Just Him ❤

90. Fallout.

Chloe hissed from the pain in her right shoulder as she eased her naked body up slowly from the bathroom floor. Staying in here all night had been far from ideal but to her it was better than facing up to the shit storm outside. She sat up for a moment hugging her knees, taking in the small room that had been her safe place last night. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as it all came back to her. She'd been stupid and naive, she'd let it happen right under her nose, she'd let them manipulate the evening to their advantage. Hannah had been right about not trusting Eva, but it seemed that trusting Steef and Seb had been a big mistake. The image of Eva riding Seb entered, unwelcome, into her mind. He'd looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He'd looked remorseful, scared and heartbroken and he'd sounded exactly like that when he'd spent hours calling her name and begging her to talk through the bathroom door. She wiped her eyes and sniffed as she stood up, her whole body ached with fatigue as she looked at her reflection in the mirror that hung above the basin. She looked exhausted. Her skin looked dull and pale, she was dark around her eyes and had dirty black streaks of mascara down her face and even a few down her neck. Turning around she spotted the torn black lace all-in-one she'd been wearing last night on the floor, in her desperation to remove it from her body she'd just ripped it off. Stepping into the walk in shower, she turned the tap and moved under the water to let it cascade soothingly over skin. She leant her forehead against the glass and let out a heavy sigh, she wished that she could stay in here all day, then she wouldn't have to face seeing Seb or Eva and Steef and she wouldn't have to face the heartache that awaited her.

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Seb waited anxiously in the lounge, listening for any sound that might suggest that Chloe was emerging from her hiding place. The lodge was quiet and empty, Eva and Steef had left early this morning, opting to travel back to Ålesund and spend their last night tonight in a hotel. The atmosphere between the three of them had been strained to say the least, no one had wanted last night to end the way it had and Seb had wanted them gone before Chloe could set eyes on them again. He wanted to be alone with her so that he could try and make a start at repairing the damage he'd caused but he couldn't ignore the sickening feeling in his stomach that he'd broken things beyond repair. His breath hitched as he heard the bathroom door open, before he knew what he was actually doing his feet had carried him through to their bedroom and he stepped inside to see her rifling through her case for clothes. She was beautifully naked and her hair was wet, he felt an intense longing for her, his whole body burned with want. Her head jerked upwards and she looked at him with a cold, hard glare.
"Get out." She snapped at him. "Give me privacy to get dressed. I don't want you looking at me." He nodded his head mutely, that had stung. Chloe looked back at him, his blue eyes looked almost grey, his face was full of torment and he looked like he hadn't slept for weeks. He turned and quietly left the room, for a second she stared at the empty doorway before returning her attention to her case.

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With the music pumping a fast beat in her ears Chloe ran as hard as she could while ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Her feet pounded the tarmac in time to the beat, her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and sweat was running down her face and her back. She'd no idea how long she'd been running for, she actually hated running but she'd needed a distraction and an excuse to get out, away from Seb. She just couldn't face him, because facing him meant facing the end. Her lungs felt as though they were going to explode so she slowed and then stopped. Leaning over with her hands on her thighs, just above her knees, she panted heavily and looked across the fjord at the lodge that looked tiny in the distance. It was nestled in at the waters edge with grassy hills above that lead on to the mountains looming over it. With it's traditional grass covered roof, it looked cosy and welcoming, but right now it was the last place she wanted to be.