Chapter 846: Playing Dirty
Seeing Stella's face, Hannah knew she was busted.
Stella whined, "Why didn't you wake me up? I was dying to see the sunrise, and now I missed it! Hannah, you're the worst."
Hannah, feeling totally innocent, said, "I did try to wake you! I called you a bunch of times, but you wouldn't budge! You even told me to let you sleep."
Stella wasn't buying it, "No way! If you had called me for the sunrise, I would've been up in a flash."
Hannah, exasperated, said, "Believe what you want, but I did call you! If you couldn't wake up, that's on you."
Stella was fuming. But then Hannah dropped a bombshell that made all her anger disappear.
Hannah said, "Charles got up, so who can you blame for not getting up?"
Stella's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Hannah's wrist, "Wait, you mean you watched the sunrise with Charles?"
Charles and Hannah watching the sunrise together? How romantic!
If it was just the two of them, she didn't feel so bad about missing it.
If she had been awake, she would've pretended to be asleep to give them some alone time.
Hannah, not seeing any reason to hide it, nodded, "Yeah! But I went first, and he showed up later! I saw you guys sleeping like logs, so I didn't bother waking you! I thought it would be a waste to miss it, so I went alone. Didn't expect Charles to wake up too."
Stella's mood did a 180. She wasn't mad anymore.
Stella said, grinning, "Fine, you two watched it together. I'm cool with that! I'm still young, plenty of sunrises in my future! You guys enjoy."
She was so happy her smile was practically touching her ears.
Hannah rolled her eyes, "Alright, hurry up and wash up, or breakfast will get cold."
Stella grabbed her arm, "One last thing."
Hannah raised an eyebrow, "What?"
Stella glanced at the sofa, "Where's Austin? Didn't he go to see the sunrise?"
She needed to know if it was just Hannah and Charles or if Austin was there too.
Hannah rolled her eyes, "It was just the two of us! Austin's still out cold!"
With that confirmation, Stella laughed out loud, not hiding her excitement, "Good for him! He needs the sleep."
Stella went to wash up.
Austin had been sitting on the sofa, lost in thought, not saying a word.
Hannah didn't notice anything off and smiled, "Didn't see the sunrise, feeling bummed? It's cool, we can come back another time."
Hearing her, Charles raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.
Austin looked at her, confused, "Why didn't you call me when you went to see the sunrise?"
But you called Charles. He didn't buy that they went separately. They must've planned it.
Hannah explained, "I saw you sleeping so soundly, I didn't have the heart to wake you! Plus, I didn't think you were that into seeing the sunrise, so I figured I'd let you sleep. You've been swamped with your studies, only getting four or five hours a night. It's rare for you to get a break, so I wanted you to rest."
She was being honest. That's really what she thought. But Austin didn't believe her. She had lied to him too many times; he didn't trust her anymore.
Stella washed up in record time, just brushed her teeth and splashed some water on her face, then plopped down on the floor around the table, all excited, "Come on, guys, dig in! Hurry up!"
Hannah grinned, "Mr. Watson and I already ate! You and Austin go ahead!"
Right after she said that, Austin suddenly got up and headed to the bathroom, leaving Hannah puzzled.
Hannah was baffled, "What's up with Austin? Is he mad 'cause I didn't wake him for the sunrise?"
Stella chuckled, "Yeah, probably. Just ignore him. He'll get over it soon! There'll be plenty of sunrises to catch in the future."
Hannah was clueless, but Stella could see it clear as day—Austin was jealous.
Even from a mile away, you could tell Austin was jealous.
Austin was green with envy 'cause he knew Hannah had a thing for Charles.
Stella hoped Austin would back off to save himself some heartache later.
Charles gave a long, thoughtful look at the spot where Austin had left, deep in his own thoughts.
Once everyone was ready, the four of them started heading down the mountain.
The mountain wasn't that high, and with trails to follow, chatting on the way down made it a breeze. They reached the bottom just before sunset.
Austin stayed silent the whole way, unlike the climb up where he was always by Hannah's side, making sure everyone knew he was there.
Back at the resort, Austin didn't say a word, grabbed a clean set of clothes, and went straight to shower.
The other three quickly followed suit.
After freshening up, they got ready to head home.
Charles took one car.
Stella drove another.
Austin drove with Hannah.
On the way, Austin kept his mouth shut.
Finally, Hannah, slow on the uptake, noticed something was off and asked, concerned, "Austin, are you still mad? I didn't know you wanted to see the sunrise that bad. If I had known, I would've woken you up."
She thought Austin was mad, like Stella, 'cause he missed the sunrise.
Austin still didn't say a word.
He was scared that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to hold back his anger, and it would hurt Hannah and mess up their relationship.
Seeing him stay silent, Hannah panicked, grabbed his arm, and nervously said, "Austin, don't be mad. We'll come back next time and be better prepared."
Austin took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Once he was sure he wouldn't blow up, he forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace.
Austin said, "I'm not mad! Just a bit bummed out! You've been tired these past couple of days, so get some rest when we get back! You have work tomorrow!"
Hannah was still a bit worried, "Are you really not mad?"
Austin pretended to be chill, "I'm really not mad!"
Only then did Hannah feel relieved.
Austin dropped Hannah off at her apartment entrance, watching her go inside before driving back to his place.
This was the first house he had bought with his own money.
He usually stayed in the dorms, only coming here for special occasions.
Austin entered the password.
The door opened. The house was pitch dark.
In the darkness, a creepy sound echoed.
Austin seemed used to it, closed the door behind him without turning on the lights, and navigated through the darkness to a room.
The sound grew louder and clearer.
It sounded like someone was talking.
He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open forcefully, taking in everything in the room.
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