Bet my love on you

12

By the time Bright had finished reading Win's journal, his eyes were stinging from all that crying. He was a mess. Win had trusted him so much, but all Bright did was let him down. Bright was frustrated at himself. He was such a fool to have agreed on the bet in the first place. Bright was devastated. He had lost Win, for good and he's starting to think that maybe Win truly deserved someone even better.

That day, Win hadn't come back home so Bright eventually left, disappointed and ever since then, Bright was never himself again. He never made an effort to find Win and he was drowning in sorrows with bottles and bottles of beer. He had lost count of how many he had drunk over the past week but it was enough for him to feel groggy and nauseated the next day not that it'd stop him anyways. A week passed and Bright looked horrible - His eyes bags were prominent, he was getting scrawnier by the day, colour had left his face and he was ghastly pale. He was already growing a beard because he hadn't shaved and he gave off a foul stench too after not showering for a week but Bright couldn't care less.

"Stop drinking for goodness sake." Man pulled the bottle away from Bright who was flushed again from all that drinking.

"Leave me alone..." Bright slurred, as he reached for the bottle. Getting drunk was irrational but Bright really needed some release.

"No. I've had enough." Man said assertively as he slammed the bottle down onto the floor, far away from Bright's reach to which the latter wasn't pleased for Bright was flunging his hands in the air like a whiny baby would when the milk bottle was taken away from him.

"Bright Vachirawit! You need to stop this!" Man yelled. Man was furious that his best friend was giving up on himself and the veins were already popping out from his neck as he lashed it out on Bright. "Do you think drinking is going to help solve your problems? Why are you acting like a coward who is helpless? If you want Win, go get him and quit whining."

"Get him back?" Bright scoffed as he mocked at himself, "I don't deserve him, Man. I'm a jerk."

"So you'd rather waste your life drinking?" Man retorted as he said spitefully to Bright when the latter hadn't said anything. "I despise you. Because you are a coward who only hides!"

"WHO ARE YOU TO SAY?" Bright jolted up, he was still wobbly from all that alcohol but his head was never clearer now as he pointed his finger accusingly at Man. "You and your stupid bet..." Bright hollered. "I should not have agreed on it in the first place! Then maybe things between me and Win could've worked out differently..."

"Look about the bet, I'm sorry okay?" Man sighed as he ran his hands through his hair frustratingly, "But I'm not going to let you waste your life like this. If you truly think Win deserves better, then be that better man for goodness sake."

"How?" Man could hear the pleading tone in Bright's voice and it made his heart ache that his best friend was in this plight. "It's too late anyways..."Bright shook his head as he laughed at his own stupidity.

"It isn't too late." Man reassured him as he saw his best friend slid back down on the floor defeatedly, his head hung low.

"Bright. You need to get yourself together. We will all help you." Man laid a comforting hand on Bright's slumped shoulders, "I know time is rough but me and Boss will be here for you. You just need to trust us. I see the way you looked at Win and I know you loved him so much so why won't you fight for him? Is your love for him truly that shallow?"

Man could tell Bright was listening to him as the latter perked his ears up slightly and so Man continued, "You might have started things out on a wrong note but you always have a choice to make it right and you think Win is doing any better than you now that you've left? He's suffering too! The last time I saw him in school he was skinny to the bone. He was practically a walking zombie." It was true, during the period of time when Bright was absent from school, Win looked terrible. Win was petite to begin with but ever since he had Bright called things off, he was losing a significant amount of weight and he was lifeless too. Though he was always present for class, Man could tell the boy was distracted as his eyes zone out all the time.