Under Her Wing

Chapter 9

Danielle's POV

Not long later, Stefania and I headed to Jaina's room.
Grey, Boris and Jay had now also joined. I walked in and Jaina looked at me suspiciously, attempting to hide a smirk on her face.

"What?" I mouthed.

"Didn't tell us that was where you were going," she whispered as I sat down next to her.

"Oh stop, we're just friends," I told her, staring at Stefania as she said hi to everyone.

"We'll see about that," Jaina winked.

I ignored her and turned my attention to Amalia, who was sat quietly, just taking in all the chaos.

"Who's up for a hike?" Grey suggested.

I looked outside and checked the weather. The sky was clear and sun was shining.

"All those who wanna come, meet downstairs in 15," he said.

"Up for it Lia?" I asked, gently putting my hand on her knee. She flinched ever so slightly, it going undetected by everyone else in the room.

"I need to get changed though," she said.

"Me too, let's go hunny," I smiled, jumping up and taking her hand in mine again.

"Coming?" I asked Stefania on our way out.

"Yes but I would've preferred it if he had suggested the spa," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Fresh air will do you good too," I laughed. She got up to follow us out.

"Have you got a backpack?" I asked Amalia when we entered our room.

She shook her head.

"You can throw whatever you want in mine then," I told her .

"Thanks," she smiled, going into the bathroom to change.

I quickly changed out here and was fastening my shoes by the time Amalia came back out.

I put two bottles of water into my backpack, along with a small towel, a few nutrition bars and my phone.

"Ready sweetheart?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Come on," I smiled, taking her hand in mine for the third time that day.

I kept hold of it as we walked down the corridor and waited for the elevator. It opened to reveal 4 other people but there was still plenty of room for the two of us. I saw Amalia hesitate slightly but I led her in. I felt her move to stand a little closer to me so gave her hand an extra squeeze.

She looked up at me.

"You're okay," I mouthed, letting go of her hand and moving my arm around her back, holding her closer to my side.

I think she held  her breath the entire time we were in the lift.

We met the others in the lobby and waited for a few minutes incase anyone else wanted to join.

"I've asked for a good walking route at reception and the guy gave me a map," Grey said excitedly.

We set off and it wasn't long before we were away from the business of the hotel and surrounded by trees.

Amalia was very quiet but seemed to be enjoying herself, laughing at practically everything Barrett and Jay said.

The sun was beating down. When we took a break I stopped and got suncream out of my bag. I put some on my face and arms.