Later on, I did my best to avoid getting into contact with Laura. I kept pretending to be busy looking for a job, and even Adam seldom came to visit me.
But he was happy about that since it meant that he did not actually have to rack his brain for excuses to go on dates with Laura. I had even almost run into them a few times while they were busy being sickeningly sweet with each other.
On this day, I sent William and my father on a plane so that they could go on a holiday abroad.
Right after they left, Laura called me. “Anya, what have you been up to lately? Do you have time to come to the hospital? My father misses you.”
It was indeed time for me to go over.
When I pushed the door open, Laura was wiping off the porridge on Gary’s body.
Something was off about Gary’s face. He looked like his head was not all present. Not only did he throw the things on the table on the floor, but he also kept pinching Laura’s elbow. He pinched her so hard that several parts of Laura’s skin were red and bleeding.
“What happened here, Laura?”
At the sound of my voice, Laura turned around.
It was then that I saw her face clearly. Many red pimples had popped up on her face, and some had burst. Pus kept oozing out of them.
Seeing me staring at her, Laura stiffly wiped off the pus on her face. “I don’t know what happened. I might be suffering from some sort of inflammation. My father is alright as well. He could just still be suffering from a concussion.”
I raised my eyebrows and did not question this any further.
But Laura started asking around, “How’s William and Uncle Colin?”
The eager look in her eyes made me put up an act and shake my head as I sighed. “I don’t know what happened. William has been in a daze as if he’s sleepy all the time, and my dad can’t quite remember the people around him anymore.”
Laura sighed in relief and grumbled, “Then, it’s about to happen soon.”
“What did you say?”
The sight of my puzzled expression made Laura immediately shake her head. With a forced laugh, she changed the topic. “By the way, Anya, about the record I asked you to play at home, what did your family say about it? Did William and Uncle Colin find it nice?”
I scratched my head in a troubled fashion and opened my photo album. “William is on a business trip. My dad’s head hasn’t been entirely clear lately either, so I didn’t have the chance to play your record.
“I used the gramophone to play some classics, but it broke down. Could you find a place to repair it?”
Laura snatched my phone and looked at the photo, only to see that the needle of the gramophone had been bent.
She trembled with rage.
“Are you stupid?!
“I got you the gramophone and record for you to play music on it, not for you to play with it?!
“Go ask William how to fix it, then play the record for both of them!”
