PITBABE - ENGLISH - Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"Charlie!"
Babe rushed over and grabbed Charlie's arm as soon as the tall figure got out of the car. The service team rushed in to check the condition of the car again. Meanwhile, the racer's hand is dragged to the corner of the pit by the famous Racing King, who now seems to have other, more important missions to attend to besides racing.
"Are you still upset?" Babe said in a slightly annoyed tone when he saw that Charlie still looked unhappy and refused to talk to him like before. "Do not be like this. Please talk to P'Babe."
"Don't you think I can handle my anger on my own, as if you didn't have anything to do?"
When he spoke, he was full of emotions. If you look around, this job is really not easy.
"No," Babe said softly, trying to reach out and shake Charlie's hand. But the young man grabbed his hand and refused to let him reach it, "Charlie, don't act like this."
"Like what? Like you let someone else kiss your cheek?"
"Wasn't he just saying hello? After all, he's a stranger. Kissing on the cheek doesn't seem strange at all."
"Kissing on the cheek isn't strange? Are you used to kissing more than that?"
"Charlie," Babe scolded when Charlie started bringing up unnecessary things. "I don't do that now! We weren't dating at that time."
"Oh, because we were not dating yet, you can kiss anyone?"
"Don't be sarcastic."
"I'm not being sarcastic. I just want to know if I'd kiss someone else, do you think that's normal? If you wouldn't be at all angry if I did it, I wouldn't be angry either."
Babe sighed heavily, not knowing what to do. He knew it was frustrating to hear something like that. But he didn't do anything wrong. Plus, he didn't do anything about the kiss on the cheek that morning. He didn't even know that Luke would greet him like that. He himself was also shocked. And why should Charlie be angry with him?
"Okay, I'm sorry," said the old man gently. "Sorry, I didn't know that would happen. And I'm sorry for kissing him that day. Is this okay?"
"Is this okay?" Charlie raised his eyebrows as if he wasn't very happy with Babe's apology. "If you're not willing, you don't have to apologize."
"Oh, you said I was wrong. I apologize now. What else do you want?"
"Then why are you annoyed with me? I didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't say you were wrong and I'm sorry." Babe shouted out loud. He really didn't like it when Charlie was like this, when he looked annoyed and spoke to him in this kind of voice. Every time he encountered him like that, he felt annoyed. "What kind of apology do I have to make for you to accept it?"
"This isn't what you wanted to talk about, right?"
"I'm begging you, Charlie."
"What's this? Is this what you call reconciliation? I thought you were scolding me."
"Now I ask, who else is spoiled like you." Babe's voice started getting louder and louder until people passing by started turning to look. However, it seemed that the famous couple does not mind the slightest attention from people who care about them. "Have I ever had an affair with someone else? No!! So I'm annoyed with you. I accepted everything but you're getting softer every day."
"Oh, so I'm soaring now?"
"Are you listening to me? If you make a fuss, we'll make a fuss. I told you, it was nothing. I didn't know he would kiss my cheek. And about that day, can't you stop being mad at me? At that time, we weren't really a couple."
"So I can't be jealous?"
"You can be jealous, but let me explain and then listen. Don't be angry like this."
"You see how jealous I am!"
"Oh, I know you're jealous. I'm not telling you not to be jealous. But I want you to listen to me too."
"Do you want me to kiss someone else?" Charlie said quietly. The other person's eyes were filled with anger and hatred. Babe knows that it's not wrong to feel that way. But why does Charlie have to say this every time he gets jealous? "If you tried me, you wouldn't get angry and walk away like I did. Where have you been?"
"Then why do you have to talk as if you're going to look for someone else, Charlie?"
Babe's voice sounded much softer than before. Meanwhile, the anger in his eyes diminished but instead became a feeling of disappointment. Charlie saw this and was shocked because he had just realized that he actually often said things like this, even though they were said accidentally.
"I won't do it. But tell me how to listen."
"But you always say that. If I make a fuss, you'll look for someone else. When you said that before, I was only angry because I was jealous of you. But now I am your lover. Why are you saying it again?"
"P'Babe-"
"Charlie, you've been summoned. Standby."
