WICKED ✓

4

Dominic

What the fuck just happened? I think to myself as I listen to the other end of this phone conversation. I'm almost glad that I heard what  happened, but I'm also beating myself up for not hanging up and being a witness to Stella's humiliation.

I listen to the sound of a door shutting and Stella taking in a deep breath before I hear her voice directed towards me. My nerves are frayed as I sit on the edge of my leather couch. "I'm okay." She says, and I don't know whether to believe her or not. She sounds okay. She reacted better to being cheated on than I have ever seen or heard of before. But how can anyone be okay after that?

"Do you have a place to go? Because you can come to my place, Stella. I don't live too far from the hospital. I can come pick you--"

"I'm okay Dom. I'm going to my dad's house..." She trails off and I wait for her to gather her thoughts. "I can't wake up Sabine," She says apologetically. I know that Sabine is her littlest sister. My eyes widen at her implication.

"My offer still stands. Do you want my address?" I ask eagerly, standing up and rushing around my apartment to put every stray item back in its place. She sighs and the soft sound goes straight to my pants.

"Dom are you sure? I wouldn't ask you to do this." She sounds apologetic but I couldn't be more excited. I feel like a giddy kid getting to finally see his crush in class after Christmas break.

"You didn't ask me though, did you? I'm insisting. I'm going to send you my address. Then I'm going to hang up. And you're going to come stay with your friend. End of story." I say commandingly, hoping that she doesn't take it the wrong way. I can't wait to see her face.

"Okay," She relents. I punch my fist in the air because she can't see me, then I steady my breathing before replying.

"Great. See you soon." I hang up. "Holy fucking shit," I say to myself. "Fuck," I say after, remembering the circumstance that lead to this. Stella just witnessed her boyfriend fucking another girl. She handled it like a champ, but it still happened. Fucking douchebag. He sounds like a grade-A asshole despite how little Stella spoke about him.

She's too good for him.

She's too good for me.

I'm a whirlwind as I swoop in to every corner of my apartment, tidying it up. What rooms will she go in? I tidy them all. I vacuum the main room, thankful for the open floor plan making it easier to navigate. I throw a load of laundry in to take the clothes off of my bedroom floor. She probably won't see it. I make the bed in the guest bedroom. I open a window. And then I hear a soft knock on the door.

I can't help but run a little to get to her, throwing the door open with a grin when I see her sweet face. Her expression is tired and her eyes are sad, but she gives me a smile and I shake my head slowly. My arms fly open and without hesitation, Stella steps into them. Her small body is swallowed by my arms and I squeeze her to my chest, planning on holding her here until she pushes me away. She doesn't.

Her arms wrap around my back and her hands squeeze the muscles on either side of my spine. Her breaths are steady and I hope that she doesn't make a comment on my rapid heartbeat. I pull apart to look at her, pulling her into my apartment. I try to see what she sees as she looks around but my eyes are quickly distracted. "Glad you showed up," I tell her honestly.

"Me too." I marvel at how soft-spoken she is, despite being the oldest in a family of four, five including her father.

"Alright. Do you want the tour now or later?" I ask Stella, turning to face her. Her smile grows as she requests the tour now. "Well, we've got the livingroomkitchendiningroomgym here." Stella giggles and I continue, leading her down the hall. "And down here we've got your room, your bathroom, and then at the end of the hall is my room." I finish, turning her back around to the main room. I spot a sweaty white shirt from earlier draped over my rowing machine and cringe.

"It's so big. I really like this," She says in awe, running the soft skin of her palms over the exposed brick behind the television and I smirk. I'd make a dirty comment if it wasn't the worst possible timing. I watch her as she looks around. She belongs perfectly here.

"Thank you. Feel free to have a shower. I'll put out a towel and some clothes. They won't fit but..." My eyes run down her body and back up as I speak. "We'll find something comfy," I tell her. Stella shakes her head at me.

"I can't... you're too much Dom. You're so sweet. Thank you so much," She says and her voice cracks slightly. I pull her into another hug and I can feel her stomach and rib cage constrict with sobs. The dam finally breaks free and I am so relieved that she isn't alone somewhere.

"C'mon. Bath or shower?"

"Bath?" She phrases it as a question and I walk past her bathroom and towards my door at the end of the hall. Instead of her body tightening with apprehension, she willingly follows me down the hall, even as I lead her into my bedroom.

"Through here," I lead her into my bathroom where her glassy eyes go wide. I smile at the sight. My bathtub is the size of a four-person jacuzzi and made of black marble just like the rest of the room. I leave her standing beside the basin as I get her two fluffy towels from the cupboard. "Be right back," I walk out and into my large closet, rifling through my clothes to find nothing that wouldn't hang off of her petite frame, so I settle on a white graphic t-shirt and black sweatpants that have a drawstring, along with a pair of black boxers that I've never even worn.

"Here we go—Oh my god I'm sorry." I turn around as quickly as I had entered. My back is to Stella's nude body and I can hear the water splash as she displaces it by sitting down. Fuck.

"It's okay. I grew up with three siblings, I'm used to it." She laughs. I do not laugh. "Seriously Dom, it's okay."

"I'm just gonna leave these here." My voice sounds gravelly even to my own ears. "Call out if you need anything. Sorry again." I say before closing the door behind me as I walk into my bedroom. I flop down onto my bed and stare at the ceiling with both hands on my head.

"What the fuck," I say quietly so that Stella can't hear me. How can she be so nonchalant? I wasn't prepared for that at all. I was expecting to fight myself to not to picture the sad girl, naked in my bathtub. I don't even need a fantasy now. I know exactly what her body looks like and I can't close my eyes without seeing her unfettered curves projected on my eyelids. How can she expect me not to react to seeing her like that?

Is she that confident, or is she that unaware of her beauty?