Page 47 of Belle

The next morning,Belle is––surprisingly––still passed out next to me. I make a point to crawl out of bed quietly. I’m in the kitchen cooking when I hear her come into the room about a half hour later.

“It smells good in here.” She shocks me with the compliment.

“Holy shit. Did you just say something nice?” I grab at my chest.

“Fuck off. I can be nice.”

“That might be true, but I’ve never experienced it before.” I shrug and turn back to the stove.

“You’re an asshole.” She laughs.

I join her at the kitchen table, bringing her a plate.

“Thanks, Maddox.”

“Who are you and what did you do with Belle?”

“Don’t ruin it.”

“What’s the plan today?”

She’s quiet for a while, and I almost wonder if she heard me. “Honestly? I don’t know. It might be time for us to get the hell out of here.”

“Should we go to the diner for lunch later and see if we can catch any gossip before we go?” I pick my plate up off the table and head towards the sink.

“That’s probably not a bad idea.”

We spend the majority of the morning packing up everything we can––whatever will fit into my car.

“I’m going to go next door and see what I need to pack up.” She gestures towards her house.

“Sounds good. I’ll be over in a couple of hours, and we can head over to the diner.

I pick up my phone to call Chet when she leaves.

“My man. It feels like it’s been forever since you called. What have you been up to?”

There’s no way in hell I’m about to tell him about what I’ve been up to.

“Nothing. I’ve been packing up the house. I think I’ll be heading home in the next day or so.”

“Damn, that’s good to hear. I’ve missed you. You still bringing a chick home with you?” He laughs.

“Yeah.”

“Maddox.” It almost sounds as if he’s going to lecture me.

“Don’t bother,” I warn. “I’m gonna go. I just wanted to let you know I’m going to be home soon.”

I hang up before he has a chance to respond. Chet is my best friend, but he also has no business getting involved in what I’m doing in my personal life.

After about an hour, I head next door to see what kind of progress Belle has made with her house. I’m surprised to see her sitting on the floor amongst several boxes.

“Why do you look so surprised?”

“Part of me thought you might have skipped out on me or something.” I shrug.

“Why would I skip out? You’re a free ticket out of this hell hole.” I try to pretend like her words don’t affect me. “Are you back in your feelings again?”

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