Chapter 13
Adrienne flopped down on her couch and closed her eyes. The minute she set foot on US soil and turned her phone on, her voicemail was full of messages from the school board, the principal, and many concerned parents once word got back about the girls being kidnapped. Instead of her trying to come home and relax after the trip, she’d been in nonstop meeting with angry board members and parents. She understood their anger; had she had a child that’d been in that situation, she’d want answers as well. Both she and the principal were in hot water about the kidnapping, so much so that the school board banned all schools from taking international trips.
She groaned when her phone rang from her purse across the room. After the week she’d had, she almost wanted to chuck it out of the window at this point. Pulling herself off the couch, she crossed the distance to her purse and rummaged through it, pulling her phone out. A local, unfamiliar number was displayed on her screen, slowly filling her with dread. Bracing herself for the verbal beatdown, she winced as she accepted the call.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Adrienne, hey,” a smooth, deep voice said. A soft smile settled on her lips as the voice registered in her mind. He’d left her two voicemails since she’d been back, but she’d been too busy to have a moment to call him back.
“Hi, Myles,” she said as she made her way back over to the couch, folding her legs as she lowered herself onto it. “How’s Josephine? I haven’t seen her in class all week.”
He sighed. “I’m not really sure, actually. She seems fine some moments, and then kind of shuts down out of nowhere,” he said. “We’re just taking it a day at a time.”
Her fingers fiddled with the cross on her necklace. “I really hope she’ll be all right. I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s going through…and you either. How are you?”
“I’m managing,” he simply said. Adrienne waited a few moments longer to see if he’d add anything else, but he didn’t.
“It’s okay to not be okay, Myles,” she murmured. He was silent for so long that she’d thought he hung up. “Myles?”
“I have no choice but to be okay. Josephine needs me right now.”
“And who do you turn to when you need someone?” she asked.
He was quiet for a moment. “I guess no one.”
Her heart broke for the man that stood so strong on the outside. He carried so much weight on his shoulders and did it with a playful spirit and a smile on his face.
“Have you had dinner yet?” he asked.
She wasn’t sure if he was subtly asking her out or over to his place, but she’d take the opportunity if it helped ease his mind from everything that’d happen.
“I haven’t actually,” she said, glancing at the clock to see it was almost 8 p.m. “I didn't even realize how late it was getting.”
“Well, we have a couple of pizzas on the way if you’d like to join us,” he offered. The small smile that’d been on her lips since she answered the phone widened.
“I’d like that.”
“Cool. I’ll text you the address then,” he said. “Oh, and Adrienne?”
“Yeah?”
“When you get here, just text me instead of knocking on the door. Josephine’s still pretty…jumpy and knocking may cause another meltdown,” he said.
“Oh no, I completely understand,” she said, her hand on her heart. That poor girl.
“I’ll see you soon then,” he said.
“See you soon,” she said and hung up. No sooner than she stood up from the couch, a text message containing his address pushed through her notifications. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of being close to him again. The signature scent of his cologne was embedded in her memories and the softness of his lips against her made her feel warm all over. Excitement slowly washed out the stress and anxiety past week had brought her as she walked toward her bedroom, stopping at a picture of Miguel on the wall.
Tears burned her eyes as she looked at his smiling face, sitting proudly as he posed for his photo in his police uniform. She remembered that day perfectly. He’d gotten up earlier than usual to make sure his uniform was perfect and ready to go. She’d giggled at him as he danced around the bedroom at 4:30 in the morning, unable to contain his excitement. He’d nearly used all her hair gel to slick down his hair, saying that everything had to be perfect because pictures were forever.
