Chapter 37 - I Got You
Monday morning, apparently half of Vale Architecture was going on a site visit.
And by half, I meant me, Maya, Emma, Nicole, Ben, Daniel, Claire, Adrian, Ethan, and another guy from Ethan's team named Enzo.
Ten people.
Which meant the parking lot had temporarily turned into a transportation-planning committee.
"I'm taking my car," Ethan said.
Then he looked at me.
"Angelica, come with us."
"Okay."
Easy enough.
I had barely agreed when I heard my name from behind me.
"Angelica."
I turned.
Adrian.
"Come fast. We're getting late."
"Oh."
I pointed toward Ethan.
"I'm going with Ethan."
Adrian stopped.
He looked genuinely surprised.
"Why? I'm taking my car."
I stared at him.
Wow.
He said that like I'm taking my car automatically meant and obviously you're coming with me.
Apparently that required no further explanation.
Interesting.
"We have room for two more people," he added.
Before I could say anything, Emma looked over.
"If you guys have room, can I join?"
"Yeah, of course. Hop in," I said.
Maya immediately appeared beside her.
"I'll come too."
And apparently that settled it.
Adrian, Maya, Emma, and me.
I walked over to Adrian's car, opened the passenger door, and got in.
Maya and Emma climbed into the back.
"The car is really nice," Maya said.
"It is," Emma agreed.
A few moments later, I heard-
"Angelica!"
That was Emma.
"What?"
"Why is your coffee cup here?"
I looked down.
My empty coffee cup was sitting in the cup holder.
I didn't even remember when I'd left it there.
"Oh. Maybe I left it when he dropped me off last time," I said.
"Oh," Emma said.
Just an oh.
About five minutes later, Maya spoke.
"Is that a Demodog?"
She was pointing toward the little Demodog ornament hanging from the rearview mirror.
Oh.
That.
I'd gotten it for Adrian's car on Saturday from the haunted-house souvenir shop.
Of course, he'd wanted Vecna.
But I'd bought the Demodog anyway.
The car needed personalization.
That had been my logic when I'd put it there.
Now, sitting in the passenger seat with Maya and Emma behind me, it suddenly seemed less like personalization and more like-
Personal.
"Yes, it is," I said.
"Oh, you like Demodogs?"
That question was for Adrian.
Maya already knew I liked Demodogs.
"No," Adrian said.
Maya paused.
"Then why is there a Demodog ornament in your car?"
Legitimate question.
"Angelica likes them. She put it in there."
Oh.
That was sudden.
I turned my head toward him.
I had never in my life expected that answer from Adrian.
Adrian, who had practically panicked over a little teasing after our dance.
Adrian, who wouldn't even approve a design if he didn't like every inch of it.
And now he had just casually announced, in front of other people, that I had put an ornament I liked in his personal car.
An ornament he didn't even like.
Did he realize what he'd just said?
He could've avoided answering.
Could've said nothing.
Could've given Maya one of those looks that usually made people decide they no longer needed whatever information they'd been seeking.
Instead-
Angelica likes them. She put it in there.
Well.
I wasn't going to pretend I didn't enjoy hearing him say it.
I looked behind me.
Maya had gone completely silent.
Emma looked pale.
The silence in the car had become awkward.
So I did what any reasonable person would do.
I turned on music.
My phone connected to Adrian's car automatically.
Of course it did.
Even my Spotify was set up to his car.
I glanced toward the back seat.
I knew Maya noticed everything.
And Emma-
Emma was worse.
She literally collected evidence.
Not even ten minutes passed before Emma spoke.
"I found something back here."
I turned around.
She was reaching into the corner of the back seat.
Then she held up a silver bracelet.
Oh.
Oh, no.
That was mine.
The silver bracelet I'd lost a while ago.
I had absolutely no idea how it had ended up back there.
Emma turned it between her fingers.
"It's pretty. Whose bracelet is that?"
I had no intention of admitting it was mine.
None.
Unfortunately, Adrian looked at it.
Then at me.
"It's yours."
Traitor.
I had nowhere to hide now.
"Oh, yeah. That's the one I lost a while ago."
I looked at the bracelet.
"How did it get back there?"
"How would I know?" Adrian said. "That's your thing. You know how."
I looked at him.
"You should know."
"Why should I know that?"
"Because it's your car."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"That makes perfect sense."
"Angelica."
"Adrian."
Silence.
And suddenly, I realized I should've kept my mouth shut.
I should've just admitted the bracelet was mine, taken it from Emma, and moved on with my life.
Instead, I'd somehow made everything worse.
