Chapter 6

"Hey, Avery. Are you feeling better?" Summer asked as soon as the call connected.

Avery nodded. "Yeah, I'm much better."

"Are you still burning up? Did you have anything for lunch? Are you hungry? Should I order you some takeout? Or is there anything you want to eat? I can bring it over for you."

Avery was taken aback by Summer's sudden concern. After all, they really didn't know each other that well. This bout of concern was too sudden and too much to handle.

Still, Summer was only being kind. Avery didn't want to be rude, so she answered each question. "No, I'm not having a fever anymore. I already had lunch, so I'm not hungry. I can order myself something if I do get hungry, though. Thanks for your concern, Summer."

"Oh…" Summer trailed off. Then, she asked, "Uh… is Mr. Lavigne still there with you?"

"No, he's gone."

"Did he head there just to see you?"

"No." Avery didn't mention anything about Laura being in the hospital. She was afraid she'd say the wrong thing, which could affect her job. Eason was her boss, after all.

This confused Summer. "Why was he at the hospital, then?"

"I think… he came to visit a friend," Avery mumbled.

"Has his friend been admitted to the hospital?" Summer's questions didn't stop coming.

Avery pursed her lips. "I'm not too sure."

"Oh." Summer couldn't hide her disappointment. Still, she continued, "I'm free tonight. Is there anything you want to eat? I can bring it to the hospital for you."

"No, that's fine. I'm not spending the night here." Avery let her down gently. She was finding it hard to handle Summer's enthusiasm.

"Well, alright then. Get some rest, okay? Don't worry about work. I'll deal with it for you."

"Okay. Thanks, Summer."

"You're welcome. We're colleagues, anyway. I'll leave you to rest now."

"Alright."

Summer leaned back in her seat after hanging up. She frowned thoughtfully.

Violet rolled over to her in her chair. "When did you and that intern become so close? You even offered to take dinner for her."

Summer waved a hand. "I just think she's pitiful."

"What's there to pity?" Violet disagreed.

"I've seen too many greenhorns like her. They use their youth as an excuse to explain everything they do; they pretend to be weak and fragile at work so others will pity them and help them with work. You guys might fall for it, but I won't."

Summer smiled without saying anything. In her heart, she weighed the pros and cons of heading to the hospital that night.

…

It was past 5:00 pm when Avery was done with her IV drip. She'd initially wanted to head back to the dorm but felt bad leaving Laura alone. So, she decided to stick around and accompany her until Eason got back.

The door opened. Jessica came in with a lunch box.

"Jess? What are you doing here?" Avery got up to welcome her.

Jessica put her umbrella in the corner and smiled. "I brought you dinner. You must be hungry."

She opened the lunch box to reveal all of Avery's favorite foods.

"I could've gotten my own food, Jess." Jessica's apartment wasn't close to the hospital; Avery didn't want to see Jessica bustling around for her sake.

More importantly, she was worried that Eugene would get mad at Jessica and that they'd argue again.

Jessica knew what Avery was thinking. She patted Avery's hand. "Eugene has something on tonight, and I can't set up my stall since it's raining. I would have just been sitting around at home, so I'd rather be here with you."

Avery nodded. "Okay, then."

She grabbed a few tissues to wipe the rainwater from Jessica's shoulders.

"Oh, this is so nice." Laura dried her tears; she'd teared up at the sight of Jessica and Avery being so nice to each other.

"I used to have a sister, too, but she died young. You two remind me of how we used to be in the past. I'm sure she'd be here with me if she were still alive."

Jessica and Avery felt bad at her words. Jessica said, "Some people may no longer be with us, but they'll still be watching us from above. Don't be too sad, okay? I'm sure your sister would be upset if she were to see you like this."

"Yes, yes, you're right." Laura smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry you two had to catch me like this."

"It's fine. No matter how old we get, we'll always have people we care about. While it's fine to miss the people who are no longer with us, it's more important that we appreciate the people we have now," Jessica said.

Laura nodded. "You're right."

Jessica pulled out some of the food she'd brought. "You must be hungry. Do you want to try some of my cooking?"

Laura's eyes lit up. "Sure! I happen to be hungry, anyway."

The three of them settled down around Laura's bed and dug in.

…

Summer was still at work at Lavigne Tower. After saving her work, she looked up to see Eason walking out of his office, checking his watch as he strode off.

He seemed to be in quite a hurry. She immediately shut down her computer and ran after him.

It was pouring outside. When Summer arrived at the building's entrance, she saw Eason waiting for his car. She approached him and asked, "Did you just get off work, Mr. Lavigne?"

Eason glanced at her. "Yeah."

She stared at the rain with an anxious look on her face. "Oh, no. I forgot to take dinner for Avery because I was working late."

Eason glanced at her again. "What did you say?"

"I promised Avery I'd visit her tonight and take her dinner while I was at it, but I forgot all about it because I was busy with work." She clutched her phone. "It won't be easy to hail a cab in this weather."

"You're heading to the hospital?"

"Yeah."

Eason's driver had already pulled over before them. Eason said, "Get in, then. I'm headed there, too."

Summer didn't hesitate. She quickly got into the car.

…

Eason pushed the hospital room's door open, only to be greeted by silence. The warm lights were on, and Laura was in bed. Meanwhile, Avery rested her head on her arms beside Laura. They were both asleep.

The TV was on, but the volume had been turned down. The sound of the pattering rain mingled with it to form a soothing lullaby.

"Avery—" Summer had just started to speak when Eason held up a hand. Instead of entering the room, he backed out and quietly shut the door.

Summer stood behind him, looking confused. "Mr. Lavigne?"

"She hasn't been this soundly asleep for a long time. Don't wake her up."

Even though he was already out of the hospital room, Eason still kept his voice down. It was as if he were afraid he would wake the people in the room if he were to be even a little louder.

Summer was astonished. Had Eason grown to care for Avery so much in just one day? Or had he discovered Avery's secret?

No, that didn't make sense. If Eason had learned the truth, he would've realized that Summer had lied. He hated being lied to, so he wouldn't have acted like nothing had happened and even given her a ride to the hospital.

Summer couldn't understand it. Eason took the food from her and said, "You can head home. I'll give this to Avery for you."

She could only nod. "Well… Thanks, Mr. Lavigne."