𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

Twenty-Five

ARABELLA

This is the dream.

These four words repeat in my mind as my body relaxes in the explosion of bubbles.

I dip my hands under the bathwater with soap and bring them back up, making a bubble.

I try to not think about how Rico is just on the other side of this bathroom. My face flushes at that.

He says that anything could happen at any moment and we need to stay sure that I'm okay. After what happened in that forest, him being there doesn't mind.

It was horrible in that forest. It was so dark. All I could do was worry if my coco was safe or not and if Adam would find me.

But I knew as soon as coco found me, I was safe.

As soon as I got home, my coco started cooking me up food while I got the bath ready. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it's finished by now.

I look around for a towel but realized that I must've forgotten to grab one with me. Gosh, I can be so lazy.

Wait.

Oh no.

"Please please please make this not be awkward," I whisper to myself and cover all my parts with bubbles.

I fix some hair strands and call out his name. "Coco! Come here please!" At this request, I hear his big feet stomping towards the bathroom.

He sounds like a giant.

When he opens the door, I squeal and make sure everything is 100% covered. He didn't even knock!

"Oh fuck!" He turns towards the door, "I forgot to knock." He groans and I clear my throat.

"Um, it's okay. The bubbles cover everything." He groans even more at that.

He turns towards me but his eyes stay trained on mine. I blush and look away.

"Can-Can you get me a towel please?"

"A towel? Yep- got it. I'm already on my way to get one now!" He turns around and zooms out, making me laugh.

Such a goofball.

When he brings me a towel, his face is a tiny bit red and I can see him straining himself to not look down. I giggle at that.

I get myself situated before making my way downstairs. I wonder what he cooked for me.

The smell of spaghetti filling the air answers my question.

As I walk into the kitchen, I almost faint just at the sight.

My coco in an apron stirring noodles.

Is it me or is it hot in here?

"Hot." I blurt and cover my mouth with my hand.

He stops stirring and turns around, giving me a smirk.

"What was that Mi Amore?" I hate him.

You don't.

I don't.

"I didn't say anything." I glare at him and he chuckles before continuing to cook.

I take a seat on the island and sigh. My body still hurts from the forest and all I want to do is eat and sleep. Maybe cuddle with coco for some of that too.

"Can we watch movies after we eat? I just wanna rest my limbs." I wince every time I move and he nods.

While we eat, he keeps asking questions I don't want to answer. I try to answer some but it gets stuck in my throat.

"Bella, why did you run so far out?"

"What would I have done if I couldn't find you?"

"What was it like?"

My hand shakes while I try to eat the spaghetti, slowly losing my appetite as I think about it.

Why did Adam want me? He told me to leave. What would've happened if he did get me? Would Rico come to save me or would he just leave me?

I don't think I can even function when I think back to the household, and how he treated me. It mentally burns me from the inside out.

"Can we... Can we just stop talking about this please?" I frown up at him and he quickly agrees.

"Of course, of course, I'm sorry." He drags my stool over to him and I wrap my hands around his neck.

I just want some comfort.

He picks me up and we walk towards the couch where we have movies splayed out. We have one section of my movies and one for his. My movies are suicide quad, Tangled, and Brave. His are... Well, we haven't decided yet since he told me he doesn't watch movies.

He is too busy with his 'job'.

We get into a cuddling position as he turns on Tangled. I swing my legs over his and snuggle my face into his warm chest. This is amazing.

We watch movies for the rest of the night, hopefully safely.
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