Sacred Madness

XXXII. Changes

"Bye baby, see you later," Mark bid, kissing Gun goodbye after releasing him from a hug.

Gun nodded lightly. "Bye babe," he replied before waving his hands, a soft contented smile playing on his lips.

Gun waited until Mark's car disappeared in the driveway. He closed the door before going back to their room. He picked up his phone from the side table and started dialing Perth's number. It only took a few rings before his friend answered.

"Hey Gun, its too early what do you want?" Perth said everything very quickly.

"Good morning Perth," Gun greeted in a sarcastic tone.

"Good morning. Happy?" He replied almost as sarcastic.

Gun just shook his head before continuing. "Sorry to call this early, but I just want to ask about the thing I told you."

"Oh yeah, about that. I talked to my boss and he said you can come by next week."

"Next week? Can I just go there tomorrow?" Gun whined.

"You can't, silly he's out of the city this week, probably enjoying his time with his wife on the country side. You know, old people and their banalities?" Perth replied.

"I want to start as soon as possible." Gun whined once more making Perth know how impatient he was.

"Why are you in a hurry? Did Mark's father cut his cards already just like what he did with Saint? Are you in a famine?" Perth said laughing at his own statement. "I knew Mark couldn’t survive for so long because he's so careless with his money."

"What do you mean by cutting his cards? Why would his dad do that?" Gun asked in confusion.

"Didn't Mark tell y... oh sorry Gun I have to go. My class is starting bye."

"Wait Perth, what do you...?" Gun couldn’t even finish his sentence because Perth had already cut the line. He tried calling once more but it seems like he had turned off his phone.

Gun was left confused at Perth's words. He tried making sense of the things that he said but it seems like he couldn’t really figure it out. Suddenly, his throat became dry so he made his way to the kitchen. Gun was pouring his water when he noticed Mark's wallet on the kitchen isle. He finished drinking first before taking it and bringing it back to their room. His phone was also there and he needs it to call Mark to tell him that he had left his wallet. As he was walking back, he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the wallet. He decided to open it so he could place it back properly so it doesn’t stick out, but when he had a good look of it, he realized that it was a bank statement. Gun's curiosity took over him and he unfolded the paper. When he saw Mark's remaining balance, a sense of guilt instantly washed over him.

Mark barely has any money left and maybe that's why he mentioned about selling his car. He just make it sound like he wanted to change to something not really flashy because he had Gun now, so he doesn’t really need to impress anyone but him. But the truth is, Mark was going broke.

Gun took a moment to process everything. It all makes sense now. What Perth had said earlier made sense now. He cant believe he didn’t notice how much Mark was wasting money on him. Actually, he did notice, but he didn’t do anything; he couldn’t do anything.

"Babe."

Gun instantly looked up when he heard Mark bustling through the door, his breath rugged and he's sweating profusely. It looks like he really was in a hurry.

"I left my wa..." Mark didn’t continue his sentence when he saw the thing he's looking for in Gun's hands. "Babe."

Gun stood up and walked towards him. He didn’t answer his question, instead he wrapped his arms around his waist. "I'm sorry babe."