Chapter 4
Tyler sat down beside the bed, looking gentle. "Are you feeling better? Would you like to eat an apple?”
Naomi shook her head while lying in bed. "I feel terrible. I don't have any appetite." Then, she called out eagerly to the person at the door. "Come in, Olivia."
Olivia watched everything happening in the room as she entered slowly. It felt quiet and strange inside. Her palms wouldn't stop sweating, while Tyler seemed much more at ease. He tucked Naomi in.
Naomi asked, “What would you like to eat, Olivia?”
Glancing at Naomi and seeing her seeming normal, Olivia realized she was the only one feeling strange. She made an effort to chase away the odd feeling and answered as naturally as possible. "Anything."
Naomi smiled upon hearing that and said to Tyler in a coquettish tone, "Go wash the grapes, Tyler. Olivia loves them."
He replied, "Sure." He didn't want to interrupt the sisters and removed his hand from Naomi's to head to the ward's pantry.
Even after he left, Olivia continued standing there. Naomi waved at her eagerly again. "Come here, Olivia. Sit here."
They weren't close. Even though they lived in the same house, they hardly spoke to each other. It felt strange to Olivia, but she was a good girl. She walked over after Naomi called out to her and cautiously sat beside the bed.
Naomi inquired, “How’s school?”
Olivia clenched her hands when she heard that and teared up. "Not bad." She looked down, appearing reluctant to engage in conversation with her sister. They fell into silence for a while.
Fortunately, the nurse arrived at that moment. Naomi told her, "Get Olivia a glass of milk."
“Sure, Ms. Naomi.” The nurse then went to the fridge to fetch the milk.
In reality, Olivia was cautious as she sat there, keeping her head down the whole time.
When the nurse handed her the glass of milk, her head remained low. Unfortunately, she was careless and failed to hold it properly, causing the entire glass of milk to spill on her.
She jumped in response to the cold milk, and Naomi was also startled, looking at the nurse.
The nurse quickly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Ms. Olivia. I didn't hold it properly."
Olivia waved her hand and said, "It's my fault for not grabbing it properly. I'll clean it up."
She rushed to the pantry before Naomi could say anything. However, when she got there, she suddenly remembered that Tyler was washing grapes.
She froze as she looked at him.
Tyler had unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up, exposing his muscular forearm beneath the black shirt. He was bent over, carefully washing the grapes.
Water flowed through his fingers, and his slender fingers brushed over the clear grapes, with water droplets dripping from them. It was strange that what came to Olivia's mind was him holding her hand with his grape-washing fingers while panting.
Her heart seemed to rumble, and she felt panicked, struggling to breathe.
Tyler noticed her at the door and raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"
She pinched the wet part of her denim pants and replied very softly, "I spilled milk on myself."
Seeing her wet pants, he picked up the grapes and moved aside to make space for her. "Come clean yourself."
Olivia went inside upon hearing his words. Perhaps her mind was in chaos because she didn't notice a grape that had fallen on the ground. She accidentally stepped on it, causing it to burst beneath her shoe.
The purple juice stained her white shoe, and she couldn't help but lose her balance and fall forward, screaming.
Tyler, who had just turned around, reacted quickly. He set the plate down casually and grabbed her waist, pulling her into his embrace.
Olivia's face smashed against his chest, and she grabbed his shirt, wrinkling a large portion of it. She could smell his familiar sandalwood scent.
They were both breathing heavily, panting.
The freshly washed grapes bounced off the plate, scattering all over the floor. They were dirty once again.