I Dive Into Ocean, Leaving You Behind

Chapter 2 Infirmary Tensions

When I walked into the infirmary, only the pharmacist on duty was inside.

The moment I rolled up my pant leg, he let out a low whistle and flashed a suggestive smile. "That is a pretty serious injury. Captain Langford sure plays rough."

My face turned pale. "Just give me the medicine. I can treat it myself."

He stared at me openly, his tone filled with undisguised flirtation. "Medicine on this ship is expensive. You know the rules. I have to apply it personally. Take your pants off. Do not waste my time."

My fingertips trembled as I instinctively protected my lower abdomen.

Blood was still running down my knees. If I delayed any longer, the wounds would definitely become infected. I bit down hard and slowly removed my pants.

The pharmacist put on gloves, but his hands deliberately slid higher and higher along my thigh.

"Your skin is pretty fair. No wonder Captain Langford kept you around for five years."

I clenched the bedsheets tightly. My eyes reddened, but I did not dare move.

At that moment, the infirmary door was suddenly kicked open. Jace stood in the doorway carrying Luna in his arms, his expression terrifyingly dark. "What are you doing?"

The pharmacist's face changed instantly, and he quickly stepped back. "Captain Langford, she was the one trying to seduce me. She insisted on taking off her pants so I could treat her wounds."

My mind exploded with a loud buzz as panic surged through me. I hurriedly grabbed my clothes. "That is not true. He forced me to take them off."

"Enough." Jace's voice was frighteningly cold. He gently placed Luna onto a nearby chair before turning and walking toward us.

The next second, his fist slammed hard into the pharmacist's face. The pharmacist screamed as he crashed into the medicine cabinet behind him. Glass shattered all over the floor.

"Who gave you permission to touch her? Get out and report for punishment!" Jace grabbed the man by the collar, violence burning in his eyes.

The pharmacist covered his face and scrambled away in panic. Soon, the infirmary fell silent again.

I stared blankly at Jace, and memories from years ago suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Back when I had just started college, a group of thugs cornered me in an alley after class and tried to rob me. Jace had rushed in to protect me.

I had been so frightened that I kept crying while clutching my sleeve and thanking him over and over.

His ears had turned red immediately, and he replied loudly, "Why are you thanking me for something so small?"

After that, we slowly grew closer. He used to cross half the campus just to bring me breakfast. Whenever I worked late at my part-time job, he would secretly follow behind me and walk me back to my dormitory.

And Luna had been my college roommate. I was the one who introduced her to Jace.

But after the pastry competition, everything changed. From that moment on, Jace began taking her side. He started believing every single thing she said.

"Are you stupid?" he snapped. "If someone bullied you, why didn't you come to me?"

My throat tightened, and I had just opened my mouth to speak when Luna suddenly called out softly. "Jace, my foot hurts so much."

Jace frowned immediately. He picked up the ointment and crouched down to apply it for her.

I lowered my head and looked at my own knees and palms, which were still bleeding. Then I looked at the faint red mark on the top of Luna's foot.

"Jace," I asked quietly, "after you finish helping her, can you help me apply some medicine too?"

His movements paused slightly, as though he had only just remembered I was still there.

Luna suddenly grabbed his sleeve. "Jace, there is not much medicine left. I am scared of pain. Save the rest for me, okay?"

Jace fell silent for two seconds before speaking softly. "Luna is afraid of pain. You can endure it a little longer."

Years ago, even when I frowned slightly during a blood draw, he would cover my eyes with heartbroken concern.

"Bianca, why are you so delicate?" he used to complain, though his voice had always been impossibly gentle. Afterward, he would run all over campus just to buy me milk tea and coax me into smiling again.

The wounds on my knees burned painfully. After saying those words, he never looked at me again.

"Oh right, are we not docking at Rotherhaven in three days?" Luna tugged lightly on his sleeve. "Can you go ashore with me then? The port clearance papers are still in the navigation room, right?" As she spoke, she lifted her eyes and glanced at me.

"Yes," Jace replied softly. "You have been stuck on this ship for too long. It is time for you to get out and relax."

Back when the cargo freighter docked in Aurenza, I had begged him to go ashore with me too.

At the time, he had looked at me coldly and said, "I am busy. Stop making trouble for me."

When I came back to my senses, Jace had already picked Luna up in his arms and walked out of the infirmary. From beginning to end, neither of them looked back at me again.

I lowered my head and stared at the blood still staining my palms and knees. Then I laughed through my tears. Without those papers, I would not even be able to leave the port.

Tomorrow morning, I would steal them back myself.