Chapter 71 Adela
Cody takes me to the Suzzallo and Allen Libraries on campus—the central library I've walked past dozens of times but never actually entered.
I look at him when he parks. "The library?"
He shrugs. "You like books."
That's the whole explanation.
That’s new. He’s always known that I liked books, and he’s bringing me here because… I raise my eyebrow at him, and he smiles like he can read my mind.
“Come on,” he says innocently. “I hear it’s really nice.”
The Reading Room takes my breath away with its high ceilings and gothic architecture. I pull books at random. He reads back covers and asks questions about what I like and actually listens to the answers.
I watch him listening.
This is new. He’s seeing me now. Finally.
“Do you want that one?” he asks about the book I’ve been holding for the past two minutes. He holds out his hand. “I’ll hold it for you.”
I pass it to him with a smile. “Okay.”
Then I walk past him and keep browsing.
At one point, we’re shoulder to shoulder and touch the spine of the same book. He looks at me, so I look at him. He leans in and pecks my lips. And suddenly my mind flashes back to the times we were at Puget Sound together. His hand comes up to brush my hair out of my face.
He whispers, “I’m still the same boy you fell in love with.”
I freeze, not quite sold on the idea. I blush, slightly shaking my head.
“You don’t think so?”
I pause, thinking. “It’s odd you would be willing to…” I trail off, not finishing my thought.
He leans in for only my ears to hear, “I didn’t know it would be so sexy to watch you enjoy yourself with someone else, but you’ll always be mine.”
I blush, looking at him.
“You get to have this if you want it, but in the end, it’ll always be you and me.”
My heart races as he stares into my eyes. The spell is broken when someone walks behind us. I take a step forward, peeking over at him one more time before continuing to browse the shelf.
When we're ready to leave, he checks out three books for me without making it a gesture. He hands them over with his library card.
"When did you get one of those?" I tease.
"Why? Don't think I can compare to Theo?"
I smile.
Walking out of the library, I ask the question I've been holding back.
"What happened to the laptop?"
He doesn't pause, doesn't flinch.
"Theo finally gave it back, and I deleted everything," he says. "All of it."
"When?"
"When you were recovering, and Theo and I were making amends." He looks at me. "I deleted all of it. Even the footage of you, alright? It's gone."
I look at him for a long moment. I think about what's changed in him, and I can't quite figure out when it happened or how. Just that it did.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I ask quietly, almost joking.
He picks me up without warning, throwing my legs in the air behind me. And I scream from the thrill of it, laughing as he spins me once before setting me down.
He kisses me. "Never been better."
I grab his face, still smiling. "I love you."
“I love you too.”
On the drive to get food, I tell him I went to hockey practice earlier this week.
"You still aren't playing?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "Not yet. But I should be back next week."
"Really?"
He nods, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles. "Yes."
"That's great news."
I look out the window for a moment, then turn back to him. "What about the guy that wanted your position?"
"Silas?"
"Is he the last piece of the puzzle?" I ask, knowing that the night Theo broke in, there was a third person. It had to be him, and I know that Silas must've helped put Cody in the coma. "Is he going to be a problem?"
"No. He transferred."
I remain quiet. "Really?"
Cody looks at me and smiles teasingly. "Really."
I inhale. "Okay."
"He sold Beckett out," Cody says simply. "I don't play with people I can't trust."
I think about the specific irony of Cody Ravenshaw saying that sentence.
I don't say it out loud, but that’s all I need to know.
“You threatened him?” I dare to ask.
He glances at me and then stares forward as he drives.
Then his phone rings through the car speakers, and I already know the answer to my question.
His father's name appears on the screen, so he looks at me.
My heart races, but I nod.
He answers it on speaker like he doesn't hide things from me anymore. Not even a phone call with his father.
"Cody." Judge Ravenshaw's voice is measured and careful the way it always is.
"Hey, Dad."
"How did the talk with Coach Crick go?"
"I should be back on the ice next week."
A pause.
"And the girl?"
Cody looks at me.
"She's good," he says. "She's here, actually."
A longer pause.
"Hello, Adela," the Judge says.
"Hello," I say.
Another pause.
"Take care of her," he says to Cody.
"I will," Cody says.
The call ends.
I look at him.
He looks at the road.
"He knows," Cody says. "About all of it. I told him."
"You told him? And he’s okay with... that?"
Cody is quiet for a moment.
"He's okay with whatever I choose," he says. "He knows you were never the problem."
My chest lightens at that. I nod in understanding, glad to hear him say it.
Cody drives me to my parents' house.
I wanted to stop by midweek to ask if Maeve and I can have a sleepover this weekend.
He pulls up to the driveway, and I’m surprised to see my father is here. He’s getting something from his car. He looks up and sees Cody's vehicle and goes still.
Cody parks and gets out.
He walks around and opens my door, then reaches into the back seat for my library books. He hands them to me and says something quiet that makes me smile.
My father watches all of this.
Cody looks up and sees him.
He walks over and extends his hand.
"Sir," he says.
No speech. No defense. No explanation. Just respect. Offered directly.
My father looks at him for a long moment.
Then he shakes his hand.
My father hugs me, asking how I'm feeling. I tell him that I’m fine. He takes one last look at Cody and then he goes inside.
I look at Cody on my parents' driveway.
"One day at a time," he says, touching the necklace around my neck—the pink Swarovski crystal he got for my twenty-first birthday, the one Theo stole and returned, the one I'm choosing to wear now.
"One day at a time," I agree.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you back?"
I shake my head. "My mom won't mind."
"Adela," he says when I start walking toward the house.
I turn around.
"We decided we’ll meet at the lake house every Saturday night."
“We?”
He nods. “I love you. I’ll see you then.”
I smile, turning around to walk in.
“Adela,” Cody calls out.
I turn around again.
“Say it back.”
My chest warms at the look on his face. “I love you.”
I go inside with a blush.
I stand in my parents' hallway with three library books in my arms, and my mom greets me.
"Was that Cody?"
I nod. "Yeah."
"So you two made up?" my dad asks from the living room.
I nod again. "Yes. Everything's okay now."
I take my library books to the couch and settle in with a view of the backyard — the same backyard where I used to read as a kid, where everything felt simple and uncomplicated.
I touch the pendant around my neck.
The one that means something different now than it did when I first wore it. It means I am choosing this.
I smile.
And I start reading.