La Rosa Del Sur (The Rose of the south)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11
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There was a sound like a fire alarm and my eyes flew open. I looked around frantically for the source of the noise and saw a tiny black alarm clock sitting on the nightstand, eight am flashing on the front. Zoella was sitting up already, and hastily pushed the button on top to silence the nuscience. I flopped back onto the bed and put a pillow over my face.

"Carajo, Zoe," I said, my voice muffled against the pillow. "¿Porque tu hiciste eso? I nearly had a heart attack." I wrenched the pillow off of my face and turned to look at her.

"I had to make sure you'd get up today," Zoe said, laughing lightly.

"You could've just shaken me."

"We both know you would've pushed me away and rolled over," Zoe swung her legs over the side of her bed and stretched. "Besides, you have a mission today, you don't want to miss that." She stood up and stretched some more.

I sighed and threw off the covers. I slowly pushed myself into a seated position and yawned. She was right, of course. I had to get up at some point. I stood up and went to grab my clothes and toothbrush. Once I was dressed, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror, which was surrounded by an intricate frame of small gems and stones, and ran a comb through my mass of brown curls. After a minute, I decided I looked decent enough and walked out of the bathroom.

"Girl, I thought you'd never get out of there, I need to pee so bad," Zoe laughed and pushed past me. The door banged shut behind her. "You can go to breakfast without me if you want," She yelled through the door.

"Thanks!" I yelled back. "I'm pretty hungry, so I'll see you there." I grabbed my purse, and headed out the door.

The sun was shining through the between the pillars of stone and I could hear birds singing. I paused for a moment, breathing in the morning air, closing my eyes and smiling against the sun. My head ached a bit from the amount of wine I'd consumed the night before, but it wasn't too bad. I opened my eyes and continued on my way. I paused at the balcony in the entrance room, and saw Luca, his back turned, leaning against the railing at the bottom stairs.

I called out to him. "Good morning!" Luca turned around and smiled widely.

"Good morning, Roseina," He said as I ran down the stairs. "You slept well?"

"Oh yes," I nodded vigorously. "I slept like a rock, until I was woken up, quite rudely, by Zoella's alarm clock."

He laughed. "Well, you're just in time. Rafael and Diego just got here half an hour ago, and they've been quite lonely without you." He held out his arm. "Shall we?"

I took his arm and he led me down to the dining room from last night. The chandelier above the table glittered in the sunlight streaming through a high window at the end of the table. Rafael and Diego at the end of the table, completely engrossed in their food. Rafael turned when he heard our footsteps, a fork in his mouth, and waved merrily at me. Diego sat across from him. He looked up, and gave me only a slight nod and a smile. I let go of Luca's arm and settled into a seat on Diego's right. Luca sat next to me and grabbed a fork.

"Buenos días," I said cheerfully.

"Roseina, you're going to love this," Rafael said thickly, his mouth full of food.

"What are we having?" I asked looking down at the plate set in front of me.

"Apricot-Pancetta Strata," I looked up to see Lorenzo entering the room. "Good morning, Roseina. You look well rested." He pulled out a chair and sat next to Rafael.

"I am, thank you," I took a bite of the strata. "Mm, this is delicious! You must give me the recipe." I dug my fork deep into the scrumptious dish, and devoured another bite.