Chapter 7 I Think You Want to Poison Me
The light was so dim that Natalie couldn't quite see his face. She thought he probably just asked casually and was not interested about her boyfriend or something.
After a moment, she said, "Um."
Luke didn't say anything else.
The light on Natalie's mobile phone was turned off automatically at this moment. The room fell completely dark, Natalie was shocked and immediately turned on her phone screen again.
When she was about to ask where the switch was, Luke suddenly approached her.
The atmosphere at the moment was a bit weird. Luke leaned closer to her, and it made all the light gather between them. The atmosphere now became flirty, and she gradually got a better look at his face.
Natalie could faintly feel his cool and refreshing breath.
She didn't know what to say.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" Thinking of something, Luke asked unconsciously.
"... Aren't you afraid of it?" Natalie thought that fear was a normal part of human nature.
But Luke considered it to be ridiculous. Maybe fear never existed in his life. No one else would ever perceive what he was afraid of even if there was.
After a moment of silence, he laughed unbelievably.
He seemed to be laughing at her as a coward.
Although they had a close and safe distance, Natalie still felt uncomfortable. When she was about to take a step back, Luke raised his hand and stretched out to her.
Within a second, His fingertips seemed to touch her ears with the coolness of water, seemingly unintentionally.
Natalie cringed suddenly.
As the switch dinged next to her ear, the lights in the hallway and the chandelier in the living room were turned on, instantly providing bright light all over the room.
Natalie couldn't help but narrow her eyes. After adapting to the brightness for a moment, she saw Luke already walking toward the living room.
He rubbed his right shoulder, moving his arm with some effort due to a bone injury.
Natalie followed him and took the initiative to explain the reason why she was there. He didn't seem to care much, so he simply replied, "Fine," while wiping the water on his wet hair twice with one hand. He then threw the towel on the sofa, and leaned back to the bed with a little difficulty.
It seemed that he had no intention of blow-drying his hair.
"You should blow-dry your hair. I'll get a hairdryer." Natalie asked cautiously, being afraid of that he would be annoyed if she cared about him too much.
Luke walked over to the dark silver metal cigarette case on the nightstand and glanced at her amusingly, "Could you help me?"
Realizing that he could only use one hand, Natalie was about to say, "Okay." But his tone was so flirtatious that Natalie decided not to say it.
"..."
"I'll help you put on your brace."
Natalie looked away from him and picked up the recovery belt that had been thrown at the back of the bed. Luke was quite cooperative, raising his arm and letting her put it on.
"Is this comfortable?" Natalie asked after securing the brace.
Luke said slowly, "Do I look comfortable while wearing this thing?"
Natalie thought, "Well, you can't just take it off! Are you not worried that your bones might not recover?"
Seeing him not following instructions, Natalie wanted to take the plunge and scold him, but finally, she implicitly told herself to be calm and not to try to be a smartass.
"Don't do that next time..." Natalie said in a low and soft voice, "It's not that serious. As long as you rest in bed for a month, you will have no problem with doing normal daily activities. I mean it."
She did mean it.
Luke replied awkwardly, "It won't kill me."
Natalie found that Luke could always end the conversation.
Luke twirled the lid of the cigarette case between his fingers, "You said you studied at Athana? Which school?"
Natalie didn't catch on, "... ...What? Athana Medical College."
He smiled slowly, "Not bad."
Luke looked over, gazed at her, and suddenly asked for no reason, "Where were you when you were a kid?"
Natalie's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she could not speak for a moment.
She lived in Athana for a year when she was a kid, but she was reluctant to recall.
"I forget..."
She said perfunctorily, and Luke didn't care much. He took out a cigarette and bit it between his teeth. His movements were so skillful that it made people have an illusion that he would take out a lighter in the next second and light the cigarette.
"Don't smoke. It's not good for you." Natalie stopped him in time without thinking.
"Don't fight anymore."
"- It hurts."
Luke was suddenly reminded of something by her voice.
For a moment, he came to his senses, smiled nonchalantly, and said, "Can't I have just one cigarette for the last time?"
Natalie said no firmly.
She didn't show a poker face as she was working. She was blinking her clear eyes at the moment, and her face was quite sweet.
Luke played with the cigarette case reluctantly, making Natalie amused.
People only thought he was an untamable villain, and it made him particularly creepy.
It just felt like he was picking knives, and if others did not beg for forgiveness and admit their mistakes, he would stab them to death with a creepy smile...
After refuting him, Natalie had lingering fears. But she was a doctor, and of course, she couldn't watch him ruin his body, at least not during his hospitalization.
"You need to listen to me."
Natalie used the same tricks when she comfort kids subconsciously.
"It feels bad to quit smoking, but it's good for your health. Tens of millions of smokers die every year in the world. Since you have a lung injury now, don't be capricious."
She was good at persuading him, and she had the girlish cuteness.
Luke listened to her quietly, and almost said with a laugh, "How old are you?"
"... Why do you ask that?" Natalie was at a loss.
"Just curious."
Sensing his mockery, Natalie pursed her lips, "Not as old as you are anyway..."
"Did you investigate me?" Luke raised his eyebrows.
Natalie hesitated and mumbled, "It's so... obvious."
Luke became quiet for a while and suddenly sighed, "Actually, I suffer from hereditary progeria. It's a mutation in the Lamin A gene, and I have been receiving treatment abroad for so many years. For many years, I have to go for surgery very often..."
Natalie was in shock.
"I'm just sixteen this year, but I could die at any time."
