Page 12 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

Nori nodded, hesitant, and watched him march alone to where the man stood toeing another piece of rock.

She strained to hear what looked like small talk from afar, but couldn’t make out much of their conversation.

Vir took out his wallet and handed some cash to the man, and visibly overcome with emotion, he pulled Vir into an embrace. They stood like that for a while.

Once the man walked away, looking drastically more cheerful than before, Vir sighed and his entire body slouched forward as if deflated.

“What did just—?” Nori started towards him at the same time as he began dragging his feet back to her, his features chalky pale. Was he just mugged? A weird, peaceful sort of mugging? “Vir? What happened? Are you—?”

Vir passed her by without answering. He didn’t stop till he reached the car and slid into the passenger seat.

“Sorry, I don’t think I should drive,” he mumbled, when Nori hopped in on the driver’s seat beside him.

“What happened? Did he threaten you? Are you hurt? ”

He shook his head and drew in a deep breath. His shoulders slumped even further when he breathed out.

“You’re scaring me, Vir.” She touched his forehead, then his hands. His skin was icy. “Vir?”

“Just drive. Please.” His fingers trembled as he fastened his seatbelt.

“Talk to me,” Nori said while she drove. “Or I’ll follow that man and get it out of him myself.”

Vir let out a sound between a laugh and a sigh. His voice was barely audible when he spoke again. “The man... he was going to jump.”

“What?”

“He’s sick,” Vir continued. “His family spent all their savings on his medical expenses. They can barely afford food. He was going to jump, so they didn’t have to care for him anymore.”

“How did you know?” Nori asked after a pause. “That he was about to…”

Vir didn’t reply.

“Vir?”

“I could feel it.” He drew another unsteady breath. “I—I can sense people’s emotions when I’m near them. I’ve been able to since I was a kid.”

“You’re saying you’re a mind reader?”

“No.” His eyes closed, but he kept talking. “I can’t read minds. I don’t know what people are thinking. I can feel what they’re feeling almost as if those are my own emotions. It can get… overwhelming at times.”

It was a lot to wrap her head around. “That sounds rough.”

“I—I think I wasn’t careful earlier,” he whispered, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps. “I don’t feel too good.” And he slumped in his seat.

“Vir!”

Reaching the cottage, Nori sprung out of the car and circled around to his side.

‘Vir, wake up! Wake up!”

When he didn’t respond, she dragged him out and heaved his limp body on her back to piggyback him inside. Her leg protested in agony, the entire time promising her she was going to need more stitches—or a new appendage—after her brilliant feat in gymnastics .

She laid him on the living room rug before propping a cushion under his feet to elevate his legs. Something seemed to have triggered an anaphylactic attack, causing his system to likely reject the mites. If it rejected the chip as well—

“WAKE. UP.”

She jabbed him with a dose of epinephrine and p-biotics together. Then sat on the floor beside him with the number for medical emergency typed on her phone and her finger hovering over the dial button, and waited.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please…”

If that didn’t work, likely nothing else would. But she’d still call an ambulance and give him a chance. And go to jail for murder.

She swore under her breath, tasting metal and rust on her bottom lip as seconds ticked by. And slowly, finally, Vir’s breathing eased.

Once Nori was sure he was okay, she draped a blanket over him.

And a moment later, she fell to the floor, her hands trembling as the gravity of what had just happened—and almost happened—began to truly sink in.

She wrapped her arms around her knees before crushing her fists to her eyes, willing herself to stop shaking.

It’d been a close call. But he was okay. She’d known this was a possibility, and she’d been prepared for it.

Then why? She choked back another sob.

Minutes later, when she thought she was calm enough, Nori dragged her t-shirt sleeve over her face and cleared her throat.

Her gaze lifted back to his face, and the sight of it sent a wave of fresh sobs racking through her, consuming her, drowning her.

Vir

V ir woke up in the middle of the night, every muscle of his body aching as if it had been chewed and spat out by a human-sized food processor. Twice. He forced his eyes open and squinted into the semi-darkness of the dimly moonlit room .

The weight of a thick blanket pressed on him where he lay, on what seemed like the shaggy wool rug on the living room floor.

There was something else crushing his leg.

He craned his neck to figure out what it was and found Nori’s head resting on his thigh as she lay curled beside him on the uncarpeted floor.

He tried to lift his hand and realized hers were wrapped around it in a vice-like grip, even in her sleep.

“Nori?” he whispered, feeling her shiver against him. She didn’t move. He tried lifting himself up on his elbows, only to rise a few inches off the ground before slumping back down, exhausted.

“Nori…” he croaked, scooting awkwardly to the side to make room for her on the rug.

Nori shivered again, grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt, and squirmed closer to him in her sleep. Covering her with the blanket and wrapped an arm around her, willing some of his body heat into her.

Her grip on his t-shirt tightened as a frown appeared on her brow, and he sensed fresh spikes of worry. Sadness. Fear. He stroked his palm against her back, and slowly, she began to relax.

As Vir lay there, waiting to drift back to sleep, it hit him. The realization: he had almost died. He had woken up for now, but he might not tomorrow. Or the day after.

He had assumed earlier he was ready. That he was fine with the notion of his own death. But was he, really?

Something had triggered a shock in his body. His best guess was the sudden overwhelming stress from meeting that guy. Vir hadn’t been careful and had ended up absorbing all of his heavy, nervous energy.

Nori twitched, mumbling something incoherent in her sleep, and he smoothed his hand against her back again. And as he did, she melted right into him. Her fist unclenched to lie flat over his heart, oblivious to the thump thump thump thump right under her palm.

She’s Nori, he reminded himself. Not the woman from your dreams. They’re not the same.