Episode 5: Karma

Episode 5: Karma

Something was wrong.

Leslie knew that much when Christopher messaged her and said not to come over today.

She checked the calendar and frowned when it confirmed that it was indeed a Thursday—a day set for meeting him.

Curiosity has always played an integral role in her life. It was basically engraved into her personality, more than the usual individual's. Sometimes it could be a bad thing, especially when it came to overstepping the boundaries of someone's comfort. But as she stood at the writer's front door and he pulled it open to reveal a pale faced version of himself, it occurred to her that it could also be a good thing.

"I thought I already told you that we're taking a break today." Between his bland explanation there were fits of coughs and the woman invited herself inside.

He sighed, it sounded heavier than usual, before he closed the door behind him.

Scanning him from head to toe, he was a mess; beneath his tired eyes were bags and beyond it an exhausted expression which told plenty of his physical state. He coughed roughly again and with the sniffles which followed her suspicions were confirmed.

"Are you sick?"

The woman eyed him nervously and he couldn't help but roll his eyes at her dramatic expression.

"If it makes you happy to hear it out loud, yes, I'm sick, Miss Quinn. It seems your mouth has cursed me in more ways than one."

She frowned at him limping towards the couch and taking a seat there. He grabbed for the laptop before him and proceeded to type. It was only a minute in that he felt the unsettling pressure of someone staring at him. When he looked up, he saw his editor glaring in a manner which made him perplexed. "Have I done something to offend you?"

"Did you take anything for your cold?

"I don't believe in the pharmaceutical industry."

She scoffed. "And what do you believe in, Mr. Wells?"

"Consistency," he said without second guessing. "And knowing how rarely I ever catch a cold as well as the nature of it, I know that my body will clear it within two day's time."

"It's nice to have a good immune system but sometimes it needs the extra push in order to resolve the symptoms. With you still working in the midst of it fighting, how do you expect yourself to get better that quickly? Especially without any pills?"

"Is this you worrying about me, Miss Quinn?" He asked, looking up from beneath a pair of dark rimmed glasses.

She flushed at how good he looked in them combined with the deep gaze of his blue eyes.

"I'm not worried. Just annoyed by your attitude."

"You're not the first to feel that way. Get in line." He casually replied before going back to typing.

"You said I cursed you before, well I'm cursing you now. I hope you feel so sick that you'll have to end up in the hospital. A little time there will teach you a good lesson."

"That's a bit harsh of you." He regarded the screen with darkened eyes, still typing.

She hadn't meant a word of it but if the thought of it had the ability to scare him by some extent then it was worthwhile.

"I bet your body is saying the same thing right now yet you're ignoring it."

He let out a frustrated sound, snapping his head up.

"Are you always this intolerable?"

"Intolerable? I'm intolerable?" She sputtered.

He nodded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Leslie threw her hair over her shoulders and regarded him strongly. "If I'm so intolerable then I'll see myself to the door. I can't believe I even had the thought of checking up on you. You're so high maintenance, no wonder you have no one to come look after you even in this state."

The skin of his forehead drew together unpleasantly at the end of her speech.

"Repeat that if you dare."

Her eyes widened before she nervously looked towards the exit.

"I won't."

And after childishly sticking her tongue out at him, she made a run for the door.

His heavy sigh was heard as it was slammed shut behind her. As she made her way downstairs, almost every curse word in existence flew from her mouth. She couldn't understand how somebody like him was the way they were. He was practically a robot with no feelings. It was like every reaction he had was programmed. If it wasn't for how full of spirit he always was when having a verbal showdown with her she would have thought that was indeed the case.

Reaching for her phone, she was ready to dial a taxi but then it just so happened her bag was nowhere to be found.

She had placed it down when she entered his apartment out of habit.

Oh great, another showcase of my careless personality for him to make fun of.

The brunette made her way back up to the top floor via elevator. It surprised her that the door wasn't locked per usual. Maybe he had been too lazy to do so after she left but that was hard to believe with how meticulous he was about everything. Delaying his own household protection seemed unbelievable for her and she was right.

