Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

[11:00 PM]

When Andrew woke up, the room was completely dark. He turned on the bedside lamp only to realise that the other side of the bed was cold and empty.

He frowned and glanced at the watch. It was already 11:00 PM. After coming back from the hospital he felt very stressed and had a really bad headache so he decided to sleep it off. It was supposed to be a short nap but who would have thought he would end up sleeping for more than five hours.

He quickly got down from the bed and started looking for Rachael. He wondered why she wasn't in the room.

After making sure she wasn't in the washroom, he went to study followed by the other rooms on the floor.

He started getting anxious when he did not find her.

While coming down the stairs, he fished out his phone and called her. But he hung up immediately when he saw a tiny figure curled up on the couch.

He frowned and quickly made his way towards the couch. The weather was quite chilly and the living room was colder than other rooms in the house and Rachael was sleeping on the couch. She did not have any quilt covering her or any warm clothes on. She was wearing a thin pair of her night PJ's.

Noticing that she had changed from the clothes she had worn to the hospital, he started wondering why she didn't sleep in the room but here.

Andrew sat down beside her and placed his palm on her arm. Her skin was ice cold.

The frown on his face deepened. Without wasting any time, he scooped her into his arms before walking upstairs.

Rachael snuggled closer when she felt a familiar warmth.

"Andrew—" she muttered with her eyes still shut.

"Hmm."

She didn't say anything after that. She wanted to ask him how he was but she was feeling too drowsy, she could barely open her eyes.

…..

[Bedroom]

Andrew placed her on the bed and quickly tucked her inside the blanket. Then he went to his side and got under the same blanket.

Looking at her curled up like a ball, he sighed. Her nose and cheeks had turned red. He assumed it was because he was cold.

When he touched her hand, it was still cold. Without giving it much thought, he grabbed her hands and rubbed it against his palm.

When she slowly opened her eyes, he asked, "Are you cold?"

Rachael nodded and slowly snuggled closer.

"How long did you sleep there?"

"I don't remember," she mumbled.

Helplessly shaking his head, he sighed. Seeing how sleepy she sounded, he did not have the heart to scold her. He decided to postpone the scolding for tomorrow.

"Did you eat anything in the evening?"

She shook her head. "No. I wasn't hungry."

Without saying anything, he got down from the bed and walked out of the room.

...

[Kitchen]

Since it was quite late, Andrew decided to make a simple soup for her which would also help to warm up her body and some sauteed vegetables.

He took out some veggies from the refrigerator and ran them under cold water.

Just then someone called him on his cell phone. Glancing at the caller ID, he received the call and place it on the counter on speaker

"Asleep?"

"No."

When Owen heard the sound of utensils and running water, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Cooking for Rachael."

"At this time?"

"Hmm, she slept without eating." When he heard Owen scoff, he asked, "What happened again?"

"No, I just remembered something. Last time when I was sick and I asked you to make something for me, you rejected me on my face. You said it was too late to cook." When Andrew did not say anything, he scoffed again. "What? Now you have nothing to say?"

"I had to eat cup noodles that night, I was sick," he snapped again.

"Is being too exhausted after having s*ex considered as being sick?" Before Owen could retort, Andrew added, "I don't know how to cook anything which will increase your stamina. Anyway, your low stamina is your problem, not mine."

"Hey, I was exhausted and I also had a cold," he retorted. "And I definitely don't have low stamina."

Feeling annoyed by him, Andrew asked, "Owen, why did you call me?"

"I called to remind you that the expo is in four days time, I have already booked the tickets." When he did not say anything, Owen frowned, "Don't even think of cancelling. I will f*uck you both if you ditch me this time."

"It's really not a good time." Andrew wasn't sure if he was ready to leave Rachael for three days all by herself.

"Seriously, I'll kick you Andrew."

Andrew pinched the space between his brows and sighed. He had completely forgotten about the plans he had made with the boys.

A couple of months ago, the three of them had made plans to attend the expo in London together. They had decided to have an all boys trip.

"I don't know and I don't care, you and Justin are coming. I am already so sick of Justin turning down all the plans and now you have joined his club too."

Since Edward came around, Justin had started turning down all the plans saying that he cannot leave the child alone. Andrew on the other hand would sometimes join him but now that he was married, Owen knew he would also start shutting him down. But he wouldn't let that happen.

Being the only one without any responsibilities was also very hard.

"Just because you both know I have no other friends, you take advantage of it," Owen snapped again.

"Let's discuss it later. Aren't you coming back with Justin?"

"Don't try to coax me. There is nothing to discuss," he stated. "If you both don't wanna go then fine, I'll find new friends."

He then hung up the call.

...