"No! No! No!"

The sound of Hunter's yelling voice woke me. My eyes slowly drifted open. Charlie was still sleeping undisturbed, leaving me wondering if I had dreamt his voice. A battle in my head started over what was worse: hearing his voice in my dreams or being in such close proximity to hear his voice at night.

"No, please!" His voice shouted once again.

Was I just making it all up now? Playing a cruel prank on myself?

"I didn't mean to! It wasn't my fault!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, pulling the bedsheets further up my body. Something inside me wanted me to go check and see if he really was yelling. A wicked voice taunted my thoughts to do so.

It's all in your head, Dylan. Just go to sleep, I repeated over to myself to minimize the voice of the devil in my head, wanting me to do otherwise.

The sound of a loud thud sprung my eyes open once again. Charlie began to stir in his sleep, his arm wrapping around my waist, pulling my body closer to his. It was a perfect sign, I told myself to believe that I was right where I needed to be. And nowhere else.

Bright light peeking through the curtains caused my eyes to flutter open once again. I glanced at the time, surprised that I had slept till morning without any further disruptions. Gently moving Charlie's arm off my waist, I quietly moved from the bed. It was just after seven, and he had mentioned not needing to wake until seven-thirty for class. I decided to make breakfast for the two of us, debating in my mind if I was trying to make up for the unknown feeling of guilt that danced in my head. I did my best to shake the feeling as I found his button-down shirt on the floor and slipped it on.

With light footsteps, I did my best to exit Charlie's room without waking him up. I stopped, trying to remember which door led to the bathroom: the one to my right or to my left. I went with the door to my left, thankful when it opened to the room I was looking for, as the other led to Hunter's bedroom.

The old apartment Hunter used to live in was an open bachelor-style apartment. There were no doors I had to play a guessing game with. When did he move? Why did he move? I could remember him stating that he hated the idea of living with a roommate when I asked if he ever got lonely in the vast space.

Stop it, Dylan. The voice in my head warned before I got too consumed, thinking of all the questions I had. The list was endless and would probably result in driving me insane. Splashing my face with cold water, I attempted to wake my tired skin before exiting the bathroom and walking into the kitchen.

The fridge was mostly empty, leaving the only possible breakfast to make being eggs. It wasn't the most exciting thing for me to make, but Charlie had mentioned he usually didn't have time to eat before leaving on his early mornings, so I hoped the effort would still be appreciated.

I placed a pan on the stove and turned the burner on. Opening the carton, I began to crack the eggs into a bowl, enough to feed just two, deciding against making enough for three. After whisking the yokes, I slowly poured the liquid into the pan and grabbed a spatula. I hoped Charlie didn't mind having his eggs scrambled, he didn't seem like the type to be too particular.

The feeling of a body pressing against mine from behind startled me. However, the wandering hands on my waist were quick to replace my unease with one of lust.

"I didn't hear you get up," I said to Charlie, feeling a hand slowly trail up my side.

There was no response, only the sound of a shudder of delight that escaped my lips, feeling his fingertip gently graze overtop the material of the shirt. His hand moved to my shoulder, brushing my hair to the side with a light touch. The touch of his hand against my neck was replaced by his lips, which hungrily began to kiss the exposed skin.

"You better slow down before I ruin your breakfast," I teased.

My words seemed to only further Charlie's actions. The hand on my waist slowly moved to the hem of the shirt, resting on the inside of my thigh. I bit my lip in anticipation not caring about the state of his breakfast any longer. His teeth sunk into my neck, briefly, before I felt him suck against the skin he marked. I had to bite my lower lip further to conceal the moan that wanted to escape, not wanting to wake the drunken body sleeping in the other room.

The action of his lips against my neck continued to kiss, nip, and suck in a random pattern, driving me insane. I could feel my eyes close, my head rolling back, pressing my back against Charlie. My chest began to rapidly rise and fall as I lost the ability to control my breathing in response to his torturous teasing.

I felt his lips move to my ear. "I love it when you get turned on," the voice huskily whispered.

My eyes shot open, wide in surprise to hear a voice that wasn't Charlie's. A longing second passed before my body was able to move, turning around to face the person. The smirk on his lips caused a growing rage inside me to quickly replace the one of desire.

I could feel my cheeks flush in embarrassment. "H-how could you-" I stuttered.

"Don't be embarrassed, Angel," Hunter's voice taunted, taking a step forward to minimize the distance I created between us.

My hand moved to my neck, touching the skin Hunter's lips had been pressed against moments ago. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Hunter cocked his head to the side, a look of confusion washing his face as his lips parted. The sound of a door creaking open caused my body to take further trembling steps away from him.

"Everything alright?"

I snapped my head to the side, my hand dropping from my neck as my eyes fell onto Charlie. I forced my lips to twist into a smile, nodding my head.

"Of course," I cleared my throat, "I, uh, made you some breakfast."

Eyes forced on Charlie, I fought every bone in my body that wanted to look at Hunter. I couldn't process those thoughts in my head. They swarmed in a mix of anger and confusion, allowing the one of guilt to creep back in.

I did my best to keep the charade of being fine as I passed by Charlie, walking towards his bedroom.

"What did you do?" I could hear Charlie's voice growl as I quickly escaped into the room.

I quickly tore off the shirt once I was behind the door, grabbing my dress from last night off the floor.

"Dammit, Hunter!"

I needed to get out of here.

"You told me this wouldn't be a problem!"

I needed to escape this madness.

I turned the handle on the door with trembling hands, wanting to run for the exit. Charlie stopped my plan, lightly grabbing hold of my arm as I stood a few feet away from my escape.

"I've never seen him this drunk before in the morning," Charlie whispered. "Did he do something?"

I quickly looked at the drunken body, which was now laying on the couch. "No, it's fine."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

I nodded, meeting his gaze, feeling his eyes scan my face for the truth.

"Yeah, I just forgot I had, uh, class this morning."

"Class?" He questioned my blatant lie.

Please just let me go, the voice in my head cried.

As if he had read my mind, he walked me towards the front door. "Have a good class."

The smile that I once forced seemed to naturally form, grateful for Charlie not pressing it any further. I knew he was smart enough to know everything wasn't okay.

"Are you still going to come over for Thanksgiving?" I asked, feeling Hunter's presence watch the two of us from the corner of my eye.

"Of course." The sound of his voice allowed some ease to find its way inside me. Charlie leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss against my lips, giving the feeling of guilt an all-new power to crash through me.

I said my goodbyes, hurrying out the door without a second to spare. I made my way outside, taking a deep breath of the fresh air as I pressed my backside against the stone of the building. The events of the morning replayed in my mind, torturing my thoughts.

I felt sick in my heart. If it was even possible to be sick in that place.  

2021 update; context - hunter is drunk and confused and wakes up thinking they're together. but this is no excuse. what hunter did was wrong.