Right by the laptop on the floor, Christopher was passed out helplessly.

"Oh my god!" She cried before running over to his aid.

Her hand lifted his head and placed it into her lap. When she looked into his pale face, his eyes were barely open and his body was definitely immobilized. At this worrisome appearance, she eased him into a sitting position against the couch and went to grab her phone.

"Hello? Is this the hospital?"

"Yes, ma'am. What can we do for you today?"

"I would like an ambulance at—"

"No,"

Her eyes went to the source of the feeble protest. It was Christopher who had now turned his head weakly and stared at her miserably. "No hospital."

What? No hospital?

His entire being was pleading at her as she stared at him like he had grown two heads.

She sighed, noticing the severity of it before she spoke to the lady on the other line.

"I'll call you back if I need anything."

Then she hung up.

In a crouch, she shook her head at him with a tsk. "I told you this would happen."

"I knew you were the I told you so type." He smiled wryly, accepting her aid in placing him back on the couch.

She grunted after finally accomplishing the task, looking at him with a hand pressing into her side. "I didn't know you had time to be thinking of something other than your books. It makes me feel ambivalent hearing you say that; should I be flattered or seriously concerned?"

"Concerned," he sighed softly. "You should be seriously concerned."

She hummed before looking around.

"Do you have a medicinal cabinet or first aid kit?"

"I'm still not taking the pills, Miss Quinn."

Her eyes narrowed at him highly disturbed.

"Are you kidding me. You literally just collapsed and you're still being stubborn about—"

"Leslie," she flushed at the use of her first name. He looked at her with tired yet captivating eyes. "I'm not taking the pills."

She swallowed.

Cold sweat had already begun to form on the surface of her skin since the moment she walked in on him, but it had increased now as she was faced with a patient who was unwilling to be treated.

"Do you have any family members that I could call? Your mother maybe?"

"No, I don't." He rejected the idea icily.

She almost shivered at the coldness in his tone.

Okay...

He leaned away from her as she came closer to him, apparently disquieted by her invasion of his personal space.

"I have to touch you in order to bring you to your bed."

He eyed her unnervingly.

"Why would you want to do that?"

She sighed. "Is it really necessary for me to explain my every intention when it involves your well-being? I'm trying to get you in bed so I can at least attempt to lower your fever."

"I thought you said you're not good with fragile people."

"I'm not," she nodded. "But you don't count as a person in my mind."

And without giving him the chance to press her into explaining, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him up. It wasn't a difficult thing with how much effort he was putting in not resting the entirety of his weight on her despite being physically weakened.

"You can lean on me comfortably. I'm not gonna bite you." She reprimanded with a light scold.

He said nothing.

After finally getting him into bed, she went to the bathroom. It took everything in her not to gawk at how nice it was compared to her own before finding a small basin to fill cold water in. She searched the area and was lucky when she found the first aid kit with a thermometer.

Hovering by his bed, her hands placed the object in his ear to record his temperature after placing the cold water to the side. It registered thirty-eight degrees Celsius. That was just hitting the mark close so it wouldn't be too much to get down within a few hours. Or at least she hoped so.

"Do you mind taking ibuprofen? I saw some in the cabinet by chance." She asked as she wrung out the cold rag and placed it against his perspiring forehead.

He sighed, eyes closing without a response.

I guess that's a no then, she jutted out her lips in annoyance.

Why didn't she let him suffer from the consequences of his own actions? Why was she wasting her time and energy on a stubborn man like him? It wasn't like he was going to appreciate anything she did anyway?

The silence went on like that for almost forty minutes as she wiped him down with cold water.

At some point in time, she had thought he had fallen asleep and her hands slowly came to a stop right above his eyes.

His face was just perfect.

With adoring eyes, her gaze made its way down to his mouth. And even though his lips had gotten paler than its usual pink colour, they still looked just as kissable.

