Page 23 of Journey to Love

"That's wonderful, dear," my mom replies with a smile, her attention momentarily diverted. But for me, the conversation is merely background noise, a distraction from the burning desire to track down Anya and resolve whatever tension lingers between us.

"What's the plan for today?" Marissa asks, her voice cutting through the morning chatter.

"We are going to the beach," my mom responds, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Oh, that's exciting! I love the beach!" My sister's enthusiasm is infectious.

My mom's smile widens, radiating joy. "As do I," she replies, her anticipation palpable.

As they discuss the day's activities, I can't help but feel a pang of guilt for my distracted demeanor. While the prospect of relaxing on the beach is exciting, my thoughts are consumed by the urgent need to find Anya.

As if the universe had heard my silent plea, Lana walks through the breakfast bar. My heart skips a beat as I scan the room, searching desperately for Anya, but she's nowhere to be found.

"Excuse me for a moment," I say to my family, barely able to contain my urgency, and quickly make my way toward Lana. With each step, my heart pounds louder in my chest, the need to find Anya overwhelming any other thought or sensation. "Hey, where's Anya?" I blurt out as I approach Lana, startling her.

"Geez, you scared the shit out of me," she exclaims, her hand flying to her chest before she breaks into laughter. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I apologize quickly.

Lana waves off my apology with a dismissive gesture. "Oh, it's nothing, no big deal," she reassures me. But I can't shake the urgency of my question.

"Where is Anya?" I repeat, my voice betraying my concern.

"Oh, she's in the cabin, still asleep," Lana responds casually. "That girl does not handle hangovers well. When she's drunk, she's a boss bitch. If you didn't know she had been drinking, you would never guess by the way she holds herself," she rambles on.

I offer a polite laugh, but my worry for Anya weighs heavily on my mind. "Do you think I could see her?" I ask, hoping to resolve whatever tension exists between us.

Lana begins to respond, but we're interrupted by Marissa's arrival. "Hey, we're about to get ready to head out," she announces with a warm smile, extending her hand. "I'm Marissa, Jacob's sister."

Lana returns the smile and shakes Marissa's hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you, and it's no problem," she replies graciously. Then, turning to me, she adds, "We have our own shore excursion to get to as well, but maybe we'll see you later?" With that, she heads back to her table, leaving me torn between my family's plans and my desire to find Anya.

I return my attention to Marissa, my voice tinged with urgency. "Can we hold off on going to the beach for a little bit? I really need to talk to someone. I think I made a mistake last night, and I need to make it right," I explain, hoping she'll understand the gravity of the situation.

Marissa listens attentively as I recount everything that happened between me and Anya last night. Her expression shifts from curiosity to concern as she absorbs the details of my story. "I've got your back, no worries," she reassures me with a comforting smile. "I'll just tell Mom that Tom and I want to have a little alone time, and that you still need to recuperate from last night's event. You and I will reunite with her later."

I grimace at the thought of Marissa and her husband, Tom, spending alone time together, but I quickly shake off the mental image and hug my sister tightly. "Thank you so much, you're the best!"

She chuckles in response. "I know," she teases before heading back to our mom. With a renewed sense of purpose, I turn and make my way back to Lana, determined to set things right with Anya.

Lana sees me approaching this time and instinctively holds out her hand with her cabin key. “She’s gonna be pissed at me for giving you this without warning her first, but she’ll get over it,” she says with a mischievous grin.

I reach for the key eagerly, but Lana pulls it back toward her, her expression turning playful. “If you hurt her or make her cry, there’s not a corner on God’s green earth that you can hide in for me not to find you and hunt you down,” she warns, her tone tinged with humor.

I chuckle and nod, playing along. “Understood,” I reply, giving her a mock salute.

Lana finally hands me the key, but not without gesturing with her fingers that she'll be keeping an eye on me. As I turn to walk away, Lana blurts out, “It's room 1223,” as if she could read my mind.

I laugh and give her a thumbs up before turning back around and heading towards Anya's cabin, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness as I prepare to sort things out with her.

I step out of the elevator onto her floor, nerves tingling through me like electricity. Glancing at each door number as I walk down the hallway—1210, 1212, 1214—I finally arrive at 1223. Taking a deep breath, I pause, feeling the weight of uncertainty settling on my shoulders.

Contemplating whether to use the key card, I hesitate. I don't want to make things any worse than they already are. So, instead, I decide to knock. No answer. I try again, knocking a little harder, but still, there's no response.

Standing there, unsure of what to do next, I start to pace in front of her door, mumbling to myself in frustration. Just then, Lana appears down the hallway, her presence both reassuring and unexpected. "What happened?" she asks, concern etched in her features.

"I knocked, but there was no answer," I explain, feeling a twinge of guilt as I glance down at the key card in my hand. "I didn't want to freak her out."

Lana rolls her eyes in exasperation, snatching the key from my hand and expertly opening the door. Gesturing for me to go in first, she follows closely behind as I enter the room.

Inside, I hear Anya's voice coming from the bathroom. "Hey, I'm back!" Lana calls out cheerfully, then gestures for me to sit on the bed. "I'll be right out," Anya responds from behind the closed door.

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