Siena

9|Discouraged

I watch the early morning sun color the cloudless blue sky in streaks of pink and orange. The colors all blend together to create a picture perfect view that I've only seen artists like Da Vinci be able to capture in paintings. I feel the warmth of the sunlight resting on my cheeks once I step farther out on my hotel balcony where the railings are. I fold my arms over my nightgown with the incoming breeze from the wind and bring my mug of black coffee up to my lips. I blow over the cloud of steam before taking a sip.

I was surprised by how well-rested I felt when I woke up since Zayn wasn't here. The bed felt colder without his usual warm body lying next to mine, but with extra blankets I ended up sleeping just fine. I attributed this to the fact that I was so excited to begin searching for Angelo with Clarice and Harry that I simply couldn't wait for the night to be over.

My eyes flutter close as I inhale a deep breath through my nose and exhale through my mouth. I bring my mug back up to my lips, so I can take another sip of my delicious black coffee. Growing up, I watched my father drink a cup of black coffee every morning before work. When I had my first cup at age sixteen, I wasn't so fond of the bitter taste, but the more I drank it, the more my taste buds adapted to the taste. Drinking black coffee reminded me of those mornings I'd spend with my father before we parted ways to go about our days. Now that I'm an adult, I don't see him quite as often as I'd like to, but whenever I drink black coffee I feel a bit closer to him than I did before.

I open my eyes again slowly and glance down at the empty streets of Verona below me. The sight was almost refreshing to see since I hail from a city where people are always on the move, constantly crowding the streets. New York City will always be my home, but it was nice to have a change of pace and scenery every once in awhile.

After I finish my cup of black coffee, I go back inside my hotel room and place the mug inside the sink. I turn on the tap and fill the cup to the brim with water before shutting it off. Upon glancing at the time from the living room clock, I decide to get a head start on my morning routine.

I walk straight into the washroom to brush my teeth first and immediately floss after I'm done. Then I go into my bedroom en suite and search through my bag of toiletries for my grapefruit scented facial cleansing mask. I carry the small tube with me back into the bathroom and throw my hair into a high ponytail so that the strands won't be stuck to the sides of my face. I wet my hands with warm water and then apply the cleansing mask onto my face.

The pores in my skin almost instantly feel refreshed because of the cleansing mask's rich properties. I let it stay on for five minutes before rinsing it off and jumping in the shower. After cleaning myself up, I wash my hair with the hotel shampoo and conditioner before stepping out of the shower and drying off.

Since I showered so early, I decide to let my hair towel dry instead of blow-drying it while I got dressed. I pull out a blue denim button-up short sleeved shirt and white yoga pants from my suitcase and put them on before sliding my feet into a pair of Vince Preston black slip-on sneakers. I leave my towel hanging off the edge of the bed for the cleaning lady to wash and exit my bedroom. To pass the time while I wait for my hair to dry, I open up the Netflix app on my phone and continue watching the "White Christmas" episode of Black Mirror on the living room sofa.

My eyebrows raise in surprise when the episode takes a dramatic turn, and the plot twist becomes revealed. In that moment, I really wished Zayn were here so that I could pause the episode and talk to him about what just happened. I often found that Black Mirror episodes were too thought provoking to go undiscussed, so I made a habit to chat with Zayn after watching every episode. Sometimes, we watched episodes together as a couple, but most times I watched it by myself before bed at night.