He was right. Since he was gone, all she had left were her memories and his pictures. She took the picture off the wall and held it in her hands, a single tear drop splashing onto the frame. “You want to know something, Miguel?” she asked out loud. “In all honesty, I’ve only been afraid of dating because I’m scared I may forget you. I’m afraid that I’ll forget what we had and how you made me feel. I thought that if I was alone, I could somehow keep your memory alive, but that’s…”
Her eyes burned with tears, each one dropping onto the frame when she blinked. She almost felt guilty for wanting to be with Myles, even guilty that she liked him so soon. But now, none of that really mattered. The Paris trip was enough to make her realize that life is entirely too short to live in fear. Sometimes you have to take risks because playing it safe isn’t always the safest option. She’d felt herself falling for Myles, but blamed it on her being lonely. Myles was right. There was something about each of them that pulled the other like a magnet. It was hard to explain, but it felt right. What if Miguel had sent him to her? She shook her head. Maybe she was just overthinking it all, but she knew it was probably time to let go.
“I think I’ll be okay now,” she finally said. “All you ever wanted was for me to be happy and I think that’s what I want right now too.” She wiped the tears off the glass with her shirt before returning it to its place on the wall. Her fingers brushed along his smiling face as a small smile touched her lips. “I know I’ll never forget you; and I’ll always love you.”
***
Adrienne pressed send on her text and wrapped her arms around herself as she stood outside of Myles’s apartment. She glanced around and noticed a car with a pizza delivery decal on the side of it pull up beside her car and all but slam their door as they got out. The front door opening whipped her attention back to Myles, who greeted her in a black shirt, denim jeans, a pair of white socks, and a soft smile.
“Hey,” he murmured, glancing over her shoulder. “Looks like you two arrived at the same time.”
Adrienne turned around to see the delivery guy standing behind her with two large pizzas.
“I have a sausage pepperoni and a supreme pizza. That’ll be 23.76,” the guy drawled. Myles pulled his wallet from his back pocket and retrieved a few bills, passing them to the delivery guy.
“Keep the change,” he said as he took the pizzas and stepped aside to let Adrienne into the apartment. Along with the delicious scent of pizza, his apartment smelled of vanilla and sandalwood, giving her a warm, cozy feeling inside. He disappeared off into the kitchen while she stood near the door, unsure of what she should be doing. Her eyes traveled the well-decorated space. For him to be a bachelor, he sure had great taste. She moved over to his entertainment center and grinned as she looked at all the photos of him and Josephine. The relationship he had with his sister reminded her so much of her own brothers, making her miss them dearly. There were many pictures of them smiling and just as many of one having the other in a headlock or playing around. Her eyes stopped on the picture of Josephine on Myles’s back. The picture looked dated and they were both a lot younger than they were now. Josephine’s smile was bright although she missed a few of her front teeth and Myles, although less muscular and boyish looking, looked content as his sister sat on his back as if he were a horse.
“That’s one of my favorite pictures,” he said behind her, startling her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said breathlessly, rubbing her hand across her chest in an effort to slow down her heart rate. “It’s a nice picture. How old were you two then?”
“She was about five, I think. I was fifteen,” he answered, biting into the slice of pizza he held. “Pizza?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said and followed him back to the kitchen. He passed her one of the plates already sitting on the counter and gestured to the boxes.
“There’s plenty here, so take what you’d like,” he said, just as Josephine entered the kitchen. Dark circles had made a place under her eyes and her hair wildly stuck out of her head. Her eyes were lifeless as she dragged her feet across the kitchen floor, grabbed a plate and a few slices of pizza, and disappeared again without a word. Josephine definitely wasn’t the active, bubbly, social girl in her French class, only a mere shell of her former self.
“Poor girl,” Adrienne murmured, fiddling with the cross on her neck.
“Yeah,” Myles said, a deep frown settling on his lips. “I’m sure it may be a while before she’s back to normal if that’s even possible.”
She gave him a small smile and his arm a comforting rub. “All things take time. I have faith that she’ll be okay.” He nodded, keeping his eyes on the pizza boxes in front of him. “Come here.”
She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing him to face her as she pulled him into a hug. His arms slowly wrapped around her before squeezing her tight to him. Every muscle in his body relaxed as he held her and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, caressing the back of his neck. He expelled a breath and finally pulled away.
“Thank you,” he murmured, wiping the inner corners of his eyes. “I needed that more than I realized.”
“No problem. There’s more hugs where that came from,” she teased.
