25 Fulfill your promise (2/2)

”Beuargh!”

As she started to redo her braids while walking down the hall leading to the living room... ”Beuargh!” She saw Lazar kneeling on the floor emptying all the contents of his stomach into the bucket she had placed for him.

”I'm coming.” Contrary to what her nonchalant tone suggested, she was both ashamed that she hadn't been there to help him and a little relieved to know that he had passed out before hearing him say that he was in good hands. The fact remains that she never makes an empty promise even when the person to whom she made it was an unconscious person, seeing Lazar in this state gave her the impression of having partially failed her responsibilities, ”Sorry, I wasn't there to help you.”

”You don't have...Urgh... Urgh... to be sorry... Beuargh!” Lazar had no reason to complain, nausea was nothing compared to the relief of being alive, on top of that he could feel that the woman had done a good job. He felt much less pain than before and the majority came from his sutures and not from his injuries themselves, it was for him a sign that she had fully treated the infection.

He no longer felt nauseous after a while but still kept his head in the bucket to speak just in case, ”We can already consider ourselves lucky that I could grab the bucket before throwing up everywhere.”

”I'm glad you can line up a sentence, do you feel like you need something specific?” She intended to be very attentive to Lazar's needs to repair her past fault.

'It should be fine.' When he removed his head from the bucket Lazar saw the woman crouching next to him, thinking about her question indeed there was something that came to his mind, 'Water!' Nothing abnormal, one of the consequences of losing a large amount of blood is dehydration, seeing that a bottle was barely 3 feet away he didn't bother her for so little. He just grabbed the bottle and drank half of it before trying to get up.

”Wait, I'll help you get up.”

Lazar signaled her to refrain from doing so, not out of pride but because he hadn't had great difficulty in doing so. He sat down on the sofa and his air became more serious, he decided to ask the woman the question that was running through his head since he had seen her at the entrance of his house, ”I would like you to give me the reason of your coming.”

Not enough to disturb her, she expected sooner or later to be confronted with this question. She sat down at her turn in front of Lazar and looked him straight in the eyes so that he didn't doubt the sincerity of what she was going to say. She replied without blinking, ”We have a mutual friend, he led me to you, and at the sight of the recent events it was for the best, Lazar.”

Hearing his real first name pronounced had an effect comparable to an electric shock, if she hadn't saved him he would have already jumped at her throat, ”Assuming the term 'friend' is ironic, the only person you made me think of by saying that wants my death, so you should really specify which person you are talking about.”

”Contrary to what your house suggests, your life must be much more complicated than what I thought to have enemies like that at such a young age... No wonder it's easier for you to remember people who want your death than those who want you to live. Think about it, I'm sure you will have guessed who I am talking about before I get there with the pizza.” She let Lazar cogitate and left his chair to go to the kitchen.

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'A friend who knows my identity. Well... Since I had no friends before the apocalypse, there might be someone corresponding to this description.'

'He understood.' That's what she said to herself when she arrived in the living room with a baking tray in her hands, she was seeing clairvoyance in his eyes. ”Now that you know we're on the same side, can I cook the pizza? I'll heat it up with the fireplace if you don't mind, anyway it's not like there is another way to do it.”

”I don't care.” How could he think of such futilities when he found himself chatting with a complete stranger. He knew who had sent her but she remained a mystery to him and it was quite unpleasant to know that she was aware of one of his biggest secrets and him nothing. ”Who are you?”

She put the tray on the embers of the fireplace, ”First, I'm not American and if you pay attention to the menu of tonight you will be able to know where I come from.”

Lazar leaned toward the fireplace to see the ingredients on the pizza. ”Salmon everywhere, you're definitely Norwegian.”

She let out a slight laugh, ”Ahah, It's a bit reductive but yeah you are right.”

”Excuse me, with all that I almost forgot to thank you. I owe you and know that I'm feeling infinitely grateful to you.” He got up from the sofa and stood in front of her then he held out his hand, ”And I don't think we really introduced ourselves. Lazar Sogorov, nice to meet you.”

Won by excitement, she jumped from her seat and answered him while shaking his hand firmly, ”Amandla Lütgard, likewise.”