It's Just Ann

Chaptet 22 - Love Story

Warning: if you haven't read CME yet but plan to do so, this chapter will include spoilers for that story (a brief summary). If you don't plan on reding Call Me Ella then don't mind and just read freely.

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I was right, Cece has no trouble making Ariel feel at ease. He has her laughing and smiling honestly in no time. I know that even if I'm not around Cece will look after her, and for some reason I have a feeling he sees Ariel as his own child already.

At some point, when I'm about to leave because I still have work to do at the office, I feel someone grabbing my arm and making me turn around. I encounter brown eyes and a very agitated Gareth, almost as if he just ran here. He even takes a few seconds to catch his breath while I just stare at him, surprised he's here.

"I thought if I didn't run I wouldn't catch you. You disappear so fast lately. Sometimes I even doubt I saw you at all," he says and I feel terrible for acting like this, but I need space to learn to control my own emotions and to help me move on. If I stay around him I'll only fall harder.

"I'm sorry," I mutter, looking down and then at the hand that is still holding my wrist. "I didn't think it was so much work."

"I understand. It's just... a pity you're not around. It's not the same," he says and I can't help it, my eyes dart towards his face, meeting his gaze and noticing that small smile that stirs my heart. "I mean, who will stop Jerry now?"

I chuckle lightly, breaking the eye contact. "He's an awarded director. He can't ruing the film. I mean, not that much," I say but Gareth looks concerned, so I laugh again. "I still have meetings with him and try to make sure he's not going crazy and making out of Typhoon another teen romance."

"I'd be great if you could do that and still be around," he mumbles and I can't meet his eyes. His voice is melancholic and I have the feeling he misses me... almost as much as I miss him. But if I ever want to be around him without feeling like this, so hopeless and fragile, then I need to avoid him for a little bit longer.

"You know how important doing a good job is for me. I'm really giving my hundred and ten percent here," I whisper. I don't know why we're talking in such low voices.

"I know and you have my total support but still..."
I look at him, meeting his eyes once again just so he can see I'm doing this for the best. I think he knows pretty well that I was basically exposing my heart when I asked him about relationships. And I know he consciously rejected me. The way he looked in my eyes when he said he wouldn't pursue a relationship no matter what was as if he was talking to me. I'm almost positive he is aware of my feelings, but he also considers me his friend and he is sorry it has turned to this.

I want to tell him it's okay, I'm doing this for the two of us. I just need him to understand why I'm staying away.

He lets go of my wrist and I think he does now. Somehow, he can read exactly what I want him to see in my eyes and he is letting me go.

I bow my head in a goodbye to which he just nods, before I walk past him, away from the set and towards the car that is waiting for me. I leave Gareth behind, but the ache in my heart stays with me for the whole day.

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Although I spend a lot of my limited free time with Cece and Pete, today I want to talk to someone who doesn't know about this. Someone who will not try to cheer me up because my first love failed like this. I love Cece and Pete to pieces, but I don't want to keep talking about Gareth to them, as if the actor was the only worry in my life.

That is why I end up visiting Ella at the end of the day when I'm heading home. She is not working at this time, but I text her to join me for dinner now that I'm back in town, and she agrees merrily. That's how we meet at the same café we went before and seeing her makes me already feel better. There's something about Ella that I like. Maybe it's her strong and independent aura, or that happy smile that invites you to smile, as well, no matter what hardships you're going through. Or maybe she's just delightful and I like her.