Picture Perfect

Chapter Thirty

Sunlight flooded into the room, making it twice as hard for me to open my eyes. Through my squinted eyes I found myself in an unfamiliar setting. I panicked until I remembered where I was; my new home.

I turned to my right, surprised not to see Si there. I sighed and laid back down, grabbing my phone to keep track of my notifications, which I was now barely able to keep up with.

Tumblr notified me that one of my posts now had 100,000 notes. I almost shrieked in excitement. Too bad Si wasn't here to share this with.

I went on Instagram, looking at the +200 likes and comments and new followers.

The bathroom door opened and Si stepped out, smiling at me. He was already dressed in a shirt and a pair of running shorts.

"Oh good, you're up," he said, adjusting the strap of his pedometer.

I looked at the time on my phone, 7:48. Way too early.

"Not anymore," I said, placing my phone on the table by my bedside.

I felt Si climb on the bed until he was above me.

"Come on, it's nice out for a jog," he said.

"Well it's nice and cozy in here," I said, burying my face in the pillow fearing my morning breath.

I felt the covers slide off me and cold air tickled my bare legs.

"Si," I groaned, grabbing the covers but he was stronger.

"Chiara, come on," he said.

"Just give me a second," I said plunging back into bed, giving up on the tug of war. I heard him back away and my eyes were getting heavier.

"Chiara, your second is up let's go," he said, waking me up from my almost sleep.

I groaned and stretched, still not feeling awake enough to get up.

"Let's go," he said again, walking towards my side.

"I heard you the first ten times, jeez," I said, turning my head to the other side of the pillow.

I heard footsteps storm towards me and I shot up in surprise. I could see black spots in front of me and my head felt warm but before I could say anything, I felt Si's hand grab my upper arm and pull me out of bed.

"Okay, ouch," I said with a chuckle.

I thought he was just playing around but as my focus adjusted I could see he wasn't smiling. I gulped and he pushed me to the bathroom.

"You have five minutes, I've waited long enough," he said before he slammed the bathroom door.

I froze in shock and gulped. I turned to the mirror to see a red patch around my arm, which still felt hot.

I couldn't see my face in the mirror as I was ashamed of myself, disappointing him and angering him like that. My throat felt clogged and painful in an effort to hold back my tears but one escaped anyway.

I pulled on a robe and left the bathroom to get dressed in fresh underwear and clothes. Si looked busy on his phone while I fumbled through my closet and settled on some black yoga pants and a black long sleevee top.