Chapter 149 I'm his girlfriend

Chapter 149 I'm his girlfriend
When Nelson had asked if Irene wanted to come with him, for a few seconds, Irene's brain went blank.

It was something important, wasn't it? Then why was he inviting her? She couldn't help but wonder.

But since she didn't want her visit to go to waste, Irene nodded, agreeing to go with him.

In less than five minutes, she was seated in the passenger seat of Nelson's car, sitting still as he drove them.

Irene began to think of all the possible things that could be more important than her.

But her thoughts didn't even get close to the building Nelson stopped at after almost twenty minutes of their silent drive.

Irene unbuckled her seatbelt slowly, looking out the window only to see a huge building with a huge red cross sign on top of it.

"A hospital?" Her eyes almost bulged out as she stared at the giant building. "Your appointment is at a hospital?" Irene turned to look at Nelson. She didn't even know when her hand left her side and began feeling his neck, checking his body temperature. "Are you alright?" She asked, her tone worried. Her eyes stared into his blue ones, her fingers caressing Nelson's cheeks unconsciously. "Are you feeling sick? Is there..."

"Irene." Nelson called her as soon as he regained his voice, his tone low.

The second Irene's palms touched his face, he froze. They hadn't had much physical contact apart from the night of prom.

Sure, yesterday they hugged, but that didn't count.

His cheeks felt warm, and blood rushed to the tips of his ears.

A smile threatened to form on his lips. "It's nice to see you worrying so much about me." His large palm went to hold hers against his face as he stared at her.

At that moment, a small part of him wished that he was sick just so Irene could fuss about him.

Hearing his words, Irene came to a realization that... She was touching his face.

She retracted her hands immediately, like she had just realized how hot something was and her palm was badly burned.

"I was just..." She swallowed, her cheeks stained with a deep shade of red.

"It's alright." Nelson almost chuckled. He hadn't had a reason to smile since yesterday, but just seeing Irene was able to change that. "I'm alright. I came to see someone else."

"Oh." Irene nodded, looking away. "Okay." She lowered her gaze, refusing to look up at Nelson again.

They both stayed in the car, in the disturbingly awkward silence, for almost a minute before Nelson got down.

Irene didn't wait for Nelson to be a gentleman. Well, in her defense, she had no idea that he was that... So she pushed the door open on her own and jumped down.

If someone had told her that she would be in the same car as Nelson and wouldn't be afraid that he would attempt slamming the door on her hand, she would have laughed it off.

But now she was more worried about her looks around him than anything he could do to her.

Both of them began walking into the hospital.

Nelson didn't bother to stop by the front desk, as though he already knew where the person he wanted to see was.

He went straight to the elevator and pressed the button for the highest floor.

The VVIP rooms.

As soon as he did, multiple questions swarmed Irene's head.

She kept to herself inside the elevator, consumed with the thought of who could be so important to make Nelson visit them.

'Ding.'

The elevator sounded, and both Nelson and Irene got out of the elevator. But as Nelson got closer to the room, Irene began to retract.

Even when he walked into the room without bothering to knock, Irene just stood outside waiting.

She didn't know whoever the person was, and the person didn't know her either.

Plus... How would Nelson introduce her?

If he called her just his 'friend', it would hurt too much. She probably wouldn't be able to fake a smile at the term.

But if he called her his girlfriend, wouldn't that be rushing things?

And if he called her his classmate, Irene might just bow her head in shame and leave.

So it was best to stay put.

"Who's in there?" She asked herself, muttering in a low tone as she stared at the closed door. "One of his parents?"

No. That was unlikely. If any of his parents were sick in any way, paparazzi would have taken it up, and it would have been on every news channel.

Those channels knew even what they ate for breakfast.

Only their children's lives were kept quiet and hidden.

The door was opened, and Nelson's voice came through.

"...she was just behind me." Irene heard him speak to the person in the room before his gaze met hers. "Irene?"

He sounded like he was looking for her.

His eyes narrowed at her. "What are you doing out here?"

Irene blinked.

Wait, did he expect her to follow him in there?

She had a confused look as she responded.

"I thought you would like to be alone with your..." Irene paused, thinking for a second about the right word. "Person."

Nelson shook his head. He left the door and walked towards Irene, grabbing her by the hand and leading her into the room.

"Come on in."

For a second, Irene was too mesmerized by the feeling of Nelson's hand to argue.

His hands were bigger than hers, and surprisingly... warm.

When she finally looked away, her eyes went to the hospital bed, and a gasp left her lips.

"Oh my goodness," she muttered in shock.

The person on the bed, it was someone she recognized. The only problem was, she looked almost nothing like what Irene remembered from both the past and the future.

Her beautiful, flawless skin now looked white like a blank sheet of paper. There were dark, hollow spots under her eyes, and she looked thin. Emaciated.

What surprised Irene the most was the glowing blonde hair she recognized from her.

She used to recognize her by it.

It was gone now.

Now her head had no hair at all.

The lady on the bed giggled at Irene's reaction.

"Not really a good actress now, are you?" She asked, still giggling. "Everyone else that has been to visit me immediately puts a smile on their face once they see mine. They don't want me to look at the worry on their faces and get worried."

Irene's eyes immediately widened.

"I'm sorry." She took a step back. She had been so surprised that she had lost control of her lips there. "I didn't know that I..."

"It's alright." The lady interrupted Irene, a small smile on her face. "I like seeing honesty once in a while. Plus, I have a mirror, so I know how bad I look."

She seemed calm about everything, maybe a little bit too calm.

Or maybe she had just come to terms with it.

Irene wanted to glance at Nelson and apologize because she could feel his gaze on her, but before she could, the lady spoke again.

"Finally, I get to meet the famous Irene." She said, her tone sounding glad.

Irene blinked. She brought a finger forward, pointing at herself as she asked, "You know who I am?"

The lady nodded. "You're too famous for me not to know." She giggled softly. But a deep cough erupted through her chest, which made her pause.

She coughed for almost a minute, and by the time she was done, her breathing was heavy.

Nelson walked to her side without a word, grabbed a jug and a glass, and began pouring her a glass of water.

"Do you know who I am?" The lady asked as she watched Nelson pour her water, a cheeky smile appearing on her lips.

"I'm Nelson's girlfriend."

Nelson pressed his lips together, his gaze narrowing at her as he handed the water over.

"Luna..." He warned.

Irene smiled.

She was the girl she had mistaken to be Nelson's girlfriend before. His cousin. Luna Clark.

"In a way, you kind of are." She answered, playing along with Luna's game. "You are the only real female family friend he has. The only one I've seen him so worried about."

Luna blinked, then she smiled, redirecting her gaze to Nelson before pouting.

"Awwwn, Nelson..."

Nelson frowned.

"Stop encouraging her, Irene. She would only get worse."

He rolled his eyes at his cousin's behavior. Something else bothered him. "How did you know she was my cousin? Did Victoria tell you? Because I heard everyone at school confused her to be my girlfriend."

Oh yeah. Irene nodded, then she shrugged.

"You need to stop asking me that how-do-you-know question. Not when, if I tell you how, you wouldn't believe me."

Luna just watched the two argue, a smile on her lips.

"Ahem." She let out a purposeful cough, clearing her throat. "In case you've forgotten, you're in a sick girl's room. Don't choke out the remaining life in her with PDA." She said, talking about herself in the third person, and it made Irene blush.

Luna sighed.

"I would leave the room for both of you, but..."

She couldn't.

She turned to her cousin. "Nelson, be a gentleman and take your lady outside to talk... Or more."