Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Very well ....

She is even doing very well ....

I jogged out of the woods and only stopped out of breath when I got to the main road. The feeling of drowning washed over me and I had to fall over to avoid a panic attack.

Her words kept zipping through my mind like little viruses infecting everything, while all I could see before my eyes was her smile and the realization that she meant business.

She was happy... and from that moment on, all I could do was just accept it and let her go, for good.

I got up again and walked on to my new home, my trailer, but I didn't get in. It was no use racking my brains anymore and the thought of Alec being with her made me not want to be alone.

I went to Chiara's front door and opened it, with the small hope that Samira would still be here. Of course it felt wrong to treat her like my second choice, but then she was, and yet she beamed from ear to ear when she saw me entering the house.

She sat on the edge of the large couch and looked shyly at me as I walked slowly towards her and sat close to her.

"Everything okay?", she whispered and Jo and Ethan also looked over at me curiously at her question.

"Yeah, it's fine," I said softly, then leaned back to follow the movie on TV with the others.

"Where are Chiara and Jayden?" I asked after a while.

"Sleeping with the kids upstairs," Jo answered me, who then got up and left the living room.

"So? Where have you been?" Ethan suddenly asked and I looked at the TV, but I still felt the piercing looks of the blonde next to me.

"Walk," I replied, annoyed, and immediately heard his soft, stupid giggle.

"When do we actually want to leave today?" Jo asked when she came back into the living room with a yoghurt and addressed Ethan, who shrugged his shoulders unknowingly.

"Where are you going?" I wanted to know curiously and Jo then turned to me.

"Chiara and Jayden are taking care of themselves today and I really wanted to go dancing, but apparently Ethan doesn't like going alone with me," she grinned cheekily at him, whereupon he just rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say that, but I certainly don't dance."

"Yes, because you never want to do anything with me. I just don't drink whiskey and I don't smoke secretly."

"But at least I can do something other than singing children's songs all day long!"

They argued faster and louder and I felt I had to intervene.

"Drive down," I stood up and looked at Jo. "I'll come with you and I'll dance as well," I offered them. I was fine. The main thing is distraction.

"I would also like to come with you," said Samira, who I had completely forgotten was even there. I'm already a great companion. jackpot.

I smiled and nodded at her, and she got up and clutched my arm. I didn't fight back, but I couldn't really say it back either, so I just stood there with her for a moment and then sat down again, which she did and continued watching TV after the brawlers sat in silence.

At some point, and I had no idea how much time had passed, the others came down the stairs with the little ones and all four of them yawned and stretched. It looked really cute and immediately Ethan jumped up to put Phileas in his arms while Jo took little Darya on her lap.

"I'll come with you, Chiara can do it on her own," Jayden said to Ethan, rubbing his ice-blue eyes tiredly.

"All the more, the better. The two are also on board", Ethan answered him and nodded in our direction.

"Very good."

Since the others wanted to eat first and take care of the little ones, I ran into the bathroom first and took some hair gel from Ethan to style my hair. My thoughts kept wanting to fly to Lou, despite the distraction I was about to face, but I didn't let it and pushed everything out of my mind.

"May I come in?" Samira stood in the doorway and watched me as I brought the last loose strands into the right position.

"Of course," I grinned, and I was just really trying to engage with her.

She stood next to me smiling and looked at me in the mirror as she took the hairbrush in front of her and carefully combed it through her blond hair.

"Thank you," I whispered, looking over at her. She returned my gaze and gave me a questioning look.

"For giving me time and not leaving long ago."

She just nodded and looked in the mirror again while resting her head on my arm and then closing her eyes in relish.

I must have been lying on his lap for hours, thinking about everything. It just wasn't meant to be that with me and Chace, so I closed that chapter once and for all and focused on what was right in front of me, or rather above me.

Alec was gently stroking my hair the whole time, eyes closed, leaning against the bed frame and breathing evenly.

Only when I got up carefully because I was slowly getting hungry did he open his eyes and look at me with a grin.

"Are you alright?" he then asked when I sat up and eyed me carefully.

"Yeah, I'm just a little hungry," I replied, smiling.

He got up immediately and pulled me into the living room with him, where he briefly let go of my hand and gave me his black jacket to put on.

"It's way too big for me," I laughed, stretching my arms out to the side to prove it to him, but he just smiled at me and gave me his hand again to pull me up on the house.

"You fancy that?" he asked as he walked through the woods next to me.

"A waffle would be nice," I grinned in anticipation of this sweet piece of dough and he laughed heartily.

"Then you get your waffle."

He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me closer to his body, and we leisurely strolled towards the waffle house, glancing at each other every now and then.

When we arrived at the waffle house, we sat across from one of the tables and quickly ordered the food. The sky was slowly getting darker and the lanterns around the market square jumped on one after the other and even gave this place some romance, which immediately gave me a tingling in my stomach, which I didn't want to feel so quickly, but I enjoyed the presence of my counterpart.

When the food came, I devoted myself, as always, to my waffle, watching Alec sip his coffee and survey the market square.

It was only now that I realized how good he looked, with the black sweater and the fine lines of his tattoos showing on his neck. With all the chaos in my head, I hadn't noticed at all that he had a really male aura. Every girl who passed us gave him a shy look, but he didn't pay any of them any attention back, on the contrary he didn't seem to notice them at all.

When his eyes met mine again and he noticed my stare with a grin, I quickly turned my gaze back to my plate and shoved in the last piece of the delicious-tasting warm waffle.

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table and get closer to me. I took one look at his messy black hair and just shrugged, having really no idea what else we could do.

"Shall I make some suggestions and you pick the best one?" he smirked and I was starting to get really nervous. He was kind of confident and easygoing, which made me feel increasingly shy.

"Okay," I agreed, then finished my cocoa.

"Well, we could ride motorcycles. We could go to the Wialtrama or we could go to you and watch a movie."

I thought about it for a moment and immediately concluded riding a motorcycle. I remembered the heady feeling, but I really didn't feel like it that night.

Watching a movie... that was somehow so intimate. I knew that from others. Husband and wife watch a film, creating a romantic mood and hands wandering around under the blankets, I wasn't ready for that yet.

"Then Wialtrama, but I'd like to wear something other than an oversized leather jacket," I grinned, but he shook his head no.

"I like that you're wearing them," he smiled and I rolled my eyes and smirked.

"For once, I'll leave it on," I then relented, which made him smile.

He took his wallet out of his pocket, put the money on the table to pay and then stood up to give me his hand and we walked close together again along the street towards Wialtrama.

"How do you like it in Woodlin anyway?" I asked him and looked over at him curiously.

"Small but fine," he smiled, looking me up and down. "Just how I like it."

I blushed realizing that this was meant to be a nod to me and immediately looked ahead where I saw the Wialtrama and Eddie playing with his phone as usual.

"Let's go then," Alec said and then pulled me through the black double doors.