A sweet scent roused June from his sleep. He found himself lying his head down on his mother's lap while they were on a bench outside the laboratory. She was trying to wake him up with her perfume—the same one he gifted to her. June then looked around him with a faint blush.
Lantis was standing around, only to hand June a can of cold coffee. "You fainted in the morgue. You didn't hit your head. I caught you."
"Man, that sucks…" June rubbed his head in embarrassment. He then brought his feet down after sitting up with the support of his mother. "Sorry, Mom. I made a scene."
"We can go again if you like. I didn't even realize that you'd faint." Freya had a reassuring smile as she used her hanky to pat-dry the sweat on June's face. "Are you okay now? Is it… really that bad? Uhm… Lantis had already told me what happened last night. That was too reckless of you. They could have shot you, too. I would have lost you, too."
Even if June appreciated the catch, he had no idea what story Lantis strew to make it believable for a normal human like Freya. Still, he only nodded and kept his head down. "I really wish they wouldn't mind if we go. Did they say we're free to see him again?"
…
Unlike the last time, June made eye contact with the strange picture as soon as he walked inside the room. He could see his supposed dead brother staring back at him, feeling scared—not even an inch less than last night. He only avoided Pete's gaze for a moment until Freya decided to leave June on his own inside. Lantis had come with Freya as if personally keeping an eye on her.
June glanced at where he saw the camera was and faced the other way to cover his face. He then stared down at the moving eyes of his brother. In a hushed voice, he spoke to the body. "What the fuck is this, Pete? Are you haunting me? I tried to save you, man. Something just… I can't say what happened…"
["If you don't know, what more could I? Look, man, I woke up like this… and there's this strange chick who said things like… she can't take… dude… help me out…"] Pete made a shaky noise. ["I can't leave my body, man. I'm dead, but I'm still talking to you…"]
"Okay, let's sort this out…" June ran his hand through his hair and tried to brainstorm, even if he was more panicking inside. His brain was already too tired that he couldn't think of anything. "I don't know… how am I supposed to fix…? Wait…"
June leaned suspiciously and tried to feel the neck of his brother. The sutures were clean and had almost disappeared into the skin. Even if his knowledge was second-hand, he knew so well that even normal stitches couldn't be this well-hidden. That was when it occurred to him…
He huffed as he pulled his hand back, his eyes filled with so much guilt. "Shit… I'm so fucking dumb… why would I say things like that to him…?"
["June, everyone knows they're smarter than you. What's this?"] Pete didn't like the look in the eyes of his brother. However, he really couldn't do anything much but use his voice. ["Can you fix it? I don't want to get stuck inside my body until they burn me, man. What if they scatter my ashes?"]
"Dumbass, that's one noble experience. Your one eye is at the beach, while the other gets to cross the Mediterranean." June cracked a joke that only made Pete roll his eyes at the older brother. The actor then patted the face of his younger brother. "Sorry, dude. This is all my fault. I put myself in the forefront of a battle I failed to gauge properly. You even became collateral…"
Pete didn't make a comment. He only listened as June told him about the unspeakable truths. His brother's voice was too soft, so no one could hear him but Pete. Demons and dealings… everything was all on the table.
June didn't even hide who Lantis truly was. After all, he knew so well that Pete didn't buy the whole 'friend you can't remember' because Pete's memory was excellent. He could recite all the stars in Perseus while competing with someone playing a game show on TV.
["…I knew that guy was not human. I saw him when I was in surgery."] Pete sighed before looking away. ["Hey, dude, it's okay. I fucked up more times than you did. If someone came to do me in, they could name a hundred dealers that I could have tricked or something. They wouldn't even get you involved. I already saw this coming… I just didn't know you'd be there to see it happen."]
["Hey, are they going to bury me with all these bruises? If your boyfriend really is a demon, then could he at least fix my face? I don't want to meet Dad with bruises peppering… forget it."] Pete suddenly gulped down his words. However, he knew that June had already heard him. ["In the years you were gone, some people asked Mom to come to identify a Jean Verrier. Mom didn't go and just sent a photo."]
Pete sighed. He would have rubbed his head if he could. ["I didn't even know Mom keeps a photo of Dad. Actually, when I kept on asking for money from you, I was trying to find that guy. He's dead, but he has his traces. Are you even interested in hearing that out? Man, he's just like you… I'm kinda happy you turned around to find us when Mom called you."]
He then took a look at the older brother: ["Thanks, June. You came to find me when I got into an accident. You jumped into a shootout because I was scared. Yeah, you couldn't save me… but don't let that pull you down. Someone did this to me, man. You protect Mom."]
For some reason, something was changing in the tone of Pete's voice. It was even getting softer as he closed his eyes. ["If I see you there way too early… or if I see Mom too early… I will become a demon myself, so I can chew you out. Probably just a little… you taste like a rubbery duck."]
"Thanks, Pete…" June closed his eyes as well. He pressed his forehead against his younger brother's… only to feel the air in the place grow lighter. When he lifted his head, his brother's eyes never opened again. The sutures on his neck had become visible as well.
"I swear I won't stop at anything until I kill that bastard who did this to you… to Mom…" June straightened his back and left the room to meet with his mom and Lantis.
After a few minutes, the attendant was tasked to prepare the body for transport to a funeral home. However, when he got there, he stared at the body for a long time. He kept on checking his clipboard for information about the man he was going to deal with.
He scratched his head. The attendant held up the photo of the deceased to his eyes and then lowered it to find the body's face—Jupiter Verrier's clean-shaved face that was free from the purpling marks of his accident. "How did you remove your bruises, man? Teach me."