Chapter 3 Belle’s POV: Hi Stranger

When I came back from my morning run the next day, they were already up and around the kitchen table.

I grabbed water and went out.

Mom called me for breakfast, but I declined.

It was now normal for them… too normal.

Dad always overdid it, like there was some public image he needed to keep clean.

Apparently there was...

But fighting your wife the whole night and then pretending to share a bond the next day was dead dumb.

I honestly couldn’t look them in the face right now.

Hunger eventually pushed me into the kitchen an hour after I heard them leave.

Having the house all to myself was always the best part; it never failed to shut the voices in my head.

I made myself some coffee and pancakes, but as soon as I tasted the food, my appetite went right out the window.

Then I strolled to the window when I heard the waves from where I was sitting.

The beautiful ocean stared back at me, its waves rising and falling so beautifully without any hindrances.

Pure definition of fly high.

Swim time.

I headed to my room the minute the thought crossed my mind.

I put on my swimsuit. The sun was blazing outside, so sunscreen was a necessity.

It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday afternoon.

Talk about perfect timing.

I wasted no time at all and plunged straight into the deep blue sea.

The soothing feel of the water washed away all the tension I had been carrying for days.

After I swam for almost an hour, I flopped down onto a lounge chair, exhausted.

The rumbling of my stomach reminded me that coffee was the only thing I had earlier.

And then it caught my eye.

The ugly tattoo on my ankle.

It seemed uglier when water touched it, looking exactly like a gnarled witch with an open mouth.

I ran my forefinger along the edges of it as mixed emotions threatened to envelop me.

Flashes of the artist; those blue eyes staring me down in bed came to mind, and I waved them off.

That was not possible in any sense.

“Since when did I start having thoughts as dirty as that?” I chuckled to myself.

“Maybe since you felt my energy around you from a distance.”

My mind jumped. I hadn’t noticed anyone else on the beach.

I spun around, and my breath caught in my throat.

Same eyes.

Same hair color.

Everything was the same… well, except for the crooked nose.

And yes, the height difference was much different, it was the only thing that convinced me it wasn’t that punk.

“I’m Jade, it’s nice to meet you.” He stretched out a hand for a handshake.

His phone started ringing, and that’s when I came back from the dreamland I had been in.

I noticed his hand was still stretched out, and he hadn’t made a move to pick up his ringing phone.

To stop things from being more awkward than they already were, I shook his hand, and he smiled at me.

I returned it with a forced one.

“So you are?” he asked.

“I’m Bella, it’s nice to meet you too.”

“Bella,” he repeated, and I thought my hormones had gone crazy for a second. The way that name rolled off his tongue.

“Jade,” I said, following his humor.

Two could play a game.

The smile came back. This time, it made my lips twitch involuntarily.

“I don’t mean to sound like a serial killer, but I had been watching you swim,” Jade said, raising his eyebrows in a childish way that made me laugh. “And I must say you're really good at it.”

Good at it? That was probably flattery... I wasn't good at anything.

“Well, thank you…plus that's a straight-on serial killer trait.”

He placed a hand on his mouth, letting out a small chuckle.

“Come on, there’s something I wanna show you.” He led the way, and I followed after I wrapped my bikini with a scarf.

We walked a little distance before he turned to me.

“I want you to close your eyes,” he said.

I did it almost immediately, with a small part of my conscious mind giving me warning signs that I waved off.

“Tadaa… you can open your eyes now.”

I opened my eyes to one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.

A meadow.

The place was calm and almost unreal with flowers, trees…Everything was scattered beautifully, like something out of a dream.

But what pulled me in was the swing.

I placed the fact that I was in just a bikini aside and rushed to it.

Jade followed and stood behind me, then started pushing it after I got on.

Slowly at first, and then the speed increased bit by bit.

Except for the swimming I had done a few minutes ago, I’d never felt this happy in a long time.

This amazing feeling washed over me, threatening to make my chest burst in a good way.

I had always thought this side of the world was just about the water.

Turned out I was wrong.

For a tiny second, I wished I had met this stranger sooner.

“How did you know about this place?” I asked him.

“Shhhhhh… just enjoy yourself,” he said softly. “We can talk later.”

Throwing back my head, I allowed myself to enjoy the moment as much as I could.

We stayed like that for a long time; he behind me pushing, and me just lost in the moment.

His phone rang again, and this time, he actually picked it up.

The swing slowed to a stop.

“Shit,” I heard him mutter. “I’ll be on my way.”

“Hope nothing happened?” I asked, sensing the way he went stiff after the call.

“No, nothing to be worried about,” he answered and smiled at me.

Whoever this man was.

Five smiles in three minutes, and my stomach flipped each time.

The walk back was so peaceful. We spoke about each of our hobbies and other stuff that didn’t really count.

Then I stepped on something.

A broken bottle.

Pain pierced through my foot, and I lost balance, falling.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and was down on one knee when I pointed to my foot.

“I’m so sorry, damn all these people that bring bottles to the beach only to leave them broken everywhere.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s not that deep.”

“Let me see it,” he said and touched my skin where I was injured.

For some reason, I trembled.

He noticed. Because when I looked up, I saw him staring at me.

I could see right through him, and for a second, I felt like he could see me too.

He coughed softly and broke eye contact.

I watched him blow down on my little cut, and it made me laugh.

“Is this yours?” A deep voice sounded behind us.

One I knew too well.

We turned our heads at the same time, and that was when I saw it.

I hadn’t been mistaken.

Suddenly, even the open space around couldn’t ease the tightness I felt in my chest.

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