The Sun in My Eyes

41 Day Bleeds into Nightfall

Drunken fist fights and emotional free-fall. That's it. That's the chapter. 

***

The silence in the bedroom was infinite.

Noah played the video again. It was somehow worse the second time. Bobby looked over at Lucas, who watched Hope graft with a clenched jaw, the muscle ticking with the grinding of his teeth. Finally, he turned and walked out of the room.

Gary opened and closed his mouth. Jakub frowned at the screen, as if he'd expected Priya to stay loyal while he got his dick wet with multiple girls. And then he shook his head and walked out as well.

"I think—" Rahim frowned. "I think we should stay calm. We don't know—"

Noah threw the iPad at the bed. It slid across the coverlet and landed with a thump against the pillow. "Yes, we do," he said, his voice hoarse. He turned and marched out of the room.

Rahim followed him. "Noah, man..."

Gary picked up the tablet and dusted off the screen. "Didn't see much of Lottie on there. Do you reckon..."

For once Bobby had nothing. No room in his heart to offer anyone even a smidge of sympathy or positivity. "I dunno."

Gary gave an uncomfortable chuckle. "Bobs, Lili ain't leaving you for a guy with that mustache. I don't care what it looked like."

"Aye, right," he said. "Course not."

Gary hesitated, as if he wasn't sure if he should stay or go, but finally walked out, scratching the back of his neck as he went. After Gary was gone, Bobby sat on the end of the bed and played the video again. And again. And again.

"I've never felt this way before." At night, Mustache guy stroked Lili's hand on a swinging bench. Did she feel the same? After being so rightfully upset with him, was it possible that she'd fallen for someone else?

Daytime. Lili and Mustache beside an amoeba-like infinity pool, with green foliage creating a wall behind them. Arms around his neck. Her lips stretched into a blazing smile. Mustache's eyes sparkling as he leaned down, capturing her lips with his, just before the camera cut away. He rewound it. He could make himself believe the kiss was innocent. That maybe she didn't expect or want it. But her smile? It hurt.

It hadn't been so long, but with everything that had gone wrong— everything he'd fucked up—they'd lost something. They still had their banter and playfulness and mind-blowing sex. But there was a space between them. A tension. A hesitation.

He paused the video on Lili's face. There was no hesitation. No worry lingering in her eyes. Her smile was radiant and blinding and full of the one thing she didn't have with him anymore.

Trust.

Did she trust that guy to touch her silky skin and trace her tattoos with his fingertips? Did she trust him enough to tell him her secrets and heartaches? Pain slashed through him like an icy winter wind. God, he missed her trust.

What if she came back with that lad? He closed his eyes and shivered as the cold enveloped him. What if his sunlight was already gone?

He couldn't remember when he'd finally stopped watching the video. Everything after was a dull blur. They'd played some kind of game. Eaten some kind of food. He'd tried to act as if everything were fine. As if the video hadn't torn him apart. But he didn't have the energy to play pretend for long, so he retreated to the bedroom. Hoping to finally fall asleep until Lili came back to either change their course at sea or smash them into the iceberg, leaving him to gasp and freeze in the icy depths.