Looks Can Be Deceiving

Chapter Fourteen

Safe to say Richard and Stella weren't able to sleep. By the time morning came Richard was so angry and tired he almost punched Chris as he entered Richard's room.

"Woah, what's your fucking problem?" Chris could have laughed but he knew something as wrong. Something was really wrong.

"Just leave me alone." He grumbles, throwing a pillow at Chris and trying his best to fall back to sleep.

Chris left the room and went straight to Stella's room. "Stella?" he knocked and entered.

Stella groaned. "What?"

"What's everyone's problem this morning?" Chris was genuinely baffled by their anger. "Not enough sleep?" Chris sits next to her on the bed, pushing her hair behind her ear lovingly.

"I didn't sleep at all." Her eyes stay closed but Chris can see how puffy they are.

"Stella, you look like you've been crying?" his tone makes it seem like a question. Stella responds by placing her face into the pillow so he couldn't see her. "What happened last night when you went to bed?" he questions and looks around the room to see if there was any sign of anything. He notices the door connecting the two rooms and tries to open it but sees it's locked from Stella's side. "Does this connect to Richard's room?" he asks.

Stella freezes. 'Act Natural' she repeats in her head. Stella rolls over and looks in Chris' direction.

"I don't know. I didn't even notice it." She shrugs.

"Why have you been crying?"

"I haven't!" she yells frustrated with his presence and questioning.

"ERICK!" Chris shouts which just annoys Stella more. Erick pops his head into the room. "Find out why she's crying." He looks over at Stella sadly, "she doesn't want to talk to me."

Chris walks out of the room closing the door behind him and Erick walks over to Stella. Sitting on the floor, leaning against a bedside table he pulls his phone out and starts texting.

"What are you doing?" she questions expecting him to try and find out why she was crying.

"If you want to talk I'm here. If you don't want to talk, I'm still here." He shrugs.

Stella bursts into tears.

"You're the best you know that?" she speaks through muffled voices.

Erick smiles and crawls into the bed with her. He holds Stella as she cries and kisses her head.

"Just tell me you're going to be okay?" he pleads.

Richard can hear everything. As soon as he heard Chris near the connecting door he walked out of bed and put his ear to the wall. Hearing Stella's sobs broke his heart and if it wasn't for the fact the door was locked he would have walked in and tried to explain everything. He knew if he walked through the main door, Chris would follow and he wouldn't be able to speak to Stella properly.

"I think I will be." She nods. "It's just Richard. I've been sleeping in his bed." She confesses. Erick's eyes almost bulge out of his head but the memory of how he found them just a week earlier, makes this confession less surprising. "Last night, he told me he had feelings for me but Chris told him to stay away but it's all just some sick joke. If it wasn't for Chris telling me years ago that he wouldn't stand in the way of Richard and I, I would have believed Richard and fought with Chris. Imagine that! Imagine I was angry at Chris for a lie that Richard told." Her anger started boiling over. "Some lie for some sick prank."

Erick sighs. He had to tell Stella. He had to tell her that Richard was telling the truth. He contemplated making Chris tell her but then Chris would have to know the whole story and that might not end well.

"Tell her." Richard whispers from the other side of the door.

"Tell who what?" Chris asks while playing a game on his phone as he enters Richard's room.

Richard jumps from the door and Chris doesn't notice that he was eavesdropping on Stella's conversation.

"Just watching a movie." He lifts his phone signaling to the Netflix app.

"Are you feeling better?" Chris puts his hand on Richard's shoulder soothingly.

"Just tired. I didn't sleep. Like at all!"

"I'll speak to Ali. Maybe you can just take the day to rest and you can meet us at the venue."

"Can you? I don't think I can hold a conversation right now."

"On it bro. You know I'm always here for you." He winks and walks out of the room.

Ali organises for Richard to spend the day in the hotel. He knows without Stella he won't be able to sleep but it makes more sense for him to at least try. What Richard doesn't know is that Stella was still in the hotel, hoping to get some sleep as well.

Richard decides it will be a good idea to have a shower, and jump back into bed hoping that the shower will calm him down and he will be able to sleep. He pulls his shirt off and walks into the main bathroom, he leaves the door unlocked, and hops into the shower.

Stella has the same idea. She walks around the apartment wearing her underwear and a crop top. Stella decides to head into the bathroom to shower but she hears the water running. Confused, she pushes the door open, assuming that one of the boys left the water on.

Stella squeals when she sees Richard naked in the shower. She can only see his back and his ass but as she screams he turns around and screams freighted. As he turns, Stella sees a little more than she intended and she slaps her hand over her eyes.

"Shit Stella!" he screams out. "I didn't know you were here."

"Clearly."

Richard grabs a towel and wraps it around his waist, leaving it to hang low on his hips.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"The shower," he looks down, "everything."

Stella sighs, turns around and walks to the other bathroom.