Episode 15

Before the sun rose, Leyne was already up preparing breakfast. Rodrigo came to meet her, to help.

Rodrigo: I think he'll be irritated if we give him anything that looks like sick food.

Leyne: I made an omelet. Well, I think it turned out good. Try a piece?

Leyne held out the fork with a piece of omelet towards Rodrigo's mouth.

Rodrigo: It's wonderful!

Leyne: Really?

Rodrigo: Yes, it's very good.

Leyne: I don't know how to cook. I just manage.

Rodrigo: If you don't know how to cook and you already make eggs like this, I would eat your food all the time.

Leyne smiled amicably.

Leyne: Come on. I'll take the coffee to him then. I'm taking the sugar separately, I don't remember seeing him sweeten his coffee.

Rodrigo: You really were watching him, huh? He doesn't drink coffee with sugar.

Leyne: Phew! That's good. I'll take this off the tray then.

Looking at Leyne, Rodrigo sighed.

Rodrigo: {He's so kind. So pleasant that it becomes obvious he's a good person. I can't let things go on like this, I have to do something}

Leyne: What was it?

Rodrigo: Nothing... I'm just here thinking about what happened. It's a good thing we're all okay, isn't it?

Leyne: Yes. Thank heavens!

After preparing the tray, Leyne went up the stairs and walked carefully to Tez's room. He pushed the door, which was only ajar, open with his foot.

...

Leyne: Hi... Good morning! I didn't expect you to be awake yet... But it's good that you are.

Leyne placed the tray on Tez's lap.

Leyne: I hope you like it.

When Tez took hold of the tray, Leyne turned to leave the room.

Tez: Stay here.

Leyne: I thought you'd feel more comfortable eating without a guy talking in your ear.

Tez: Stay here by my side. Get on the bed.

Leyne: Okay...

Watching Tez eat the omelet with relish made Leyne proud. He smiled to see that Tez seemed to appreciate what he had prepared with such care.

Tez: You're still limping.

Leyne: Yeah... Yes. When my knee doesn't hurt, my foot does. These days have been very tense. I guess my leg hasn't been able to rest properly. When I was getting out of the car, at the hospital entrance, if Rodrigo hadn't been quick, I would have fallen to the ground.

Tez: Rest now.

Leyne: Oh, right. I'll just take these things and...

Tez: No need to take anything now. Stay here in my bed.

Leyne: In... Your bed?

Tez: Yes. It's more comfortable than that one in the room where you sleep. Take off your shoes, and make yourself comfortable.

Leyne: Tez, I can't rest now. It's just dawn, and I need to water your plants and clean up the kitchen, I left everything messy.

Tez's hand came to rest on Leyne's hand on the bed.

Tez: Your wrists look better.

Leyne felt Tez's fingers slide over his wrist.

Leyne: Yeah, yeah. It's almost invisible. You can't even tell I was tied up.

Leyne: {I can't stay calm here. The way he looks at me, and him touching my hand, it makes me so nervous. I'm feeling very strange. All I want right now is to get out of this room!}

Tez: Come here, come closer to me.

Leyne: Uh... I don't think I need to get any closer... You need to have room to move, you know? It's fine here.

Tez: Not for me!

Tez leaned in to pull Leyne, but the wound on his stomach was pressed, and he felt pain.

Tez: Ah... Damn it!

Leyne: Don't do that! Here... Look, I'm coming closer, see? If that's what you want, I'll make it easier because you can't be stretching like that.

Leyne moved much closer to Tez.

Leyne: There. If you don't rest, you won't heal. And the doctor said you can open the bandage. He even wrote it down in the instructions.

A lopsided smile formed on the serious man's lips. Leyne saw him bring his face closer, and before he could pull away, Tez's large hand touched the back of his neck, bringing him back until their lips met.

While kissing Leyne, Tez stroked his hair and with his other hand, touched his face.

Leyne: {I taste coffee. Is this his way of showing me affection? And this kiss? I'm going to end up liking this too much. If I had known it was like this, I would have tried kissing someone before. But... would it be like this with someone else?}

Three knocks on the door broke the mood, causing the two to pull away.

Rodrigo: Uncle? How are you?

Tez: I'm fine. I see that you are too, I wasn't paying attention when I rescued you. Those men hurt you, didn't they?

Rodrigo: Yes. But, as you noticed, it was nothing serious. And by the way, forgive me for slipping up. I should have been paying more attention.

Tez: Then I believe you can leave now if you want, Rodrigo, I'll be fine. Thank you for your help.

Rodrigo: I was just about to ask that. I can't leave my father alone for that long. But, we still have to talk about that matter.

Tez: Come by on your day off, or we can schedule another day.

Rodrigo was visibly uncomfortable.

Rodrigo: You said you were fine, and you can't talk?

Tez: I can, but I don't want to. There's no need to talk about it today.

Rodrigo: Right, Boss! Then I'll be back tomorrow, and then I'll come back until you're fully recovered.

Rodrigo's eyes turned to Leyne.

Rodrigo: Leyne, I'm leaving now. I already cleaned up the kitchen and... left the sugar off the tray.

Leyne: Oh, right. Okay. See you tomorrow then.

Rodrigo: See you tomorrow.

....

Sometime after Rodrigo left, Tez fell asleep again.

Leyne: {I'll let him rest some more. Then I have to come and take care of his wound, and change the dressing.}

Silently removing the tray from the bedside table next to Tez's bed, Leyne went to the kitchen. He washed the dishes that were on the tray, and suddenly, he looked at the tray.

Leyne: {This is the tray. Didn't Rodrigo say he left the sugar off the tray? But... I was the one who left it off when I took it to Tez. "The sugar off the tray?" Why did he say that?}

Reflecting on Rodrigo's nonsensical phrase, Leyne looked at the sugar bowl, imagining there was another tray. It was the only item on the table, standing out.

Leyne: What is this?

Right on top of the bowl, there was a folded paper.

Leyne: {Is this a secret message? What could it be? A tip on what to feed Tez? Let me see}

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