Lost in Love

Chapter 14 - Going Back

After about 30 minutes, Mrs. Jeffery comes downstairs, "are you girls coming to eat?"
"Not for the moment, neither of us are very hungry."
"Okay, you let me know if you want me to heat any of it up for you later."
"Thanks."
I can't tell for sure, but I feel like Bella is slightly falling asleep on me, and either way, I am not moving.
She proves she is not asleep a few moments later, "you can go eat if you want. I'll move."
"I'm fine. I wasn't lying when I told Mrs. Jeffery that neither of us were very hungry."
"As long as you're sure."
"I am."
"Hey, do you have your book on you?"
"Yeah, it's just on the dresser."
"If I moved for you to get it, would come and read it out loud over here?"
"Of course, I'll grab my tea while I'm up, do you want your drink as well?"
"Yes, please."
When I grab her drink, I notice her phone going off, "do you want your phone, you're getting a bunch of texts?"
"No, it's just my siblings. Since I won't come home they keep messaging me, but they are both on my parents side of all of this, so I'm just not responding."
"Yikes, I will definitely leave it over here then."
She giggles, and I come back over with our drinks and my book.
She lays back on me, with her head on my chest, as I start to read. After a while I feel her completely relax and I know she has fallen asleep. It's still quite early, but this seems right for the day she's had.
I close the book and put it on the nightstand. I put my arms back around her and slowly let myself fall asleep as well.
I end up getting up at 7, and surprisingly Bella is still laying against me. I get up slowly and quietly pack up my stuff. I lean against the wall across from where Bella is still asleep on the couch, and quickly find myself smiling towards her.
I honestly thought she'd be up already, based on how early we went to bed last night.
I think about packing Bella's stuff as well, but I'm not sure if she is picky about how her things are placed.
I go out on the deck to let Bella sleep, and to just walk away from life for a bit.
Ryan comes out and sits down with his tea, "you didn't make any this morning?"
I continue watching the clouds, "no, wasn't really feeling it today."
"Okay," he stops for a moment, "are you doing okay?"
Am I? I hadn't really given much thought to how I'm feeling, "yeah." What a sad attempt at convincing him.
He doesn't say anything, just puts his arm around me, so I lean against him.
I miss these moments. All my recent issues, I've kept to myself—for the most part. I've spent the last few months sharing only what I have to. It's moments like this, that can make me feel—at least a little—better about what had happened.
"So, you're heading home today?" He relives the silence, still having a slight bit of worry in his voice.
"Yup. Bella and I are going leave this afternoon."
"Do you want to get in some rounds on the tracks before she gets up?"
I can't stop the smile that comes to my face, "sure."
He stands up first, and puts his hand out to me. We walk as softly as possible to his room, since we had to go past where the room was just below.
He keeps nudging me as we play, trying "hard" to distract me. Surprisingly, he gets a win after a while.
"Yes," he quietly celebrates his victory.
"Impressive, it's only taken fifteen years."
"Shut up," he laughs, "just let me have this."
"Okay, okay. Good job," I let myself smile, regardless of anything else.
I manage to keep my mind off yesterday, but not off Bella. I continue to find myself worrying about how she feels, what else they have said to her, and a lot more. I want to go check on her. However knowing myself, I would only stay there—not moving—until she wakes up.
We eventually hear a knock on the bedroom door. I pause the game, turning only to see a puffy eyed Bella—no doubt from all the shit last night. She still looks so tired, but I know that when she wakes up, she can't go back to sleep. She sits down quietly, partially zoned out.
"Good morning, darling."
"Morning," she smirks, sitting on the floor next to me, with her head on my shoulder.
I check the time, and we continue to play for another 30 minutes, Bella being quite quiet.
"Hey, we should go finish the packing."
She sits up and we head downstairs.
"I thought about packing your stuff while I was doing mine, but I wasn't sure how particular you are about that kind of stuff."
She nods, "I've never been too worried about how my stuff gets put, as long as it fits."
We both laugh, as we make sure we have all our stuff.
"Ready?"
She looks around, "yeah."
Ryan sits at the top of the stairs, while we get our coats.
"I'll let you know when we get to the house."
"Okay, see you later," he stands up, resting his arm on the railing.
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"You know, it's days like this that it would have been nice to have my own vehicle."
"It would've," she giggles, setting her bags down. "My fingers feel like they are going to fall off."
"Sorry... here, hold on," I head to the closet down the hall and grab some blankets.
As I get back into the living room, I find Bella on the couch, curled up in another one of my sweaters.
"Found something to keep warm in, I see," I smile. She is absolutely adorable.
I sit down beside her and get the blankets around us to warm up. Bella moves closer to me, and presses her nose against my neck, which sends chills down my back.
"Your nose is freezing," I try to stop the chills running through my body.
She giggles and continues to burrow it into my neck. She is so cold, but there is no way I'm going to try and make her stop. I move my arm up and run it through her hair, before resting it around her.
I turn on a movie and we decide to unpack later.