A Little Love (a CGl Romance)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Alec

It didn't take long to get her situated in the bedroom she would be staying in. I could tell she was starting to get exhausted as she was starting to cough more. Despite this, I watched intently as she looked at the room that surrounded her. This spare bedroom had a lot more colour than the bedroom she had at her house. A part of me was confused as to why she continued to live in her teenage bedroom when she had other larger rooms to choose from.

Despite her coughs, I watched as she looked at the room in awe. She was staying in my 'lavender room.' My house was designed with my mother in mind who loved gardening and flowers. Each of my guest bedrooms was designed with a flower in mind. Lavender was my mother's favourite colour. The room featured light purple walls and strong floral accents. The queen bed featured dark purple bedding with a TV hanging adjacent to it on the wall.

"Why don't you crawl into bed and get some rest?" I prodded as I set her suitcase down on the bench at the end of her bed.

"I'm tired, but not that tired," she said. "I've been laying in a bed almost 24/7 these last few days, I'm tired of it," she said rather adamantly. I folded my arms in front of my chest. She looked at me with trying eyes. "You're not seriously going to make me stay in here, are you?" I smiled briefly.

"No, no, I won't. Would you be more comfortable on the couch?" She nodded furiously. I didn't think she would want to stay in the room after being confined to a hospital room for the last three days. It made her jail cell of a bedroom look like it was heaven. I watched as she ran her hands along with the purple blankets on the bed. I could tell she was lost in some of her thoughts. She was studying the room.

"Why don't I go find some more blankets and meet you downstairs."

"Yea... sure," she replied. She was looking at all the paintings in the room. I could tell she was intrigued.

I left Ariana in the room to retrieve several blankets and pillows that she could use to turn the bed into her own little nest. Soon, Ariana slowly made her way downstairs, laptop in hand with Binx following behind her like a puppy.

"Any preferences on lunch?" I asked, knowing that it was likely going to be a fight to get her to eat again.

"Not really, I'm not really hungry."

She replied on que. I gave her the signature look that she had grown accustomed to over the last few days. "Well, we both know that I'm not going to let that happen. So, what's your preference. The world is your oyster. You are no longer confined to the hospital's food or take-out." Knowing that she wasn't my little girl, I couldn't force many things on her, but I wouldn't budge on this. I was starting to wonder if her lack of appetite was a common theme she practiced. I could tell that Jason had been holding back on telling me something. Was this it?

"I don't know, "she said honestly with a huff.

Biting my lip, I drew a breath. "Well, what do you normally have for lunch?"

Talking about food was like eating tooth and nail.

"It changes," she coughed. "Sometimes I just eat a piece of fruit and a granola bar."

"Well, you need a little bit more than that... especially while you're recovering. How about this, is there anything you don't like?"

It took a while for her to answer. I had lost her to the TV. She was already searching through Netflix, trying to find My Little Pony. I could tell she had been too scared to watch it in the hospital. "Ariana?" I prodded.