Pitbabe S2, Chapter 5 pg9

 pg9

   “I’ve been an idiot for a long time. Just now figuring that out?”

   “If I didn’t have this idiot with me, how would I even survive? I almost drank acid, for crying out loud,” Babe laughs, as if embarrassed by his own cluelessness. He’s known for a while that his life isn’t like everyone else’s, but he’s never been much more cautious than the average person. “But how did you know it wasn’t just water?”

   “Hmm… a few things combined,” I reply. “Honestly, I had a bad feeling for a while. I just wasn’t sure what it was.”

   Thinking about it, it’s kind of annoying. Of all the instincts I’ve picked up, my gut feeling is the most useless. It’s like a vague premonition—nothing clear, no idea what’s going to happen, just a weird sensation that keeps circling in my head. At best, I can sense who it’s about, but I still don’t know when it’ll happen. That’s why it’s a power that only makes my life more uneasy, nothing more.

   “But what made me really suspicious was that guy.”

   “That guy?” Babe raises an eyebrow. “Which one?”

   “The guy in the black Nike cap, not too tall, always covering his face.” Babe’s eyes widen—of course he knows who I’m talking about. I’m certain everything that happened today was that jerk’s doing. “I’ve noticed him for a while now. I see him almost everywhere we go.”

   “You mean… even before we went to the hospital?”

   “Yeah, but I didn’t want to tell you yet because I was afraid we’d both end up paranoid.”

   “So you just let me walk around like an idiot, huh?”

   “I should’ve told you, at least so you could’ve been on guard,” I sighed, annoyed at myself for being so careless. I thought I was sparing Babe from living in worry, but instead, I put him in more danger. “I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight at all. I should’ve gone into the store with you.”

   “Don’t be ridiculous,” Babe lightly pushed my head, a playful punishment for blaming myself when it wasn’t something easily controlled. “What you’re doing now is already more unbelievable than a bodyguard.”

   “If I were a real bodyguard, I’d have been fired for letting my boss get into a mess like this.”

   “You did your best, and that’s more than enough. I’m not firing you, so stop rambling, or I’ll dock your pay for real.”

   “If you dock my pay, what am I supposed to eat, Babe?” I tilted my head, hoping for some sympathy from my “boss.” The response was pretty good—Babe clutched his chest dramatically and said, “My heart’s melting.” I knew it was a bit exaggerated and meant to tease me, but I still felt genuinely indulged. “When are you gonna stop being so smitten with me?”

   “Not today.”

   “Tomorrow?”

   “Maybe.”

   “Babe.”

   “Just kidding,” Babe flashed a sweet smile, clearly in much better spirits, even if his eyes were still red. “But you’re really amazing, you know? So observant.”

   “It just happens naturally,” I said. “But honestly, I wasn’t that observant. I didn’t even notice that guy followed you into the store. I only saw him when you were walking out, and I glanced back and saw him paying at the counter.”

   “Oh… so that’s why you grabbed my hand and dragged me away,” Babe said, his face lighting up like he was finally piecing it together.

   “But escaping didn’t do much, since you ended up with his stuff.”

   “How’d you know the water wasn’t safe to drink?”

   “The bottle was off,” I said, bending down to pick up the problematic water bottle I’d stashed by the footrest. I untied the knot and slid the bag off to show the bottle’s condition. “See the bottom? That blue mark?”

   I turned the bottle to show Babe the tiny blue speck at the base. It was so small you’d barely notice it, but to me, it stood out. My instincts, sharpened by being around Babe, made me notice these little details more.

   “And the cap—the cap and the rim are different colors.”

   Babe squinted, trying to distinguish the cap’s color from the ring left on the bottle’s rim, examining it closely before letting out a defeated sigh.

   “Can’t tell.”

   “It’s a slight difference,” I said with a smile, unable to help feeling fond of how Pitbabe, once so sharp, was no longer as attuned to the finer details. When we first met, he caught me tailing him almost instantly. Now, I’m the one hyper-aware of everything around us, sometimes excessively so. But after what just happened, I’m starting to see the upside of it. “It means the bottle was opened and resealed.”

   “Are you a detective or something?”

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