Page 101 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“You’d looked pretty mad, too. At one point, I thought you were going to spit on me.”
“Ryan… please… in all the years we’ve been friends, have Ieverspat on you?”
“No, but you could’ve. Anyway, the second time I—”
“There was asecondtime?”
“Yeah. Minutes before your accident, in fact. Four years ago. I’ll not go into the details, but I was a bit of an asshole, and we had a big fight. And then I drove like a maniac and crashed my car into yours.” He winced through the last sentence.
“You promised you’d stop blaming yourself for that.”
“If something had happened to you—”
“But it didn’t, did it? I’m totally fine.”
“Still, it was my—”
“It wasnotyour fault. Just stop. I won’t ask again. I’ll just chuck something at you the next time. You don’t want that chair in your face, do you?”
With a snort, Ryan tilted his cheek towards her. “Go on. Throw the table, too,ifyou can lift it.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m sorry for last evening,” she said after a moment. “That… wasn’t very mature of me.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Are you sure you don’t hate me?”
“No. Of course, not.” He chuckled.
“We’re good?”
“We’re good.”
“Okay, I’m ordering pizza then.”
They talked some more while stuffing themselves with pizza till they were both too full to move.
“Earlier,” Ryan said with one hand on his belly while the other reached for the last remaining slice, “you told me to stop waiting for you, and to let you go.” He bit into it and leaned back with a sigh. “I’m letting you go.”
“You deserve better.”
“I know.”
Nori gave him a quiet nod.
“Take it,” he said after a while. “The teaching offer in Shoja that’s been sitting at your desk since last month.”
“You saw that? I’ve been thinking about it. It’s just one semester, and I’ve been meaning to visit the place, but… I don’t know.”
“Take it,” he nudged again. “Don’t ask why. You’ll know once you get there.”
“I’ll know what?” She winced.
“Don’t force it, Nor. I don’t want you to get another one of those headaches.”
He was right. She could feel one stirring in her temples.
