30 Recurring Oversights
--- Oversight: An unintentional failure to notice or do something. ---
Friday started the same way as Thursday: Kenneth going to train, having breakfast together, getting my ankle checked and heading to the campus in a relatively silent car ride.
I was in a bad mood and Kenneth had noticed it, giving me the space I needed so I wouldn't lash out at him. I truly despised myself in the moment. I had thought it through and I had reached the conclusion that it was best to let Gabriella and Kenneth meet. Getting it over with. If anything was going to happen between them, the sooner I was slapped by reality, the better.
Despite of repeating it like a mantra for the past hours, the more I thought about it, the least I liked the idea and the angrier I got with my stupid self.
I groaned loudly and I felt Kenneth glancing through the corner of his eye at me, quirking his lips in a tiny side smile.
"Everything alright?" His amused tone made me crouch on the seat, crossing my arms over my chest.
I turned to look at him, mumbling a 'Yes' and narrowed my eyes into what I intended to be a deadly glare. His brow tilted upwards and I could hear a breathy laughter, his smile not faltering. How rude did I have to be with the guy for him to get angry? He had a saint's patience and that was ticking me off even further. Why couldn't he be more of a jerk?
I inhaled deeply and concentrated on the road, not wanting to let my demons out.
Soon, we were parking on the campus and I found myself waiting for him to open my door, as he had told me to do. I stepped out and he closed the door, locking the car and following me inside the building.
When we were approaching the laboratory, I heard him clearing his throat, calling for my attention. I tilted my head to face him and found him combing his fingers through his ash blonde hair, getting a picture perfect result. I averted my eyes for a moment, realizing we would arrive soon to the door and he was looking even better than when we left the apartment. Damn.
"From what I checked this morning, your ankle looks much better." I nodded slowly, encouraging him to continue. "So, I was thinking, maybe, you might want to join me in the trainings."
I felt myself jumping, ready to lunge at him with open arms, but I corrected myself in the last moment and ended up clenching my hands into fists and doing a victory pose. I felt heat rising up my cheeks at the ridiculous stance, returning to a normal position as fast as I could but it was too late. He had obviously seen it.
"I understand that is a yes?" His muffled chuckles made me wish for the earth to open right there and then and swallow me whole.
I nodded my head a couple of times before letting it hang low, using my hair as a protective curtain to avoid him noticing how my blush was turning a very deep crimson color.
I decided to ignore my lame behavior and resumed our walking, reaching the laboratory and knocking on the door. My goal had just changed and now I was determined to create a drug that would erase his memories.
The heat in my face hadn't faded away yet when the door flung open and a very beautiful and fresh looking Gabriella appeared in front of us. I gasped, suddenly reminded about my former and more pressing problem, who was now giving us the brightest of smiles.
"Well, good morning Rie." She gave me a quick hug, where I had barely time to answer her greeting, and then offered her hand to Kenneth. "We didn't get to meet yesterday, I am Gabriella. Nice to meet you."
I turned to see Kenneth mirroring her dashing smile and taking her hand in his. My heart squeezed all the way through their hand shake and my brain started to buzz while I watched them exchange some words. I was glad none of them was looking at me in the moment because I could feel my forced smile faltering the longer I saw them interacting.
I closed my eyes and mended back my smile when I saw Gabriella turning back to me, dragging me into the conversation. The buzzing started to decrease, allowing me to register what Kenneth was saying.
"Is Professor Kalita in there?"
"I'm afraid not and I can't say he will come soon." Gabriella stepped next to me and placed her arm over my shoulder, pulling me towards her . "Well, thanks for bringing Rie, I was feeling a little lonely with no one around and I cannot trust the other two to be in time." I felt the temperature in my cheeks rising a couple of degrees again at her closeness. I seriously needed to get used to physical contact with that girl around. "See you later Kenneth."
