Page 10 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

Cursing under her breath, she noiselessly emptied their backpacks over the kitchen island.

There was a small convenience store a couple of miles away.

If it was still open, she could at least get some food there, if not fuel.

She scribbled a quick note for Vir— BUYING FOOD, WATER.

STAY HERE. brB —and stuck it to the coffee table in front of him before leaving.

The door automatically locked behind her as she stepped outside, hoping the drizzle remained a drizzle.

She couldn’t remember where her grandma’s old umbrellas were or if she even had those anymore.

Ignoring the grumbling protests from her stomach, she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up and sprinted out into the rain.

Fortunately, the store had a functional power backup and was still open by the time she reached there.

Noticing a pharmacy section at the back, she grabbed a few extra emergency supplies with a week’s worth of men’s underwear, besides packaged snacks and two five-liter water bottles.

She hauled one of the two backpacks on her back, the other on her front, and held the water bottles by their handles, one on each side, before starting the uphill climb back home.

The rain, no longer a drizzle, fell around her in thick sheets as she trudged ahead as fast as she could in the near total darkness. One wrong step and she might end up becoming a statistic on tomorrow’s news.

Buy umbrellas tomorrow, she added to her mental checklist, while trying, unsuccessfully, to keep herself from slipping on the slick road. And a bloody torch. A waterproof one.

Her foot slipped again, and she came to a frustrated halt. Setting the bottles down, she took off one bag to leave it on the side of the road. She could come back for it in the morning.

With the bottles dangling on each side, she started uphill again when the silhouette of a tall, hooded figure at the bend ahead made her stop in her tracks. He seemed to be headed in her direction .

The near-opaque rain and his blurry flashlight made it impossible to make out his features.

Just a local passing by. She lowered one bottle, setting it down on the asphalt while her fingers tightened around the other bottle’s handle, ready to swing it like a kettlebell if she had to.

You don’t want this in your face. Her jaw clenched. Go. Away.

“Nori!” a familiar voice called out, and her hammering heart gave a loud, startled thump before fluttering to a reasonable pace as relief slowly washed over her.

Her grip on the bottle loosened, and it landed at her feet; its thud drowned out by the loud pattering around her.

“Vir!” she yelled over the rain, her relief morphing into disbelief as Vir reached her, thoroughly drenched. “Can’t you read? I told you to stay back!”

Vir picked the abandoned backpack off the road without answering her, then grabbed the two bottles as well.

“Let’s go,” he said, breathless.

“Give me that. You shouldn’t—” She snatched a bottle, trying to pry it off him, when her foot slipped again and she landed on all fours. “Argh!” Something sharp jabbed into her shin.

Vir appeared beside her. “Nori! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She swore internally, reminding herself that her career depended on keeping him alive for the time being. She’d been doing perfectly fine on her own before he had to come out of nowhere to rescue her.

“Are you hurt? Nori—”

The panic in his voice fizzled some of her annoyance.

“I’m fine,” she repeated, wincing as she pushed to her feet. “Just a graze. STOP. RIGHT. THERE.” Her voice turned icy at Vir’s attempt to pry the remaining bag off her, too.

His hands dropped to his sides before he quickly grabbed the bottles again. She limped beside him in annoyed silence the rest of the way home.

Once inside, Nori dropped her bag on the living room floor and pulled off her dripping sweatshirt.

She hobbled into the bedroom, her teeth chattering from the cold as she slid the closet door open.

It was mostly filled with her grandparents’ old stuff that she hadn’t been able to part with, besides her own limited wardrobe.

Her grandpa had been an awfully tall man. She was sure his clothes would easily fit Vir. She threw him a towel with a long-sleeved tee and a pair of soft fleece pajama bottoms. “Th-there are new under g-garments in the b-blue backpack. Th-they’re in p-plastic—should b-be dry. Please ch-change.”

She grabbed her own clothes and limped into the bathroom, remembering too late the latch on the sliding door was broken. She hadn’t bothered with it while she’d been on her own earlier, but she’d have to fix it first thing tomorrow.

She slipped out of her clothes and into the clean dry ones before rolling up her pajama bottoms to wash her scraped leg. Her fingers brushed against her shin and came off sticky. The faint rusty smell immediately made her queasy. Blood. Ugh.

She stretched her leg under the faucet, sighing in relief as the freezing water numbed some of the pain. She was glad she couldn’t see the wound or it would’ve made her gag.

