1 Chapter I - Welcome Home. *REVISED*

I exit my friend's car and head to the trunk.

Opening it up, I grab my luggage. Just before I close it, I hear her voice.

"Vidimo se, ženska. (We will see each other.)," Teodora says. Opening the trunk back up, I am greeted with her smile.

"Vidimo se, i pozdravi Duleta za mene. (We will see each other, and send a greeting to Dule for me.)," I reply. "Ako hoces da svratis kod mene danas, slobodno dodi. (If you want to come to my place today, feel free to come)," I add.

"Probacu, ali nemogu da obecavam nista. (I'll try, but I can't promise anything.)," she says, with a slight frown on her face.

"Vazi, onda vidimo se sledeci put! (Okay, then see you next time!)," I say, holding the luggage by my side.

"Cao, zenska!! (Bye, woman!!)," she replies with a smile.

I send her a kiss and she sends me one back.

With that, I close the trunk and begin my way towards my house.

Teodora drives off just as I reach the front gate of my house.

Opening it, I close it behind me before continuing my way towards the main door of the house.

The cold air causes my nostrils to ache with slight pain as I breathe in.

With every breath I take, I can also sense the smell of snow, one of my favourite scents. I look above me just to see more and more clouds take over the sky.

It did snow when we were driving from the airport, but it lasted no longer than ten or so minutes.

I continue my walk as I feel the snow crunching beneath my feet.

I stop by the front door of my house. I root my pocket for my house key my friend gave me when I entered her car at the airport.

Feeling the cold metal and its teeth, I grab it and pick it out of the pocket.

I place it into the keyhole I turn it and unlock the door.

Entering the house, I am greeted by my kitchen to my left. In front of me lies the living room, to my right, I see two closed doors. The bathroom being the door closest to me while my bedroom is behind the final door. I pull and immediately stow my luggage into my bedroom.

The chills got the best of me and I, instantly, go to my thermostat which is located by the light switch of the bathroom. I power up the radiators before turning up the heat.

Walking into my living room, I turn on the light to illuminate the dimly lit lounge.

I think it is safe to say that I have missed the scent of my house very much. It brings me back memories of when my friends and I had numerous sleepovers. Memories of when my friend, Milica, announced that she is pregnant to Andrea, Teodora and me. Then, intertwined with all the precious memories are the horrid flashbacks of my ex.

My ex and I have parted our ways three years ago, we haven't been in touch ever since, nor do I really want to be in touch with him. He was a horrible person, I'm hoping he has changed now though. He would have always called me weak, called me a 'no one'.

In all of our time together he, thankfully, has never hit me, but I have seen him a few times where he was on that fine line and if I were to have caused him an ounce more of anger, he would have raised his hand on me.

I don't like to talk about him, mainly because I don't want to think over the fact how I almost got married to him. He proposed to me two months before I caught him cheating. He cheated on me on our one year anniversary of us being a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

That was the final straw and I broke it with him. During our break up, he used some of the worst words he had ever said to me, he called me a failure and that I will never find love again. The worst thing though was that I believed him...

I did think I would never find love again.

A tear rolling down my face shoots me out of my trance. I find myself sitting on my white couch.

Next, I pull out my phone. I turn it on and call my mother, I want both her and father to know that I have safely travelled back home.

I dial her number and put it by my ear when I hear it ring.

Moments later she picks up.

"Halo, mama (hello, mam)," I begin, a joyous smile growing on my lips.

"Ana, dušo, jel si stigal? (Ana, honey, have you arrived?).".

"Da mama, evo pre par minute sam ušla u kuću. (Yes mam, I came home a few minutes ago)," I reply.

"Kako je bio let? (How was the flight?).".

"Let je bio... (The flight was...)," I begin but I let out an unexpected sigh. I quickly realise what I have done and I quickly complete my sentence, "nije bio loš let, mislim, let kao let... (it was not a bad flight, I mean, it was nothing really out of the ordinary...).".

I don't know if I should tell her about James...

"Ana? Dali si dobro? (Ana? Are you okay?)," she asks me.

I find myself walking around the living room, trying to swallow down the lump forming in my throat before I answer.

"Da... (yes...)," I reply, hoping it will sound convincing. It sounds like anything but that...

There was silence.

"Da li te je neko provredio? (did somebody hurt you?)" she asks.

"Ne mama. (No mam.),".

I let out another gentle sigh.

"Nije ništa mama... (It's nothing mam...)," I add.

"Znači nešto te muči... (So something is bothering you...)" she replies.

I can't help but let out a gentle giggle.

"Kako znaš? (How do you know?)," I ask.

"Čujem ti po glasu... (I hear it in your voice)," she adds.

"Jel si naišla na nekog lošeg na aerodromu?... Dali te je Igor pozvao?... (Did you come across someone bad at the airport?... Did Igor call you?...)" she asks seconds later.

I lower my head.

"Nije me Igor pozvao, ne brini... (Igor didnt call me, don't worry...)" I reassure her.

Then silence...

"Upoznala sam nekog na aerodromu... (I met someone at the airport...)" I begin. "Leteli smo zajedno, sedeli smo jedan pored drugog... (We flew together, we sat beside each other...)" I add. My hand travels to my pocket before pulling out the envelope James gave me.

"I?... (and?)" my mom asks.

"Plašim se da ga neću nikad videti opet... (I am scared I will never see him again...)" with me saying those words, I breakdown into tears. "Zaljubila sam se u njega... (I am in love with him...)" I add through my cries.

"Oh Ana, dušo moja... izvini. Doći ćemo tata i ja posle da te vidimo, ako hoćeš možemo i sad. (Oh Ana, my sweetheart... I am sorry. Your dad and I are going to come by and see you, we can come by now if you want us to.)". I manage to calm down and compose myself. I notice the sincerity in her voice.

"Kad god, meni absolutno nesmeta (whenever, I absolutely do not mind)" I reply.

"Vazi onda... ostavljam te da se odmoriš, slobodno nas pozovi za nešto treba, ili ako hoćeš sa nama da pričaš, važi? (Okay then... I'll leave you no to rest, feel free to call us if you need something, or of you want to talk to us, okay?)".

"Da mama. (yes mam.)" I reply.

"Volim te puno! (I love you a lot!)" she says.

"I ja tebe, mama. Pozdravi tatu. (I love you too, mam. Send greeting to dad.)" I reply.

"Hoću. Vidimo se malo kasnije. (I will. We will see you a bit later.)".

"Okey, ćao mama. (Okay, bye mam.)".

"Ćao. (Bye.)" she replies.

With that, the call ends. From my ear, drop my phone down beside me on the couch before diverting my attention to the white envelope. I open it.

Pulling the contents out, I am greeted by a napkin and a folded page.

"A napkin?..." I ask myself, scrunching my eyebrows ever so slightly.

Taking it into my hands, I begin to analyse the napkin to find it's relevance in this envelope. Moments later, stumble upon numbers, it takes me seconds to figure it's a phone number.

It's his phone number.