“Shower?” he asked.
“Hm, no,” I mumbled.
“Hm, yes,” he countered.
I groaned in protest.
“Don’t worry, I will hold you.”
I gave a weak snort. “I can hold myself.”
“Oh yeah?”
My heart skipped a beat at how his voice dropped with those two words; I raised my head a little and peeked at him to see him hovering, lips curled slightly upward.
My head fell back on the pillow. “Fuck me, you really are something, Elio.”
“Come on.”
But my eyes were already closing; even as I was lifted from the bed a moment later and he took us to the bathroom, I still held onto him… I felt so fucking sore, and I wasn’t sure my legs were ready to start working again.
All through the process of cleaning up, with him making me brush my teeth and dry my hair, I was in a half-dazed state. When I was back on the bed, with fresh clothes that were sizes too big for me and smelled like him, I felt like heaven was within my reach; I snuggled into the pillow with a contented smile.
He joined me without a shirt on, just sweatpants. He didn’t make a move to lie down entirely. It was as if he wasn’t planning on sleeping.
“I’m just gonna…” I started with a mumble. “I’m just gonna sleep for like… two hours… and then… I’ll go… no spending… night.”
His hand brushed my hair from my face, his warm knuckles brushing my cheek. “Want me to wake you?” he asked softly.
“Yeah… sure.”
“Okay.”
Hisokaysounded so far away… very far into a dark, echoing place… and I was out in seconds.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Zahra
Louis Armstrong was singing “What a Wonderful World” when I opened my eyes. I yawned and stretched my hands above my head, my legs taking that cue to stretch too.
Blinking my vision clear, my hand went under the white duvet and underneath the white shirt I wore; I rubbed my stomach and looked to the side at the open window. I caught the bright day, the clear and blue water, and the sky brightened by the sun.
I frowned, looking away and above me. I stared for a full minute before looking around the empty room.
The sounds of the music echoed against the walls, relaxing jazz, dreamy and soft—it made my thinking slow, gave the atmosphere a smooth edge that had me feeling like I was in the first scene of a mystery thriller, and I was that character who opened the film by dying.
The first meaningless victim.
Goose bumps traveled up my skin as I looked at the other side of the bed. Clearly, I was the only one who had slept here last night. Elio had probably stayed till I was deep in sleep and then left. I didn’t want to think about why I felt a sting at that tiny detail.
I looked out the window again.
“Shit.” I sat up.
He didn’t wake me.
I threw the covers off myself and got off his bed and out of the room. My legs felt weak, like jelly, and I rubbed my eyesas another yawn left me. The music grew less muffled when I reached the living area, stopping short after I spotted Elio at the bar, sitting on a stool, the side of his head leaning on his fist, while he stared blankly at the half-filled whiskey glass he held.