Gabriella waved at him and stepped back, towing me with her inside the lab. I muttered a 'see you later' and was about to turn around when he grabbed my wrist and stopped me in place. I ignored my heart skipping a beat and gave him a questioning look. He took his sweet couple of seconds before he parted his enticing lips, his eyes darting to Gabriella before placing them on mine.
"Say hi to Professor Kalita for me." I nodded once again and tugged my hand, trying to free myself from his grip, that had altered the speed of my beating heart. "I'll meet you here later."
After saying that, he gave a small nod to both of us and turned around, heading to the exit. I felt Gabriella pulling again and I followed her inside, making a bit of small talk about the extremely flexible sense of punctuality Professor Kalita and Louis had.
When I reached my desk, I sat down and waited for my computer to turn on. I couldn't help going over Kenneth's last words, not really getting if there was a hidden message. Was he talking to me or was he indirectly telling her that he would be back in the afternoon? Like, another chance to meet and talk for a bit with her?
I was staring blankly at my desktop, not having reached a conclusion yet, when Professor Kalita entered the room and padded towards me with a smile in his face.
"Good morning Riley." He placed a hand on my desk and leaned on it, having a quick look at my still pristine work space.
"Good morning Professor Shanto." I responded with another smile and then he lifted his free hand in front of me, something encased in it. I tilted my head and, encouraged by his pointy look, I lifted my hand, placing it under his.
"From next week on you will be able to come and go as you please." While he said that, he opened his fingers and let a couple of keys fall onto my hand. I grinned happily at him and he winked back, pushing himself off the desk and heading to his own office. "Do not forget to hand out the rest of the documents today if you want your student card ready for next week!"
"Yes, thank you!" I watched him disappear behind a door and then looked down to the keys he had left on my hand.
Two keys. One was a copy to the laboratory and the other to the experiment room I would be using. I felt a gush of fulfillment washing over me. I was closer than ever to finishing my research and these keys were the first step of the final stretch in my road to healing myself.
Sure, I needed first the student card to enter the building whenever it was a holiday or a weekend, but the keys were the real deal. I squeezed them between my hands, feeling the pain of the metal pocking into my skin and I didn't mind it a bit. I was too happy grasping the beginning of the end.
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"Let's get down to business, ladies... Anyone up for some welcome drinks this evening?" Louis had stuck to his word and had joined us for lunch.
He barely made it, but this time he came with an empty stomach, resulting in the funny image of our table: a chicken sandwich, a couscous salad and a couple of soft drinks were fighting for space in a table invaded by a full course French breakfast.
"Nice one Lou!" Gabriella clapped her hands and looked at me with expectant eyes. "What do you think Rie? It is kind of a tradition to go for drinks once or twice a month, you know, to unwind."
I munched my sandwich and alternated my glance between my two co-workers. They really looked like they wanted me to join.
It's not like I had never tried alcohol, but I always tended to pass on it when it meant being with other people. Surrounded by werewolves that needed to drink gallons of alcohol to get drunk, it was always suspicious for me to get tipsy on my second beer, so I was used to simply say I didn't like it.
Instead, I had enjoyed experimenting with different cocktails and combinations, and got drunk my share of times, in the privacy of our home, with Max. It was part of our chilling out moments, though we never convinced Josh to join us.
I sighed and put down the sandwich, giving them both a half smile. I really needed to loosen up, plus, getting tipsy fast was nothing weird among humans.
"Sure, why not?"
Gabriella squealed and jumped over me, crushing me in a bear hug, before going back to her sit, taking a spoonful of her salad and eating eat like it was the most delicious food she had ever tasted. She hadn't swallowed yet when she pointed at Louis with the spoon.
"First round is on you, sir!"
I chuckled when I saw Louis eyebrows jump to the middle of his forehead and roll his eyes a bit, placing them on me.
"I hoped she didn't remember, but this memory monster... Ouch!" Before I could even blink, Gabriella had stood up and hit the back of his head, sitting back down and pointing again menacingly with the spoon at him.
"Watch your mouth and pay. It's your turn."
