Fragile Heart

25

Landos pov

"I'm so full," Stella rubbed her stomach as we walked into the hotel room. The thing is, she barely even ate her food. I will say she had at least a couple of mouthfuls and pushed her bowl away.

"You hardly ate, Stel," I say softly as I put down my camera. While we were at the night market, I had to take photos, of course.

I had to take photos of Stella.

"I'm still stuffed, I think I honestly ate too much," she said quickly, chuckling as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with her.

I shrug and glance at the time. It's midnight we definitely should go to bed now.

I walk up to the closed door, knock, and wait for a response.

"Give me a second!" Stella yelled out, so I just leaned against the wall and waited.

This will be the first time I'm sharing a bed with her. I don't know why she was so hesitant about it. I'm sure she's shared beds with plenty of people, especially because of how beautiful she is. I'm sure plenty of guys wanted to get into bed with her.

So what was so wrong with me?

"Come in," she says softly, and I open the door to see Stella standing at a mirror, looking at herself.

"Stella?" I question, but she just looks over at me and then back at the mirror, where she has her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing?" I chuckle and come up behind her. "Just looking," she says quietly, almost as if she doesn't want me to hear her.

She was wearing some boy shorts and a lace singlet. Did she maybe not like what she was wearing? Did she pack the wrong clothes? I couldn't help but wonder as I glanced at her.

"Do you want something else to wear or something?" I ask, and she stays still, then slowly nods.

I walk over to my suitcase and pull out one of my favorite hoodies. I never give people my hoodies, but I feel bad for her.

"Here," I say softly, putting the hoodie over her head. Once it's fully covering her, I see a smile on her face. "Thank you, Lan," she says softly, and my heart starts to beat faster.

"Don't worry about it." I smile then walk over to the bed, the only bed.

I take off my top and sit on the edge of the bed as I wait for Stella to walk over, she doesn't.

"What?" I ask as is see a shocked expression on her face. "I didn't know you sleep shirtless." She chuckles scratching her head and just staring at me.

I shrug then crawl over to my side and pull the covers over me. "Barrier?" I ask and nods with an unsure look on her face.

"Look I can just sleep on the
couch it's—" I cut her off, what is she thinking. "Stella seriously what's is going on with you!?" I raid my brows and throw my hands in the air.

After we came home from the market she's just being so weird and unusual.

"It's um nothing, it's fine." She says quietly and lays on the bed next to me.

I turn around and flick off the lamp and we lay there in silence.

|~~~~~|

I was awakened by the sound of a whimper coming from beside me. I flickered my eyes open and lifted myself up, looking around to see what the noise was.

And once I'm met with the body of Stella lying next to me, my heart starts pounding out of my chest. I watch Stella thrash and whimper in her sleep. The moonlight filters through the curtains, casting eerie shadows across her face.

My mind was running wild with worry. "Stella?" I question softly as I nudge her to wake, but she doesn't respond. Her body continues to shake, and she lets out soft groans and cries.

It's like she's stuck, but I feel utterly helpless. Stella's cries pierced the silence of the night, echoing off the walls of the bedroom.

"Stella!" I yell a little louder, shaking her to try and wake her up, but she still doesn't wake.

"Help," I hear her mumble, barely audible. Okay, now I'm fucking worried. She's scaring me.

"Stella Angel Leclerc!" I raise my voice even louder as I lean over and grab onto both of her cheeks. I watch the moon shining on her face, her brows furrow, and her eyes are squeezed shut.

"Charles!" She all of a sudden screams out, and my ears hurt as my eyes widen in shock.

I pull my hands away, and once I do, her eyes shoot open, and she stays still. "Stel," I murmur, feeling a mixture of concern and confusion.

I watch as tears fall down her cheeks, and she lifts herself up, pulling her legs to her chest. My heart aches seeing her in such distress, and I move closer, wanting to offer comfort.

"Angel," I mumble, placing my hand on her knee and caressing it slowly. She moves her head slightly, and our eyes lock. There's a moment of silent between us.

When she sees me, she crawls over and wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me down so she's on top of me now. I'm taken aback by her sudden movement, but I let her take control, allowing her to find comfort.

"Lan—" she sobs. "I'm here," I say softly, caressing her back as she lays in my arms. I don't know if I should ask her what just happened or just let her lay in my arms.

"Stella?" I say softly, and she nods. "It was just a bad dream, Lan," she mumbles, nuzzling her head into my neck. I hold her tighter, wanting to reassure her that she's safe now.

I realize that this is how she's going to stay for the rest of the night. I lean down and kiss her temple softly.

"It's okay now, Angel."