At break of day Nathan stirred. As he went to roll over, the cotton sheet, glued to his body with dried blood, came with him. He quickly peeled it off, creating thin trails of pain that stabbed at him, white hot and throbbing. Only when he’d finished removing the sheet did he realise Karl was sitting on the edge of his bed watching him.
“You’re up early,” said Nathan.
Karl looked at him; his expression difficult to judge.
“I’ve made a bit of a mess,” said Nathan, grimacing as he sat up.
“What happened?” asked Karl, nodding at the dried and drying blood that caked his body.
Nathan slowly shook his head. He hardly knew where to begin. And what would Karl do after he told him? There was no use in hypothesising. He’d just have to come out with it and see what happened.
“I was a gambler,”