Before Charlie could say anything else, North came and interrupted him at exactly the right time as expected. Charlie turned to look at North, who was following him, before giving a slight nod of acknowledgement, before turning to look at Babe's face, which now seemed like he doesn't want to see him anymore.
"I have to go. We'll talk as soon as the competition is over." Charlie's voice softened because he felt bad seeing Babe like this. Compared to when he was angry enough to make a big fuss, that way seemed easier to handle.
Because now, the other party refused to answer him at all. Didn't even see his face.
"P'Babe..." Charlie called Babe again. Meanwhile, there were staff members nearby urging him. "I will compete."
Babe kept looking away as if he didn't want to know what Charlie was doing.
"Speak to me..."
Charlie spoke softly, as if he was begging Babe to say those words. He knew, Babe knew exactly what he wanted to hear because there was never a time when Babe didn't say "Fighting!" before competing.
But today Babe refused to say it.
"Charlie! Let's go!" North shouted from the pit again. And that was a sign that he had to go, there was no time to wait for Babe's words.
"I go." Charlie finally gives up on asking Babe to talk. He said softly before reaching out and gently touching Babe's cheek, though he saw the person quietly move away a little. But just touching his soft cheeks was enough.
Charlie touched Babe's cheek then brought his hand back to his own mouth as if giving an indirect kiss.
That's all he wanted.
"Cheer for me."
That was the sentence Charlie said before running to his car and driving onto the field. In the end, Babe didn't say anything. "I go."
This competition is a qualifying round to advance to the final. He had already completed three rounds of the tournament, so the excitement was not as intense as before, but of course the pressure was still not gone. Moreover, in the last 3 rounds of competition, he has never won first place. Today he was determined to be number one, at least that might be enough to make Babe happy and ease his feelings. Once the competition is over, they will be able to talk more easily.
Charlie took a deep breath as the countdown signal started to sound. He closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, before opening his eyes and looking forward with determination. And in the last moments before the start signal sounded, the new racer kissed the back of the gloves he was wearing to boost morale.
Bang!
And the car started from the start as soon as the start signal sounded.
Today Charlie was 2nd at the start because in the last qualifying round he was a little distracted. But that's not a big problem, because number 2 is still considered the line leader who is easy to overtake. He only had one obstacle in front of him.
Meanwhile, Babe who acted as if he didn't care is actually not as mad as Charlie thinks. Babe forced himself to stand and watch the game in the fieldside tent as usual. Because apart from wanting to watch the match, he also had to pay attention to Charlie's movements in every lap. Did Charlie do well and where did he go wrong? So he could tell the kid to improve it in the next competition.
"Your student's movements are beautiful," Alan who was standing next to him said quietly while looking at the competition on the field with a satisfied expression. Charlie's driving technique improved every time he competed because the boy trained hard. Plus he learns quite fast, causing Charlie to be talked about more and more in terms of his leaps and bounds in skill development. "The angles are much sharper."
"If you practice that much, you might get it."
"I wonder if he will get first place this time."
"Let's wait and see," Babe said quietly, his eyes still not leaving the dark gray Königsegg.
Now Charlie has equalized with the first car. The two cars were very close, taking turns leading and taking turns following. There is no more than one car length of overlap between them. Spectators in the stadium felt uncomfortable sitting because of the intense competition. And it got even more exciting when Charlie's car finally overtook and took the lead after exiting a dangerous corner beautifully.
So pretty
This time, Charlie barely missed a beat.
When overtaking and taking the lead, Charlie now had full speed until the crowd cheered. The style and speed of the luxury hypercar is visible to all. And it is said that being number one is not just about having a powerful car with high specifications. With the same car, Charlie has never crossed the finish line first. But now, the child has shown everyone what quality growth looks like.
Now there's only about half a turn left. The first car of the convoy will now cross the finish line. The spectators around the field, including the racers, were so excited that they bowed. They don't know what else will happen at the end of the race. But while everyone was enjoying the thrilling race, on the contrary, there was one person who was frowning as if he was in a different world from everyone else.
"Charlie's car is weird." Babe didn't have time to say anything right away. Alan was the one who spoke first. Maybe because other people always intended to see Charlie's car, plus he had a long experience with cars. Alan was one of the first people to see what was wrong. "Why isn't the corner like the first round?"
