Hot Shower, Cold Heart by Mark Twain 27

Chapter 8

The next morning, Stellan woke up to a splitting headache.

Sunlight stabbed through the window. He reached up instinctively to block it-and his hand brushed against something warm. Soft. Skin.

His eyes flew open. His heart plummeted.

Next to him, Leah lay curled up against him, completely naked, fast asleep.

The sheets were tangled. The air smelled like sex. And he was naked too.

Stellan’s mind went blank. He couldn’t process how this had happened.

Before he could move, the bedroom door creaked open.

“Leah! We came to see you! The door was unlocked, so we just-oh my God, we brought you…”

Oceane’s cheerful voice cut off abruptly.

She and the friends behind her stood frozen in the doorway, staring at the bed.

The gift bag in Oceane’s hand hit the floor with a loud *thud*.

Leah jolted awake. She saw the people at the door and let out a short, startled cry.

She yanked the blanket over herself, face flushed, and shrank behind Stellan, looking mortified-but there was a flicker of triumph in her eyes.

Stellan sat there, frozen. Ice cold.

He watched as Oceane and the others went from shock to understanding to something that looked almost like…

approval,

He wanted to explain. But the words wouldn’t come.

Caught red-handed. No way out.

Leah started crying softly, her shoulders trembling. She looked helpless. Pitiful.

Oceane sighed and stepped forward, her tone a mix of scolding and resignation.

09:57

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Chapter 8

“Stellan, come on… Look, it’s already done. Leah’s a young woman. You can’t just leave her hanging.”

“Yeah, Stellan. Leah’s been waiting for you this whole time. And Ella left her in your care before she left…”

“You two were meant to be together anyway.”

The voices piled on, one after another, like chains wrapping around him, tighter and tighter.

He looked at Leah, hiding behind him, looking so fragile and vulnerable.

Then he thought about that “will” Ella had supposedly left behind-*”Take care of her for me.”*

A crushing, nauseating sense of inevitability closed around his throat.

He shut his eyes. Took a deep breath. When he opened them again, all that was left was hollow resignation.

“…I’ll take responsibility.”

His voice came out flat. Emotionless.

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