His Bella

EIGHTEEN

There were very few things belonging to Wade in the room. The clothes he got the previous day were neatly folded on a small sofa with a towel hanging on it, two pairs of shoes lay underneath. His phone lay on the nightstand and he grabbed and frowned at it, scrolling

"What do you do with that?", I asked, staring at the phone in his hand

"Talk to people?", he said raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, you have friends who know you're here?", I asked.

"They don't know I'm here but they know I'm safe", he said, "and I give them orders"

"Oh", I said, giving an understanding nod.

"So, the doctor who treated you...", I trailed.

"Is a doctor I pay for such situations, meaning he'll keep his mouth shut", he said dropping the phone and walking towards the sofa.

He grabbed the towel.

"What about the people watching me?", I asked, "surely they must know you're here now"

He stared at me, "nobody's watching you anymore", he said softly, "at the restaurant the other day, you were very clear on me staying away from you", he added, "I didn't come back here to scare you or make you feel uncomfortable Bella"

"Oh, okay"

I thought back to that night and it hurt knowing that I hurt him.

He hung the towel over his neck and smiled at me, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"You're happy, aren't you?"

Was I?

"Sure", I said, "I mean yeah, I do, I love Noah and I'm happy", I added forcing a smile.

"That's good", he said, "we'll talk when I'm done with the shower", he added before walking into the bathroom.

I walked out of the room, straight to the living area and sighed as I collapsed on the couch. I had always felt like everything was perfect with Noah even when the people closest to me didn't seem to think so.

So why was I doubting everything I thought now?

***
I watched my phone ring for the third time and sighed.

"Not now Noah", I said to myself.

I didn't want to talk to him and risk him noticing something was wrong. I was also really tired of lying and rejecting the plans he made. I heard a whistling sound and looked up to see Wade walking up to me, his hair was in wet, messy curls and drops of water splattered over his white shirt. He sat on the couch next to me and stared at my vibrating phone.

"You're not going to pick that up", he asked, staring at me.

"No"

"Why not? Is someone stalking you?"

I snorted, "No", I said, "I'm just not in the mood to talk to that particular person right now"

"Oh okay", he smiled.

I liked how he didn't ask further questions.

"I have a couple of questions", I said and he nodded once, "what are they?"

"Why didn't you take over your father's shipping company?", I asked, "as a cover for the business?"

"Oh, that", he furrowed his eyebrows, "too many people involved so I sold some of the shares and left the rest for Axel if he ever decides to work there"

"So, you're a lone wolf?", I smiled.

He grinned, "I guess you could say I am", he said, "I did manage to lead the raiders all on my own for ten years"

His phone rang and he picked it up, tapping it slowly.

"Do you have any plans this week?", he turned to me and asked.

I should have plans with Noah.

"None that I know of"

"Do you remember my quiet place?"

"I remember there was a quiet place, but you never got the chance to take me there", I said.

"True", he said thoughtfully, "well, I want to go there today, and since you never got the chance to see it, will you now?"

As he waited for my answer, his eyes seemed to light up and I smiled. I didn't want to ruin it.

"Sure, I will"

"Great. Go get dressed", he said happily, standing and walking back to the guest room.

There was a buzzing sound and I grabbed my phone. It wasn't Noah this time. I picked up the call and breathed deeply as I placed the phone close to my ear.

"Hey mom..."