He grumbled something close to 'okay, okay' and reached for some butter, busying himself with the preparation of another mouthwatering croissant while Gabriella went on about the bar we were going to go to.
I took my sandwich and continued eating, observing their interaction and enjoying the feeling of being normal for once in my life.
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It was four thirty-five when I realized I hadn't gone to the office to give out the rest of my paperwork. After lunch I had immersed myself in the preparation of cells to grow for the first pre-clinical drug trial and time had slipped through my fingers. I left my computer on, careful to save and close the models I had developed and grabbed the documents, rushing out of the lab with a quick 'I'm back in ten' before closing the door behind me.
I hurried to the office and I had to hold back a groan when I saw the queue of people ahead of me. I rolled my eyes and reached for my cellphone, noticing that I had left it on the desk. Fifty points to Riley.
I checked the clock on the wall, seeing I had still twenty minutes before they closed, and counted the number of people ahead of me. Two, four... seven. I might be able to make it.
Luckily, the queue moved faster than expected and in ten minutes I was already walking back to the laboratory, a grin plastered on my face while I thought of the night's plan. I was about to turn the last corner when I heard a familiar voice.
"Where is Riley?" It was Kenneth and he sounded pretty miffed.
Another fifty points for me.
I hurried towards him when I saw Louis popping behind Gabriella and arching an eyebrow at Kenneth, crossing his arms on his chest and looking more serious than I thought he ever could. Kenneth reacted immediately, stretching his back and puffing his chest, showing he was fitter than Louis and perfectly capable of taking him down, even if he happened to be a bit taller.
"And who are you?" Louis voice sounded challenging, not wanting to back down.
"That should be my line..." I could see Kenneth's triceps tensing and I dashed the last meters, surprised on how he hadn't caught on my presence yet. He was too focused on the guy in front of him.
"I'm here!" I grabbed his shoulder and yanked on him a couple of times until he finally turned to me, ripping his glare off Louis unwillingly and placing it on me. His eyes had turned a darker shade of brown and his mouth was twitching, ready to snap. "I went to the office to hand out some documents and it ended up taking a bit of time, sorry."
"You should have waited for me. I told you not to go around alone..." His eyes kept getting darker and I could see his wolf was not happy. I gulped nervously and willed myself to keep my eyes on his.
"I know, but they closed at five and I needed to do it today. If not, I wouldn't get the student card until much later." I squeezed his shoulder lightly, trying to send a quiet apology.
He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and took a deep breath, opening them to show me his beautiful brown irises back to normal. I offered him a tiny smile, but he looked at me sternly and tipped with his head to the laboratory.
"Let's go."
I loosened my grip on his shoulder and let my hand fall to my side. I knew it was my fault, but he was overreacting. I glided past him and stopped on my tracks when I faced Louis and Gabriella, still puzzled by what they had just witnessed. I mouthed a 'sorry' and took a deep breath of air, turning to Kenneth, who was watching me intently.
"Kenneth, this is Louis Whiteman, my other co-worker." I looked at Louis and gave him a half smile. "Louis, this is Kenneth Miller, my childhood friend."
"Don't you mean your watch-dog?" Louis mocking tone and words didn't sink well with Kenneth and I could hear a very low growl coming from him.
My blood froze, suddenly afraid of everything crushing down because of my carelessness. My eyes darted to Kenneth, whose eyes were now pitch dark, and pleaded mentally for him to calm down.
"She means her flat-mate." He spitted the words, stepping closer to me. I felt another distressing shiver run though my spine when I felt the angry waves he was letting out and I realized he was barely holding back.
The air got thicker with tension and I jumped in between them, trying to break the uncomfortable spell. Gabriella looked at me with worried eyes and I gave her a nervous smile.
"Yes, we share an apartment and he is being nice enough to drive me around, so I shouldn't make him wait anymore." I pushed Louis and Gabriella inside and rushed to my desk, turning the computer off and picking my stuff as fast as I could.
I gave Gabriella a quick hug and headed to the door, where Kenneth was waiting. When I was about to arrive, Louis approached me and grabbed my wrist, stopping me on my tracks.