"I don't know," Babe answered with a worried expression while trying to concentrate on what was going on. However, the more cars drove, the more visible the abnormality became until spectators around the stadium began to notice it. "That kind of shaking isn't normal."
As soon as he finished, Babe immediately ran towards Marshall who was standing closest. The famous racer quickly whispered to Marshall about the abnormality. A moment later, the matter was immediately coordinated. Marshall, who was standing at the point where the convoy was about to pass, started waving a yellow flag, giving a signal to reduce speed and not to overtake at that time because it could be dangerous.
But meanwhile the other car was speeding up and Charlie's car in front started to accelerate faster and faster, so fast that the car started shaking violently. Seeing this, Babe couldn't stand up until he was pulled by Alan's hand to keep him quiet, even though he knew how worried Babe was.
"Calm down," Alan said quietly.
"This is just like what I experienced last time," Babe said, looking impatient. "This is definitely not a coincidence. The symptoms are exactly the same."
"Babe"
"And Charlie has never experienced anything like this before. This is clearly out of control."
"But wait-"
Bang!
While they were arguing, suddenly there was a loud sound of a car hitting the edge of the field. Charlie's car, which was traveling at high speed, skidded over a pile of tires and spread across the field. This caused all Marshalls in the field to wave the yellow flag with both hands to signal to the other cars that an accident had occurred on the track, followed by raising the red flag which indicated the race was stopped and the other cars immediately left the field.
Babe was so shocked that his feet froze when he saw the scene, because Charlie's car didn't break down and stop at once. Due to the very high speed and possible control system failure, the car's head bounced off the edge of the track and overturned. And it got even worse when the second car following behind failed to brake in time and lost control and hit Charlie's car.
All while Charlie was still in the car.
"Charlie!!"
Babe started running down the field, not paying attention to the cars filling the track. But Alan was faster. The tall figure hurriedly grabbed Babe and hugged him tightly, not letting Babe run onto the track which was in chaos and could be dangerous at any time.
"Let me go!!" Babe writhed until he floated. However, Alan still tried to hug his interlocutor tightly even though he himself was shocked by what had happened. "Let go!"
"Babe! calm down!"
"Let go of me! Let go!"
"He'll come down and —"
BOOM!!!
Suddenly there was a loud explosion across the field, followed by Babe's scream which was as loud as an explosion.
"CHARLIEEEE!!"
The whole body is numb. That's the only sentence that can describe Babe's current condition.
Babe sat in the front chair of the emergency room without saying a word. He just sat and looked at the floor. He rested his elbows on his knees while his hands were pressed together in hopes of helping to reduce the shaking.
At this moment, he was like a person who had lost his hearing for a moment. He could hear North and Sonic talking the whole time but he didn't know what they were saying . It seemed like the two of them were talking in another language that he didn't understand. Or he's the one who doesn't understand anything anymore. In fact, the corridor in front of the emergency room looked all white and he felt the light was very bright but he didn't know why he felt like he was sinking deeper into a black hole.
"Can you guys talk somewhere else?"
Babe said in a calm voice. This immediately silenced North and Sonic who were arguing. He didn't want to scold them at the moment. But because of the voices of those two people, making him nervous, he had to ask them to stop now. Otherwise, he would definitely go crazy.
"Calm down..." Alan, who was sitting next to him, gently grabbed Babe's shoulder. "It doesn't matter. At that time, you will still be able to survive."
"But I wasn't trapped in the car at that time."
"You see I got out just in time, Alan. My car didn't explode like that and I wasn't inside like Charlie!"
"Babe..."
"So how can it be the same?"
Alan didn't know what words could help Babe feel better right now. Because even he himself didn't know that his lover was alive or not. How can he still sit here?
They all saw how serious Charlie's accident was. All matches were immediately canceled and the match was deemed invalid because it could not be confirmed that it was an accident. In this case, all team members agreed that this was definitely not an accident.
"But I'm sure he'll be fine," Alan gently stroked his beloved student's head sympathetically. He knew how scared and tormented Babe was by what had happened, because he felt the same way. Charlie was a kid he liked from the first time they met. He accepted Charlie into the team because he knew that the kid would definitely go far. But he never imagined this incident.