Vir knocked on the door, and his muffled words sounded like he was asking her something. Maybe the clothes didn’t fit.

She turned off the faucet and asked him to speak louder. It was hard to hear against all the ringing in her ears. She took a step towards the door, but then she was floating. Right before the door slid open and something hard and warm slammed into her.

A sharp pain pierced through her skin, tugging on her leg where it hurt. But she was too tired to open her eyes.

Something cold touched the side of her face briefly. Fingers. A palm. Then it was gone.

N ori woke up mumbling about eyelashes on kittens when something coarse pressed against her lips. Delicious scent of bitter chocolate wafted up her nose, and instinctively, she opened her mouth to bite off a small piece. Dark chocolate granola bar. Not too sweet. She liked it .

With a hungry sigh, she opened her mouth again, and the bar was waiting for her there. She bit into a bigger chunk this time.

Wait. Her eyes flew open to find a warm orange glow reflected off a pair of dark orbs hovering too close to her. She blinked, and they moved away.

Vir’s face came into focus, with his concerned gaze boring into hers.

He brought the granola bar back to her mouth and she reflexively bit off another piece before taking in her surroundings.

She was in her bed, wrapped snuggly in her blanket.

In the master bedroom—the only bedroom—dimly lit with a cluster of her grandma’s old jar-candles nestled together in a tray.

“Eat. Please,” Vir croaked, bringing the granola bar towards her mouth again.

“Do you feel sick? Did you eat? What time is it?” She pushed herself upright.

“No. Yes. And a little after midnight.” He nudged her back. “Please, relax. Eat this.”

“Are you still in pain?”

“No, I feel fine. Just tired.”

He handed her a cup of water and she took a sip, while scanning his features for warning signs. He looked ghostly pale, but seemed okay otherwise. Then she noticed her medical kit beside the candle-tray.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The cut on your shin wasn’t just a scrape. I had to give you seven stitches.” He cleared his throat. “Earlier, you weren’t answering, and I felt—you passed out right as I pulled the door.” He went quiet.

Nori tried peeking at his expression, but he turned to look for something in the backpack behind him and refused to look at her again.

Wait… stitches?

“You know how to suture a wound?” Of course he did. She’d almost forgotten that bit.

He shrugged before ripping open a packet of savory croissants. He handed one to her. They ate the rest of their meal in silence while Vir kept stealing glances at her every few seconds.

“I’m not dying, you know,” she joked. “I won’t leave you stranded here. Don’t worry.” Then softer, “Seriously, I’m fine. And thank you.”

“Okay.” He sighed, not taking his eyes off her. “Eat, please. ”

A while later, Nori excused herself and took one of the candle jars with her to the living room.

She wanted to finish drafting her email to inform Tanya she was going to continue the experiment with Vir at an undisclosed location because of safety concerns at the university premises, and that she would keep her updated on any progress on a need-to-know basis only.

She knew how important the experiment was for the university’s reputation and just how much they stood to gain with its success.

So, they wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize it for now.

But if it failed, the consequences would be hers to bear alone. She decided to worry about that later.

Taking a seat on the couch, she grimaced at her blank laptop screen when it refused to turn back on.

She settled for scribbling her notes on paper in the dim glow of the candle, while its muted floral notes hung in the air around her like a warm hug.

The jar had Frangipani Rose scrawled in her grandfather’s messy handwriting on the brown craft-label taped across it.

He used to have a new hobby every few months—crochet, pickling, herb gardening.

Making these candles for Grandma had been his last one before he’d passed away a few years ago.

Nori smiled wistfully as she carried the jar back before pausing at the bedroom door to find Vir lying curled up on one side of the bed, fast asleep.

Tiptoeing to his side, she pulled the blanket over him and pursed her lips at all the empty space beside him.

There was a spare mattress and extra blankets in the storage, but she’d have to bring the utility ladder in from the garage to get those down.

Suppressing a groan, she hobbled back to the couch outside.

She’d have to discuss sleeping arrangements with him tomorrow.

But for now, this had to do. Her eyelids grew heavy as she watched the flame from the candle sway from side to side without a draft.

A small voice somewhere in the back of her head reminded her to tell Vir something.

Warn him… yes. She closed her eyes.

She was safe. She had nothing to fear. It didn’t feel like a lie when she reminded herself this time.