After ✔

26

I hear the bathroom door unlock and then the bed dips besides me slightly, and I turn the other way.

It was one thing to be in the same room together, but the same bed?

I can feel his calming presence next to me, and it's all I can do not to reach over and nestle against his body. 

But I don't really have to worry about that, because sleep doesn't take long to arrive.  

And when I wake up around three hours later, some of the light has already fitered through the curtains, and a quick glance at the clock tells me it's time to wake up Gabriella and Mason.

But I don't leave. Not when Dani is next to me, still sleeping. I turn to him and my eyes admire his features once again of the hundreds of times I've done it before.

Long lashes frame his gray eyes that are now closed, and his hair falls over his forehead - something he would have never allowed if he was awake.  Faint surgery scars run up to his temple and hairline, but it doesn't change my perspective of him.

It's quite a long time before he wakes up. And even when he does, he just groans and pulls the covers back up again.

"Dani," I murmur, shaking him slightly.

"What?" He grunts. "Leave me alone, I'll be up in a bit."

Deciding not to argue, I get up and go over to the closet, choosing choosing a fresh pair of clothes and then quickly taking a shower and putting them on.

By the time I'm out, Dani's up.

"So..." I ask him, shoving last night's pyjamas awkwardly behind my back. "Is Nate...?"

"I don't know." Dani sighs. "I'll go check up on him."

He opens the door of the hotel room, and we both step out together. "I'll check up on Gabi." I say.

He nods, then heads off in the opposite direction. His room was just a hallway away from mine, and that was probably where Nate was staying. 

Meanwhile, I take the elevator up to Gabriella's room. This morning,  the hotel is crowded and so different from last night, so it takes me a while to get there.

The elevator barely tings when I get a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Nate's not in his room!" Dani sounds frustrated.

"Calm down, I'm pretty sure--"

"Hang on, what room is Gabriella in?"

"06, top floor." I say with a frown. "But I don't think she's going--"

He only cuts me off again. "I'll meet you there."

With a groan, I wait by the elevator for Dani to show up. He does, and he looks furious.

"Honestly it's like he's the younger brother with mental problems." He mutters.

"You're not mental." I say as we walk towards Gabriella's room.

"Tell that to my fucked up brain."

"Don't curse."

"You cursed last night."

"That's cuz I was angry."

"I'm angry now."

I don't bother replying seeing as we arrive by her room. And judging by the screams coming from inside, we're both pretty sure Nate is in there.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IT WAS THE ONE CHANCE I HAD WITH THEM!"

Dani backs off a little. "Let them...air it out."

"Or we could just go in and break things up." I offer.

Dani shakes his head. "Let's just... stay here until it's over." He says with his back against the adjacent wall.

"You mean eavesdrop?"

"Call it what you want to." He slides down.

Meanwhile, their screaming continues, with Nate eventually toning it down and apologizing for his recent behaviour.

"How many times will you make the same mistakes without realising they have consequences?!"

It's obvious she doesn't want to listen, so after a while, Nate gives up. He opens the door and walks out, closing it almost immediately.

He almost had a heart attack when he sees us outside. "Jesus Christ. We're you guys spying on us?!"

"Dani's idea." I say, straightening up and patting my jeans.

Nate clasps his fingers together. "About last night... I'm sorry what I put you two through. It wasn't fair for either of you, and..."

"Don't apologise, man." Says Dani, giving him a quick hug. "I'm just glad you came to your senses."

"Valencia..." he starts.

"It's okay." I pass him a small smile.

When he's reassured that things are fine, he walks back to his room, and Dani and I decide to go down for breakfast.

And that's where we see Zach and Mason, sitting by the corner. Zach's trying to feed Mason scrambled eggs  or something, and Mason keeps refusing.

"Hey," greets Zach when he sees us. If he's surprised to see Dani, he doesn't show it. "Slept well?"

"I guess." I say, sitting down next to Mason and returning his smile. "How are you, Mason?"

"Not good." He makes a face and points at the eggs. "These taste yucky."

"Would you like cereal instead?"

He doesn't even have to think about it. Of course he does.

Zach scratches his nose. "Kids are so picky these days."

I look down at his plate of two  carefully chosen muffins, with the raisins discarded neatly on the side. I raise an eyebrow.

Dani looks at me, then at Zach and frowns.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat." He grumbles, before getting up and walking away.

"What's his problem?"

"No idea." I reply. "So, are you sure you wanna come with us?"

"Yeah." He nods. "Is Nate coming?"

My thoughts drift to last night, and I hold back a tired sigh. "I'll try to talk to Gabriella again."

"Don't bother." Comes a voice behind me. "I'm going back to Madrid."