JULY 3 - "You still have time." (12)

It was the morning of July 3.

I was woken up by the sun's rays filtering through the window curtains of my room.

I rubbed my eyes, leaning my back against the bedside.

I liked the silence of that place.

And I like being alone listening to it.

I finally decided to get up, took a shower, and when I picked up the phone I read a text.

Bella texted me,

>

I laughed.

I tied up my hair in a ponytail, I wore a blue dress decorated with tiny yellow and white flowers and my usual converse.

Bella was already there waiting for me in the hall.

"Good morning... sorry I'm late." I announced myself.

"Don't worry. Good morning to you." She said, smiling.

She was wearing a sleeveless mini red dress, tight at the waist and with a sweetheart neck.

Her hair pulled into a bun with few strands loose on either side of her forehead.

"How did you sleep?" She asked me.

"Pretty good ... what about you?"

I almost laughed because that night the last thing I saw before falling asleep was her instagram account...

Bella raised an eyebrow and smiled brightly, "Me? Oh, great."

There was something hidden in that answer, I don't know why I had this feeling...

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed.

"Absolutely not." Bella responded without a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

She smirked, winking in my direction, then she lowered her gaze in search of a plate.

Who knows what she was thinking...?

Oh, wait - Was she thinking about last night?

When she followed me on instagram and I followed her in return?

Naah, what a stupid thought.

While I remained paralized, she walked a few steps away, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm going to hit the buffet..." She announced, winking at me, again.

As she said that, she disappeared into the early morning crowd of people getting their breakfast.

That girl leaves me stunned for no reason.

I got my breakfast too and once I finished, I sat on the first table I found free.

What do I do now?

Wait for her to come back?

Text her?

Or maybe she wants to eat breakfast alone?

I sent a good morning text to Joe and put the phone down on the table.

"There you are, Ellie." I looked up and Bella was standing in front of me.

How did she find me, anyway?

"Did you burglarized the buffet?" I asked, smiling.

She had two plates in each hands.

Bella sat next to me, shrugging: "Kind of. I need a hearty breakfast."

Then she picked up a fork and raised it.

"For that matter, I need a hearty lunch too, and everything else..." She laughed.

"Here..." She said, handing me a mini portion of something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Chocolate sufflè."

Chocolate sufflè... is she teasing me?

Bella raised an eyebrow seeing my shyly expression, "I got one each, this time, not like at dinner last night..." She smirked as she spoke.

I took the plate from her hand and laughed out of embarrassement.

I was blushing.

The waiter approached us, asking what we wanted to drink.

I ordered my usual latte.

"A cherry smoothie and... a latte for me too, please." Bella announced.

I stopped doing whatever I was doing and gave her my undivided attention.

"Huh?" Bella exclaimed and with a gentle gesture she passed a napkin abover her naturally pink lips.

"I wanna try it too..." She explained with the calmest expression on her face.

After a while the waiter returned with our orders... and I couldn't help but keep an eye on Bella to see when she intended to drink that latte...

But she seemed to do it on purpose, to amuse herself or to put tension on me probably... because she finished eating and still didn't drink it.

"Are you ready?" She asked as she picked up the cup, laughing a little.

She is definitely teasing me.

I rolled my eyes, nearly bursting out laughing as I felt my cheeks turning red.

Bella tasted it, then made an incredibly disgusted expression.

Maybe even too much... as if she was exaggerating.

I thought history was repeating itself... first Joe (but by now I was almost used to it) and now her...

"Oh nooo!" Bella exclaimed gently and her entire face became nervous and tense.

I suddendly gasped.

"I was just kidding, Ellie. I swear..." She said desperately.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I let out a laugh, and seeing that I hadn't taken it personally, Bella laughed too.

"I'm really sorry. I love it." She said more seriously as she drinks it calmly.

"I really don't know where you get all this energy from... and in the early morning, on top of that." I looked at her, with my arms folded, waiting for a sensible response.

"Because I'm on vacation..." She replied, relaxed.

"Stress builds up at work, and I really needed... this vacation." She continued.

