3: 3
Merlin's eyes slid over to me, and there was nothing left of the old warmth or friendliness in them.
Only the taunt of a winner.
I couldn't watch anymore. I turned and stumbled out of the hotel.
But the moment I got past the front doors, my stomach only hurt worse, and my head spun harder.
Everything went black, and I passed out.
When I opened my eyes again, some kind stranger had already gotten me to the hospital.
A nurse was hooking up my IV, scolding me without much patience.
"What is wrong with you, young man? Working yourself that hard on an empty stomach?"
"It's this hot out. Don't you know you can still get heatstroke and dehydrated at night? You threw up all over your pants. The male nurse already took them off you, so hurry up and get someone from your family to bring you a new pair."
Maybe it was the IV, but my bladder felt tight and full.
The trouble was, under the blanket I had nothing on but a pair of underwear, so there was no way I could get to the bathroom on my own.
I thought about it. The restaurant where Maureen and the others were was the closest place to me.
I called Maureen.
The first several calls got cut off. It wasn't until the tenth try that she finally picked up.
Embarrassed, I kept my voice low.
"Maureen, I got heatstroke and passed out. I'm at the hospital right now. Could you buy me a pair of pants and bring them over?"
"Something really cheap is fine..."
Maureen cut me off, irritated.
"Harrison, are you ever going to stop with the act?"
"Merlin's in a good mood right now. Can you really not stand to see him happy? Enough. I don't have the time or the patience for your drama."
The line went dead without mercy, leaving only the cold beep in my ear.
In the end it was my academic advisor who got my message for help. He grabbed his own sweatpants, rushed over, and looked after me all night.
The next day, as I was being discharged, he asked me one more time to be sure.
"Harry, are you certain you want to file for withdrawal?"
I opened my phone. Maureen hadn't called back. She hadn't even sent a single text.
There was only a post from that same classmate who'd egged her on to give the gift last night.
【Let's congratulate the happy couple. Wedding night tonight~】
The photo was Maureen holding up a slightly tipsy Merlin as they walked into the hotel.
Underneath, Merlin had left a laughing-crying face and a bashful one.
Maureen had replied:
【Stop it, delete that for me right now. Don't you know Merlin's shy?】
But she never denied the caption.
I stared at that reply for a long time.
Then I put my phone away and pulled my mouth into something like a smile for my advisor.
"Yeah. I'm certain."
I followed him to the office and filled out the withdrawal paperwork.
When I got back to the dorm, though, I found all my personal things dumped outside the door.
Even my blanket was soaked, reeking of disinfectant.
I frowned at my three roommates. "What's this supposed to mean?"
The dorm leader kicked a chair over and jabbed a finger at my face.
"You've still got the nerve to ask? Your good buddy Merlin told us everything you've been up to. You sleep around, and you only got out of the hospital this morning because you caught some filthy disease. How do you have the face to keep living in this dorm? You trying to get the rest of us sick?"
"We're not living with something dirty like you. Grab your stuff and get out, fast, or I'm reporting you to the school!"
I froze for a second, unable to make sense of it.
In the end it was Ken Finch, the roommate I usually got along with best, who pulled me out into the hallway and warned me under his breath.
"Harry, this morning Merlin suddenly posted some... um, pretty revealing photos of you in our whole department group chat."
"He deleted them fast, but a lot of people still saw. Everyone got worked up and threw a bunch of questions at him. Anyway, just look for yourself and you'll get it."
Confused, I tapped into the thousand-person group I'd always kept on mute.
When I saw what was in there, my mind went off with a roar.
【Whoa, who knew Harrison had a body like that? Bet he's got plenty of clients.】
【Heard someone saw the advisor pick him up from the hospital this morning, and he wasn't even wearing last night's pants. Don't tell me he got busted in a vice raid? That rough, played himself all the way into the hospital?】
【Ew, so dirty, so gross. Think he's got something contagious?... Three seconds of pity for his roommates.】
To all of it, Merlin posted a shushing face.
【Aw, it really was just a slip of the finger. Just pretend you didn't see, everyone.】
【Harry's got no parents. It's not easy for him, trying to earn a little money. As for whether he actually caught something... I really shouldn't be spilling someone's private business. Anyway, I hope nobody discriminates against him, and please protect yourselves. Always be careful about disinfecting.】
I didn't need to look to know what those few messages Merlin had deleted from the top were.
They had to be the photos Maureen put up on the big screen last night.
I couldn't read the messages after that anymore.
My whole body was shaking hard, and there was only one thing left in my head.
Maureen forwarded those photos to Merlin.
This was what she'd meant when she said no one would ever pass them around.
