Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Three years later

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“Say cheese!” Preston yelled at us, Maddison right beside him with her arms around his torso as she watched us with a smile.

I gave the camera the brightest smile I could muster while both of my parents practically screamed, “Cheese!”

Preston had a goofy smile on his face as he looked at the result of the picture and I bounded up next to him to take a peek over his shoulder.

I was squeezed in between my mom and dad, towering over my mom’s 4’9 figure with my 5 inch heels. My dad was still slightly taller than me even with these heels on.

My dad was wearing a navy blue button up and a tie while my mother was in a white long-sleeved dress that ended just above her knees. They both had wide smiles on their faces, looking proud and overjoyed.

My graduation gown was draped over my silver knee-length dress. My graduation cap was slightly tilted and I was keeping a hand on it to keep it from being blown away by the wind that blew a few strands of my hair onto my face.

My other hand was hugging my mom sideways and I had the biggest grin.

“My turn!” Adam called out from behind me as he wrapped his hands around my waist and picked me up caveman style.

I let out a startled squeak as my feet left the ground before he let me down in front of the camera. Preston brought the camera to his eyes once again and started taking pictures once Adam had put me down.

I held onto my cap, that felt like it was always going to fall off if I didn't keep a hand on it, while turning around and looking up at my dear boyfriend.

Yes, I said looked up, because this boy was incredibly tall and yes, I also said boyfriend.

(A/N: Hakuna yo tatas :))

“Feeling old yet?” Adam asked me as he wrapped his arms around my waist again.

“You do realize that we’re only a few months apart? Which means you’re old if I’m old.” This gained me a funny look.

“I am everlastingly young,” Adam scoffed and I grinned at him.

“I’m proud of you, Case,” Adam murmured as he rests his forehead against mine, his lips pulling up into a smile.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I closed my eyes, a smile still playing on my lips. Life felt so great right at that moment and I thanked God for the peace and quiet after the storm three years ago.

A squeal came from somewhere behind Adam and my eyes snapped open. Those dark green orbs that I’ve loved for what seemed like forever stared back at me.

We broke apart when a flash of fiery red came barreling towards us. I already knew who it was the second I caught sight of the bright red locks. The ends of her red hair had been curled up for the occasion and she looked stunning in her red halter neck dress.

“Raven, you look amazing!” I marveled as I gripped her forearms. I kept looking at her from the tips of her hair down to her toes which were encased in glittery golden pumps.

“You look gorgeous!” Raven yelled as she pulled me in for another hug.

“Can you believe we actually made it?!” Raven’s voice was giddy and full of excitement as she let out a squeal and clapped her hands excitedly.

I laughed at her antics that reminded me more of a 5 year old rather than a 21 year old.

After helping me climb up the stairs when I was struggling, I was pleasantly surprised to see her in several classes of mine.

Thanks to her lively nature, we became friends pretty quick.

I’ve never been good with strangers and making friends since high school didn’t offer a pleasant experience but Raven was like a natural introvert whisperer. She brought me out of my shell in no time and we just clicked.

Over the span of three years, she’d wormed her way into the circle of friends that I consider family. She was quirky, hilarious and could be as gullible as a 4 year old at times but I love her all the same.

When she finally realized that my family and friends were watching her with amused looks, she turned a shade redder than her hair.

“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Johnson! It’s great to see you!” Raven greeted my parents with a heartwarming smile.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Raven.” My mother said as she pulled Raven into a hug and Raven thanked her in return. I watched the exchange with a smile until my dad pulled me aside and handed me his phone.

I was confused until I looked at his screen and saw Monic, smiling patiently at the camera. My face broke out into a shit eating grin when I saw my cousin’s face.

“Monic! I’ve missed you!” I gushed as I waved at her through the phone’s camera. Adam slipped into view behind me and smiled into the camera, greeting Monic.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Case! I’ve missed you too! I’m sorry I can’t be there to celebrate with you!” I smiled at her, shaking my head.

“It’s alright, Mo. How’s everything over there?” I asked her. The last time that she visited me was 3 months ago, during her Summer break. It’s been so long since we had talked and caught up with each other.

Monic had changed a lot since the last time I saw her before last Christmas break and when we were finally alone, I made her spill everything to me.

