CUPID

19.

CHAPTER 19

"HEY!"

Natan's brows knitted together when Bradley suddenly shook him. He was now standing right in front of him.

When did he even get here?

"What the hell, Brad?" When Natan realized Brian didn’t have a single scratch, he glared at his friend. "I thought you said that gorilla got into an accident?" He glanced at Brian, still sitting there with a guitar in hand, then looked back at his friend. "Why is he still breathing?!"

"When someone gets into an accident, they die right away?" Bradley joked, but Natan didn’t even crack a smile.

"Do I look like I’m joking?"

Seeing that Natan was serious, Bradley let out a sigh before speaking. "Fine! He wasn’t in an accident, okay?"

The moment Natan heard that, he felt his blood rush up to his head.

"Wait! Don’t get mad yet, okay? Let me explain!" His friend quickly said when he saw the darkness cloud Natan’s expression and the way his fists clenched. "Here’s the thing—"

"Wait, before you two talk, I’ll head out first. This isn’t my business," Brace, who had been standing off to the side, cut in. "Brian, gotta go, man." He signaled to Brian, and when Brian nodded, Brace walked out.

Once Brace left, Bradley continued. "Brian wasn’t in an accident because the truth is, Brace owns this hospital, which is why we’re here. He asked us to come over because we were supposed to drink ourselves to death here."

When Natan heard that, he tried to connect Bradley’s explanation to why he had said Brian got into an accident. But he couldn’t make the two line up. So, Natan snapped.

"Then why the hell call me in the middle of the night just to tell me this devil—" he pointed at Brian, who had now set the guitar aside and crossed his arms, "—was in an accident?!"

"It’s because—"

Bradley didn’t get to finish because Brian cut him off.

"I told him to do it," Brian said.

When Natan turned to the devil himself, he saw Brian staring back, studying his face.

"What do you—"

"I told him to call you and tell you I got into an accident. If you ask me why, it’s because I wanted to see how you’d react if you found out." Brian slowly stood up and started walking toward Natan.

"Ah, I think I’ll go," Bradley said, patting Natan’s shoulder. "Sorry for what I did, but I think I did what I had to do as your friend. I just want to make you happy."

When he said that, Natan’s eyes widened as his attention shot to him. "Do you know..."

But Bradley just smiled. "You both need to talk." Then he walked out of the room.

Natan was still recovering from his shock when he heard Brian’s voice again.

"Aren’t you curious why I’m curious about your reaction… Mr. Dela Cruz?"

When Natan looked Brian’s way, he saw him drawing closer and closer until he was standing right in front of him. That familiar minty breath hit Natan again, the same one that had been driving him crazy since before.

But instead of giving in to the feeling, Natan tried to hold himself together. "Actually, I don’t care about your motive, dude."

Brian smirked at his answer, stepping forward again, making Natan step back. But Brian didn’t stop until Natan’s back hit the wall. Once he had him cornered, Brian lifted both arms, resting them on either side of Natan’s head.