Chapter 50
FIFTY
A few weeks later
True to my word, I had stuck to my hot girl walks into town. Did I want to do them? Not really. I had to gaslight myself into it, but once I got going, I found myself enjoying them.
That was the thing about life, wasn’t it? We constantly had to do things we didn’t enjoy, but if we gave it a chance, we grew from those experiences.
My weekend from hell was another unsavory learning experience. There were many things I could have done differently, but I had woken up in what should’ve been the safety of my room with a stranger in my room, so excuse me if I didn’t think rationally.
When the cops came, I listened to hear if there were any women on the staff, but when they told me none were available, I refused to come out.
I wasn’t about to trust men I didn’t know.
I didn’t care if they had a badge, not after I heard Ronnie joke that women were very emotional, and a few laughed.
That’s all I needed to know; my life was not safe in their hands. I’d rather be overdramatic and alive than too trusting and dead.
Tyler texting me to let me know he was coming and to stay locked inside was all the encouragement I needed.
I was so grateful to him. When he told me he believed me, and trusted me, it made me fall even more in love with him, which was something I didn’t think could be possible since I had been filling my “I love Tyler Kane” jar since kindergarten.
I loved him so much I wasn’t too pissed at him for getting arrested right after getting me out of the bathroom.
It was gratifying to see the shiner that started to form on Ronnie’s face.
Luckily, Max was able to persuade Ronnie that pressing charges wouldn’t be in his favor.
And by persuasion, I mean threats were heavily implied.
As for Ronnie, he got a slap on the wrist. There was a lot of ‘he said, she said,’ but, ultimately, not much could be done.
He broke into my room but didn’t harm me, so what could they do?
That made me so fucking angry, because what was he supposed to do then?
Assault me physically or sexually for me to be taken seriously?
The legal system failed women, and I was nothing more than a statistic.
The only justice I got was that he got fired from The Willow Grove Herald . We had a replacement editor, and Orianna was made junior editor, which was amazing, especially since she was supportive of my “Around Town with Hart” column.
Orianna was also the one to break the story on Ronnie, along with a retraction of the smear article that came out about the Kanes. I wasn’t mentioned, but it was implied that he had been jealous of one of his coworkers being romantically involved with a Kane brother.
After being fired from his job and then exposed for being anonymous, Ronnie no longer had a place in the county. Not having to see him anymore brought me peace, and I could live with that.
By the time I arrived in town, I was out of breath.
Before going to see Lupe at Delicia’s , I headed straight to Divine Corner so I could greet Simone. Before going in, I looked at the tarot card of the day just for fun. The card depicted a naked woman wrapped in cloth, with four zodiac symbols at each corner. The World.
Next to it, the description read: You have now come full circle. You have accomplished your goals, and everything has come together.
Okay, sure, why not? I’ll take it.
I opened the door and headed straight for the counter, shouting Simone’s name. It shouldn’t have been a shock to see Collin there talking to her, they were siblings after all. He immediately stiffened upon seeing me.
I tentatively waved at him.
“Hey, Astrid…um…how are you? I’m sorry about what happened,” he stammered. “Did Ty tell you?”
Okay, this was as awkward for him as it was for me.
“Yeah, I can do coffee maybe tomorrow?”
He seemed relieved by this.
Simone, bless her heart, didn’t comment on anything.
“Came to finally let me do your tarot reading?”
“That’s my cue to leave.” Collin knocked on the counter and said his goodbyes.
As he walked away, I told Simone a reading wouldn’t be needed.
“I’m not too worried about the future. Whatever happens, I know it’s going to be good,” I told her.
Apparently, I was the only one who felt that way about life because a few seconds later, Luna came barreling inside, yelling.
“You told me my luck would be changing this week, and quite the opposite has happened.”
Simone laughed as we both turned to look at a distraught Luna.
After shooting the shit with them for a while, Luna dropped me off at my house. Which I didn’t mind, as I had done my walking for the day. When I saw the moving company outside of Rachel’s house, I immediately felt sad.
When she told me she would be moving, I pushed it to the back of my mind, deciding to deal with it when the time came—and here we were, and I had not dealt with it. The paperwork she had given me was still on top of my drawer untouched.
Plastering on the best smile I could muster, I marched up to the house. It was empty. Everything that made this Rachel’s home was gone.
We had both done a lot of growing in this house, each of us lost in our own way, and finding a way back to our old selves with morning conversations and being silently there for one another.
“I want it noted that I hate you for doing this to me,” I told Prescott as he came into view with one of the last boxes Rachel had yet to put in the truck.
He ignored my statement, just as he had every time I made it.
“You’re acting like we are moving to Antarctica. We will be a few hours away,” he replied, not taking me seriously at all. “Check the kitchen island,” he instructed as he walked out the door.
My eyes teared up as I watched this chapter of my friend’s life close.
Happy tears, but tears nonetheless.
On the kitchen island was a state-of-the-art espresso machine. Okay, the man kept his word. A few seconds later, Rach came out of her room with a look that mirrored my own.
“I’m going to miss you,” I told her as I ran to her.
We hugged each other for a few minutes.
It’s funny how life worked, wasn’t it? If she hadn’t divorced and moved next door, and I hadn’t come back home, we would have never found each other.
“Me too. So much.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” I joked.
Rachel pulled back and gave me a soft smile. “You make this place your own.”
I looked at the house and saw all the possibilities.
