Hey, Bully

Epilogue

All the curtains in the room were drawn, plunging it into darkness. Despite the undeniable luxuriousness of the hotel room, the air seemed musty and suffocating, deepening the gloomy atmosphere. Like nobody had even stayed here despite it being booked for a month already.

I took this all in with one sweep of a glance from the door.

Behind me, I heard Will take in a shocked breath.

Moving further into the room, my eyes narrowed on the unmoving lump buried beneath the sheets of the bed. There was a bottle of wine on the floor and more on the table. Letting out a loud exhale, I made my way to the sheets.

"Hey."

There was no answer.

"Wake, up."

Not even a peep.

Grabbing the sheet, I pulled it down enough to let me see his head. Who knew if this i***t was n***d? I surely didn't want to find out.

He was sleeping on his stomach. He had no shirt on. I let out a hum of approval when I saw his massive muscled back. His brown hair was getting longer and he was sporting a scruffy beard that was desperate of a shave.

I narrowed my eyes at him in distaste but also pity. This was not how a grown man should live, if this could even be called living. But heartache was a funny thing. You can either get over it or not. Skull was definitely not over it yet.

I let out another sigh, this time because I felt sad for him.

Then I lifted my heel-clad foot and dug it into his side.

"Hey, bully."

Skull's body flinched. Then he flipped over. He opened his eyes, bloodshot eyes that found me and were now glowering up at me.

"You're the f*****g bully, Hannah," he growled and pushed my foot off the bed with his hand"What are you doing here?"

A clatter made me turn my head around. Will looked up at us apologetically. He was bent down, trying to clean up the mess on the table.

"Maybe I should just order coffee for him instead?"

I gave my handsome man an appreciative smile before I twisted my neck to glare down at Skull again.

"Move," I hissed.

A brown brow lifted. "Where?"

"On."

He closed his eyes and smirked. "Don't give me s**t so early in the morning."

"It's not morning." I sat my butt down the edge of the bed. "It's the afternoon."

"And I don't need you to tell me the time."

"How many days have you last shaved?"

"I just shaved yesterday morning for Emmy's concerto, Mother," he answered in a weary tone. "Terry would kill me if I went there looking like a f*****g hobo."

"Then do it again," I instructed, eyeing him. "And for God's sake, cut your hair."

"Honey," Will warned. "Leave the grizzly alone."

"Please listen to your fiance." Skull lifted his head and frowned at Will. "And I'm not a grizzly."

"Your attitude's like a grizzly," I pointed out irritably.

"I'm a man."

"And your sense of humor is currently nowhere to be found."

Skull sighed and let his head fall back. I tugged on the sheet to get his attention again and he gave me his eyes.

Then he said, "I'm n***d under this sheet."

"I already know," I muttered with a shrug.

"Do you want to see my d**k to compare it with Will's? Because you might give the ring back."

"Don't be ridiculous."

Will acted like he heard nothing. His phone started to ring and with a resigned sigh, he excused himself and answered the phone by the window.

"His father still hates you, does he?" Skull asked.

I looked at him and grinned. "He doesn't hate me."

Skull gave me a knowing smirk.

"Fine," I shrugged. "He does. He especially hates the fact that he had to deal with me since Mom had already handed most of the business with me."

"I could already imagine the skinny bastard's face."

I whacked his shoulder. "Don't call my future father-in-law names."

Snickering, he closed his eyes again. Then he sighed. Worried, I fell silent, studying him. I know it wasn't my place to tell him to move on but I just wanted him to be happy.

"Do you want me to set you up for a blind date?" I asked him hopefully.

His lips twitched. "No."

"She's really nice," I insisted. "And she has a really nice rack."

He chuckled. "Still, no."

A great sigh escaped my lips.

"Skull, about April..."

"She's out there somewhere, Hannah," he interrupted me again. "She's close. I can feel it. I have to find her."

"It's been..." I bit my lip then released it to say, "It's been eight years."

"Doesn't matter."

I leaned forward. "But Skull–."

"Doesn't matter," he said gently but firmly. "I'm still going to find her."

This was disheartening. Seeing him so miserable pining for her made me feel disheartened for him.

"She's a bi - she's not even friendly," I whispered.

He chuckled. "You don't know her like I do, Hannah."

I stared sullenly at him.

"But yeah. I can't deny that she was a bitch."

Then why?

Why her?

Why did he love her so much to keep looking and waiting for her to come back?

April didn't deserve him. I didn't care if there was a lot of things I didn't know about her, she still didn't deserve him.

Yet I found myself praying and wishing that Skull would find her. So it would end his misery. I found myself hoping that she'd come back. Because Skull didn't deserve this too.

His cell phone started to ring somewhere.

We exchanged glances then he started to dig around the bed.

"You really are n***d," I laughed, closing my eyes when the sheet slid lower and I saw his a*s.

Will, who had finished the call, walked up behind me and covered my eyes with his hands. "You might get tempted to look," he said with amusement laced in his voice. "It's a very nice a*s after all."

"Sometimes, I get thoughts that you might be gay, Will," I heard Skull grumble as he kept looking.

"I studied in a boy's school. There's a lot of a*s there."

"Point made."

"He still needs more practice on how to talk like a regular person," I muttered with a sigh. "At least he doesn't sound too formal now."

"Yeah, I still remember when he told me to have a nice day when I was about to leave– ah, here it is."

The music grew louder and Will let go of my eyes, placing his hands on my shoulders instead. I opened them to see Skull with a pillow between his legs, putting the phone on his ear.

"What?"

He listened for a moment. Then his face darkened.

"What is it?" he barked impatiently.

I exchanged concerned glances with Will over my shoulder. Then I returned my gaze back to Skull t see his body growing tight.

"Are you certain?" he whispered.

"Is everything alright?" I asked worriedly.

Will's hands on my shoulder squeezed for me to calm down.

"I swear to f*****g God if you're not certain–," Skull stopped speaking and the anger died on his face. "Alright. I'll call you again."

Knifing out of his bed, he disconnected the call and threw it on the bed. Will was quick to cover my eyes as soon as the pillow fell. Then I heard Skull move to his closet, tearing the doors open.

"Skull, what the hell is going on?" I asked. "Where are you going?"

After a few seconds, I pushed Will's hands away and saw that he was tearing his clothes off their hangers and throwing them to the bed.

"Skull!" I blocked his way as he was grabbing his suitcase. Standing on tiptoe I held his face, my gaze searching his face. "What happened?"

His eyes wildly landed on mine.

Then his next words made my heart squeeze for him.

"They found her."

**********

A/N:

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