Page 90 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, delete my number, Vir. We don’t need to stay in touch after this.”
“What? If this is about last night, I know I fucked up. I’m sorry. It willneverhappen again.”
“Don’t. We both know whose fault it really was. There’s no point talking—”
“No. There is. I’ll do better, I promi—”
“For fuck’s sake, Vir. It’s over!” Nori cut him off. “The experiment is over. We’re over. I have my results, and you have your life. We go our separate ways now.”
“Don’t say that.” Vir took a step towards her. “I know what you’re doing, Nori.”
“Of course, you do.” She crossed her arms against her chest, her gaze icy.
“Yes,” he replied. “If this is another one of your ways to push me away for my sake or something of the sort, please don’t.”
“Please.” Nori rolled her eyes dramatically. “You think you’rethatimportant to me?”
“Well, yes, evidently.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Fine.” It was his turn to cross his arms. “But youarethat important to me. So, please drop the act. I told you I’m not going anywhere.”
“Well, I am.” Nori shrugged. “I just thought I’d be civil and let you know before I do. We’re done here. Delete my number.” With that, she turned on her heels and started walking away.
“No.” Vir grabbed her arm before she could reach the door and pulled her to him. With her back flush against his chest, he pressed his lips to her temple. “You don’t have to do this,” he said, sensing the anguish behind her mask. Her determination faltered and hot tears splashed onto his arms. “I’m sorry about last night. I’ll do better, I promise. I love y—”
“Shut up!”
“No.”
“Vir…”
“Talk to me. Or cuss me out. But don’t do this, please.”
For a brief moment, he thought she’d turn around and hug him back. And tell him she loved him, too. And that she wasn’t leaving. That it was all a dumb joke.
“LET ME GO!” she yelled instead and began thrashing in his arms till he released her. “Ihateyou!” She scurried away from him, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t ever touch me again! Or even look at me with those eyes. I fucking hate you, Vir. I wish I’d never met you.”
“Nori, I’m sorry…”
“Sorry won’t fix what you did!” Vehement disgust seeped out of every word she spoke. Disgust and pure, unfiltered hate.
He was wrong. She wasn’t just pushing him away. She really, truly despised him.
Vir opened his mouth to apologize again, but nothing came out.
With one last hate-filled look in his direction, Nori turned and marched out of the room.
Nori
Nori sat in the tiny bedroomof her university allotted apartment with her arms around her knees, staring blankly out of the window.
Everything about the busy evening bustle of the street below—full of people, life, and laughter—stood in stark contrast to the solid wall of emptiness aroundher. It threatened to choke her with each passing second. It just never did. She kept drowning endlessly. And yet she continued to breathe.
The only thing that matched Nori’s insides were the raging dark clouds in the distance, a precursor to another horrible evening coming to haunt her. She hated it. She hated how everything reminded her of him, especially the rain.
