The thin line [Complete]

Chapter 21

Arthit's POV

I have a feeling Kongpob is competing for the biggest idiot on the planet award. And he might actually be winning. One entire week of non-stop warning him, and that dimwit pretty much sashays Mike right to his doorstep. A blind man could have identified what Mike's intentions were. For heaven's sake, a blind man on another continent would probably do a better job than Kongpob in knowing what Mike was really upto.

I took a long gulp from the bottle of water in my hand trying my level best to calm down the anger emitting from every pore in my body. I have a feeling once I did start yelling at Kongpob about how utterly stupid he had been behaving with regards to Mike, we would easily reach the next century. Even then I doubt I would still run out of things to say.

I took a quick peek at my watch which told me it was well past 9 at night. I don't know how long I still planned on keeping the two of us here. When I walked in on Mike basically carrying out the plan he must have been brewing for months now, all I could think of was to get Kongpob away from there. And there is just no way I am risking letting him go back with the possibility of that worm still squirming around his apartment. But Kongpob was probably exhausted from the journey, and since my adrenaline rush had started ebbing away, the tiredness from the long couple of weeks of traveling was finally catching upto me too.

Letting out a long, frustrated huff I began making my way back to our office. I don't even know why I stormed out, but that jerk has a unique way of provoking me. Sure I wanted to yell 'I told you so' to him. Repeat it so many times that he never, ever forgot it. But what I was truly mad about was not entirely so simple. And I have yet to figure it out what the whole reason is. And neither yelling at him, nor blowing my top off is going to help me find the answer.

I had almost pep talked myself into relaxing slightly. Maybe try to have an adult conversation with Kongpob, when I entered our work space to find him standing too close to my machine, the one which I have given explicit instructions that nobody was supposed to go near, with a large chunk of tissue papers in his left hand, furiously mopping the workbench with them.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get away from there. I told you a thousand times you aren't allowed to touch it."

"I...uh..."

"What did you spill?"

"N...nothing.."

I marched towards him to see how much trouble he had caused when he automatically took multiple steps away from me and pushed both his hands behind his back like a kid trying to hide a stolen cookie.

It took me a few seconds, a few too many seconds to piece the clues together. The haphazard red stains on the workbench, his face getting paler under my gaze, the large number of tissues behind his back. I finally noticed a pool of red liquid collecting around his feet, when I snapped my eyes back at his face, which was clearly covered in fear.

"Oh God! Did...did you hurt yourself?"

"I...."

He took another small step back before I walked around him to see what he was hiding when I saw his hands and back covered in red. So much effusing blood that I was having a hard time even finding the source of his wound. When I finally did discover it, I nearly threw up in my own mouth with the sight.

There was a huge slice right in the center of his wrist exposing his internal muscles and flesh which was mirrored in the back side of his arm. Apparently whatever managed to hurt him went right through his arm. In one way and out the other.

Now normally when Kongpob messes up I would have blown my top off on him for being so incredibly stupid. Or in a similar situation if it would have been someone else, probably called Preet to handle the situation while I went and emptied my bowels. If you are not already clued in, I cannot at all handle the sight of blood. One tiny drop and I am rendered useless. But this one time I could neither find it in me to yell nor to run away from the hideous sight. My heart was slamming against my chest faster than humanly possible as I felt my high velocity pulse drumming against my ears. I doubt I would be able to form another word any time soon.