I know what she is talking about... stress hits Joe too.

And I know why now... since they are working together.

In different roles, of course, but it must be hard in the same way.

We got up from the table and walked, not really knowing how to spend the rest of the day.

As we keep walking I pointed my finger to a sign:

>

"Oh, this is heaven." Bella commented, smiling.

I nodded: "It's on the second floor.... Shall we go?"

~

The girl with whom Bella and I were talking to, easily convince us to try all the therapies.

She also told us that they had to divide us into two different shifts that will end with a shared sauna.

"So..." Bella said as she put down her phone.

"... we have to separate..." She looked at me in a doubtful or perhaps sorry, expression...

As I put down my phone I noticed that Joe texted me his good morning.

I didn't text him back that I wouldn't be available for... I don't know how long.

"See you... in the sauna, then." I told her.

I was about to enter the door on the right, Bella in the on the left.

"See you later, Ellie..." She whispered with a soft smile.

As I walked that door I had a strange feeling of sadness mixed with joy in my chest.

~

Oh... my body was feeling literally regenerated thanks to all those therapies.

But more importantly my mind was feeling relieved...

So relieved that my emotional disorders disappered for that hour.

I had managed to escape from reality and my problems seemed to be years away from me.

When it was over... and I came back to reality I felt drained. In the blink of an eye my thoughts came back to hit my head and my heart in a stronger and more persistent way.

One girl pointed me a a locker room where I had to change and then get to the sauna.

She said something like: "Wear the towel."

And I did.

I wore that small towel that covered me from below the shoulders to above the thighs.

Underneath I had my bikini.

When I entered the sauna, it was... so hot,

like, a very high temperature.

I let my hair down and I sat down, sighing.

What was happening to me?

I was feeling so confused.

Suddendly, I heard the door open.

I could see the foggy figure in the distance, but I coudn't see the face, not yet.

When I saw her long red hair, I had no doubt.

Bella and I stared at each other but did not say a word.

"Jeez..." She whispered as she sat down next to me.

"It was incredible. I feel like a new person."

Her voice was surprised as she spoke.

She looked at me: "I guess... you are too?" She asked, unsure.

"Yeah..." I commented coldly.

We kept looking at each other.

I could feel the sweat in my forehead and down my back.

Bella's full lips were moist, her hair wet at the ends and in her forehead.

Her neck and chest were shiny and transparent.

A drop of water ran through her neck down to the towel.

Why was I staring at it?

As I looked up she stared at me with a limpid, penetrating gaze.

I diverted my eyes to an indefinite point.

There was silence.

Only our breathless sighs could be heard in that sauna.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked me seriously.

I clenched my jaw.

"That my wedding is exactly four days away." I answered dryly, without a hint of joy or sadness in the tone of my voice.

Bella nodded her head imperceptibly.

The aroma-therapy had really gone wrong into me, as I suddendly felt the need to scream or to burst into tears.

But I did nothing; I remained emotionlessness.

"You still have time." Bella affirmed.

There was no sarcasm in the tone of her voice.

I slowly turned myself to her.

I was astonished.

Her facial expression was serious, and I immediately understood what she meant to say.

For some reason, those words struck on me as if someone had stabbed me in the chest and turned the knife.

I said nothing.

All of a sudden I was out of breath and I felt the urge to run away.

I got up, I ran towards the sauna door and closed it, behind me.

As I returned to the locker room, my eyes were burning terribly and my feet seemed not to keep their balance.

I sat down and tried to catch my breath, repeating in my head that everything would be all right... and I repeated that sentence until those words no longer made sense.

I took a deep long breath and very slowly felt calmness take space in my shaking body, but not exactly in my mind.

I felt angry and frustrated.

Why would she say that? And why did it hit me so hard?

Suddendly I heard the sound of the sauna door opening.

I realized that Bella was coming, maybe toward me.

I just wanted to run away, again, yet I stayed there.

A/N

Hii! Hope you are reading this story, so far. ♥️

Here to say that the next chapter will be very tough, I'm telling you...