Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
After a marathon day of playing hooky, Aria headed home in a taxi after their light dinner of pasta, declining Corinna’s offer to bring her.
They had laughed and sung along to their favorite music and movies throughout the day, both feeling like naughty school children sneaking away like they had back in school.
It left her lighter than when she had arrived the evening before, once again grateful for her friend.
Noticing that Alex’s calls had ended before lunch, she wondered if Bella was still in town, and she was the reason why he’d given up.
The drive was quiet except for the low hum of the taxi driver’s radio. Her heart picked up speed as they passed the marina, but she dared not look too hard. The moon shone brightly in the darkened sky, and she pushed back the memories of her and Alex gazing at it together.
When she arrived home, she paid the driver and used her phone’s flashlight to get her key in the door as she slipped inside, regretting not having left on the porch light the night before in her excitement to see Alex.
Dropping everything on her kitchen table, she went to her room, glad to be home. Eyeing the clothes strewn about on her bed, she gathered them up and sat them on the chair by the window, remembering all the outfits she had tried on before deciding on her unfortunate choice.
“Plaid. Ugh, what was I thinking?”
Taking her clothes off and dropping them as she walked, not caring about the mess she was making, she turned on the shower and brushed her teeth as she waited for it to warm up. Looking in the mirror, she spit and rinsed, the steam already fogging it up.
After her shower, she kicked her clothes out of the way, climbed into her pajamas and slid into bed, praying that sleep would come.
Plugging her phone in to charge, she looked at it again, disappointed that there was only a message from Corinna asking if she had gotten home safely.
Texting her that she had, she threw the phone across the bed and closed her eyes.
Fatigue must have taken over at some point and before she knew it, her alarm was blaring.
“Can’t hide forever.”
She readied for work, looking everywhere for her favorite scarf. Giving up, she grabbed her briefcase and purse, throwing in a pear and a granola bar and heading to the door.
When she opened it, she yelped. Mrs. Navorti, her neighbor from across the street, stood there, poised to ring her doorbell. She inwardly moaned knowing she would be late for work now that her nosy neighbor had arrived unexpectedly.
“Good morning, Mrs. Navorti. How are you?” Aria said with a forced smile.
“Good morning, dear. I'm fine. My foot hurts a little but other than that, I'm okay. What's wrong? Looks like you've been crying. Did that pirate-looking man hurt your feelings? I knew I should've done more than just poke him with my cane yesterday.”
“Pirate? Mrs. Navorti, who are you talking about?”
“The long-haired guy that sat on your porch yesterday. He was here so long, he fell asleep. That's when I knew something was wrong. I came by and threatened him. I think he was scared of me, too, ‘cause he got in his car and left,” she said proudly.
“Alex was here yesterday?” Aria asked, her eyes wide.
“I don't know his name. What I do know is that he needs a haircut,” her neighbor grumbled. “Young people. They never listen.”
“Well, thank you so much for watching out for me. I appreciate it, but I really do need to get to work now. I'll talk to you later.”
“Always in a rush,” she muttered as she meandered back across the street.
Aria sat in her car and stared out of the window, her need to rush forgotten.
Alex was still here.
But does that mean Bella left?
Starting her car, she drove to work, once again conflicted.
Walking into the entrance of Libri Stellari, Aria smiled tightly at the receptionist.
“Good morning, Aria. I hope you’re feeling better,” Anna cooed, as Aria walked past her.
“Thanks. All better,” she replied, her thoughts still swirling in her head.
Luna gave her a quizzical look but remained silent, thankfully. She wasn’t up for small talk. When Aria made it to her office, she groaned when she spotted the bouquet on her desk. So much had transpired in such a short time. It felt like she had received it weeks ago.
She didn’t want the reminder of him. Moving the bouquet to the workstation behind her, she sat down at her desk. She could feel Luna’s watchful eyes on her but continued to ignore her.
In her haste, she forgot to close her office door, so she heard when Gio came up to Luna’s desk to ask what was going on.
“I don't know, but the sadness is back,” Luna answered. “I’m not sure if Alex has anything to do with it, but she moved his bouquet off her desk first thing.”
Great. Now they’re gossiping about me. I knew I should have closed that door.
Gio looked up and caught Aria’s gaze. She forced a smile when he walked into her office, frowning.
“Hey, I decided to come back to work a littler earlier,” he said as he nervously jiggled his knee up and down. “I hope that’s alright. I tried calling you last night, but your phone must have been off.”
His nervousness was contagious because she started stacking and restacking folders on her desk. This was not the morning she felt strong enough to have this conversation, although she was happy that he had decided to return.
“Yeah, yeah, of course it is. I’m glad to have you back so soon. Are you alright?” She hoped he believed her easy-going tone.
“Yeah, I am. I wanted you to be happy. Even if it meant you finding happiness with someone else. But right now, it looks like I need to find a certain photographer and beat some sense into him.”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem sad today. I’m choosing to blame Alex.”
Aria shifted in her seat and answered. “I’m fine. No beating necessary. But thanks.”
Gio got up to leave but turned back. “Are you up for some company tonight? Friends can have dinner together, can’t they?”
She really wasn’t interested in anything other than a night in, but she wanted to prove to him that they had moved on from the awkwardness.
“Sure. I can’t promise what kind of company I’ll be, but I’m free,” Aria replied, hoping this would be the beginning of a mended friendship.
Reaching into her bag and pulling out the granola bar, Aria opened her laptop, desperate for work to keep her busy.