"Should I go and pick you up later? That way we don't have to bother him?"
Oh, damn me. I also forgot to tell Kenneth about tonight's plan and this was definitely not the best way to let him know. My throat went dry and I swallowed a couple of times before I turned to Kenneth and saw his very dark eyes fixed on me.
"She might have forgotten, but we had other plans for tonight." Kenneth's voice was calm and collected, but I could feel a chill go down my whole body when his eyes narrowed a bit.
I took back what I thought in the morning. Angry Kenneth was definitely not something I wanted to see nor face.
"It's true, I completely forgot." I forced a laughter and pulled my hand out of Louis' grip slowly, giving him a natural smile. "Rain check?"
Louis hesitated for a second, darting his gaze between Kenneth, who had now his arms crossed on top of his chest, and me. I nodded a couple of times, trying to ease the mood and he let out a big breath, raking a hand through his short hair.
"Sure." He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a hug, whispering into my ear. "If you need anything, and I mean, anything, call me."
I nodded slightly and felt him squeezing a little harder before letting me go. A lump had appeared in my throat and I felt my eyes watering a bit, so I limited myself to a short smile and turned to Kenneth, who was still shooting steam from his ears.
I walked out and closed the door behind me, letting Kenneth lead the way to the car while I thought about what I was feeling.
I had just met these people for two days and I they had already adopted me like one of their own. The idea of having them worry about me because I kept them in the dark hurt deeply.
I looked outside the window while Kenneth started the car and got the car out of the campus.
I couldn't tell them it was my fault that Kenneth was so angry. I couldn't tell them he was my bodyguard and I wasn't supposed to be alone at any time. I couldn't tell them that, if anything happened to me, Kenneth was supposed to be there to protect me and, instead of helping him, I was making his job more difficult.
"I'm sorry Kenneth." The words spilled from my mouth and broke the silence that had reigned inside the car. "I should have contacted you. I am not used to this situation yet and I promise I will try not to repeat it."
There was a couple of seconds of silence before he glanced quickly at me and pressed harder on the gas, gripping the steering wheel harder.
"What about getting out of the campus for lunch with two mere humans? Will you contact me about that too?"
My jaw fell open and I felt another bucket of cold water splashed over me. How many times could I screw up in one single day?
"Yes, sorry." I let my head hang low, feeling like a failure and dwelling on my lack of self-awareness while the silence surrounded us once again.
Soon, the car came to a stop and I felt Kenneth's hand on top of mine, pressing it lightly. I looked up to meet his chocolate eyes, reflecting concern and a bit of what I thought was guilt.
"I need to know where you are all the time, understood?" I nodded and he gave me a small side smile. "Even when you go to the toilet."
"Serious...?!" I frowned and he burst into laughter releasing my hand and grabbing his stomach. "You... jerk!"
I growled and hit him in the arm hard enough for him to have felt something, but he kept laughing, so I hit him again. And again. And again, releasing with every strike part of the tension I had piled up.
At some point, I was laughing with him, barely pressing my fists against his arm and enjoying the familiar feeling of being close to him. When I was about to give him my last hit, he grabbed both of my wrists and we stayed in place, calming our agitated breaths.
"I'm sorry for flying off the handle like that." His eyes were locked with mine and I felt electricity running through my body, pulling me to him.
When he was this close, it was difficult to control my impulses, so I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to snap out of it.
"No problem." I opened my eyes to meet his perfectly shaped lips. They were parted, showing me a glimpse of his white teeth. I averted my gaze to my bag and curved my lips into a convincing smile. "It's not like I made your work easy today."
"We'll both get better at this." He let go off my hands and I turned back to him to find his dimples in full display. "Let's get home already."
A/N
This is the longest chapter I have written, I think. I hope it compensated having taken a little longer to update! Most of all, I hope you like it! If so, hit the star and leave some comments to see your impressions! I love to read them! ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
Be careful and stay strong!
Love, Koe
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