Babe didn't answer at all. Babe just sat with his head bowed, as if trying to maintain his consciousness for as long as possible. Although he lost consciousness once on the track, now he sat here and forced himself not to lose consciousness again.
Every second felt so slow. Babe barely knew when Jeff arrived in front of the emergency room because he wasn't paying attention to anything else except waiting for the door to open and the doctor to tell him that Charlie was safe. That was the only thing he wanted to hear right now. As for other things, he would wait to hear it from Charlie himself. And of course, he would say whatever others wanted to hear too.
Even though he tried his best to get rid of the distracting thoughts, he couldn't overcome them. He let it take up space in his brain. And right now, he kept thinking that if he knew how to think more calmly, he would never have picked Charlie up in a fight. He shouldn't have said those words. He should not have acted as if he had done nothing wrong, and he should have apologized seriously to Charlie, not talk like an irresponsible person like that. He shouldn't even be angry at Charlie for saying words he didn't want to hear, when he himself was constantly saying words Charlie didn't want to hear either.
He should have at least said, "Fighting!" before Charlie got into the car. He shouldn't have acted like a fool.
And it seemed like the thoughts in his head were too strong. Now he felt like he was sitting among many people doing their own things. He heard many footsteps, both slow and fast, both heavy and light. He could hear people talking loudly as if they were talking in his ear, even though none of the people sitting here said a word.
The sound of the wheels of the hospital bed being dragged across the floor, the sound of the wheels of the wheelchair, the sound of the clashing of stainless steel, the sound of the pulling of ribbons, and the sound of ticking that came out with an unknown rhythm, he just knew it was too loud. It was so loud that his ears hurt.
"What is it?" Alan asked worriedly when Babe seemed to be acting strangely. Babe raised his head and looked around as if he was looking for something. His beautiful brows furrowed before he raised his hand and lightly hit himself on the head. It didn't look normal in Alan's eyes. "Babe? Do you want to rest first?"
"No," Babe answered simply, still looking strange. He looked around, staring into the distance in front of the emergency room. And at the same time, he constantly puffed up his nose.
"Are you sure?"
"Shut up, Alan."
Alan covered his mouth when he heard that. Even though he didn't understand what was wrong with Babe, he was no less worried about Charlie in the emergency room.
Meanwhile, Babe's surroundings were completely silent. But his head was filled with chaos. His hands were shaking more and more violently as he was overcome by these crazy thoughts and symptoms. He tried to shake it off but the harder he tried, the more real the feeling became until he almost went crazy.
"Babe..."
NO
NO
Babe bent down and raised both hands to cover his ears as if the sound was almost unbearable. Everyone who saw this started to panic seeing Babe's abnormal condition, including Alan who was now in shock and couldn't behave properly.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Alan asked worriedly. But didn't get any answer from Babe. On the other hand, the other party seemed to be suffering more and more to the point of being unable to remain silent. Alan thinks Babe also needs a doctor's care.
However, before Alan could get up and go call the doctor, Jeff, who was secretly observing the situation, came and grabbed the tall man's wrist and shook his head gently while saying, "Don't go," and that made Alan even more confused.
And amidst everyone's confusion, Babe was even more confused at this time he thought he was really crazy because suddenly he felt his senses were strange. The sounds around him sounded extraordinary and clear, as if he was nearby, he could even hear the sound of Alan's palm and Jeff's palm moving against each other. He could even see letters embroidered on the shirt of the young nurse standing at the end of the corridor. Plus, there were strange smells everywhere, including the smell of alcohol, the smell of disinfectant, the smell of some chemicals he didn't recognize or even the smell of blood.
The realization of that sensitivity made Babe's whole body tremble, before he heard a loud scream in his ear, he had to sit on the ground and cover his ears with his hands in pain.
"Babe!"
Everyone rushed towards Babe, shocked by the other person's behavior like that. But Jeff prevented him from approaching him.
Babe now can't seem to understand what he should know anymore. He felt pain all over his head and the sound of screaming in his ears became louder and louder. He tried to cry but he couldn't hear himself. Instead, he heard rustling sounds like the sound of putting things down and picking up things all the time. He could hear people speaking words he didn't understand and a rhythmic ticking sound similar to the sound of a vital signs monitor.
The voices came from the emergency room.