I could tell that something was off whenever I’d call her on the phone but she wouldn’t open up to me and I’ve never pressured her to. I figured that she’d tell me when she was ready but when I barely recognized my cousin during her visit over the break, I couldn’t help myself anymore.

She told me about how she broke up with Jake and how she didn’t take it very well when it happened. She ran to alcohol and drank her sorrows away.

We both cried that night. She cried for feeling like she disappointed her parents by throwing her life away over a breakup and I cried for failing to be there for her when she needed me.

Since then, I’ve been with her every step of the way to support her recovery. She’s been 3 months sober so far and I’ve been so proud of her.

“Everything’s great, Case!” I could tell by her smile that she was being honest. The bags under her eyes weren’t there anymore and her eyes didn’t look as dull as it did 3 months ago.

It was elating to see how much progress she has made.

After Monic and I exchanged a few words, I passed the phone over to Mom who wanted to talk to her sister. I turned back to Adam who was talking to Preston with his hand still plastered onto my waist.

I smiled at Maddison when I caught her eyes and she walked over to me from Preston’s side to give me a hug.

“Bryant would’ve been so proud, Case.” She whispered in my ear. I felt the tears build up. An onslaught of waterworks threatened to begin but I held them at bay with only a few tears managed to escape.

“Thank you,” I hugged her tightly before pulling back and wiping away the tears.

Maddison gave me another smile, wiping her own tear stained cheeks before walking back to Preston.

Maddison and I have managed to build a somewhat decent friendship.

What she did to me during high school was horrible but the past is in the past and neither of us could change a thing so I’ve learnt to forgive and forget.

She made Preston happy and I couldn’t be happier for them.

We hung around the open yard on the campus, walking over to the rows of stalls where food and beverages stalls. When it started to get dark, we decided to head back home and start preparing for tonight.

The Jones’ and Johnson’s were having a barbecue tonight at our house and Jerry should already be on his way with the kids.

When Jerry and the kids arrived, the smell of grilled food was already filling the air. We were sitting around a wooden picnic table that Dad built a year ago while the adults were busy grilled the food.

“Hey!” Jerry greeted as Mom let him through the glass door that led to the backyard.

Cali spotted us and her face lit up like a Christmas tree before she squealed and ran over to us. Pio, seeing her sister run, followed suit and tried to catch up. He had grown so fast, I kind of miss the tiny boy that couldn’t even speak properly and waddled everywhere.

Cali dove straight into my arms and I sat her on my lap, hugging her close, as Adam caught a tripping Pio before he could fall on his face.

I giggled at Pio’s clumsiness. That boy will never stop being cute.

“Congratulations on graduating, Case. I got something for you.” Jerry said from behind me.

A wrapped gift box appeared before my eyes and I took it from Jerry.

“Thank you Jer, you didn’t have to.” I murmured softly, offered him a smile which he mirrored.

Jerry nodded, motioning to the gift, “Open it.”

I let my attention wander back to the box and tried to opened it without ripping the wrapping paper since it’s done so neatly.

When I finally got rid of the wrapping paper, I opened what looked like a jewelry box and gaped at what I saw.

It was a charm bracelet with 5 charms on it. There was a wing, a heart, a boxing glove and two circles with the letters “B” and “C” engraved on it.

“It’s from all of us,” Cali piped up and I smiled at her, kissing the top of her head before looking at the bracelet again.

“B for Bryant and C for Carla,” Maddison explained.

My fingers traced the letters and smiled at the Jones’ and Maddison.

“It’s beautiful, thank you.”

As the night passed and everyone finished eating, they all moved into the living room to watch some TV.

I sat down on the grass, still yearning to stay outside for a little longer.

Adam plopped down beside me and we both ended up laying down to stare up at the sky.

“What are you thinking about?” Adam asked as he linked our hands together while we looked up at the dark sky.

“Nothing.” I answered him softly before muttering out, “Everything.”

I sighed, probably confusing the heck out of Adam.

“Hey, don’t stress,” Adam chuckled as he pulled me close and pecked my forehead in an attempt to comfort me. My head rested on his chest and I draped my arm over his waist as I got comfortable.

“Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if we never exposed Dom as the psychopath that he is?” I asked Adam quietly.

