Mallory and I fixed our make-up in the mirror.
“Are you going home after this, or do I have to worry about you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“He wants to go check out this indie band at Pete’s Tavern tonight. He can take me anywhere he wants, Addie. I’ll be fine, trust me,” she said with a mischievous grin. We opened the bathroom door and I waited just a minute before walking out after her.
“So,” I said, returning to the table. “It appears our services are no longer needed.” I sat down and Steve smiled.
“Really? Date rape Dillon is Mr. Right all of a sudden? You women are insane,” he said, shaking his head. “How am I supposed to find someone if you crazy women always go for the overly handsome fashion forward groping types? He’s wearing an expensive suit for Pete’s sake. Sounds overrated,” he said, taking a bite of food. I laughed.
“As if you’re not one of the overly handsome fashion types yourself, look at that blazer,” I replied teasingly. “You just couldn’t seal the deal with Meg and you’ve been hopeless ever since,” I said, trying to lighten the mood. Steve smiled.
The rest of the meal we joked about Mallory’s date and speculated on the romantic situations of the other couples in the restaurant. Conversation flowed easily, and I was relieved at how comfortable I was with him. We finished our meal and watched as Mallory and Dillon left the restaurant. Mallory shot me a wide grin before walking out, which was comforting.
“Are you sure you don’t want to meet up with Johnny and his new ‘friend’ tonight?” Steve asked, exaggerating the word friend. “She’s a little out there. I think he might need a third judge of character.”
“Thanks, but I’m exhausted after last night. It’s been a long week,” I said as we exited the restaurant. “Besides, I don’t really want to drink tonight, just so I can be around if Mallory needs me. I still wouldn’t be surprised if I got a late night call tonight to pick her up outside of some seedy apartment complex. You never know,” I said smiling at him as we climbed in the SUV.
The drive back to my place was quiet and my mind wandered. As Steve pulled into my apartment lot, I unfastened my seatbelt and he did the same.
“You don’t have to walk me in, I’ll be fine. The door is right there,” I said, pointing to the door about thirty feet away from the car, as if he didn’t already know. He continued to climb out of the driver’s side.
“But honey, it’s our anniversary. The least I can do is be a gentleman and make sure you get in safe,” he responded, playfully picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. I laughed and kicked, trying to get him to put me down. He tickled my side and I laughed loud, glad it was early enough in the evening so that I wouldn’t wake any of my neighbors.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything,” a deep voice said, stepping in front of us.
“Griffin,” Steve uttered.
Chapter 16
Steve quickly put me down and I turned to face Griffin. His hands were shoved in his jean pockets and his eyes stared directly at me.
“Addie, I’m sorry. I should have called,” Griffin responded, turning his attention towards Steve. “Really, man? You’re my best friend, what are you doing?” he asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
“Nothing, Griff, we just went to dinner. What are you doing here?” Steve asked, still caught off guard to see him.
“Well, I came to see Addie. I got out on bail today, until the trial, and she was the first person I wanted to see. But apparently I have ill timing,” Griffin replied, shaking his head at Steve. “Really?” He gestured towards me.
“Griffin, we just, I mean, I, it’s nothing,” I stammered. “He’s just bringing me home from dinner.”
The awkward silence felt infinite.
“I’m going to go. You guys obviously need to talk,” Steve said, walking backwards towards his car. “Addie, are you okay?”
I nodded, keeping my gaze directly on Griffin's face. I could tell he was mad, and that bothered me.
“I’m sorry, Addie, I guess I shouldn’t have come. Why is he here? Shit, Addie, I haven’t even been gone a full week,” Griffin said, running a hand through his thick dark hair.
“It’s nothing, Griffin. He’s just been keeping me company,” I responded.
“I’ll bet he has,” Griffin muttered. “My best friend, Addie?”
“No, nothing has happened Griffin. I just, well, you left,” I continued to struggle getting my words right. “Why are you mad at me, Griffin, you left me. You completely sucked me into your world, and then you left. You realize I’m pretty used to that scenario, right?”
“Addie, what are you talking about? How is this the same thing?” Griffin asked, sounding annoyed.
“That’s the whole point, Griffin. Everyone leaves,” I said angrily.
“That’s not true, Addie,” Griffin’s tone softened.
“Yes it is, Griffin. Maybe no one leaves you, but everyone leaves me. That’s all I know. My father left me. He went to prison too, remember? That was a happy time. He never even called me or sent me a letter. Not one. And, in all fairness, if he didn’t know where I was, why didn’t he ever make an effort to find me? He literally just left one day, and that was that. And then my mom, she chose sleeping pills over choosing to stay with me. How about all of the foster parents I went through every year, maybe two? I was pregnant before I moved here, how about that? There’s an adventure, right? Even that baby knew I was worth leaving, Griffin.” I tried to hold back my tears, but they slowly slid down my face.