Because now it wasn't just my bracelet was mysteriously in Adrian's back seat.
Now Adrian and I were arguing about it like a married couple trying to decide which one of us was responsible for losing a household item.
Wonderful.
I looked straight ahead.
I was absolutely not turning around again.
Maya noticed everything.
Emma collected evidence.
And in the last twenty minutes, they'd found my coffee cup, watched my Spotify connect automatically to Adrian's car, discovered a Demodog I'd put on his rearview mirror, found my missing bracelet in his back seat, and watched us fight about it like a married couple.
At this point, I was afraid of what else they might find.
By the time we reached the site, I had decided Adrian's car contained entirely too much evidence of my existence.
Thankfully, nobody mentioned it again.
We met up with everyone else, put on our safety gear, and the next half hour was considerably more professional.
Plans.
Measurements.
Questions.
Actual architecture.
Much safer territory.
Emma and I were standing together near one side of the site, looking up at the structure while she asked me something about one of the details.
I was halfway through answering when I heard it.
A sound above us.
Metal.
Something shifting where it absolutely shouldn't have been shifting.
Then-
"ANGELICA!"
Adrian.
I'd never heard him scream my name like that.
I barely had time to turn toward his voice.
A hand caught me.
Hard.
Adrian yanked me sideways with enough force that my feet left the ground for half a second.
I crashed straight into his chest.
At almost the exact same moment, Emma threw herself the other way.
Then-
The impact shook the ground.
Dust exploded into the air.
For a second, I couldn't hear anything.
Couldn't think.
Adrian's arms closed around me.
Hard.
One arm locked around my back, pulling me so tightly against his chest I could barely move.
His other hand came up behind my head.
He pressed my face into his chest.
"Angelica."
I couldn't answer.
My entire body had started shaking.
"Angelica. Are you hurt?"
"No."
It barely came out.
His hand tightened against the back of my head.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"I'm okay."
He didn't let go.
I could feel his heart hammering beneath my cheek.
And then I realized something else.
He was trembling.
Adrian was actually trembling.
I lifted my face slightly.
"Adrian-"
"Don't."
His hand stayed at the back of my head.
I stopped.
Around us, everything had erupted into noise.
People shouting.
Footsteps.
Someone calling for the site supervisor.
But Adrian didn't move.
From where he held me, I could see past his shoulder.
Maya was running toward us.
So was Ethan.
Both of them were coming toward me.
Then they saw Adrian.
Saw his arms locked around me.
Saw one hand pressed against the back of my head, holding me hard against his chest.
They stopped.
Just for a second.
Then Maya looked toward Emma.
Ethan did too.
Emma was standing several feet away on the other side of what had fallen.
Alone.
They immediately changed direction.
"Emma!"
Maya reached her first.
Ethan was right behind her.
Thank God.
Emma was okay.
Shaken.
Pale.
But standing.
Maya caught both of her arms and started checking her over while Ethan asked if she was hurt.
Emma answered something I couldn't hear.
Then she looked toward us.
Our eyes met.
For a second, she didn't move.
Adrian was still holding me.
His arm was tight around my back.
His hand was still at the back of my head.
My face was against his chest.
And he still hadn't looked anywhere else.
Emma's eyes stayed on us for another second.
Then she looked away.
I didn't think anything of it.
Not then.
I was still shaking too badly to think about much of anything.
Adrian didn't let me go.
Not after thirty seconds.
Not after a minute.
Not even when people started gathering around us.
For once, he didn't seem to care who was watching.
His arms stayed around me while my heart slowly remembered how to beat normally.
I had no idea how long we stood like that.
Five minutes.
Maybe six.
Long enough that the site around us had begun shifting from panic into damage control.
Long enough that my breathing had started to settle.
Long enough that I became aware of the fact that Adrian Vale was holding me in the middle of a construction site in front of half our office.
And still didn't let go.
Maya finally came toward us.
"Angel?"
Adrian's arms loosened.
Slowly.
I stepped away.
Maya immediately looked me over.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No. I'm okay."
She touched my arm.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
Then Ethan was there.
"Angelica."
The look on his face made my stomach twist.
"I'm okay."
"Did it hit you?"
"No."
"Anything? Your shoulder? Your back?"
"Ethan."
I touched his arm.
"I'm okay. I promise."
He stared at me for another second before nodding.
Then I heard Adrian.
And apparently the near-death portion of the morning had ended.
The Adrian Vale Is Absolutely Fucking Furious portion had begun.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered quickly enough.
Adrian turned toward the site supervisor.