And so she did the unthinkable.

With her body leaning in towards his sleeping form, Leslie succumbed to temptation and pressed her lips against his.

So lightly that it could have almost been a figment of her imagination.

And then it was over.

She pulled back, fingers tracing the spot as weird tingles travelled through her body.

When she looked back down, still touching her lips, Christopher's glorious eyes were burning into hers.

His eyes were blank, curiously impassive, as he stared at her.

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she realized that he had probably felt it.

But there was no way she was going to admit to that.

"Y-You're awake?"

If he could see the nervousness in her smile, he ignored it.

His eyes lowered as the glass of water stared at him from the bedside table. She noticed and reached for it, handing it to him. He took a sip and laid back onto his pillow.

Then with heavy eyes, he regarded her grimly. "Aren't you going to leave?"

She frowned.

"And leave you alone like this?"

"I'm used to being alone."

Her lips pursed. "That's very sad."

"And that's subjective to you. I quite like being alone."

"The fact that you think like that makes it sadder. Though I find it hard to believe with the kind of stories that you write."

He made a derisive noise on the verge of a scoff.

"I know it may come as a shock to you but I don't project my inner desires into my writing."

"Is that right?"

"That's right."

"So you're saying nothing from your books has stemmed from your fantasies?"

"No, I already said that," he snapped. "Why do I have to keep repeating myself when I'm around you?"

She let out a dry laugh. "It's funny. I always thought you wrote about what you secretly crave to do with your significant other."

"I don't have a significant other."

So he really is single, she mentally rejoiced.

Maybe she should've confirmed that before kissing him, but oh well.

She had a good hunch with his personality and the rumors she'd heard about him.

"So you don't have anything you'd secretly like to do?"

His eyes told how much he wanted to put a duct tape over her mouth.

"I have many things that I would like to see you write about," she spoke up bravely. "Especially some that involve sweet desserts. For example: cream, honey or chocolate."

"I've fulfilled the chocolate one already."

"Oh, I've realized. It's in your current drafts." She nodded. "Since you've heard about mine can I ask what your fantasies are then?"

He gave her a look upon realizing what she was trying to do.

A card for a card.

A trade for a trade.

In other words, a dark secret for another in return.

"We would have to have a much deeper connection in order for me to reveal that to you." He replied low and deep.

She cocked her head at him.

"More than that of the one we do now as mere colleagues." He expounded on it.

"Lovers?"

"Not necessarily."

"How about friends?"

"I don't befriend just anyone."

"Well, for the sake of the moment let's just say you do." She compromised and he couldn't help the twitch of his lips.

"I've never met anyone like you."

The woman didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult but she decided to look at it positively.

"Well, I guess you've been blessed."

He regarded her in a timely manner. "Okay, since you've revealed something personal about you, I'll yield to you just this once."

She scooted closer to him eagerly.

"Spill."

"I was being honest when I said I didn't write about my fantasies,"

Her eyes zoned in on him critically.

"But I do write about my readers'."

She felt something inside of her tighten at the look in his eyes.

"Everything I assume a woman will look upon favorably, whether it being said to her on the streets or done to her in the sheets, I put it all on paper."

"Wait." Her hand came up to stop him for a minute.

"You bring out your readers' fantasies and not your own? How ironically selfless." She couldn't help but laugh at the reality of it.

He gave her a tired smile, but one nonetheless.

"Could you answer another one of my questions?"

"You get an inch and now you're aiming for a mile." He stated rather than asked.

"We are friends."

He sighed exasperatedly.

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you want to go to the hospital? You said before that you have a stigma against small spaces but a hospital is huge. It doesn't make sense to me."

"Nothing good ever happens there."

"That's not true."

"In my case it is."

Her mouth dropped open at that.

He shifted uncomfortably before going to close his eyes. "I'm going to rest now. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't try anything ridiculous while I'm doing so this time around."

Her eyes tore open in disbelief at that.

So he really had been awake.