy?”

   “Yeah, pretty much. Can’t you tell?” I replied casually, but it drew a heavy sigh from Charlie. He dragged his feet to his desk, dropped his bag on it with a thud, and plopped into his chair. The moment his butt hit the seat, his phone buzzed loudly, vibrating multiple times in a row. I didn’t look up, but I could tell Charlie stole a glance at me. That alone was enough to guess who was spamming him with messages. “Not gonna reply?”

   I asked when I noticed Charlie just staring at his brightly lit phone screen, not making a move to respond.

   “I’ll deal with it later,” he said flatly, though I could see he was dying to answer those messages. “It’s not urgent.”

   “You don’t have to hold back for my sake, you know. I’m serious.”

   “Are you mad that I’m back with Babe?”

   “Ridiculous,” I said, admitting I wasn’t really listening to him. Something in the data Liu recorded caught my eye—a peculiar detail. And, naturally, it was the kind of peculiarity that intrigued me. “You think I’m into you or something? Or Babe?”

   “I think you’re upset because I’ve been coming to the lab less than before.”

   “So you’re aware you’ve been prioritizing the work here less.”

   “It’s not like that…”

   “Listen up,” I finally had to shelve the research data issue for now, because it looked like Charlie wasn’t going to let this slide easily. Maybe it’s my fault for teasing him too much. I forgot how annoying this guy can be when he’s in debate mode. “Whether you get back with Babe or whatever isn’t the big deal. To us, you’re still doing your job as well as ever, even if you’re not eating and sleeping here like before. The only thing that’s annoying us is that having Babe around makes you less cautious, less thorough. Right now, nothing around us is normal, but you don’t seem to notice.”

   Charlie froze after my long spiel. This wasn’t meant to guilt-trip him. I was just trying to cut to the chase and communicate in the simplest way possible before I forgot about the weird lab data Liu gave me an hour ago.

   “Do we need to list out everything that’s off for you?”

   Charlie shook his head. He was probably too guilty and embarrassed to ask me to go through every abnormality point by point. Honestly, even if I didn’t spell it out, a smart guy like him could figure it out himself with that wrinkly brain of his.

   “Why didn’t you tell me from the start?” he asked, his face a mess of emotions. I caught guilt, frustration, but I wasn’t sure if he was annoyed at me or at himself for getting so caught up in his happy little world with his lover that he briefly forgot reality.

   A world that spins every second with no way to rewind.

   In that world, our researchers are gone. It’s just me, Phii Touch, and Liu still hanging around here, with no clue what tomorrow will bring. The parking lot, once perfectly full, is now eerily empty. The shoe rack, once packed, is now filled with slippers that haven’t been swapped out since morning like usual. The usual commotion from upstairs has turned to lonely silence. The coffee capsule jar has the same number as yesterday. No lunch boxes are waiting in the kitchen like they used to, because me, Phii Touch, and Liu never eat breakfast at the lab.

   “I tried,” I replied. “But yesterday, you had your phone off all day. The only way to reach you would’ve been to show up at your place, and obviously, we didn’t.”

   Guilt must be hitting Charlie hard. If this were yesterday, I’d admit I was pissed that he vanished when we needed him most, when the rest of us were stuck taking calls from researchers saying they weren’t coming back. I seriously considered driving to Babe’s place to drag him back. But today, I don’t feel that way anymore. Maybe because I’m not one to hold grudges or dwell on things. Seeing him walk into the lab today with a big smile, I just thought, this guy’s just a kid. No matter how much his irresponsibility screws things up, he’s the one who’ll have to deal with the headache and fix it. So getting mad is pointless. It’s more fun to stay quiet and rub it in later.

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