Chapter 123 - Vegetable Man

Lena stopped moving after a few minutes. Kris still kept his guard up and put his hold on her, making sure she was not up to one of her sneaky tricks again. After ten minutes, he loosened them a bit but was still holding her down. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. His little brother does not like being squeezed at all from the weight.

He concentrated on something else for another twenty minutes before opening his eyes. He could hear Lena's soft breathing and was sure she was asleep. He carefully lifted her off him and laid her on the sofa. He could feel his shoulder being wet. He did not know if it was her fake tears from before or her drool from sleeping.

He grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped it dry. He tossed it in the trash can. He looked down his bare chest and at the scar she called ugly. Kris put his hand over the bullet scar and laughed. "Russo…"

He picked up his shirt from the sofa and put it on. He finally turned on the lamp next to the sofa. Kris had a good look at Lena, who was peacefully sleeping on the sofa like everything was perfect. He walked over to the windows and closed it. He did a quick stretch of his arms and legs before picking up Lena from the sofa.

He gently carried her princess style. He looked at the clock and it was 1 a.m. Everyone should be asleep by now. He opened the door and walked out. He did not care about the lamp he left on. He climbed up the stairs and into Lena's room. Kris gently laid her on the bed and pulled up the blanket for her.

He walked away but heard her mumbled something. He thought he heard her say "Why do you know?" He sat on the side of her bed and leaned in to hear what she was saying.

Lena was breathing evenly then mumbled again. "Gary."

Kris lift up his face and stared at Lena. "Even in your sleep, you still think about him, huh.." He held out his hand and touched the cheek he hit her this morning. He scowled. 'I am getting jealous over a vegetable man.'

He stood up, grabbed the blanket and tossed it on the floor. She does not deserve this. He walked out and opened the door but the door opened first. Kris was staring at Tye.

Kris gave Tye a deadly stare. Why was Tye still awake and opening Lena's door in the middle of the night? On the other hand, Tye was thinking the exact same thing to Kris. Why is Kris in Lena's room in the middle of the night?

Tye cleared his throat. "Sorry, is Lena there?"

"She's dead. Drank too much." Kris moved aside so Tye could see Lena sleeping on the bed. But what caught Tye's eye was the blanket on the ground. He glanced at Kris and could see that his shirt was very wrinkled.

"What are you here for?" Kris interrupted Tye's thought.

"Oh.. I.." Tye tried to not stare at Kris but it was one of those moments where he just kept staring at him. Tye finally blinked his way out. "He awake, Gary is."

Tye could feel a deep cold breeze on his back. He quickly turned around but it was just a dark creepy hallway. He turned back and see that Kris was not in a good mood. "I.. uh.. Go first. Just wanted to tell Lena but she's asleep."

"Hold on. She stinks. Have one of the female nurses to change her clothes. I'll go check on Gary."

Kris walked out first and left Tye at the door. He quickly went to check on the vegetable man. he could see the light emitting from the cracks of the door. When he opened it, he saw that everyone was there. James looked up and saw that Kris was alone.

"Where is Lena?"

"She's asleep." Kris replied.

"Should we not wake her up? She might be mad for missing this."

"She's drunk dead asleep."

James stared at Kris... wondering why his lady boss was drunk. But he let it slide. He knew that Lena had not had a drink for the longest and she must be going through a lot too.

Kris could feel the stare from James. "She's fine. A nurse should be cleaning her up." Kris walked over to look at Gary. Gary was awake but unresponsive. "What's wrong with him?"

"He woke up in unfamiliar place. He panicked a bit, mumbled some nonsense before calling for Lena. The nurse sedated him for now. Nothing too strong but just so he could calm down." James explained.

James knew that Lena was in the reading room with Kris so he stayed and watch Gary for her. He went out for night walk. The twilight tonight was pretty and the area around the mansion was also nice. When he came back, there was already a few nurses and Tye in the room. They were trying to hold Gary down on his bed as he panicked. James saw the situation and went to help. He guessed that Gary finally say someone he knew so he relaxed a bit. However, the nurse still gave Gary a small sedetive.

James held gary down and told Gary that he was safe, and so was Lena. Tye told James to stay with Gary so he feels secure and that Tye would go find Lena instead.

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Kris went closer to the bed to look at Gary. He saw Gary glanced up to him. Kris once woke up in an unfamilar placed and went crazy. It was during the time his mother took him away. He remembered how estatic he was. He backed away. Lena said they were just best friends, but could they be more?

Tye walked into the room with some snacks. He passed them to James. James said that he will stay with Gary. Since Lena was drunk asleep, she would not wake up until late the next morning. Tye was also going to stay up and watch Gary. He told everyone that they can go to sleep. They were not needed here.

Kris head up the stairs. Just as he reached the top, he noticed that the nursed just got out of Lena's room. It was the nurse from this morning. Her name was Jane... Jane saw Kris and lowered her head.

"She's good?"

"I changed her clothes and wiped her down a bit."

"Good work." Kris walked pass her but stopped and turned back. "By any chance, was she still talking in her sleep?"

Jane looked up. 'How did Kris know?' Kris could tell from Jane's reaction that Lena was still mumbling stuff.

"What did she say?"

"She--" Jane did not know if she should tell Kris or not. She paused but then decided not to hide it. After all, she still has her job even though she made a mistake this morning. "She kept calling a man's name."

"Heh.." Kris let out a laugh and rolled his eyes. "Gary again.."

Jane felt like Kris was not in a good mood. Kris turned around and continued to walk. "No.. She said Russo."

"What did she said exactly?"

Jane cleared her throat because she can feel Kris staring at her again. She put her head down. "She said... I like you the most, Russo." Jane kept her hands together. "She said it a few times actually."

Kris burst into a laugh. "Ok, thanks. Good night." He turned around again and walked to his room.