After she placed a few slices on her plate, they returned back to the living room and settled on the couch.
“I meant to tell you early, but you look beautiful,” he said and took a bite of pizza. Her cheeks warmed as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Thank you. After the day I’ve had, it’s nice to hear that.”
“Still dealing with stuff from the trip, I assume?”
She sighed. “Yeah. You know, there are even some parents calling for me to be fired after what happened.”
“That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“Well, I mean I guess I can understand their anger—”
“It makes me wonder how people can be more upset than the people directly involved and affected,” he said with a shake of his head.
“I don’t know, but I can’t wait until this whole process is over,” she said with a sigh, biting into a slice of supreme pizza. “I’ve been in so many meetings and have been yelled at enough to last a lifetime. My shoulders and neck are so tight from stress that I’ll probably need a steam roller to get all the kinks out.”
Myles put his plate down on the coffee table and wiggled his fingers. “Girl, did you already forget? I have magic fingers,” he teased. She returned his smile, glad to see his playful side again.
“Oh right, how could I forget?” she said with a giggle. “Well, Mr. Magic Fingers, how about you put them to work?” His eyes darkened at her words, making her realize how that may have sounded. “Um…for a massage.”
He smirked. “I’ll gladly give you one after you eat,” he said. She nodded. After a few moments of silence, he looked over at her. “I have to tell you something.”
Dread filled her as she slowly chewed the pizza in her mouth, putting the slice back on the plate. Were they already ending it before they really gave it a chance? Did he think she still wasn’t ready? She swallowed, the pizza feeling like a ball of cement as it went down. “Okay.”
“I um…I got—”
A shrill scream in the back of the apartment startled them both. Myles jumped to his feet and dashed out of the living room with Adrienne on his heels. They rushed into Josephine’s room where she lay in bed, thrashing her arms and legs. Her untouched pizza sat on her nightstand, nearly being knocked off from her movements.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay,” Myles murmured, placing gentle arms around her. “It’s just a bad dream.”
She fought against him as he continued consoling her and speaking in a soft tone until she eventually calmed down. Tears filled Adrienne’s eyes as she watched them. Guilt crushed her spirit as Josephine’s whimpers tortured her ears. Part of this was her fault. This girl, that was once so full of life, is now being tormented by her own dreams and memories and it was Adrienne’s fault.
No sooner than the thought crossed her mind, Josephine looked up at her. “Ms. Barrera?” she croaked.
Adrienne moved over to sit at the foot of her bed. “Yes, sweetie, I’m here,” she murmured, placing a comforting hand on Josephine’s knee. She sniffled and looked to Myles.
“Can you reheat my pizza? I think I want to try to eat it now,” she said. Myles nodded and grabbed the plate from the nightstand, leaving the two ladies alone as he headed for the kitchen.
Josephine looked at her with wet eyes. “I could really use a hug,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Of course, honey,” Adrienne murmured, moving to sit next to her and wrapping her arms around the trembling teen. Josephine sighed and closed her eyes, resting her head against Adrienne’s chest.
“Sometimes I wish my mom were here to hold me like this,” she said, barely above a whisper.
Adrienne stroked her hair. “I know I can’t replace your mom, but I’m always here. We want you to be okay.”
“But I’m so scared,” she croaked. “I see his face every time I close my eyes. I remember all the terrible things he said to me and how I was going to make him so much money—”
“Shh,” Adrienne said, continuing to stroke her hair as she felt her tense in her arms. “We don’t have to talk about that.”
Josephine was quiet for a moment before she looked up and met Adrienne’s gaze. “I just want to feel normal again. I don’t want to be scared,” she said, tears glossing her eyes.
“I know you don’t,” Adrienne said, brushing a strand of hair from Josephine’s eyes. “It’ll take some time, but everything will be all right. Just lean on your support system when you feel weak. We’re all here for you.”
“Thank you,” she said softly and placed her head back on Adrienne’s chest. Adrienne rested her head against Josephine’s headboard, stroking the girl’s hair as she lost herself in thought. They all had their own battles to fight; she just hoped they all made it out in one piece.