BELONGS TO ME

Chapter 6

Camila

The five of us are up early the following morning, but only for long enough to finish cleaning up from the night before. After that, Hailee and I tuck ourselves beneath the covers, eating chips and dip for breakfast. We're on episode three of Emily in Paris when she presses pause with a sigh.

I already know what she's going to say, and to be honest, it took a little longer than I expected.

"Carl shook his hand," she rasps, and our eyes meet. "He shook his hand..."

My smile is sad because we both know what it means.

Carl didn't feel threatened by Zayn, no jealousy or anger.

He didn't pull a Carl and make a scene, knock Zayn on his ass and dare him to rise to his feet.

My brother shook Zayn's hand.

It was the first time my brother's feelings have been truly clear.

He loves Hailee, but not the way she wants him to.

"You know what's weird," she whispers, tears brimming her eyes as they meet mine. "It doesn't hurt the way I thought it would. It stings, but I kind of thought I'd feel like I was dying." She chuckles through her sniffles. "Does that even make sense?"

"Of course it does." I curl onto my side, tucking my hands beneath my head.

"I'm sad, but I don't know, I'm also kind of happy Zayn's here."

"As you should be. We said we're having fun, boys be damned, remember? So damn them. You've now got a handsome ass man willing to turn your nights from a five into a ten. That's more than I can say."

"True." Her laugh is laced with a sob, but she shakes her head. "I can't believe Zayn's actually here."

"Maybe it's a sign."

"A sign I need to get laid."

I grin, and Hailee's famous smirk comes back.

"Atta girl."

With that, she presses play, and we binge the rest of the season, eating the same thing we did for breakfast, for dinner. We don't leave the room once.

By seven, Hailee retired to her room, and we both passed out. It was a fantastic day, but too early to go to bed, especially when we basically took mini naps all day.

Now I'm wide awake and my room is dark, despite the curtains being drawn, and when I look to the clock, I find it's only one in the morning, still a crap ton of hours left in the night.

I try finding another show, but after thirty minutes of watching trailers, I give up and tiptoe down the stairs for something to drink, careful not to wake the others.

Snagging a water bottle from the fridge, I step up to the floor-to-ceiling windows, admiring the ocean beyond it.

The glow of the moon against the dark waters is unreal, and one of my favorite sights. It's peaceful, scary as shit after a horror movie marathon, but peaceful any other time.

"Hey."

I scream, but a large hand quickly wraps around my mouth, and I spin, coming face to face with Shawn.

"Shit." My shoulders settle, a huffed laugh leaving me. "You almost caught a water bottle to the face."

He grins, slowly letting me go as he looks around the room. "Walking around in the dark?"

I rub my lips together, tipping my head at him. "That's where all the fun happens."

A scowl forms along his face, and I bite back a laugh.