“His parents wouldn’t be going through all the shit feelings they’re probably feeling,” I muttered, feeling like maybe I should’ve found another alternative to sort things out with Dom.

“Case, that guy is a nutcase. He needed professional help and it was either getting him locked up in a cell or a mental ward. You did the right thing, love.” Adam reassured me, caressing my head as he tucked me closer to his side.

After I successfully quit fighting, I exposed Dom to his family and mine for what he’d done. It took a lot of convincing before they finally believed me. I knew that it would be hard for both families to process but I didn’t see any other way to do things civilly. As far as I was concerned, Dom was a psycho on the loose.

I resorted to riling Dom up in front of our families, knowing that he was far from being emotionally or mentally stable.

He lost it after half an hour of endless yelling battle and threw a glass vase in my direction, missing me by a few inches. After the glass vase broke, he finally confessed murdering Bryant in a fit of rage because, and I quote, ‘he wouldn’t let us be happy together, so he needed to be gone’.

I caught it all on camera for legal evidence and my parents saw to it that Dom was either behind bars or in a mental ward.

The man was dangerous to the people around him.

After Dom was locked up, I guess the police force started sniffing around and the gangs that were involved didn’t stick around long after that. It was as if they vanished into thin air.

Some days, I’d get the paranoid feeling of being watched by one of the gangs but I knew that it was just me. I was a normal girl who didn’t have a certain significance in the world. It simply wouldn’t make sense if the gangs risked their empire for someone like me.

Trying to shake the depressing thoughts away, I decided to think about happier things.

“The sky looked exactly like the night you first asked me out,” I told Adam as I shifted next to him to get a better view of the sky.

“I wish I remember what it was like,” Adam muttered with a sigh as we continued looking up at the clear sky.

“Don’t worry, the second time you did it was much more magical.” I mused, causing Adam to chuckle.

I stared up at the sky, watching as a particular star twinkled. I let myself relive the time I fell for Adam mine again.

“Adam, I thought we were going to meet your dad and the kids?” I looked around, confused.

This idiot picked me up in the evening because Jerry wanted to have dinner together and this idiot might have gotten us lost on the way to the restaurant.

Adam stayed quiet as he held my hand in his and continued to walk forward.

“You got us lost, didn’t you?” I rolled my eyes.

Adam gave me a look over his shoulder, quirking one of his eyebrows. He ended up chuckling at my infamous deadpan look.

“We’re not lost, Case. We’re almost there,” Adam replied me patiently.

We parked our car a while back and now we were walking on foot. We’ve been treading our way through what looked like a nature reserve park.

Although I was almost sure that we were lost, Adam’s sure steps made me think that I was the only one lost here. We’ve been following this footpath for about 10 minutes now and I was grateful I didn’t choose to wear my heels.

However, I was wearing a thin dress and I didn’t think to bring a jacket with me since I assumed that we were going to be indoors most of the night.

I have got to stop making assumptions.

A chilly breeze blew our way and I immediately tensed up. I fought the urge to scurry over to Adam’s side and use him as my human shield from the wind.

Personal space, Case, people have personal spaces.

Adam and I grew close again since I stopped fighting and the feeling that I get whenever I see the old Adam resurface was indescribable.

No matter how close we were right now, I knew my boundaries. He wasn't mine to cling onto. He was my friend and nothing more.

My friend that I have extra-friendly feelings for. My friend that I’d like to cuddle.

And kiss.

Stop it!

I used my hand that wasn’t being held by Adam to hug myself and rub my arm to warm myself up.

I wasn’t sure whether I was shivering from the cold or my thoughts.

Adam seemed to notice the chill and stopped walking for a moment to take off his denim jacket and drape it over my shoulders.

I was about to protest when he put his finger on my lips and shushed me.

The feel of his calloused finger over my lips startled me and I almost jumped. Fortunately, I caught myself in time before I acted like a fool in front of Adam.

“Thanks,” I mumbled to Adam as I clutched the jacket closer to my body to protect myself from the cold.

I took a couple of steps forward, ready to continue our walk again when Adam pulled me to his side and started walking again.

“Um, Adam?” I hesitantly asked, taking a peek at his face through my lashes as he glanced down at me.

He hummed in response, averting his gaze forwards to watching where he was stepping.

“What is this?” I pointed to his arm.