“Addie, I’m sorry. I didn’t know all that,” he said, his eyes pleading with mine. “But you really don’t see how this is different? Your family, they chose to leave. Your dad chose to gamble on the life he had with you and your mom by doing something wrong. Your mom chose to leave her life behind. That was about her, not you. And that guy you were with before you moved here? He chose not to love you the way he should have. I didn’t choose to leave you, Addie.”
My tears felt hot on my face.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Griffin continued, taking a step towards me. “Do you really think I did something illegal?”
“I don’t know, Griffin. How would I know? I’ve only known you for what, a month or two? Not even that long. Six days, Griffin. I've only really known you for six days. How am I supposed to know?” The tears continued to slowly fall down my face.
“Addie, that’s why I’m here. They let me out on bail. I mean I’m not cleared yet, but I was able to give the attorneys enough information to show that I had nothing to do with this. About a month ago, one of the employees came to me because she suspected something was up. She had worked for the company forever, and she didn’t know who else to go to about it. So I promised her I would look into it to see what I could find. To see if anything she suspected was true,” Griffin explained.
“Steve mentioned something about that, actually,” I replied softly.
“Well I found some files in my dad’s office just a few days before all of this happened. I really think those files have enough information in them to show who was involved with this and who wasn’t. The morning my dad showed up at my house when you had no pants on,” Griffin smiled briefly as he said it, “my dad knew he was going to get busted. He wanted to talk to me about helping him. He wanted me to lie for him.”
“So what did you do?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know in case it was bad news.
“I told him I couldn’t do it. That my mother, clearly not him, had raised me better than that. When I met him in the office that afternoon he told me I had to lie for him, or else the whole thing would come crashing down on me too. We argued about it for awhile, and shortly after that the place was raided and we were arrested. A bunch of us,” Griffin said, looking at the ground. “The only thing I know is that I had nothing to do with it Addie. I’m ashamed of my father, ashamed I ever even worked for him. Ashamed that I ever left you that day thinking I had somewhere more important to be. Look,
I can’t change anything that has happened, I know that. And honestly I can’t tell you how the rest of this is going to play out.”
“So you may be leaving again?” I asked quietly. “I just don’t know what to do Griffin. I don’t understand any of this. I don’t understand how I am supposed to feel about you. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Every chance, every moment I feel like I’m about to get handed a normal life, it all falls apart. I just don’t know how long I can do this. Every single person I’ve ever cared about walks away from me, Griffin. I think the world is right and everything is okay, and then they’re gone. I just don’t know how to do this anymore.” Warm tears continued to pour down my cheeks.
“What did you really wish for that night when you saw the shooting star?” Griffin asked, confusing me with his change of subject.
“Griffin, not now,” I said, shaking my head.
“It matters, Addie. Those things matter. What did you wish for?” he asked quietly. He stood right in front of me, putting his hand gently on my face.
“That I could be with you,” I answered softly. “And then the next morning it was on your note, and I had never felt more certain about anything in my entire life.”
“So how has that changed? What do you want me to do, Addie? I promise you, right now, I will do anything you ask of me. You said ‘yes’ to me every time I asked it of you. Now ask me. Tell me. Tell me what you want, Addie.”
I stared up into Griffin’s penetrating eyes, seeing a boyish sadness in them, wanting to fix him.
“I mean it, Addie, anything. If you asked me to skip town, to leave the country with you tonight, I would do it. Without hesitation. I have friends with a plane. I promise you, I would fly anywhere with you, right now.”
In that moment, I thought back to Ardell and the angel wings. Her promise to me that someday I could choose to just fly away, somewhere to a world where my life was anything but what it had been. A calm came over me, feeling like this choice was finally my moment to decide what kind of life I would have.
“Addie, what do you want?” Griffin whispered one more time.
I thought of my life, of everything that had happened to me. All the heartache. All the praying that someday someone would care enough about me to want me to be theirs. Someone who cared what I did, who I was. Someone who just wanted to experience life with me so I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.
“Same as I wished for,” I replied. “To be with you.”
Griffin leaned down and brushed the hair back from my face. “Arany masodik,” he said softly into my ear. His lips paused less than a whisper away from mine, lingering. Finally, he kissed me passionately. I believed him in that moment, that the brief second before his lips touched mine was more powerful than any other decision I could ever make.
“I don’t want to leave though,” I whispered as my mouth pulled away from his. “That could end up worse for you, for us. Just promise me this will all end up okay, Griffin. Promise me you’ll choose not to leave me,” I said quietly, the tears still pooling at the corner of my eyes.
In one swift motion, Griffin scooped me up in his arms, walking towards the front door of my apartment.
“I promise you, Addie. Even if you ask me to, I promise not to go anywhere. Ever.”
Griffin held me tight and carried me into my apartment, laying me down on my bed. There, on my pillow, rested a single pink daisy and a note card.
Day 8:
The rest was blank.
“You get to write this one,” Griffin said, kissing me softly.
“Good. I want to go to the beach.”
Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series Page 16