I still thought she was freaking crazy for giving me this house.
“It’s too big for me,” I said lamely.
Rach rolled her eyes.
“Ty will do whatever you want, and you know it.”
It came as no surprise to her that Ty and I were now a thing. I told him Rachel gave me the house, but never touched upon it after that. A part of me felt that I was underserving of this gift.
I walked back around the house as they got the truck fixed up. Everything of Rachel’s was now officially packed. I closed the door behind me, gave a hug to each of them, and waved goodbye as they drove away to their new start.
I was still standing there in the driveway when a few minutes later, Tyler’s truck came into view. He parked in the driveway, and I immediately made my way to the passenger seat.
“So, are you going to tell me where we are going?”
It was Friday night, and we would be having dinner with my parents and his family. Was it boring for people our age? Maybe, but I loved it.
Tyler
Astrid was humming softly as I made my way to the cemetery. My hand was clammy, and I had been anxious all day.
“Want to come see my mom with me?” I asked her as I pulled up to the gates. I reached behind my seat, where I had placed the flowers I had bought.
Astrid’s eyes softened.
Since she came back, I hadn’t asked her to go with me. We had been too busy figuring things out and getting settled into our new normal. She used to come with me after my mother passed away, always holding my hand, giving me her strength. Years later, it was as if nothing had changed.
I put the flowers down on my mom’s tombstone just as Astrid caressed the headstone.
“Hi, Mrs. Kane,” she said softly.
God, this girl had me wrapped around her little finger.
There would never be anyone who would ever fit me the way she did. I loved her with everything I had in me.
“See, Mom, I told you I would win her back,” I said with a grin on my face.
I swear I could see the sun shine a little brighter after my statement. Maybe this was the sign she was giving me to tell me she approved of what I would be doing today.
We stayed there a few more minutes before heading back to town.
“I’m kind of scared of what Adam cooked up today. He sounded a little too confident about having a new recipe, and I don’t know how I feel about that.”
I chuckled at that. I felt the same way, but nothing would be ruining this day for me.
When I took a different turn instead of the one that led to my house, where all our family was, she immediately noticed.
“Are we picking something up?”
“Something like that,” I told her.
She immediately started to assess me.
“What are you up to?”
I grinned at her but ignored her question. A few minutes later, we were in front of our elementary school.
“Oh my God, I haven’t been here since we graduated,” she exclaimed, somewhat nostalgically.
“Come, I want to show you something.”
As soon as she got out of the car, I reached behind the seat again and grabbed the little black box my father had given me.
I was too young when my mother passed away, so there were bits and pieces that I remembered.
I had a lot fewer memories of her than my brothers, something I used to regret.
Seeing her ring brought back a clear picture of her holding my hand whenever I got scared.
The way she would kiss the tip of my nose and wipe away my tears, and how I could feel the back side of her ring press against my skin.
“So, what are we doing here?” Astrid asked.
I took a moment to look at her. Her hair was down and wavy in something she liked to call a blowout.
She was wearing a pretty baby pink dress that did amazing things for her tits.
On her feet were a pair of white sandals that matched her painted toes.
She was a fucking vision, and I was the luckiest guy alive.
“Come here, beautiful,” I said, extending my hand toward her. She immediately took it, and I walked us toward the front entrance, right in the very spot where I had first met her.
“Coming full circle,” she mumbled with a smile on her face.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Nothing…just something silly.” She waved me off.
I looked down at her, my smile still on my face. Her statement gave me the confidence to do this here and now. This place was where we began, and it was a full circle.
“Beautiful.” My voice was hoarse, losing some of the playfulness from earlier.
Astrid’s brow furrowed and she cocked her head, a little worried by my change in tone.
“Seventeen years ago, you took my hand in this very spot,” I told her as I looked at the double doors of the entrance to the school that used to seem larger than life, but now seemed ordinary. I turned to look back at Astrid. “You’ve had my heart ever since, Astrid.”
I reached into my pocket, and her eyes widened.
“Ohmigod,” she whispered as she saw me pull the black box from my pocket. Her hand came to her mouth as she kept repeating the word over and over.
I lowered myself on one knee and took in every reaction on her beautiful face. I couldn’t have picked a better time if I had planned it. The sun was starting to set, casting a golden halo around her.
“It might not be the most romantic proposal, but this place is where I once gave you a part of me, and now I want you to have all of me. Astrid Hart, will you marry me?”
The words were barely out of my mouth when she was throwing herself at me. I felt her body shake as I awkwardly got up, still holding on to her.
“Is that a yes, beautiful?” I attempted to joke.
She pulled back with tears in her eyes. “I love you, and this is perfect.” Astrid handed me her left hand, and nothing in the world felt as right as the way my mother’s ring looked on her finger. I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed her right on the ring.
“This was my mother’s ring,” I let her know.
Her eyes softened, and more tears silently fell.
“Ty,” she breathed.
It wasn’t a question, but I knew my girl enough that she was wondering if I was sure about giving her this ring.
“This ring was always meant to be yours, beautiful. Mom loved you, she knew you, and Dad said it’s what she’d have wanted.”
“I love you so much,” she cried.
“Good, because I promise to love you even more,” I stated.
Before she could protest, I cupped her cheeks, looked into her teary eyes, then kissed her. If I could go back in time, I would congratulate my five-year-old self for taking Astrid’s hand that day.
Despite every broken promise along the way, we still ended up right here with each other, where we belonged.