Page 24 of Don't Leave Me

I felt my eyes widen. “Michael?” I repeated, quickly sitting up, the water flowing over the sides of the tub.

“Michael,” she repeated, handing me a towel off the rack.

“What is he doing here? Did he say? Isn’t he beautiful? I told you he’s beautiful,” I whispered in a panic, wrapping the towel around me after I got out of the bath.

“He’s pretty beautiful,” she agreed. “He just asked to talk to you. He’s very polite. But…I was being kind of rude to him,” she admitted with a grin on her face.

“What? Why?” I started removing the towel and wrapping my silk robe around myself.

She shrugged. “He made you cry,” she said matter-of-factly.

I shook my head as I smiled back at her.

“Thanks,” I laughed, opening the bathroom door and finding Michael wandering around the living room, observing pictures that Billie and I had scattered around the walls.

Ah, there’s that heart dropping thing– he turned to look at me and his eyes widened, looking a little nervous.

“Hi, Hana,” he said gently, his hands tucked into his jeans’ pockets.

“Hi,” I responded quietly, crossing my arms and walking towards him.

He glanced at Billie for a quick second and then back at me. “Can we talk?”

I nodded, heading for my bedroom. I heard Michael following as I flicked on my bedroom lights and closed the door behind us.

“Charming place,” Michael said, looking around my room.

I sat down on my bed. “Thanks,” I shrugged, wishing he would just tell me why he was there.

He sat down beside me, fidgeting with his hands. His eyes were still nervous.

“I’ve been trying to call you.”

“I turned my phone off,” I shrugged. “Why were you trying to call me?” I asked curiously, feeling my whole body get goose bumps as our knees touched.

He licked his lip before he spoke. “Did you know that you bite your lip constantly, whether you’re angry or nervous or upset?” He was smiling at me a little.

I was aware; it was a habit.

“It’s unintentional,” I shrugged, wondering where he was going with this.

“Oh, I know. It drives me crazy,” he nodded, his voice low.

I smiled a little bit, feeling my cheeks warm.

“And your smile, the way it’s crooked when you’re trying to hide it,” he went on, teasing me playfully.

I smiled wider, looking down at my hands.

“That’s my favorite – your smile,” he said gently.

I looked up at him and felt myself get goosebumps.

“I would love to make you laugh more. I would love to cuddle with you after sex, before sex, during sex…whenever you want. I want to do whatever it takes to make you happy,” he said with his voice low, staring at me in the way he always did, and I felt like I was hallucinating.

Is this real? This can’t be real. I must have died when I got home. Or maybe I’m dreaming. I’m most definitely dreaming.

“I just wanna be yours, Hana. I want you to be mine,” he went on, taking my hand with his.

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