𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐓 / / 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

CHAPTER 21

Stella woke up the next morning feeling as though she had been hit by a train, and in a way she wished she had of been. The pounding in her head was a pulsating reminder of the night before. Barry and the gang had witnessed JJ storming out in anger but didn't say anything to stop the boy. Instead, they dragged Stella from her bedroom and insisted that she had a drink with them, claiming that it would help her forget about all the shit that had happened and would hopefully boost her mood. Although it didn't really help the latter, she certainly didn't remember half the conversations she had with the boys as they told her funny stories of past ventures.

The tiny bit of sun that seeped through the thick wall hanging she used as a curtain reminded her that it was a new day, one that she did not feel ready to face just yet. With a groan, she pulled her thin duvet over her head in attempt to shield her from the light, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. God, she wished they had power right now. She wanted to text Kiara and tell her what had happened, or track JJ down and apologise for everything with the hope that he'd hear her out. Normally she'd spend hungover days on the couch smoking weed, watching old films and passsing the time until the after effects wore off, but Agatha had fucked them over with that.

The hard knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts and the sleep that she was slowly slipping into disappeared into thin air. She groaned in reply, telling the person to come in. The knob twisted and the stature of Danny filled her doorway.

"Goodmorning, Baby Swayer." He grinned, looking far too alive for someone who had drank a litre of Jack Daniels less than 12 hours ago. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been ran over by a truck." She unravelled herself from the cocoon she had made, sending the cheerful man a glare. "How are you even awake?"

"We all are, it's nearly noon." He leant against the frame, folding his arms against his chest. "You need to get up, we've got shit to do today."

"What do you mean by we?" She furrowed her brows and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table, praising her drunk self for thinking ahead. "And what shit?"

"We're gonna go pay Rafe Cameron a visit." Danny smirked, clearly very excited about the activities that lay ahead. "And you're coming with us, Barry said so."

"Of course he did." She gulped down the liquid, savouring the hydration. "Although I don't see why."

"I think you'll enjoy it, might cheer you up a little." He shrugged. "Plus, we ain't gonna let you sit in here moping around all day."

"Fine." The blonde huffed, knowing that he was right. She couldn't wallow in self pity, she had to get up and pull her shit together. Plus, that simply was not Stella Swayer. She had a reputation to uphold, even if on the inside she felt like her soul was rotting, she would never show it to the outside world. "I'll get dressed, can you make me a coffee?"

"Sure thing." Danny nodded and turned to walk out the door but stopped briefly to call over his shoulder. "Take you're time. Richy's still throwing his guts up, so no rush."

Stella snorted. "Nice."

After Danny disappeared back into the main part of the house, the girl began to pull herself together. Dragging herself into the shower was hard work enough as she scrubbed her skin, the cool water attempting to create a form of sobriety she was familiar with, but eventually she felt a bit more grounded compared to when she first awoken.

After lathering herself in the usual scented moisturiser and brushing her teeth to rid the stench of alcohol, she rummaged through her clothes to find something clean to wear. She pulled out the shirt that Bohdi had leant her before screwing it into a ball and throwing it to one side, knowing that she'd have to apologise to him too. Even though they had agreed it was just a casual fuck, Stella knew she had used Bohdi in the worst way possible. It was the ultimate dick move and he certainly didn't deserve that. He deserved better.