Chapter 25
Adam
I ran my hand through my scruff again as I paced in front of the storage unit. Me and River’s past was crammed into the four hundred square feet within. I wasn’t sure if West was coming, and I wasn’t sure how he would react if he did. I’d kept everything down to the piece of paper that had been burning a hole in my pocket since I saw her again. My body relaxed as I saw River walking up alone, her hands shoved into the pockets of her winter jacket. It was one of those puffy ones, but it wasn’t too puffy, and it went down to her knees, a belt framing her thin waist. She raised an eyebrow at me as she came to a stop, her worn winter boots inches from mine.
“I see you still haven’t mastered checking someone out without them knowing it,” she said, her pink lips lifting. My face burned, and she stepped forward, tapping my neck. “And your blush still starts at your neck and makes it’s way up.”
I laughed, pulling away. “Thanks for pointing out I haven’t changed all that much.”
River tilted her head. “I think you have.”
“Yeah, not drinking,” I replied as I pulled the key from my pocket and headed to the lock.
“That’s not what I meant,” she said as I opened the sliding door to reveal floor to ceiling boxes.
I turned, putting my hands in my pockets. “It’s okay, Riv. I get it.”
She shook her head, her gray eyes racing over my face. “It’s more than the not drinking. You’re going after what you want.” Her eyes moved past me to the boxes. “Well, for the most part.”
“For the most part?”
She raised an eyebrow at me as if I should know what she was talking about. My stomach twisted.
Tara.
I looked down and watched as her boots moved into the storage unit.
“I can’t believe you kept it all,” she said as she traced her name on a box. Her eyes came up. “Why did you?”
I froze, unblinking as I stared back at her. I couldn’t get the words to come out. West asked the same question, and it had been easier to answer. Now, the piece of paper seemed to be ripping me apart, making it hard to breathe. I finally managed to move, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket and opening it. I stared at the piece of paper, well worn from being in my wallet or being run through my fingers. I swallowed, my hand shaking as I handed it to her.
River’s lips parted, the air in her lungs hissing out from them all at once. She paled as she stared at her writing.
“I knew someday, no matter what, I was going to find you.” I gave a pained laugh. “Turned out you didn’t need me to find you. You needed West.”
“Adam–” her gaze came up from the paper.
I shook my head. “He’s perfect for you.”
I watched as she swallowed hard. “Thank you.”
“You’re the one who’s changed. You were always the strong one, but now…” There didn’t see to be any words to describe the woman she’d become without me. Without Bobby. “We were just holding you back– between our old grudges, and our stupid fight over you.”
River’s hand went to her mouth, and she pressed her eyes shut. “I was holding you guys back, too.”
I scoffed, shaking my head and stepping forward to pull her into my arms. “Never.”
“We were all stuck,” she said, and I realized she was right. We were all stuck in our pasts, trying to make them our futures and trying to appease one another.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said, pulling away and she quirked a brow at me. I laughed. “Okay, you’re right.”
River stepped back and looked at the boxes. “I didn’t realize I had this much stuff.”
I stepped forward and tapped on the four boxes. “It’s not that much, just these here. The rest is mine…” I nodded to the back corner where her mirror and a garment bag were. “Well, except for those back there.”
River’s body tensed as her eyes landed on the blue bag. There was a small box that went with the dress, but it was in my duffle bag at Mark’s house. My jaw clenched as I thought of what it held.
I had asked for Bobby’s help. I didn’t know anything about engagement rings, let alone what River would want in one. Bobby would know, though. I had thought he’d be livid I was even thinking about it, but he’d just nodded with his jaw clenched before clapping me on the back.
“Sure, man. I’d love to,” Bobby had said, but his voice was hoarse.
I’d asked him as my brother and River’s best friend, but I’d forgotten that he was in love with her as much as I was.
“You sure?” I asked.
Bobby plastered on a fake, goofy smile. “Yeah, when you want to go?”
I looked down at my watch. “You have time now?”
“Sure, why the hell not,” he replied, standing from the couch. “You have anything in mind?”
I grabbed his jacket off the coat rack and tossed it to him before slipping mine on. “Diamonds?”
“Ha.” Bobby shook his head.
“What?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him as he passed me, taking two stairs to my one. “Seriously, man. What?”
He got to the bottom of the stairs and turned, his brows raised. “Diamonds, bro?”
“Don’t all women love diamonds?” I asked, and he crossed his arms.
“River isn’t like all women.”
I scratched the back of my head, nodding to the door. “Well, what do you suggest?”
“Something with color. Riv doesn’t like diamonds. They’re just white and sparkly. She’s going to want color,” he replied as we reached his truck.
Bobby climbed into the driver side and chuckled to himself as he watched me jump in. He was the freaking Jolly Green Giant. I was half-convinced he got the truck just to make me look like a miniature jackass.
“What color?” I asked as I buckled in.
He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “Blue.”
“Like your eyes?” I looked at the ceiling.
“Exactly,” he replied, his tone of voice showing his amusement at the annoyance in mine.
When we walked in the jewelry store, Bobby zoned in on precisely what River would like, and I couldn’t deny the fact I thought he was right. It was an oval peacock sapphire, more karats than I thought I could afford, surrounded by small diamonds in rose gold. It ended up being more than just the karats; the whole sucker was way out of my price range.
“It’s the one, man,” Bobby said, holding it up and watching it sparkle in the light. “It’s perfect.”
I grit my teeth. “It’s also two grand more than I can afford.”
“So, what did we decide?” the salesperson asked, coming back over. They’d left us alone to ‘talk it over’ since there was a security guard at the door who’d drop kick our asses if we tried to take off with it.
“It’s gorgeous–” I began as Bobby handed it back to the salesperson.
Bobby’s eyes remained locked on the ring as he cut me off. “It’s perfect, exactly what she’d want.”
“It’s just–“
Before I could finish, Bobby slipped the salesperson his credit card.
“Hell no, man,” I said, and Bobby crossed his arms, looking down at me.
“You pay me whatever you”re able to afford, and I’ve got the rest. Consider it an early wedding gift,” Bobby replied, and when I started to shake my head, he widened his eyes, stopping me with my mouth open. “She’s the one. She deserves that ring.”
She’s the one. Bobby hadn’t meant for me, though. I’d seen it in the way his eyes darkened. He was helping me get the ring he would’ve gotten her if our circumstances were different. And now, she’d never have him or that ring, because she wasn’t the one for me, and I wasn’t the one for her.
I cleared my throat. “You don’t have to take it if you don’t want. I know it has shitty memories tied to it.”
What was. What would never be again.
All reasons I’d almost torched the thing, but the memory of her in the dress smiling as she came out of the bathroom was enough to make me just shove it in this storage unit and forget about it. I wished Bobby could’ve seen her in it. He’d have loved it, just like I did, and that’s why it was in here, hidden in the dark. River stepped forward, walking towards it.
“I’ll take it,” she said, more to herself than me before turning to the mirror I’d given her when she moved to the city. A soft smile came to her lips as she traced the frosted butterflies, and she looked over her shoulder at me. “I’ve missed this mirror.”
“I’ve missed that smile,” I replied before I could stop myself.
“Thank you,” she said, a shiver running over her as she turned to the garment bag. She lifted it and put it on her arm. “I’m glad you kept it.”
She looked down to her hand, where the little piece of paper still was. “All of it.”