Page 44 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“No? What is it then? The way you’ve been looking at him all evening—and the way HE’S been looking at YOU!”
“It’s not like that—”
“I saw you two almost kiss! Fehim was there, too! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”
“Stop yelling! I can hear you just fine without you—”
“You’ll get hurt, Nor,” Ryan spoke through gritted teeth. “You know he’s just your test subject, and there’s a fat chance he won’t make it out of this alive.”
“He will. I told you the redundancy is already—”
“Even if he does…” He lowered his voice to the point it was barely audible. “You’re still going to end up hurt. Youknowthat.”
“I know.”
Outside, Fehim and Vir burst into laughter again.
“Seriously, what’s his problem?” Ryan snapped at the door. “Asshole.”
“Don’t call him that.”
“YEAH, GO ON AND DEFEND YOUR DUMB LAB RAT!”
“Will you stop overreacting?” Nori hushed, eyeing the door nervously. “There’s absolutelynothinggoing on. And even if there was—hypothetically speaking—it’s none of your damn business.”
“What do youmean, IT’S NOT MY DAMN BUSINESS?”
“Stop yelling already!” Her hands balled into fists at her sides, while she resisted the urge to pick a large hardcover from her grandma’s shelves to throw it in Ryan’s face.
“I swear, if he so much as touches you—” A tick worked in his jaw. “I’ve known you since we were seven. Don’t you tell me what my damn business is or isn’t. Have you completely forgotten who found you and what state you were in? Have you—” His jaw clamped shut mid-sentence, as if realizing the contents of his own word-vomit too late.
Nori froze, and a split second later, a frenzied thumping began somewhere behind her ears. As it grew louder with each beat, a remote, uninterested part of her mind wondered just how long it would take for her eardrums to explode from the pressure.
“Nori…” Ryan took a step closer, drawing back a fistful of his hair. “I’m sorry. Fuck. I shouldn’t have said that. It just came out like—I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry!”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Maybe an artery would burst, too. Or many.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
At least the room would stop spinning, then.
“Nori, I’m sorry… please.”
While spatially, she was aware of Ryan’s arms wrapping around her; shefeltnothing. It was as if all sense had drained out of her, leaving her numb. Like a human-sized block of ice. Only filthy and full of cracks.
“I think you should leave,” she said in a flat voice.
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Leave.” She didn’t care. She just wanted to be left alone.
Someone knocked on the door.
Nori pushed Ryan aside and pulled the door open to find Vir standing on the other side, his expression an annoying mixture of caution and concern. His eyes darted back and forth between her and Ryan before settling on her.
She knew her face betrayed nothing, but also that Vir could feel everything she was feeling—or not feeling—inside. He must’ve sensed their heightenedemotions while they’d argued, if their raised voices had left anything to speculation, that is.
