In Between

CHAPTER 10: HER CHOICE

Ariane has decided, and she plans to meet Matteo.

Ariane was holding her breath when she reached for her phone on the side table with unshed tears in her eyes. And when she got a hold of her phone, she took a deep breath before dialing Matteo’s number.

It only took two rings for Matteo to answer the call, which made Ariane smile weakly.

“Hey. What’s with the call? Wanna hang out again?” Matteo asked her, excitement evident in his tone.

A lone tear fell from her left eye, but she did her best to stop her voice from trembling. “Can we talk?” she asked, trying her best to hide any trace of sadness in her voice.

“Yeah, sure,” Matteo instantly answered, obviously excited. “Where do you want to meet?”

“In the restaurant where we first met,” she answered as a sad smile made its way to her lips, after the very moment she remembered their first encounter.

“What a coincidence! I was also planning to take you there today!” Matteo exclaimed happily, making her frown.

“Why?” she asked, still frowning.

Matteo was silent for a minute, like he was having second thoughts about whether to tell her his reasons or not. “Nothing,” he answered after a moment of silence.

“So, I’ll just see you there then?” he intentionally diverted the topic, making Ariane frown even more. But she still chose to let it slide and respect his decision to keep his plan a secret.

“Yeah, I’ll just see you there,” she answered with a shrug.

“Great!” he squealed in delight for some reason she can’t pinpoint. “Anyway, you take care,” he added.

“I will. You too. Bye,” Ariane replied to finally end their conversation.

“Bye,” Matteo replied shortly.

As soon as the call ended, Ariane let out a heavy sigh and let herself be occupied by their conversation earlier. By the tone of Matteo’s voice, it seemed like he was planning something. He has never asked her to go out on a friendly date or anything else. Not even once. It’s always Ariane who asks him to go out to different places, and Matteo learned the art of waiting for her call all the time. Sometimes, he would be the one to call her, but only to remind her of their plans. That’s why she’s a hundred percent sure that Matteo is up to something, and she’s bothered about it because Matteo would never ask to meet her in the place where they first met for nothing. She’s sure as hell that there is something serious behind it.

Ariane can feel it. And whatever it is, she is certain that it won’t turn out well, especially now that she has already decided.

Ariane was pulled out of her reverie when her phone made a familiar sound. It’s the alarm she set to remind her to check out of her apartment and to take a cab that will drop her off at the restaurant where they agreed to meet before going to her real destination.

Ariane gripped her phone and took a deep breath. “I can do this!” she encouraged herself.

Ariane went to the side of the bed where her belongings were situated. She put the strap of her backpack on her right shoulder and held her suitcase in her other hand before walking towards the door.

A sad smile appeared on her lips after she locked the door to her apartment, which had been her home for more than a month. Then she stared at the closed door in front of her for more than a minute before descending to the ground floor of the building using the elevator.

Ariane went straight to the receptionist to check out. After checking out, she immediately exited the building and took a cab.

Ariane let the cab driver take care of her luggage as she waited inside the car. And when the cab driver went inside the car and started the engine, she immediately told him the name of the restaurant where she agreed to meet Matteo.