Adam’s eyes dropped to see what I was pointing at and his lips quirked up in what I presume was amusement.

“This is keeping you warm,” He stated.

I stayed silent after that, speechless.

I do feel warmer, so he had a valid point.

After a few more minutes of walking, we arrived at a big lake with a small pavilion near it.

The pavilion had fairy lights dangling around it. The lights lit up the pavilion warmly and it gave the setting a magical feel to it.

In the pavilion was a table for two, the table was covered with a white tablecloth. On it was two covered dishes, two wine glasses, a bottle of wine in an ice filled bucket and candles.

“Close your mouth before you catch flies, Case,” Adam’s amused voice broke me out of the trance I was in and I immediately snapped my mouth shut.

“What is this?” I turned to Adam, bewildered. In a good way, of course.

“I’ll explain in a minute, but let’s get a closer look first.” Adam smiled at me, “Shall we?”

I took his outstretched hand and let him guide me closer to the pavilion.

On one of the seats sat a small bouquet of flowers that Adam picked up and handed to me.

I took it after hesitating for a bit, not sure what game he was playing at.

Sure, I feel things for him and yes, I would probably melt this instant if he was to confess he had feelings for me too but I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case this turned out to be a venue survey or something along those lines.

(A/N: It’s possible, okay!)

“Adam, what is this?” I asked him, unsure of what to think.

It wasn’t until Adam walked to the stereo set on a small table in a corner that I realized it had been sitting there. Soon enough, ‘Rewrite the stars’ started to play softly and puzzled me even more.

~ You know I want you

It’s not a secret I try to hide

I know you want me

So don’t keep saying our hands are tied ~

I felt like my heart lurched to my throat as the lyrics hooked itself into my chest and drew the breath out of me.

Did he know?

“Adam?” I asked him once again.

His back was still to me and I was tempted to mumble something sarcastic as the suspense started to choke me.

Adam finally turned to face me after what seemed like forever and he took a couple of strides to cover the distance between us.

“Case,” Adam started as he took my hand in his. I felt my heart jump at the gesture.

I looked at our joined hands and then back at his face, itching to demand him to just spit it out.

Romantic, I know. As you can tell by now, I’m not the most patient person on God’s green Earth.

“I don’t believe I’ve properly apologized to you for all the horrible things I accused you of doing and the horrible person I made you out to be after losing my memories.

“I don’t want to disappoint you, so I’m going to tell you now that I don’t know if I will ever get my memories back. I don’t know

if I’ll ever remember everything before the crash. I don’t know if I can be the person I was before all this.

~ What if we rewrite the stars...

Say you were made to be mine. ~

“But what I do know is that I want to make new memories with you. I want to remember the good memories that we’ve made after losing my memories. I want to make more memories with you. What I do know, for sure, is that I want to be the person that you’ll fall in love with again.”

~ Nothing could keep us apart.

You’d be the one that I was meant to find. ~

The last sentence had my breath hitching and my eyes widening as I looked at Adam. My eyes searched for some mischievous glint that’d tip me off about this being a prank.

But I found none.

~ It’s up to you and it’s up to me No one can say what we get to be ~

“I know that I’m not the same, and maybe I will never be the same, but even after only a few months of knowing you again, I saw what that Adam saw in you. It’s how fiercely and how selflessly you love others; it’s possibly the most admirable things about you. How much compassion you have for others is astounding and how forgiving you are makes me wonder if you’re human.” Adam tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear as he continued to look into my eyes.

I didn’t dare look away, scared that I’d miss out on the smallest detail.

“I’m head over heels for you, Cassandra Johnson.” Adam whispered as he continued to look into my eyes.

Remember what I said about melting this instant? Consider my insides goo.

Apparently, he wasn’t done with his speech though. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

I’m dead.

I’m a melted mess.

A gooey mess.

Of course, I said yes. Who in their right mind would say no to such a man?

I looked up at Adam now; only to find him staring at me.

His smile touched his eyes and crinkled its edges. I might be all sorts of biased but dear God, this man was perfect.

I leaned in and caught his lips with mine. His lips felt soft and inviting and I tried to pour how grateful I was into the kiss.

Somehow, through everything that we’ve been through, he wounded up right by my side.

Life was looking up and I wouldn’t have it any other way.