Page 46 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

Twenty Eight

Cheesy Ex-Girlfriend

*barf noises*

Nori

A heavy downpour followed the short bout of hail, falling for hours in thick, near opaque sheets. Without power, Nori’s car was useless, and walking home wasn’t an option.

“I have a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo,” she told Vir in the most nonchalant tone she could come up with as they discussed sleeping arrangements for the night, “just so you know.”

She’d learned the martial art twice in the past decade.

At first, sometime during her lost years.

Then again, a few years ago, intrigued by her uniform and old pictures that she’d found at her parents’ house.

She’d learned the systems quickly, falling into the rhythms and movements her body had seemed to know so well, even though her mind couldn’t recall a single thing.

“I’m also a very light sleeper,” she added. A lie. But Vir wouldn’t know.

Her gaze swept over him, sizing him as a threat, and she suddenly had to keep a random burst of giggles from escaping her. Maybe she was still too jet lagged or something.

Vir looked pale but otherwise healthy, with a lean athletic build that stood in stark contrast to the gaunt-looking version of him in her old files. He was all better now.

She bit back a smile.

She could totally take him in a fight, though. Use his own body weight against him and flip him over before grabbing his neck in a chokehold. Easy. She smirked to herself, picturing all the different maneuvers she could use to incapacitate him if he tried messing with her.

“I know.” Vir set a pillow with a matching blanket on the couch. “My brother and I have each received a nosebleed and can attest to your skills.”

“ What? What did you do? ” She frowned. “And I’ve met your brother as well?”

“Briefly. And it was nothing serious. Mine was an accident. Adi’s was a misunderstanding. You thought he was trying to mug me and pinned him to the sidewalk.”

Nori processed the new information, frustrated again at having no memory of any of those things. Or of people she’d forgotten. What if they were people important to her? Vir seemed important, and she hadn’t remembered him at all.

She winced as her head began to throb.

“Sorry. I’ll not bring old stuff up again.”

“No, please do.” She rubbed her temples before letting out a frustrated huff. “I want to know. Back home, everyone’s always so wary about mentioning old things in front of me. I hate it so much… not knowing.”

Vir stared at her for a long moment. Then nodded.

“By the way…” He smirked. “I know a bit of self-defense, too.”

Nori rolled her eyes at him, ignoring the heat rushing into her cheeks. As she started reaching for the blanket, Vir beat her to it and quickly burrowed himself under before pulling it up to his chin.

“I’m sleeping here,” he mumbled with a long-drawn-out yawn and squeezed his eyes shut. “There are clothes on the bed for you to change into, if you’d like. ”

She laughed. “The couch is clearly too small for you.”

“Good night.” He yawned again.

“What are you, five?”

Inside the bedroom, she found a pair of black track pants and a loose white t-shirt neatly folded at the foot of the bed.

She changed into them, rolling the excess fabric on the pants a few times, before sliding under the thick blanket to try falling asleep.

But after a few minutes of tossing and turning, she considered going back to the living room to pester Vir some more.

Maybe she could get him to tell her about her lost years. What had their friendship been like? Why hadn’t he kept in touch with her all this while? Had his ex-girlfriend been there, too? Had Nori met her?

She was finally starting to doze off after what felt like hours, when the sound of a door closing nearby jolted her alert. She raised herself on an elbow to scan the room, while her heart threw itself against her ribs.

A painfully long minute later, the bathroom door swung open to reveal Vir’s dimly lit silhouette hobbling in her direction. As he drew closer, Nori noticed his eyes were almost fully closed. She promptly rolled out of his way as he dropped onto the bed, right where she’d just been.

With a deep sigh, he pulled the blanket over himself and passed out again.

“Vi—” she started to whisper, waving a hand in front of his face, then stopped. She didn’t have to wake him. She could go and sleep on the couch instead. Five minutes. She negotiated with herself. Just five more minutes.

As she lay on her side, staring at his relaxed features, another random bout of giggles climbed up her throat, making her clamp both her hands over her mouth.

The action only made it worse. She couldn’t believe she was watching an unsuspecting man while he slept—a man she’d only met half a day ago.

And if that wasn’t enough, she was also giggling soundlessly while at it. Like some creep.

Nori couldn’t tell whether it was minutes or hours later when her eyes fluttered open again. Vir was curled beside her, trembling in his sleep.

“Vir.” She placed a palm against his jaw. “It’s just a dream.”

“No…” he whimpered. “Nor…”

“Shh. It’s okay.” She lightly patted his cheek. “Everything’s okay. ”

His eyes opened just a squint, and his searching gaze locked onto hers. With another whimper, he pulled her into his arms, crushing her to him, while one hand reached up to smooth her hair.

A hard lump lodged itself in Nori’s throat. She told herself to push away from him, but her limbs didn’t want to cooperate with her brain. It wasn’t long before her arms were snug around him, too.

“Shh. It’s okay,” she whispered again, her hand gently stroking his spine.

Little by little, he relaxed against her. And when she glanced at his face moments later, he was fast asleep again.

I should probably move. She bit her lip. In a minute.

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

I t was still early in the morning when Vir stirred awake, feeling oddly content. And warm . He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up in a mood this cheerful. 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. He seemed 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. In his clothes 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 me once in 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.

“Sorry.” He let go, before forcing himself back in his chair.

Nori, too, lowered herself into her seat, where she sat glancing between their hands, curiosity tinting her otherwise shocked mood. “Wait. Can I see—?” She motioned towards his hands.

Unsure of what to expect, Vir placed them on the table, palms up.

Nori reached across to take his left hand, the one he’d just grabbed hers with, and held it gingerly. She turned it this way and that, as if it were an object that warranted examination, before she finally looked up, confused.

A split second later, she pressed her palm to his.