Chapter 20: Mending With Rachel And Leaving Sydney’s House
"I know you’re the one who cured me of my infection."
Rachel stood near the doorway, her arms crossed, confident in her words.
My eyes widened involuntarily, and I felt the color drain from my face. "W—What?" The word came out as barely more than a croak.
She took a step closer, and I could see the intelligence burn. I didn’t just think it was a shallow bite that somehow left me clean. My wound... it had completely healed. Not just scabbed over, not just stopped bleeding—healed turning already into a shallow scar."
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, feeling like a fish gasping for air. What could I possibly say to that? How do you explain the impossible?
Rachel moved to the window, her fingers tracing the condensation on the glass as she spoke. "You did something to me, didn’t you?" Her voice grew quieter, more uncertain. "Did you... did you inject me with something while we were having..." She paused, a flush creeping up her neck, "...while we were having sex?"
I watched her struggle with the awkwardness of the question, and I realized this was how her rational mind was trying to process what had happened. Of course she would think I had some kind of medical intervention—a secret cure administered during our most intimate moment. It was the only logical explanation her brilliant mind could construct.
She turned back to face me, her expression a mixture of hope and disbelief. "I felt so sick, Ryan. Really sick. Like I was losing control of my body, of my life. Everything was slipping away from me, and I could feel this... this darkness creeping in." Her voice grew softer, more vulnerable. "But then... then we were together, and afterward I felt better. Not just physically better—completely better. Like I’d been cured of something that should have been impossible to cure."
She shook her head. "Do you have a cure? I know how crazy it sounds. I mean, the virus only started spreading two days ago, and you’re just a high school student, but..." She looked at me with those piercing eyes. "But I know what I felt. I know what happened to me."
I remained silent, my throat tight with words I couldn’t speak. But Rachel was too smart, too perceptive. My silence was answer enough.
Her shoulders sagged slightly, and she lowered her gaze to the floor. "I—I don’t understand exactly what happened, but I know for sure you’re the one who treated me. Somehow, some way, you saved my life."
"Even if that was the case..." I started, then trailed off, my mind scrambling for something to say that wouldn’t reveal too much.