Page 30 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
The way he’d looked at her earlier… almost as if—No. Nope. No way.She didn’t even want to finish the thought. She had to talk to him and draw the line. Right now. Right away.
“Vir,” she said as she walked into the kitchen to find him sautéing mushrooms in a pan, while humming—she pursed her lips—Baby Sharkunder his breath.
“Nori?” A corner of his mouth stayed up in what looked like a permanent smirk.
The line. Draw the line.
“Let me help.” She padded over to stand beside him.
Later. Draw the line later.
Vir
Can you pass me the carrots?”Vir pointed towards the colander he’d just left in the sink. He made sure to keep his voice as nonchalant as he could. But his insides were a different story.
Nori brought the carrots over and placed them in his outstretched hand. He placed them on the chopping board before turning his attention back to the pan.
“Thanks. You can take a seat. I’m almost done.” He wasn’t sure if he could handle being this close to her for much longer. His heart was on the brink of jumping up his throat as it was. He hoped she didn’t point out the unusual activity that was bound to show up on the algorithm. If his failing heart didn’t kill him first, the embarrassment definitely would.
“Let me boil the pasta at least,” Nori offered, while reaching for a saucepan that Vir had taken off the stove a moment before she’d arrived.
“Careful, it’s—”
“Aargh!” The hot lid flew from between her fingers and hit the floor with a loud clang.
Vir swore as he dragged her to the sink and thrust her hand under the faucet. “I’d just taken that off! I’m so sorry!” Swearing under his breath again, he hastily pushed her t-shirt sleeve up her arm to keep the fabric from getting drenched.
His fingertips brushed against the bumpy raised lines first before he saw them—the deep, jagged scars running along her wrist.
An icy chill droppeddown the pit of his stomach.
Nori snatched her hand back, rushing to pull her sleeve down again. “It’s not that bad. I’ll go put on some ointment.” She scurried past him without waiting for a response.
He followed after her only to stand outside the bedroom door, hesitant. It was the first time that he couldn’t read a single emotion from her, not even the beige neutral calm that he was so used to by now. It was as if both her heart and mind had gone blank. As if she wasn’t even there anymore. It scared him. More than he was willing to admit.
He raised a hand to knock on the door before letting it fall back to his side. Another long moment later, he quietly shuffled back to the kitchen.
Once the food was ready, he went and lightly tapped on the door. “Nori?”
It cracked a few inches.
“Nori?” he called again, before letting himself in.
He found her curled up on the bed, with the gentle rise and fall of her shoulder indicating she was fast asleep. He tiptoed to her side and turned her palm over to find blisters forming on her reddened fingertips. With gentle strokes of a cotton swab, he applied the burns ointment on them. Her fingers quivered in response, but it didn’t wake her.
A lump rose in Vir’s throat as his eyes dragged over the jagged lines peeking from under Nori’s sleeve. It was shabby work at best, but the scars were so deep and angry, it was physically painful to look at them, or to look away.
He draped a blanket over her and a sudden, almost desperate need to scoop her in his arms knocked the breath right out of his lungs. He wanted to hold her. For as long as she’d let him. But he knew she wouldn’t let him.
After a few minutes of quietly watching her sleep, he got up and left, only to return with a glass of water and a page torn from his notepad. He placed them on the nightstand. With one final glance at Nori, he walked away again, closing the door behind him as he left.
Nori
Nori woke in a groggy daze,her tongue scraping like sandpaper against the dry walls of her mouth. She recalled coming into the room earlier. She’d leaned on the pillow for a bit and… dozed off?
There was something sticky on her fingers. It smelled of sesame oil and peppermint—topical cream for burns. Had Vir put it on her while she’d slept? That was the only plausible explanation.
Nori groaned, and with a resigned sigh, she pushed herself upright.