He showed a serious look without the previous grumpy expression at all. He looked like a noble king who had lost his power and seemed miserable.
Natalie had mixed feelings, "Really? But you look quite normal, and you must have controlled it very well... Don't be discouraged. The future of clinical medicine is promising. They may develop an effective treatment soon."
"I made it up to you."
"What?" Natalie was stunned, wondering if she had heard it wrong.
Luke laughed, "You're too cute to be fooled, aren't you?"
"..."
Natalie didn't get a chance to say anything, and only then did she realize that Luke was deliberately teasing her.
Natalie thought, "How stupid he is! Is he a three-year-old boy? Yeah, maybe he's only three years old!"
Natalie thought, "Is he a three-year-old boy? Yeah, maybe he's only three years old!"
Natalie was embarrassed and her face was flushed with annoyance, but Luke was still looking at her and grinning.
But she didn't dare to argue against him.
Natalie stopped talking to him, reached into the pocket of her blue tweed jacket, searched for a while, and then searched through the small bag before her.
Finally, she found a piece of candy, and she put it on his bedside table.
"You can have a candy when you feel the craving." Natalie felt that she was a good doctor who was rendering good for evil.
Unfortunately, Luke was a heartless badass.
He said, "Oh, I thought you were trying to poison me."
Natalie was speechless.
She was prone to hypoglycemia once she was overworked, so she always kept candy with her and it was the last one. But most of the snacks that could be saved for the end tasted no better than the others, and the one she was holding was not very tasty.
It was a lemon candy.
This acid made the gums tremble. Many people took it as a prank, but Natalie used it to refresh herself.
Natalie was supposed to remind him that it had some tart flavor.
But now, she just wanted to say, "You deserve to be treated like this."
But Natalie didn't notice that Luke glanced at her, and Luke smiled without a trace.
"Why are you still staying here? Someone is waiting for you." He said in a lazy tone.
Natalie was confused, "Who's waiting for me?"
Luke looked over casually, "Didn't your boyfriend come to pick you up?"
Natalie became depressed as soon as he mentioned Forrest.
Natalie wanted Forrest to accompany her to watch the new movie after getting off work, but Forrest was too busy with his business to make time for her.
"I'll go back by myself," Natalie said in a lower voice.
At this moment, Mark came back with Charlie, who went to the villa to fetch Luke's clothes. It turned out that Mark's phone was left in Charlie's car before.
Natalie was about to go home but was called by Mark, and the latter asked where she lived and how she came back?
"Boulder Road, and it's not too far. It is only two stops away." Natalie smiled lightly, and if someone thought about it, they could notice that her politeness was always mixed with a hint of alienation.
Mark, however, was an enthusiastic straight shooter, having no clue about it.
He said with a big smile, "I just need to buy something to drink, and let me give you a ride. It's not safe for a girl to go home by herself so late at night, and I was supposed to be blamed for that."
"We're not on the way..."
Natalie was about to refuse Mark. Luke was leaning against the bed waiting for Charlie to prepare the food and asked carelessly, "Where did you buy the fruit that day?"
Mark was stunned for a moment, and replied after some thoughts, "It seems to be near Boulder Road."
"Go buy it."
"Now? There's still..."
Luke looked at him coldly, "Cut the crap."
Mark immediately pursed his lips and looked at Natalie slowly, "Dr. Moore, we are on the way now."
"..."
Before leaving, Natalie saw that at some point, the candy had replaced the cigarette case in the man's hand, and he was playing with it.
-
Clovervale Residence was close to the downtown of Alcomara. The houses were mainly high-rise buildings, and there were many green plants, making it look like a small forest city.
It was a great choice for girls who lived alone.
An army green Jeep Wrangler parked at the gate of the community.
Natalie unbuckled her seat belt, thanked Mark, and got out of the car.
Not going far, Natalie turned around and found that Mark was still parked in the same place and didn't drive away. After thinking about it, she turned back again.
She knocked on the driver's window.
"Luke, I just sent Dr. Moore home. Would you like something to eat? I'll bring it back."
Mark was talking on the phone inside the car, and when he heard the knocking sound, he rolled down the window naturally.
Seeing that it was Natalie, Mark immediately put the phone he was talking on away.
"Have you lost something, Dr. Moore?" he asked with a bright smile.
Natalie shook her head and thought a while, "No. I just want to say... make sure someone is watching Luke at all times. Don't leave him alone. It would be bad if he got re-traumatized."
"How could I disobey Luke?"
Mark laughed, didn't complain, and was happy about it, "Back in the army, he was the general, and I was the soldier. I will always obey him!"
"..."
Natalie thought, "Well, are you going to be at his beck and call for the rest of your life?"
Natalie thought again, "He broke his hip and still wanted to take a shower by himself, and you guys get used to it. However, if something goes wrong, he will be the one to suffer."
As if he could read her mind, Mark smiled disapprovingly, "Dr. Moore, don't worry, Luke is not that pretentious and he knows what he's doing."
"You guys are too submissive..."
Thinking of Luke, who was a provocative and insensitive man, and what he had done tonight, Natalie was suddenly overwhelmed with long-standing resentment.
After hesitating for a moment, Natalie said firmly, "Don't spoil him."
She felt much better after she vented it out.
Natalie wanted to stress that the more Luke was spoiled, the more lawless he became, and he just needed to be disciplined!
Abruptly, Luke's lethargic voice was heard from the phone, and he chuckled enchantingly. "Spoil me?"