5. Bella
Chapter five
Bella
The library is hosting the scavenger hunt, so we head there to grab the rules. With Castleton being so small, the four of us agree to stroll through town as we search for clues.
“This is so exciting,” Ellen gushes, pouring over her piece of paper. “I haven’t done a scavenger hunt in years. Okay, let’s see. A statue of a fish.”
Mike leans in close to her. “I think I saw something that in front of the sporting goods store.”
They trail off a few feet in front of Aaron and me. The two of them look just a happy couple, standing with their heads nearly touching.
Aaron shoots me a triumphant look, and I grin back in return. This is working out just fine. Ellen and Mike can’t get enough of talking to each other. Even when Ellen turns around to make sure we’re following, she’s quickly distracted again.
It’s everything I hoped for from this scheme.
I love Ellen to death, of course. She hasn’t had anyone she’s really clicked with for quite a while.
I’d hate for her to lose out on this opportunity with Mike because she’s too busy worrying about my feelings.
“There’s a lot on this list,” I say, moving to the next stage of our plan. “Why don’t we split up? Mike and Ellen can take the left side, while Aaron and I take the right side?”
Ellen frowns. “Are you sure?”
“No way! I don’t want to split up, and that’s exactly why I suggested it,” I reply with a laugh, pulling her in for a hug. “Honestly, we’ll cover more ground if we split up. And if it feels too short, we can always do it again in reverse—like a scavenger hunt remix!”
“Sounds good to me,” Aaron adds. “Good idea, Bella.”
Ellen still seems a bit unsure, but the doubt fades quickly. “Alright, let’s do this!”
“Meet back at that café over there in two hours?” Mike suggests, gesturing.
“Sure.”
We go our separate ways. The first thing on Aaron’s and my list is a fountain arch. I think there might be one at Town Hall, so we head over there.
Castleton is a very charming town. The buildings are all built in the style of the late 1800s, but rather than being in disrepair like a lot of old towns, they’re all fresh and vibrant. It’s clear the town takes a lot of pride in its appearance.
We get to the Town Hall, a large stone building with a magnificent arched doorway. A fountain sits in the yard.
“There we go.” Aaron snaps a picture of it. “What’s the next clue?”’
“A black and white bird. Maybe a seagull at the beach?”
Aaron nods. “Let’s skip that one for now and stick to town.”
“Good idea.” I scan the list and then look up to check if there’s anything nearby we can use for it.
Steven lingers nearby, holding a sheet of paper himself. He’s pretending not to notice Aaron and me standing here.
When I look at him, he turns his back and starts walking away.
“What is it?” Aaron looks up and scans the area. He narrows his eyes. “Is that—”
“Look, this clue says a yellow bovine. I think there’s a restaurant called The Golden Cow,” I say quickly.
We continue but try as I might, I can’t put Steven out of my mind.
But rather than thinking about him and him alone, I find myself considering Aaron instead.
His behavior is so different from what Steven’s would be in this situation.
I can’t say that Steven and I have a good relationship. We never did, really.
If Aaron were like Steven, he would be deliberately trying to get between Mike and Ellen. He’d make jokes at Ellen’s expense to make her seem unhinged.
I know from experience.
Steven and I broke up several times in the course of our dating. Even if he was the one to break up with me, the moment I started to try to date again, he was back.
He’d be wildly jealous regardless of the circumstances. He’d tell me I was being cruel to him by rubbing my new relationship in his face if I so much as posted a photo on social media.
Even if he was dating other women at the same time.
Once, I thought that behavior meant he really loved me. He was good at talking, that was sure, good at making me doubt myself.
Now I’m starting to see that it wasn’t affection at all. It was territorial.
No wonder Ellen and Aaron can remain friendly even after breaking up. Aaron is so much more mature and confident in himself.
Steven… I don’t know how someone so arrogant can be so insecure.
“Bella?” Aaron touches my elbow. “Are you okay?”
I shake off the thought. There’s no point in comparing Aaron to Steven, except to remind myself why I shouldn’t give Steven another chance.
“Um, I guess I’m a bit distracted,” I admit. “You’d think after I left him at the altar, Steven would be blasting me on social media as if I’m the villain in a bad reality show, instead of chasing me down here and saying we can work things out. What’s next, a love ballad?”
Aaron opens his mouth, then closes it again.
“What?”
“It’s not my place to say anything,” he says slowly. “But honestly? I think he’ll use the fact that you ran from the marriage to manipulate you into giving him everything he wants. If you go back to him, he’ll make you pay for it forever.”
I flinch. He’s probably right.
“Let’s focus on the hunt,” I say quickly. “Okay, here’s an old oak tree. There’s one near the playground.”
Aaron frowns. “I thought we were talking about the oak tree mural on the side of the bowling alley.”
“I’m pretty sure they mean an actual oak tree.” I try to visualize the mural on the side of the bowling alley. “The park is closer, anyway.”
“But if the park oak isn’t old enough, we’ll have to go back to the bowling alley anyway,” Aaron argues.
I frown, heading toward the park. “That mural looks very new, though. It specifically says that it’s an old oak tree. If they meant any oak tree, they’d say that. So let’s just go with the one in the park.”
“Bella, stop.” Aaron hasn’t followed me.
I turn back.
“You can’t just decide I’m wrong and go on ahead without talking to me about it,” he says, frowning.
“But you are wrong.”
“Maybe. And maybe you’re wrong.”
I roll my eyes. “The park is on the way to the other things we need. I’m not wrong, they put everything else together so that it’s a logical progression.”
Aaron opens his mouth and then pauses. He starts to laugh as he shakes his head.
“Listen to us! It’s not a big deal to do both,” he says. “The town’s not that big.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out what game he’s playing.
Only to realize there is no game.
He’s being genuine.
“Let’s go to the park and then get everything else,” he says, walking with me now. “Then on the way to the café, we can swing around the bowling alley and snap a picture of it, too.”
“That’s… reasonable,” I say slowly.
“That will only add a little bit to our trip, rather than running over there now and coming back for everything else.” He shakes his head. “Sorry for getting so bull-headed.”
I blush, his apology making me more embarrassed. “I’m sorry, too. I guess I was being stubborn over nothing.”
Aaron shrugs. “Sometimes we get that way. But we figured it out, right?”
He winks at me. My stomach flutters as though a thousand butterflies have been let loose.
It leaves me breathless.
What is this?
I can’t remember the last time I had a feeling like this.
And I certainly don’t want it!
I’m fresh out of a breakup.
The last thing I need right now is to complicate things with butterflies—my life’s already a zoo, and I’m pretty sure I can’t afford a petting zoo!
I take a deep breath as Aaron and I head toward the park.
At least this will be over in a few days. Then Aaron and I will go our separate ways, and I won’t have to worry about it any longer.
But why does that feel just as bad?