Bright for the Win

Chapter 8

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Third Person POV

"I... I... Ohm, why am I naked?" Win asked Ohm, his fingers clutching the edges of the thin white sheet that he had wrapped around himself before venturing into Ohm's kitchen.

Ohm sighed before replying.

"You vomited many times during the night," Ohm explained. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have offered you any alcohol to go with your dinner. I won't do it again."

"And where are my clothes?" Win asked.

"I set them aside for the visiting housekeeper to launder separately," Ohm replied. "Don't worry I'm sure I can find some clothes of mine that would fit you. Come and have some breakfast first."

"I don't feel comfortable eating while trying to keep this linen wrapped around me," Win said, his cheeks suddenly turning pink.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Let me go find you those clothes I was talking about," said Ohm, hurrying out of the kitchen and going into his bedroom. "If you wish, you can take a quick shower before putting them on."

While Win stood waiting outside Ohm's bedroom, he vowed never to touch alcohol again. He regretted not listening to his parents' advice about not drinking alcohol while he was in university.

After a few minutes, Ohm came out carrying a pair of midnight blue pants and a short sleeved light blue polo shirt. He handed them to Win. He also gave Win a pair of boxer shorts still in their original manufacturer's package.

"You will find some bath towels in the bathroom metal rack," said Ohm. "Don't take too long to shower. We don't want breakfast to grow cold."

"Thank you," said Win, "I won't take long."

"Uhh... uhh..." Win moaned. He felt an unexpected pain shoot out from his elbow to his lower arm when he tried to reach out for a towel in the bathroom metal rack.

"What's the matter?" Ohm heard the moaning from outside the bathroom door just as he was about to turn away to go back to the kitchen.

"I don't know how I could have gotten any internal injury in my right arm," Win replied. "I don't see any bruises or scratches. The pain is coming from inside, either my muscles or my bone."

Win was in a dilemma. He was right handed. He would have a hard time cleaning himself up with just his left hand.

"Do you need me to help you take your shower?" Ohm asked, his heart in his throat.

"I... I think so," Win replied, almost in a whisper.

"The door is locked," Ohm said from outside the bathroom.

"Oh sorry, here let me unlock it," said Win.

Win kept the thin linen sheet wrapped around himself as Ohm stepped into the bathroom.

Win's respirations came in quick short breaths as Ohm slowly uncurled Win's fingers from the linen sheet and whipped it off from around Win's body, leaving Win totally exposed.

Then Ohm slid the shower door to one side and motioned for Win to step inside.

Bright's POV

I awakened with a slight headache. I tried to remember last night's events.

I had come back to the dorm at the usual time after I had dinner at the Seafood Shack. The cashier/waitress/proprietor's daughter Chimlin, or Lin, as she preferred to be called for short, had served me my order of air fryer fish and chips combo with lemon wedges and a small bowl of tartar sauce on the side with extra sprinkling of sweet relish on the surface.

I was in a better mood and had engaged in a light conversation and banter with Lin, compared to the other night when I was in no mood to chat with her.

I gave her a generous tip before I left. I walked straight back to the dorm and somehow felt a bit lonely when I saw that my roommate Win was not yet back.

For some reason I was in a good mood and was looking for someone to interact with. I had a very productive tutoring session from Cap. He was very good at imparting knowledge to others. I could easily see him behind a teacher's desk or in front of a wide white board, explaining quantum gravity to a group of eager students.

I busied myself working on my homework. By the time I finished my last assignment I was starting to feel sleepy.

I glanced at the time on my phone. It was half past ten.

Oh shit, Win was not yet back. He might have a problem coming back inside the building. The dorm administration was very strict about curfew. All occupants had to be back inside the building by eight o'clock.

The janitor locked up the lobby double doors promptly at eight every night.

I didn't even know how to contact Win. We had never exchanged numbers.

Where was he forced to spend the night, I wondered. I also wondered what had caused him to not be able to make it back to the dorm by eight.

For some reason I had tossed and turned for more than an hour, worrying over him before I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up at seven and he still hadn't come back, I decided to give Cap a quick call.

"Hey," I heard Cap say on the other end.

"Cap!" I tried not to sound frantic with worry. "Are you in the same subject as Win this morning?"

"No. Why?"

"Would you happen to have his contact number?" I asked.

"No. Why?"

Fuck. Cap wasn't going to be of any help to me.

"He didn't make it back to the dorm on time last night, so he was locked out of the building. I was wondering if he had called you to spend the night with you," I explained.

"Vachirawit," he said, trying to sound very patient, "I also live in a dormitory in the same campus, so my building has the same curfew as yours. I wouldn't have been able to let him in if he had come back after eight."

Fuck. Double fuck. Make that triple.

"But hey, you might be worrying for nothing," said Cap. I had forgotten that Cap was still on the phone. "He might have decided to spend the night with a friend."

"Then he should have at least given me notice or something," I complained.

"Why should he give you notice? Are you his guardian?" Cap said. I could hear the beginning of a chuckle from him at the other end.

I was jolted back to my senses.

Why indeed would he let me know beforehand if he wasn't going to spend the night with me. It wasn't like I was his guardian, or his ... wait, what was I thinking. Why would the thought of being his significant other even enter my mind. What an utterly ridiculous idea.

I stepped into the shower and let the icy water spray all over me, to rid me of my unbidden, unwanted thought.