Page 8 of Deadline for Love

“Good night, Bella.”

My legs felt heavy as I trudged to my apartment on the second floor. “Stupid elevator,” I said in annoyance as I passed theOut of Ordersign that had been on the doors for what felt like weeks.

When I reached home, I threw my high heels in the corner and entered my cute little apartment. I had a small living room decorated in shades of pink and white which was across from my kitchen. Down the short hallway, I had a little bathroom to the left, right next to my room.

I went to the kitchen and took a bottle of water from the fridge before dragging myself to the bathroom for a hot shower. As the water dripped down my body, I let the day run through my head.

The thought of Nathan was brief as I remembered my last relationship. I gently stroked my hair out of my face and whispered like a spell, “Never again... Bella, we’ll never go through that again.”

My ex left my heart broken and with trust issues that I’d yet to resolve… The memories wanted to resurface, but I forcibly suppressed them, which worked though not without difficulty.

I went to my room in a bathrobe. Sitting in front of my dressing table, I dried my wet hair with a towel. I didn’t even look in the mirror. I knew I looked dead tired.

I massaged my legs, and in the meantime, I got a video call from Amara. I was honestly surprised that she wasn’t busy with her fiancé.

“How was it?”Amara shouted, almost making my phone fall out of my hand. I placed it safely on the dressing table and then massaged my feet.

Amara had long since gotten ready for bed because she was lying on her bed with her favorite pajamas and a bonnet protecting her hair. I could even see the silk pillow underneath her arms.

“We dropped off the bag at the police station and—” I got interrupted before I could finish my sentence.

“Bel, you know I mean Nathan! What do you think of him?”

“He’s nice.”

She wrinkled her snub nose and looked unhappy with my answer.

“What? He seems really nice. And, yes, he’s good looking,” I sighed. Suddenly, a rustling sound occurred on the line, and Justin appeared beside Amara. He grinned broadly into the camera and looked delighted.

“Hey, Bel! Tell us more!”He placed one arm around Amara, and with the other hand, he waved a greeting.

“Of course, he’s there with you,” I mumbled, shaking my head.

“What did you say?”both asked at the same time.

“Nothing… Don’t tell me you also called Nathan to ask him questions.”

Justin looked away and Amara played with her hands—both caught.

“Guys, I think it’s sweet of you. But you don’t have to do this. I’m not really interested in dating right now. I told him the same thing.”

“What?”both yelled in shock.

“Are you kidding me? You could have that man eating out of the palm of your hand. He was awe-struck when he saw you,”Amara screamed.

“Seriously, I had to all but close his mouth for him when you two arrived,”Justin agreed.

They started talking loudly and tried to persuade me to reconsider and give the man a chance. I only listened to them half-heartedly before glancing at the clock.

“It’s almost two in the morning. We can talk about this tomorrow, ok?”

“Don’t be like that, Bel. Nathan’s a nice guy and—”Justin was interrupted mid-sentence when my doorbell rang.

My head jerked to my open bedroom door, and my gaze lingered on the hallway where I could see the front door.

“Who’s at your place right now?”Amara’s voice sounded, and the doorbell rang again, answering the question without me needing to do it.

I just nodded, still startled, but I got up. I wasn’t expecting visitors at this time of night. It was eerie, and my heart started beating faster, but I still wanted to see who it could be.

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