Babe covered his ears until his hands were shaking because he didn't want to hear the sound, but it didn't help because he could still hear it clearly. It was so clear as if he was standing at the patient's bedside, next to the doctors and nurses. It might not be such a bad thing if he didn't hear that heart rate monitor all the time. And the ticking sound was very slow and continued to slow down.
In that second, the image of Charlie suddenly flashed into his head, from the first time they met. The sequence of events unfolded sequentially, even when he still didn't feel anything about the child. When he only wanted sex from him, when he started to feel strange imagining that one day Charlie would belong to someone else, when he was addicted to being around him and always missed him when Charlie wasn't around, when he started to feel like he couldn't live without this child anymore, when he starting to admit to himself that what happened was love, or even when they had a big fight, but in the end they came back together.
Charlie's every word, every expression and gesture was recorded clearly in his mind. He heard the bright laughter, saw the confused expression, could even see tears flowing from those big eyes. Every image and sensation came flooding back, accompanied by the sound of his exhausted vital signs. And even if he wasn't standing there, he was sure the sound he heard must have been Charlie's heartbeat.
But why is it so slow?
When we were together, Charlie's heart never beat so slowly.
"P'Babe..."
"I will compete."
"Speak...."
This is crazy. It's really ridiculous that now he keeps thinking about going back to the past. At least if he could go back and say the words Charlie wanted to hear, if he didn't tilt his cheek when he wanted to touch him, maybe things would be better.
"Cheer for me."
He thought that when he was on the field, Charlie didn't even know he was cheering for him. Charlie probably thought Babe would be so angry that he wouldn't come out to watch him compete because he refused to answer that he would definitely be waiting there to give encouragement.
Clear tears flowed down his cheeks, accompanied by sobs that he could no longer hold back. Babe sat with his ears covered and cried on the floor in front of the emergency room amidst everyone's confusion. But that doesn't matter anymore.
He could only pray in his heart even though he did not have any religion or belief. But he prayed to himself, the person he trusted most. He asked for the child's safety. Hopefully that heart will beat again like when he was with him. He didn't want to hear those weak vital signals anymore.
Help....
The doctors and nurses in the room or whoever... please help my Charlie.
But he didn't know why, his prayers had no effect at all because the more he begged and begged, the sound of the vital signs became slower and slower, until it became a long, high-pitched whistle that had no rhythm anymore.
"CHARLIIIEEE!!"
Babe screamed loudly before jumping up and running towards the emergency room door as if unconscious. But Alan moved and caught him again. The tall figure hugged Babe tightly and let the tears flow from his painful feelings. He didn't know what happened. But according to him the person who knows best is Babe.
"Charlie!!"
But now Babe doesn't know anything anymore.
Babe groaned with tears streaming down his cheeks. Babe tries to enter the room, knowing that it is impossible. And because of that, Babe could only fall to the ground and cry as if he was going to die.
"He's gone..." Babe's voice was shaky and almost unintelligible, but it was a sentence that everyone understood immediately. "He's gone, Alan..."
"Babe, calm down and wait for the doctor," said Alan while crying. Meanwhile, North and Sonic quickly pulled Jeff into a tight hug. "Wait until the doctor comes out first."
"Please help me. Don't let him go."
"Baby..."
"Tell him I'm sorry..." Babe sobbed until he stumbled, but still couldn't take his eyes off the emergency room door. "Charlie...P'Babe is sorry."
The pain of this moment is the truth behind the door that only Babe knows. From the sound of vital signs getting slower and slower until they stopped, including a man's voice ringing in his head a few minutes later.
"Time of death 16.42"
Babe screamed as if he was going to die when he heard those words. A soft voice that no one but him could hear. Even Charlie, who was lying there, couldn't hear it.
No matter what words he wanted to say, it was too late now. No matter how loud he speaks or how many times he repeats it? The child was never heard from again.
Therefore, he was very scared. He kept thinking over and over again whether he had said how happy he was to meet Charlie.
If he had known it would end like this, he might have said every word Charlie wanted to hear without hesitation.
He would tell Charlie he loved him every day and thank him before bed every night, to let the kid know that at least one person was alive because of that goofy puppy-like smile.
Will Charlie know how much he wants to wake up and see that smile?
This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends
My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again
These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you