3

ADELINE

I didn't think I could do it. But I did.

“Addie?” Jay whispered at the sight of me. And before I could respond, I was engulfed in a hug. The tears I had trained a few minutes ago from falling came streaming down my face. “What the hell, Addie? What happened to you?”

It had been at least a year since I saw him and Kris. Where was she?

When we pulled from the hug, Jay stared at me, his expression hard. “Just say the word and it's done.” Knowing Jay, he was serious. If I so much as told him I wanted Grayson dead - I wish I could - Jay would kill him without thinking.

“Can we go inside first? I'm exhausted and it's freezing.” I asked and he nodded, grabbing my suitcase and leading me into the house.

“Kris, guess who's here…” Jay yelled from behind me for his sister whose clumsy ass yelled back but from a place of pain. Jay and I shared a look and ran in the direction her voice came from.

There was Kris on the floor covered in tomato sauce, trying to stand but it apparently wasn't working. Even with the sadness that clouded my heart, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Typical Kris.

“Oh hey, Addie. A little help please?” She spoke and Jay walked over to help her, scolding her as he did.

Kris had to leave to change, it was clear there would be no dinner tonight so Jay opted to order us some take-outs and ice cream instead.

“Just in case we'll need to cry as you talk…” were his words.

Dinner arrived just in time for Kris to walk into the kitchen where Jay and I were cleaning after the mess she made. I wiped my hands clean with a towel and grabbed the plates before setting them on the table. I made a turn to get the cups when Kris grabbed me and turned me to face her.

“You're here.” I nodded. “You're never here by this time and on a day like this.” I nodded again, this time beginning to feel the wave of sadness I had tried to bury. My eyes watered, she continued to look at me.

“I know. And I'm so sorry for disappearing the way I did only to come out of the blue. I just…” I paused and took a deep breath. “I gave Grayson divorce papers when he came home today. Our contract ended two weeks ago…”

I didn't even know if these tears were of joy or pain. Was I glad to finally be free from the shackles of the contract Grayson forced me into? Yes, I was ecstatic. Was I also sad that I would miss Johnny and his father? That too. I hated that I had feelings for that jerk. Somehow, even in his cruelty my heart managed to beat for him when it should have resented him. And I think it did. But only because he didn't feel the same towards me as I did him.

“Look at you all grown up, Addie. This should be a celebration not a, well, you know, an ice cream moment. It's fucking Valentine's Day!” Kris chirped, a grin stretching her lips.

I chuckled at her joke, suddenly remembering the reason it was necessary for me to leave that family.

I had a dream that had been on hold for far too long and it was time to alive it again.

I nodded, wiping my tears, glad for the gift of friends I had. Even though we hadn't spoken in a year - not that they hadn't tried to reach out - they still accepted me with open arms like I never left.

That night, we spent it watching our favorite show and reminiscing over the past, some things still a plan for the future we were determined to see through.

I'm glad I did this. I told myself before dozing off next to Jay.

The next few days were a haze. I was getting by just fine. A few times my mind traced its way back to Grayson and little Johnny but I forced it back to reality. The one where I had to wait tables to support myself and my friends.

And I thought that would be it. Any moment from now I hoped to get a message from Grayson's lawyer about the divorce finalized but nothing came. Not even after two weeks.

It was hell waiting for him. What's taking so long? I would question. Should I call him? I would ask myself. But each time I took my phone to do so, I remembered that Grayson never answered my calls over the years regardless of the situation. So what was going to make him answer now?

And just when I thought I wouldn't hear from his lawyer, Grayson showed up at Kris and Jay's.

“Hello, Adeline…” Dammit! That voice still gets to me. I froze on the threshold of the door.

I had wanted to hear that the divorce was final but not from him. Grayson was too busy for that.

Why was he here?

I forced the shock out of my system and cleared my throat. “Mr. Archer, how did you find this place?”

His brows twitched at the new title I addressed him with. I hadn't called him that since we got married. He smiled regardless, playing it cool.

“I have my ways, Adeline. We should talk.” Talk about what? Is it a done deal yet, the divorce? I wanted to ask but I refrained from it.

I stepped out of the apartment, shutting the door behind me and Grayson gave me an incredulous look. Surely he didn't think I was going to let him in, did he? Thank God no one's home.

“I'm listening, but please make it quick.”

“Come on, Adeline. You and I aren't enemies. Plus, what I have to say would need for us to sit.” He said, his eyes boring into mine as if to read me.

Stay calm. Don't give anything away.

“I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Archer. If you don't want to talk out here, then goodbye.”

I wasn't going to waste my time with him when now I knew he wasn't here to tell me he had gone through with the divorce. An incredibly dumb move on my part not to have left with the papers that day. This would have been over by now.

“Okay, wait. I want to renew our contract…”

The audacity of this man.

It was I who gave an incredulous look this time. He had to be thinking out of his ass to think this was ever going to be possible.

“You're an asshole, you know that? I would rather die than renew the contract with you, Mr. Archer. Leave now before I call the police…”

What arrogance! How dare he?!

“Adeline…” he spoke, his tone warning. But to who exactly? “You might want to think about this carefully. You don't want me to get your father involved do you?”

That dead man? I scoffed, shaking my head at him. Of course he didn't know.

“Just wow, Mr. Archer. By all means, do so. Just don't forget to keep some flowers by his tombstone.” I spat my voice dripping with hate.

This man knew just the thing to say to make me resent him a little more. This time I walked away from him. But only two steps before I felt him grab me.

“What do you mean by his tombstone?” He asked, his tone shocked and confused. What about the word tombstone did he not understand?

My father died a year ago. I tried to tell him the day I found but he was too busy picking out a new car for his sister that day.

“Let go…”

“Not until you tell me when…” he didn't get to finish before another voice cut him off.

“I believe she told you to take your hands off, asshole…”

It was Jay and he did not look happy in the slightest. What are they doing home early?