LOVE SYNDROME [NAN & MAC] - Short Stories

Chapter 04 - Hurt

His phone was ringing in his pants. Nan's hands were full, having come grocery shopping with Puck and Ai. Ignoring it to be picked up later, he continued walking to the car. //Best to leave now, the after work traffic should have cleared.//

It rang again.
Putting the bags in the booth, Nan took it out to check. Wei. Probably calling to add something new to the grocery list, Nan picked up.

"Hia!" Wei sounding rather nervous.

" what?" queried Nan suspiciously while turning on the ignition.

" Mac....." at that one word, Nan turned the engine off, nervous himself.

" what .. What about Mac, Wei...Tell me quickly!". Mac's previous incident with Frog coming to memory, his tortured expression as he lay on Nan's lap rushed to the hospital.

" he left "Wei said and Nan's heart dropped. //what// had Mac finally abandoned him? Gathering the courage to disregard Nan's threats, growing immune to his tactics? Or did Itt tell him about the non-existent clip? If he did, Nan was going to strangle him, P'Day's wife or not. He had promised to tell Mac himself someday and if Itt had jumped the gun, Nan was going to be very...very angry.

" where did he go? What did he take? " Nan guessed Mac would return to his Dad. It was his only home other than Nan's. If so, Nan would go there now to speak with him.

" nothing...He took nothing Hia...we...we kind of had a misunderstanding and he stormed off. I saw him go out, thinking he was going to the track but then I heard the car. He was angry Hia "

"Fuck!" Nan swore. Why did this have to happen when he was out? Mac and Wei had never had a fight as far as he remembered. Replacing Frog, Wei was actually nice to Mac while teasing him sometimes , that's all. Mac being annoyed was a usual thing, he calls Wei the Little Devil because he was so in sync with Nan, the Devil himself. He did not speak to other subordinates, just Wei alone since he spent more time with him in the house.

" okay... you stay there. No going to the track, I'm leaving now" Nan stated. Puck and Ai kept quiet, sensing Nan's displeasure. From their observations, they knew Mac was special to Hia. Among them, they previously discussed the prisoner cum lover and his special care, careful not to be heard by Hia. They did not want to end up like Frog. At first, Puck had been worried, witnessing Nan carry an almost limp Mac to the hospital with the Inspector. During his ward stay, Frog had left with the Inspector, only to return and pack his bags. The boys thought Mac has poisoned Nan's mind until he did not care for his Nong's, acting ill to gain sympathy. They felt betrayed for all the years spent with Hia and made a decision to give Mac the cold shoulder. He doesn't speak to them anyway except to ask Nan's whereabouts.

Surprisingly, it was Wei who put this foolish act to an end, telling them the truth, Frog's jealousy and Mac's acute allergy. They felt silly afterwards, mistaking Mac's proud demeanor for evil. Wei had promised them never to let a word to Hia about their gossip, in return they had to be civil to Mac and never to give him anything garlic related. Once Mac returned after the hospital stay, everything went back to normal. For a problem to arise now and with Wei? Confusing....

Hia made it home in record time, driving like a madman. None of the usual whistling or loud singing, just his grip on the wheels enough to guess his mood.

Reaching home, he parked abruptly, slamming the car door, long legs stomping towards the door.

" you two! Put everything away " he shouted, not looking back.

Walking in, he spotted Wei in the garden, picking up a pillow. Taking in the surrounding though, the mattress was sideways, pillows on the footpath, wooden pallet moved from its original position. It's as if a storm has passed. Looking up at the skylight, the glass was intact, roof not leaking. So what the hell happened here?