I Walked Away Seven Years Too Late But Right on Time novel Chapter 55

A nurse walked in holding an IV bag, preparing to hook up Luke's medication.

She checked off the daily dosage on the chart hanging at the foot of the bed, then stood up and cast a long look at Sophie.

From the moment she walked in to the time she finished setting up the IV, the patient's eyes hadn't left the woman standing by the window once, yet the woman stubbornly refused to turn around.

The heating in the room was blasting, but the woman was still bundled in her heavy winter coat, clutching her purse like she was ready to sprint for the exit at a moment's notice.

The patient's bedside table was completely barren. There wasn't even a glass of water.

The nurse frowned disapprovingly and turned to Sophie. "You're family, right? He's completely exhausted from long-term sleep deprivation and poor eating habits. His body is incredibly weak right now. He needs rest and nutrition. You really should go buy him some fruit and make sure he drinks plenty of water."

Since there was no one else in the room, Sophie assumed the lecture was meant for her. She finally turned around, met the nurse's judging stare, and quickly set the record straight.

"He's a client from my company."

The nurse gave her another sideways glance before shifting her gaze down to Luke. "It's your own body, young man. You need to learn how to take care of yourself."

Luke managed to force a faint, polite smile and thanked her. Then, his eyes locked onto Sophie again.

Sophie decisively turned her back on him, staring out at the bare, leafless branches outside the window. She checked the time on her phone repeatedly; time inside this room seemed to drag on so slowly it was suffocating.

She felt like she had been standing there for an eternity, yet the clock insisted only fifteen minutes had passed.

Eileen and Gavin were nowhere to be found, and the heavy weight of Luke's stare was prickling against her spine like needles.

Desperate for an escape, Sophie went down to the hospital convenience store and bought a water thermos and a fruit basket. She practically crawled back to the room, doing everything in her power to kill time.

"I thought you weren't coming back."

The second she walked through the door, his eyes glued themselves back onto her.

Sophie cursed her own soft heart. Showing mercy to an enemy was nothing but cruelty to herself.

She rationalized it in her head: *He's sick. I'm not going to stoop to his level. I'm just doing this out of basic human decency.*

She filled the thermos with hot water and placed it on the bedside table within his reach. After a moment's hesitation, she even cranked the bed up so he was sitting at a more comfortable angle.

"I want an orange."

Give him an inch, and he takes a mile. Sophie glanced at the fruit basket and replied in an icy tone, "There's no knife. Eat a banana."

She roughly tore off the plastic wrap from the basket and tossed a banana onto his lap.

"You know I hate bananas." Luke lifted the hand that had the IV needle taped to it, his voice dropping into a nostalgic murmur. "You never used a knife to peel oranges before."

Sophie didn't answer. She walked right back to the window, staring out at the sky.

He was right. She never used a knife. She used to love rolling the orange against the coffee table with her palm until the rind was perfectly soft, then tearing it open with her bare hands, pulling it apart flawlessly without losing a single drop of juice.

Then she would pull the segments apart, feeding one to him and eating the next herself. She would proudly shove her fingers under his nose, demanding he smell how wonderfully citrusy they were.

And Luke would take her fingers into his mouth, sucking gently, occasionally giving them a teasing bite.

The onslaught of those past memories hit her like a physical blow. Sophie's eyes burned fiercely, as if the fresh, acidic juice of an orange had sprayed directly into them.

"Enough," Sophie snapped, cutting him off.

However sweet those moments had been back then, that was exactly how agonizing they were now.

A heavy silence descended before Luke finally spoke again. "Sophie, I was originally planning to spend Christmas with you. I thought you would be happy."

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