OPEN 24/07

STUCK WITH U

Chapter title inspired by Stuck With U (Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber)

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The aching leg knocks Billkin off his sleep. His throat dry of dehydration with a bitterness from all the pills he took this morning. From the tiny window of his apartment, the orange sky tells him the sun is already setting. By his bed lies a heavy gun, reminding him of the event last night.

After years of pulling away from the violent scene of the underworld, Billkin is still not used to a normal social life where people don't carry guns around. Last night, he tries to trick himself into thinking he is ready to blend in again, and once in a blue moon, he took a walk without his gun. But it was a terrible mistake. He was ambushed with 3 bullets sinked deep into his flesh. Whoever those men behind the masks were, they must have planned it for a while because the timing was on schedule. Billkin usually comes to that neighborhood for some errands, but only on Friday nights.

A 24/7 convenient store by the streets gave him slight hopes. It was where he encounter the boy who brought him back from the death.

When Thanaerng woke him up to leave, it was still dark outside. The blueish purple light from street neons landed softly on the long lashes, the rosy cheeks and the skinny shoulders sleeping soundly by his side. For a second, the warm and serene breath upon his nose was all Billkin could feel. Not even the torturing pain from his injured leg can disturb that moment. The slight frown on the boy's face told him he was not the only one that had a rough night. At that moment, the person in front of him looked way too vulnerable and defenseless, but the dried blood on his trousers reminded him once again that he was saved by this boy's clever words, embrace and whispers.

Billkin remembers vividly the way that boy held him. Nobody has held him like that in such a long time, it nearly felt like a normal human being again with all those endearing emotions that a crook like him had lived without for years. It was full of pain, yet alive to have a stranger comforting him despite their lives being put in danger just moments ago.

He left without knowing the boy's name, and that engraves his mind. There was too little time. If only he could wait for the boy up to wake up from his sleep so he could thank him properly, but Billkin really did not want to disturb those tired eyes and the steadily puffing chest.

Soon.

He thinks and draws a light smile on his lips. He was ambushed last night, went through a surgery without anesthetic and now all he can remember is the warm embrace and those whispers that kept him sane.

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Billkin dials a familiar number from his contact as he chugs down 2 more painkillers in a big gulp of liquor, undoubted of the sarcasm he's about to take.

"Still alive?" teases the female voice on the other line.

"Yes I am. Too bad huh?" snorts Billkin. They are too close for casual hellos and small talks. He continues "Do you still have the bullets from last night? I'd like to trace back to their root."

"I'll have them delivered to you soon. But I can tell they are not the type used around here. You may want to check their origin outside of Bangkok." answers Thanaerng, his old friend and the surgeon doctor who cares for his injuries after all the underworld encounters when hospitals were too exposed to the cops.

"Thank you. Don't forget to pick up right way next time I call you. I almost died last night and you only called back after 7 missed calls." exclaims Billkin as he looks down at his limping leg. Deep down inside, he is grateful for this woman. This was not the first time she gained him another life. Without her, he would have been 2 feet under soil.