Page 31 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
That meant he knew she wasn’t a light sleeper, always prepared to spring into action and whop someone’s ass at the slightest disturbance. Quite the opposite. She slept like a corpse. She could fall right off the bed in her sleep, and wouldn’t know it till the next morning. Thankfully, she hadn’t donethatin front of Vir.
It was already dark outside the window. She’d slept off an entire afternoon. Looking to the side, she found a covered glass of water on the nightstand with a piece of paper folded next to it. She took the glass and helped herself to the water first before unfolding the note to read:
Nori,
Please excuse me for letting myself in.
Dinner’s ready whenever you are.
Yours,
Vir
Nori’s mouth curved into a small smile as she ran her ointment-free thumb over the “Yours”. Then she remembered Vir tensing beside her seeing the marks across her wrist, and her smile faltered before vanishing completely.
She’d been so careful, making sure to only wear long-sleeved clothing around him. She didn’t want to talk about the scars or what they meant. Anyjudgmental remarks from him would—
No.She didn’t care. He was free to assume whatever he wanted to. She didn’t owe him an explanation. She didn’t owe him anything.
He was her subject. Her lab rat. That was all.
They weren’t friends. They weren’t anything.
Vir
Vir looked up from his e-readerat the soft click of the bedroom door, followed by Nori’s quietly mumbled, “Hey.” She stood there staring down at her feet as she tucked a loose curl behind her ear.
“Hey.” His jaw unclenched. “Dinner?”
“Not hungry,” she replied, but half a second later, her stomach’s muffled grumble called her bluff. She pursed her lips.
“Have a seat. I’ll heat some pasta.” Vir sprung to his feet, handing her the throw he’d been using.
Nori took it with a quiet, “Thanks.”
Minutes later, he returned with a bowl of hot pasta and handed it to her. He settled into his side of the couch, watching her nudge small pieces of broccoli around before taking a small bite. Then another. A few more bites later, she began actively ploughing steaming forkfuls into her mouth.
Vir grabbed his e-reader to resume his attempts at focusing on the page he’d been staring at for the past half hour. At some point, Nori’s empty bowl clinked lightly against the coffee table as she set it down.
In his peripheral vision, she sank back into the couch with an almost inaudible sigh.
“Would you like some chai?” he asked her after a while. When she didn’t respond, he glanced sideways and found her asleep again.
Multiple stray brown curls had sprung loose from her hair tie and lay fanned across her face. Before the rational part of his brain had a chance to reason with him, Vir reached out and gently tucked the hair behind her ear.
“Nori.” He lightly tapped on her arm. “Nori.” She didn’t move.
Leaning forward, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, hooked the other under her knees, and stood with her in his arms. She remained fast asleep as he carried her back to bed.
Nori wasn’t a light sleeper. Not in the slightest. She’d rolled off the bed in her sleep countless times during the past month of them sharing the room. And she’d continued sleeping through each fall and even afterwards. Unbothered. Every single time.
A few nights like that and Vir had finally grasped the real reason behind Nori’s insistence on his taking the bed—she couldn’t fall off if she was already on the floor.
He was now used to picking her up and returning her to bed every so often. But he doubted she suspected it at all. The woman slept like a rock. He suppressed a chuckle, recalling the deadly warnings she’d given him at the start of their living arrangement.
When Vir stepped out into the living room again, he made himself a coffee and settled back on the couch with his e-reader. Knowing this time, he’d finally be able to focus on the words.
Eight
