Rachel Riott (Preview)

Chapter 9

Swimming back and forth, lap after lap, she pushed herself to her limits as her fingers touched the pool's edge. Coming up for a quick breath, she was just as quickly back under the water, pushing off the wall and racing to the other side. Meanwhile, internally, Ella couldn't stop thinking about Allison and Thomas. Swimming like she was, she hoped it would suppress her anxiety, yet it only seemed to worsen it. She had no idea how many laps she had done or even what time it was as she got to the other side of the pool again. Surfacing for air, she took another deep breath and refilled her lungs while placing another arm on the outside edge. Her chest was pressed against the tiled cement wall, and she merely floated there, thinking. What if I ask Alli out again? If I did, would she accept all of this? I've already lied to her once. What about Greg? I didn't even ask if they were legally divorced. The thoughts bludgeoned Ella as she retreated to floating on her back.

"I should just forget her. She'll just turn me down anyway; she's not even into girls. She was adamant about that that night when I left," Ella said to the ceiling as if it were listening.

Slipping into an unusual sadness, Ella positioned herself in the water so that she was treading it to keep afloat. Returning to the edge, she pulled herself out and sat on the side, only to kick the water as her thoughts continued. The subtle splashes echoed around the room; it was the only noise that filled it until the alarm on Ella's phone went off. It was finally time. As she stood up, the sound indicated that the inevitable had arrived. The remaining water on her body rushed down her bathing suit and onto the floor. Leaving a trail behind her as she got to her jean shorts that rested on the ground. Pulling out her phone, she shut the alarm off and opened the GPS to try and find the location. Realistically, she could've just driven down each of the three streets that made up the small town, and she'd probably find it. Yet, she hated making people wait, especially if there wasn't a parking spot, and she ended up having to walk.

It only took a second for her to locate the place using the GPS, and the pictures of the pizza popped up as well. From the look of the food, Ella knew this had to be a little shop since it had a rustic vibe. Her stomach growled while admiring the photos. The laps in the pool had affected her more than she initially realized as she slipped out of her bathing suit. The room's cool air wrapped itself around her and gave her goosebumps as she rushed to get her other clothes back on. Not bothering to do her hair, she kept it in its soaked ponytail. Then left everything she didn't need on the floor of the pool room. Having put back on what she had worn earlier, she was already on her way out the door. The weight of the steel-toed boots was the complete opposite of the air-like floating feeling her feet had in the water.

She tried not to think about that as she hopped into the Jeep and started the engine. Double-checking her pockets, she could feel she had everything and drove away from the house as the GPS directed her to where she was going. Yet, it couldn't tell her what this new unknown reality would be like. Casually entering the town, Ella turned onto the first road and continued until the neon sign above the restaurant came into view. The little community was quieter now as she arrived in the restaurant's parking lot. Looking around, she tried to spot Allison or Thomas, but there wasn't any sign of them.

She took a deep breath to relax while pressing her back against the seat and sighed heavily. It was now or never, as she opened the door and stepped out before walking to the colourful entrance of the building. Part of her wondered what people may have been thinking as she walked in without a kid, but looking down each side of the street, nobody was around. The town was quiet except for a few stragglers as she entered the restaurant designed for kids. Feeling entirely out of place, Ella looked around the room as children ran circles around her legs. She shook with anxiety while walking further into the child-infested hell. A giant jungle gym structure sat in the middle and reached up to the ceiling. For a moment, she was awestruck by it as kids disappeared and emerged all over the place, like hamsters running through a network of plastic pipes.