3. Bella
Chapter three
Bella
“Why would I be jealous?”
Is he serious?
There’s every reason for him to be jealous, isn’t there? Ellen and he were once together. It is only natural for him to feel angry at seeing her with another man.
Am I wrong?
Maybe it’s because he has no desire to be back with her? Or maybe it’s because he was never truly in love with her?
I rub my forehead, disliking the turn of this conversation. It reminds me too vividly of my own relationship and how angry Steven would be if he saw me talking with Aaron right now.
We’re not even flirting.
Talking would be enough for him.
“You know, it’s getting really hot out here,” I say. “I’m going in.”
I quickly head into the cabin. Ellen and Mike are talking, both holding ice-filled glasses.
“Mike, we better get back to the cabin,” Aaron says behind me.
I sigh out a breath of relief. Mike gives Ellen an apologetic look and heads out.
Ellen follows him to the doorway, then stares out after them for a while.
My head pounds as I slide into a chair at the table. Maybe it’s just the heat.
With a squeal, Ellen shuts the door and turns around. “Isn’t he amazing?”
Oh, I know exactly where this is going. My stomach starts to churn. I can’t take it. It’s been bad enough pretending to be having a good time for Ellen’s sake.
“I want to go home,” I blurt.
Ellen’s eyes widen. She hurries over. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking. You’re right, I shouldn’t have invited him in. Let’s go get ice cream.”
“No. I want to go home, Ellen.”
“We’re leaving tomorrow.”
I shake my head, fighting the emotion boiling up in me. “Ellen, please. We came to Castleton because you thought it would help me. It hasn’t helped. I need to go home.”
Ellen’s shoulders slump. She puts an arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I really thought you were doing better here. If you really want to leave, then we can leave. I’ll go get us checked out and then come back to pack.”
“I’ll start packing.” I give her a reluctant smile. “But also, if you want to stop by the big cabin and get Mike’s number, go ahead.”
By the look on her face, I know that she already has his number. She chews her lip, her eyebrows twitching together like a scolded golden retriever.
I can’t help it. I burst out laughing. The awful feelings in the pit of my stomach release as I get up and hug her.
“It’s okay. I’m glad you hit it off. And for whatever it’s worth, Aaron told me he’s a good guy.” I release her and nod shakily.
Ellen kisses my cheek. “You’re the best.”
Soon enough, we are ready to go. I drive, wanting something to focus on. The road from Castleton to the highway is long and winding, with tall pine trees growing on either side.
When we get about two miles from the highway, we come to the end of a long line of traffic.
I stop the car and crane my neck, trying to see how far the line goes. The road is straight for about two miles, but then curves again.
A slow stream of vehicles starts to pass us. As we wait, my fingers drum against the steering wheel.
“You want to listen to some music?” Ellen asks.
“Sure. Oh!” I sit up a little straighter. “It looks like someone is talking to the people ahead of us.”
A man in a white hard hat and an orange vest walks along the shoulder of the road. Ellen rolls her window down when he reaches us.
“Afternoon, ladies,” he says, nodding at us. “Hate to tell you, you’re going to have to turn around.”
“What?” I yelp. “Why?”
“All that rain we got yesterday caused a landslide. Blocked about four miles. We’ll be working to clear it up, but the hillside is still unstable and we’re going to have to work on it first.”
My stomach drops.
Ellen groans. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Nope. But there’s no getting out of Castleton for a few days,” he says, then nods again. “ will keep you updated.”
“Thank you,” I say.
He moves on, and I thud my head back against the headrest. Well, this day just keeps getting better.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get our cabin back,” Ellen says, sounding despondent. Then she straightens. “But if we can’t get a cabin, then we can sleep on the beach. Use those extra sheets we bought to make ourselves a little tent. It’ll be so cute!”
I laugh. “Ah, Ellen. If there’s one thing I can count on you for, it’s to find the silver lining. Thanks.”
It takes us an hour to get through the lineup, but finally, we turn around and head back to the town.
When we get to the register office, though, we learn someone has already booked our cabin. There are no other cabins open, either.
“Great,” I groan as we head back outside. “Now what?”
Ellen combs her fingers through her hair. “Let’s go check out that hotel. And if there’s no room, there’s always—oh, boy!”
She grabs my arm, her eyes widening.
“What?” I start, turning.
“Bella!” A familiar voice says.
I freeze in place. This can't be happening. Is it too much to ask for a sudden sinkhole to swallow me whole?
Steven saunters towards us, a smirk on his face. “I was starting to worry that you’d gotten through. But I overheard you two. You don’t have anywhere to go, huh?”
“We’ll be fine,” I say stiffly.
Steven reaches for my arm. Ellen pulls me away before he can touch me.
“Why don’t you two stay with me in my cabin?” Steven says, glaring at Ellen now. “It’ll give you and me time to talk, Bella. We have a lot to work out.”
I let out a shaky breath. “No. There’s nothing to work out, Steven. I’m sorry for running out on the wedding, but it’s over. We are not together anymore.”
He frowns deeply at me. “Look, maybe I put too much pressure on you for the wedding. But I want to work this out.”
I shake my head.
“We don’t need your help, thank you,” Ellen says.
Steven ignores both of us. “I know we can move past it. So why don’t you and Ellen just stay with me in the cabin and we’ll talk about it, okay? Even if I’d rather have privacy.”.
He glares at Ellen, and I can practically see the thought bubble above his head—complete with a childish tongue sticking out, like he’s about to unleash his inner playground bully.
I can already hear the arguments he’ll make, blaming Ellen for what I did.
She never liked me.
She poisoned you against me.
Everything I’ve heard before. Things that he’s thrown at me after every argument.
I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “We’ll be fine. Please leave us alone.”
I pray that the hotel will have rooms for us. Right now, the idea of sleeping on the beach is a little bit terrifying.
“There you are,” a voice calls from behind us.
Aaron.
Relief floods over me. Aaron and Mike join us, both grinning as though nothing is wrong.
“Steven,” Aaron says, eyeing him. “We were just taking Ellen and Bella to dinner.”
“Aaron. Well, I was just—”
“We have a reservation,” Aaron interrupts. “We’ll see you around.”
My heart hammers in my chest as we walk along the sidewalk. Aaron opens the door to the first restaurant we come to; soon, we’re settled in a corner booth with drinks in hand.
“Thank you,” Ellen says to Aaron. “It was getting really uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry about paying, we’ll cover it,” Mike said. “And we heard enough of the conversation to know that you don’t have a place to say tonight anymore?”
I clear my throat. “We’ll check out the hotels. See if there happens to be a vacancy.”
Aaron leans on the table. “If you want to, you can stay in our cabin. We have the space for you to each have a room of your own or share if you’d be more comfortable that way. The landslide means the team isn’t coming, after all.”
Ellen nods even as I open my mouth to say we’ll figure something else out.
“That would be wonderful, thank you.” She smiles at Mike.
Right.
I reach for her hand. “Can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
Ellen lifts an eyebrow at me. We excuse ourselves and put some distance between us and the men.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I ask in a low voice. “I mean, he’s your ex. Are you really going to be okay with that?”
“Did you see the line at the camping register when we left? It was longer than my last relationship!” Ellen replies, rolling her eyes. “There’s going to be lots of people sleeping on the beach tonight, I can guarantee you.”
I groan. “Meaning we’ll be hard-pressed to find a place to sleep without a tent or a miracle.”
“Staying with Aaron and Mike isn’t going to be nearly as bad as staying with Steven.” Ellen squeezes my hand. “It’s going to be okay, Bella. I promise.”