Chapter 2
600 Words
I lowered my head and started organizing the things I had brought.
A sharp shout suddenly rang out behind me.
"Who told you to touch that?"
I jumped and turned around. A beautifully dressed woman was glaring at me with open disgust.
She pointed beside the cabinet.
I followed her finger and only then noticed a pressure cooker sitting there, steam still rising from it.
"This is a secret remedy I made especially for Jason. How dare you, a stranger, mess with it?"
She looked me up and down, her voice mean and cutting.
"You are the caregiver he hired, right? From now on, if no one tells you to touch something, keep your hands to yourself."
I froze and instinctively looked at Jason.
He lowered his head instead. His fingers moved quickly across his phone screen, and he did not even spare me a glance.
Soon, my phone vibrated.
I looked down and opened the message.
Jason: She is Mr. Bennett's daughter. I can't afford to offend her. I'll explain after she leaves.
Mr. Bennett's daughter?
I remembered now.
Jason had once told me that his boss's daughter was interested in him, but he had politely turned her down.
At the time, I had laughed and teased him for daydreaming.
Now it seemed he had not turned her down at all. They had been flirting behind my back.
I suppressed the urge to laugh coldly and tried to keep my voice calm.
"The doctor said his stomach is still sensitive. He should not be taking a strong tonic like that right now. Also, pressure cookers are not allowed in hospital rooms."
Lily Bennett rolled her eyes hard, impatience written all over her face.
"This is a recipe from a folk healer I found myself. Who are you to lecture me? You are only a caregiver. Why do you talk so much?"
Her words stabbed into my heart like a needle.
I stood stiffly in place with a breath stuck in my throat.
I could not swallow it down, and I could not breathe it out.
"Bed 12, time for your X-ray."
A nurse knocked and came in, then wheeled the gossiping roommate away.
Lily glanced at the empty bed beside Jason, a sly thought flickering through her eyes. Then she sashayed into the bathroom and came back with a plastic basin.
She bent down and pulled Jason's blanket away.
"Good. Now that we have some privacy, I'll help you clean up."
She dragged a chair to the head of the bed and sat down as if she owned the place. Then she shoved the basin into my hands.
"Hold this. There's nowhere else to put it. Do I have to tell you every little thing?"
As she spoke, she picked up the kettle and was about to pour water into the basin.
I immediately stepped away.
"My hand is injured. I don't have enough strength, and I might not be able to hold it steady."
I was telling the truth. I had just had an X-ray a few days earlier.
There was a slight hairline fracture in my palm.
It was just that Jason had needed surgery urgently. I was afraid other people would not take proper care of him, so I had thought I could deal with my hand next month.
But Lily didn't buy it. She frowned, clearly convinced I was making excuses, and refused to drop it.
"You can't even hold a basin? I think you just want to slack off. Don't forget. We are paying you to work, not to act like some spoiled lady."
- Writer
