Page 107 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
She let her head rest against his chest and—thump thump thump thump—dozed off to the strong, rhythmic beat of his heart.
When Nori woke up again, it was already bright outside. She found herself sprawled on the bed, alone and toasty warm, with an extra blanket layered on top of hers. As she pushed both aside, a wave of Déjà vu hit her out of nowhere.
But it was just that, a feeling with no memory attached.
Vir
It was still early in themorning when Vir stirred awake, feeling oddly content. Andwarm. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up in a moodthischeerful. He was sure he’d been dreaming about Nori again. It had been a good dream. He’d held her in his arms—
His eyes shot open as awareness sank in. He lifted the blanket to find Nori snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest, while one arm and a leg lay draped over him—exactly how he’d used to find her every morning when they’d lived together in Kochi, years ago.
But why was she in his bed now?
No, he’d slept on the couch last night. She wasn’t in his bed.Heseemed to have slipped into hers at some point during the night.
Fighting the lump in his throat, he pried her limbs off himself.
“Umm saammich…” she mumbled without waking up as he carefully placed her head on a pillow.
He tucked her in before sneaking out of the room. Then briefly came back to drape his blanket on top of hers.
An hour later, Vir stood grilling sandwiches at the stove when a soft shuffle nearby made him look up. Nori was there at the bedroom door. Inhisclothes that were a few sizes too big for her.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” He couldn’t stop his face from breaking into a grin.
Her eyes widened in response, and she quickly looked away, a blush seeping into her cheeks. She helped him carry their breakfast to the table by the window.
Outside, the bright morning sky showed no trace of the storm from yesterday.
As Nori nibbled on her sandwich, a small patch of sunlight washed over her features.
Watching her tilt her face further into it, Vir resisted the urge to pinch himself again. He’d been doing it all morning, and now the pale underside of his left arm was covered in bruises. He was glad it was sweater season.
“You’re doing it again,” Nori observed.
“Doing what?” He blinked, flustered.
“Staring.” She chuckled. “It reminds me of Goober.”
“Sorry.”
She shook her head. “So, tell me,” she said, propping her chin on her palm.
“Tell you… what?”
“Everything.” A curious glint sharpened the soft brown of her eyes. “Everything from before, when you knew me four years ago. Did I visit you a lot in your ward? What did we talk about? Did I know your ex-girlfriend, too? How do I know your brother?”
Vir started choking on his sandwich. “Wait…” he said, washing it down with some coffee. He hadn’t anticipated a breakfast interrogation. “What about the headaches? I don’t want you to fall sick for a bunch of useless info. You’re not missing anything important, anyway.”
“I’ll decide what’s important to me, thanks.” Nori leaned back in her seat, arms crossed against her chest. “And I can take care of my headaches. You don’t have to worry about them.”
“But you’re—”
“Are you sure we were friends?” Irritation swirled out of her. “Because you haven’t contacted meoncein four years. It’s been bugging me since yesterday.” She sprung to her feet. “Maybe I should get going.”
“No, wait!” Vir stood and grabbed her hand.
And as soon as he did, Nori went rigid.
