Only You

Chapter 13- The Village Next Door

The boat stopped off at the next village over, and we walked around, Jess, Isaac and I walking and laughing, chatting about anything, me still wishing Ollie was with us.

I couldn't lie though, the town was beautiful, with cobbled streets and little stalls selling pieces of jewellery, holiday bracelets and necklaces, all of them super cute.

We all sat down at a café with swing seats and fans that blew cold water vapour around the area, so we weren't all dying because of the heat.

We spent about an hour in that town, everyone sitting and buying drinks, enjoying the sun and the cold water vapour.

We headed back to the boat so that we could get more time at the blue lagoon, which we were all excited for.

When we got back onto the boat, Isaac, Ella, Maisie, Jess and I all went to the back of the boat to listen to the music requests that'd been put on.

It was another 20 minutes on the boat, and we listened to the music, talking happily, until Ollie came up in the conversation.

'So, what's happening with you guys now?' Ella asked me. I knew she meant it nicely, but I was so fucking confused about what was going on at the moment and I froze.

'God, I don't know, he doesn't know, nobody knows.' I sighed, wishing I'd just told him how I felt, and we'd made it official already.

'Well, he thinks it's something, clearly, and you do too, so what are you waiting for?' Isaac asked.

'I don't know, okay?' I snapped. 'Sorry.'

Just like that the conversation had moved on and I was left overthinking everything, like always. Should I tell him how I feel? I had to didn't I.

I really felt like I had no other option, and I didn't want to go home feeling like I'd missed an opportunity, and I vowed to tell him how I felt that night.

Once again, I found myself trying desperately to forget about him while the boat continued on its journey to the blue lagoon.

Well, we arrived at this so called lagoon, and I only had one word for it. Disappointing.

It was called the blue lagoon, making it sound beautiful and peaceful, but in reality, it was a sectioned off area of sea with hundreds of people swimming around, the water a murky blue grey.

The town nearby was beautiful, but the beach was a full 20 minutes away, so we stayed near to the boat, diving off the back into the sea.

We still had fun despite the lack of beauty we'd expected, and I wasn't complaining. The views I'd seem this holiday were enough to last a lifetime.

We swam around, seeing fish, doing forwards rolls and handstands in the water. The sea was cold at first, but warmed up after a while.

We spent at least an hour in the blue lagoon before getting back on the boat and sitting for a while before we set off again.

Exhausted, I lay down on the back of the boat, my head next to the speaker, wrapped in my towel, my cap covering my face from the sun.

My face and my ears were right next to the speaker, and I couldn't hear anything but the soft beat of the music and the faint lapping of the sea.

I fell asleep nearly immediately, wrapped up like a burrito, the motion of the boat slowly bobbing back and forth as the waves rippled past.

It was an escape for me, the music and the sounds completely filling my mind, not being able to think about anything else other than the words and the sound.

When the boat set off, I felt it slightly, but not enough to wake me up. I was fully asleep for at least an hour of the journey back, my mind never fully asleep, though.

It was odd, I was asleep, but I could still hear the music, still feel the boat moving back and forth, my mind completely clear, the wind and the muted chatter of everyone registering but not well enough to wake me up.

I heard songs and lyrics which reminded me of Ollie, knowing I probably wouldn't remember them when I woke up, but it was truly peaceful in that moment.

I finally woke up in time to see the views of the town we'd been in before, Isaac and Jess sleeping either side of me.

The past few days had been super early mornings followed by ridiculously late nights as nobody could sleep in the heat until at least midnight.

Everyone was exhausted as a result, everyone empty faced and sleepy, moving around the boat like clockwork, tired eyes staring blankly at the beautiful views.

I wondered where Ollie was right now, my vow to push him to the back of my mind shattering. I sighed, everyone putting on their songs and going back to sit down.

If being next to the loud music was tranquil before, now it was everything but. I could hear every sound booming in my ears, echoing loudly before fading.

I sat up, Ella and Maisie still awake and sat near me, carefully stepping over the sleeping Jess and going to sit with them, looking at the view.

We couldn't speak over the music, the constant splashing that the boat left in its wake and the passing boats on every side.

Gradually, the boat neared Omiš again, the beach and the inflatable and the town growing in front of our eyes, the other town shrinking behind us.

Jess and Isaac woke up as we got closer to the mouth of the river where we'd been rafting just yesterday. The music got turned off, the vibe fading.

Everyone put their shoes on, shoved some clothes on top of their bikinis and swimsuits and picked up their bags as the boat parked.

We went back to our apartments for lunch immediately, everyone starving, agreeing to meet back at the beach as soon as the other boat tour got back, the afternoon group, probably at 5 o'clock.

Charlotte and Dominic had booked everyone a table on the balcony of a restaurant for 6 o'clock, and then some of the kids wanted to go to this little fair we'd found.

And then we'd have to say goodbye to the families who were going home that night. The family with the two quiet boys, and Ollie and his family.

Ollie would be gone tonight, and the crushing reality of this only hit me when I thought about it deeply. Oh no.

I might never see him again if I didn't make a move, so I had to, and I would, I promised myself a thousand times over that I would say everything that night.

Lunch was quick and dull, but after I went and did my favourite thing. I went outside with an ice cold lemonade on the balcony of the apartment with a good book, settling myself down in a chair in the sun.

The chattering of the crickets and the background noise of the people on the street and the cars passing by was my music, and the book I had chosen, well.

It was a sad romance, as usual, All the Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven, one of my favourite books along with The Fault in our Stars by John Green and some other books of the same genre.

Usually, the best books were the ones that could make me laugh out loud, or the ones that could make me cry, like the two I just mentioned that never fail to make me cry.

With books that are sad like that, I usually read and re-read again and again hoping that the ending will change but it never does until I remember every single word.

I got through nearly every page in no time, picking up another book and topping up my lemonade. It was a way to pass the time without just sitting inside scrolling on my phone.

After a while, I got my phone and my headphones and put my usual playlist of all the songs I loved to listen to most of the time, but now it wasn't the same.

Every song I used to listen to was sad and dreary, especially the ones I'd downloaded since Jack and I broke up, but now I didn't care about him, and I cared about Ollie, so the lyrics were no longer relatable.

Curse you, Ollie. Because of you, I'm going to have to redo my entire fucking playlist.