Page 91 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
A week had passed since her last conversation with Vir.
Seven full days had gone by, since she’d plunged a metaphorical knife through his heart,repeatedly, till he’d finally let her go. And she’d been the cruelest, coldest bitch she could’ve been while she’d done it.
The look on his face when she’d told him she hated him… it was going to stay with her for as long as she lived. As it should.
The disgust she’d felt towards herself while spewing all that venom… she was sure Vir had sensed it and assumed it was directed at him. And she’d let him believe that.
Nori squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could take her brain out and wipe off all memories of him before putting it back, Vir-free. Just so she could exist without a permanent lump in her throat making her life hell.
Not all memories.Just the last few.No, not even those.
Memories were all she had left of him. She refused to give those up. Even the painful ones.
She glanced away from the window, and her gaze fell on her laptop. Thumbnails of pictures taken at the conference a few days ago covered the screen. Amongst a sea of celebratory, happy faces, Nori’s own impassive one stared back at her from every little rectangle.
A lot had happened over the course of the past week. Tanya had welcomed her back with enthusiasm, while Hina and Amit were nowhere to be seen. Nori later found out they’d taken voluntary transfers to a teaching hospital in the south.
Vir’s test results came out all good, and he was discharged soon after. He was still supposed to get monthly check-ups for a while, but as per the reports, he was in perfect health.
Nori had refused to see him the entire time. She didn’t have it in her to repeat the whole laundry room act again. She also hadn’t allowed herself tocry all week, knowing she wouldn’t be able to stop once she started. There was going to be enough time for that later.
Her laptop chimed with a notification and she glanced at the screen again to find her therapist’s reply to the email she’d sent her a few days ago. She skimmed through it quickly before moving on to the attachments.
As she clicked on the one labeledEMDR, the bell rang.
Nori flipped her laptop shut before dragging her feet across the hall to look through the peephole. She wasn’t expecting anyone.
Ryan’s comically distorted form waved at her from the other side, and she let out a quiet groan.
They hadn’t spoken in months. Not since their last fight back at the cottage. She didn’t have the energy to resolve things with him now. Because their resolutions always meant more fighting till one or both of them ended up in tears, at which point they’d make up and promise to never fight again. And rinse and repeat.
Nori turned to check her reflection on the television screen, trying to rearrange her features into looking somewhat presentable, and not like she was on her way to audition for the role of a zombie extra in some Canadian art film.
The bell rang again, and she gave up with a sigh.
“Hey, Nor,” Ryan said as she let him in. “I heard you were back.”
“A week ago.” She followed him to the couch and took a seat at the opposite end. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Yeah… heard that, too,” Ryan mumbled sheepishly, looking everywhere but at her. “Nice apartment, by the way.”
“Isn’t it similar to yours?”
“The curtains are different.” Awkward silence. “It’s pouring outside. You’d think the weather department would givesomewarning, but nah.”
Curtains? The weather?
“Spit it out, Ryan.” She’d rather have the fight. “Just call me an asshole, and stop with the ridiculous small talk already.”
“No, it’s me! I’m the asshole,” he blurted, glancing towards her before quickly looking away. “I’m sorry.”
An apology without her having to wrangle it out of him? Maybe he’d hit his head on a pole on his way there.
“Okay…” she said, not in the mood to dole out jibes. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I messed up.” He looked at her again and didn’t glance away this time. “I’ve been trying to gather the nerve to come see you for the past week and apologize, but—I’m sorry. I really am. But the experiment still worked out in the end! That’s all that matters, right?” He gave her a sheepish grin.
“The experiment? I thought you were talking about our argument.”
