Ethan was just about to spill the beans to Alaric about the whole story when the sound of footsteps approached. Lydia walked in, "What are you two whispering about?" The mere sight of Lydia's shadow was enough to scare Ethan into silence. He immediately zipped his lips, not daring to utter another word.
Desperately, he used his eyes to signal Alaric to smooth things over, or else he'd be in trouble again.
Alaric, clueless about Ethan's desperate signaling, asked in confusion, "Ethan, what's with your eyes? Are you having a spasm or something?" Ethan: "......
Thanks a lot, buddy, your eyes are the ones having a spasm! He gave Alaric a look of utter despair, and upon noticing Lydia making her entrance, he immediately shrank into a corner, turned his head away, and pretended he hadn't said a thing.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtOblivious to the backstory, Alaric, genuinely concerned about his friend's condition, saw Lydia cin and curiously asked, "Dr. Lydia, what happened to my buddy here? How did he get these injuries?" "Ahem, he got into a bit of a scrap," Lydia coughed lightly, answering Alaric's question.
"What, someone actually did this to him!" Alaric was instinctively shocked, blurting out this question before suddenly realizing something and tentatively asking, "It wasn't you who did this, was it?" Just before, Ethan had mentioned his injuries were somehow related to Lydia, and Alaric hadn't thought much of it, assuming Lydia was just somehow involved.
But then he remembered this one twhen he was driving Thalassa to a wedding, Lydia single-handedly held her ground against four bodyguards, coming out without a scratch! That's when Alaric realized just how formidable Lydia was.
With that in mind, Alaric knew he had asked a redundant question.
The answer was obviously yes! Seeing Alaric's blunt question, Ethan instantly shot him a glaring look.
Lydia, however, answered quite frankly, "Yes, I did it. Once you're better, you might want to keep your friend in check. Tell him not to mess with people he shouldn't." Lydia gave Alaric a piece of advice.
Alaric, still puzzled, asked, "Who did he mess with?" Ethan, panicked, quickly covered Alaric's mouth with his hand, laughing and turning back to Lydia, "He's a bit of a talker, better not to chat with him. Just focus on the treatment." Ethan had survived a beating, barely getting Lydia to let go of his previous insolence. Now, with Alaric running his mouth, if Lydia was reminded of Ethan's inappropriate grab, who knows if she'd lose her temper and give him another beating.
His bones were already aching; he couldn't take another beating.
Lydia, visibly annoyed, rolled her eyes at Ethan, hands in her lab coat pockets, and said to Alaric, "Handthe thermometer." Alaric shook Ethan's hand off, pulling the thermometer from under his arm and handing it to Lydia.
Lydia glanced at it, shocked, and looked back at Alaric, "103 degrees Fahrenheit, and you're still in the mood to worry about others? You're something else." Alaric, pale-faced, replied, "Can't help it, I'm just a warm person." "If you get any warmer, you'll be gone," Lydia remarked.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I'll write you a prescription, and your good friend here can go fill it," she said while pulling out paper and a pen from her medical bag.
Ethan replied, "I'm not exactly in shape to be quick about it. If he...you know, kicks the bucket while I'm gone..."
"Knock on wood, you're not kicking any buckets!" Alaric retorted, clearly disgusted, Can't you say something more optimistic in front of a patient?" Understanding Ethan's concerns,
'm after all, the person in front of her was of great importance to him, Lydia said, "I'll give him an IV first you go get the medicine. Have someone prepare it and bring it back. Don't worry, he's not dying on my watch." As she spoke, Lydia took out a pack of needles from her medical bag.
Yet, Ethan remained worried, "But his fever is over 103 degrees. What if it fries his brain..."
"Enough, just go get the medicine like the doctor said. Stop worrying about me. A bit of positive talk is worth more than anything," Alaric hastily cut off Ethan's concerns. X