Page 116 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
She took a reluctant bite and chewed, ignoring the way it felt like sandpaper in her mouth. Vir handed her a cup, and she took a big sip of the strong sugary coffee.
“I’ll eat. Thanks,” she said, taking the plate from him when he tried to feed her again. “What time is it?”
“Sometime after four.”
“Morning?”
“Evening.”
“WHAT?” She lurched to her feet. “I missedallthe lectures? And Sam? Is he okay?”
“It’s Saturday, Nori. There are no classes.” Vir pushed her back onto the couch. “Eat please. I’ll talk.” He waited till she’d taken another bite. “Sam did have a dislocated shoulder. We just returned from the emergency room about a half hour ago.” He handed her the coffee again. “I tried calling you, but… what happened? Do you need me to get you some painkillers?”
“No, I took some last night.” She glanced sideways at him, noticing, for the first time, his bloodshot eyes and the shadows underneath them. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“I can sleep later.” He got up and walked away again.
She followed him into the kitchen this time.
“Here,” Vir said, thrusting a small plate into her hands. “Have these. I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“The car is almost out of battery,” he replied, pulling the front door open. “I’ll bring it into the garage and come.” Before Nori could offer to do it instead, he was already gone.
As the door swung shut after him, her attention moved to the plate, and she frowned. On it, chopped up into neat little crescents, was a guava… with the seeds removed. What a peculiar thing to do—cut away the seeds. She’d only ever seen her grandma do that before. And only because that was how Nori preferred the fruit. People usually ate the thing whole, annoying seeds and all.
Picking up a piece, she turned back towards the couch and tripped on the flowy fabric of her pants. One of her arms reflexively flung out to steady her while the other kept the plate of guava slices safe like the most precious thing to ever exist in the room that it absolutely was. She managed to grab the kitchen counter for support. But not before she accidentally swatted a dark rectangular thing off its surface, making Vir’s phone go clattering to the floor.
Nori swore under her breath as she knelt in front of the device. The cracked screen flickered a few times, then froze. She tapped, swiped, and shook it, trying to make it work, but it refused to cooperate.
The slice she’d picked up earlier was still pinched between her fingers. With a frustrated huff, she popped it into her mouth. And just as she did, the broken phone screen started flickering again, with all the random taps and swipes she’d attempted now happening in quick succession.
When the gibberish finally stopped, Vir’s face, partly distorted by the cracks, beamed up at her from the screen. And right beside him, with her arm looped through his, and her lips pressed to his cheek—was Nori.
They looked like lovers.
Hot tears pooled in her eyes. She was right there. This should’ve been her memory.
Remember, dammit!
Her molars crushed the fruit, making it release its juicy sweetness into her mouth. The soft, ripe flesh and the familiar crudeness of its skin as it gratedagainst her tongue began to wake something inside her. But it was the subtle dry musky aroma that held the magic in its notes. They rose, tickling her brain’s olfactory synapses, giving them the exact keys and bridges they’d been lying patiently in wait for all along.
The front door swung open, and a pair of denim-clad legs came into view. They paused at the threshold for exactly one loud thud of a heartbeat, and then they were moving in quick, long strides towards her.
“What’s wrong?” His voice. It washisvoice. “Why are you on the floor?”
Nori blinked.
Vir.Her face crumpled as her eyes lifted to meet his. And she launched herself at him, a sobbing, blubbering mess.
Vir
Vir opened the front door tofind Nori sitting on the kitchen floor. Her emotions were spilling out of her, a chaotic jumble of everything, good, bad, all at once. Each dense swirl at war with others, fighting to assume control.
He sprinted towards her, asking her questions she wouldn’t answer.
Then her horrified gaze lifted to meet his, and she lurched unsteadily to her feet before throwing herself at him. “Vir! V—Vir! It was you! I forgotyou!” She sobbed into his collarbone, uttering his name over and over in broken syllables.
