Finally, I’m happy, my world no longer broken. Looking at Lex, I know I can’t go back there. Every happy memory I have of him is overshadowed by the tragic ending. I can’t look at him without dragging up our past. What we had isn’t some high school crush, no matter how much I tried to sell that story to myself.
“Charlie?”
I turn and see Adriana standing next to me. The one person who meant so much to me but again, she hurt me, leaving me to clean up my mess. Judging me when she only knew half the truth.
“It’s y-you.” Her voice quivers, the emotion building up as she attempts to get her words out. “Charlie… I’m so, so sorry.” Tears trickle down her beautiful face, her eyes clouded with tears. She was young at the time and had done what most girls would do. Yet, I couldn’t ignore the hurt of her betrayal for leaving me behind without allowing me even to explain myself.
But I was the one who had played with fire, or should I say her brother.
I let go of Julian, wrapping my arms around her into a tight embrace, willing to forgive her so we can resurrect our friendship. Everything about her feels familiar, and for a second, I wonder if this is what it would feel like to be inside Lex’s arms.
“Adriana, please stop crying. You’ll ruin your mascara and mine.” I chuckle as a tear slides down my cheek.
Her smile radiates. Adriana has always had beautiful classic features with almond-shaped green eyes, not quite as bright as Lex’s yet similar since they are related. The last time I’d seen her, the color of her hair had been natural mocha. True to her always-changing style, she had changed it to honey blonde with ombre running through it.
“I’d say wipe it on your dress, but wow, Charlie, what the hell has happened to you?” She beams through her tears. “You look stunning. Dolce & Gabbana? I’m in love with this dress.”
Just like that, the old Adriana I knew and loved is back. It’s easy to forgive her. She had been my best friend since I was eight, and some things were never meant to be broken.
“The moment I saw it, I knew we were soulmates.”
As I speak about the dress, I notice Julian and the rest of the gang stand
ing there, obviously waiting for an introduction.
“Oh, sorry. Adriana, please meet Rocky and Nikki. We’ve known each other since college. Nikki and I are partners in our own firm,” I say proudly.
“Firm? As in lawyer?”
I nod, grinning. “This is Eric, my assistant, and Emma is Nikki’s assistant. This handsome man here is my fiancé, Julian.”
Adriana extends her hand toward Julian, shaking it in a very professional manner, but I can tell by the way she bit the corner of her lip this is anything but professional.
“Okay, so has anyone ever told you that you look like Christian Bale?” Adriana doesn’t hold back, asking in her flirtatious tone as she fixates on him. Oh, how I remember that voice.
“Who, me? Never,” he sarcastically responds.
I swat his arm as he laughs along with the rest of the group.
“So, from what I hear, you and Elijah are still together. Married, right?”
“Ah, yes and no.” She lowers her voice. I knew something wasn’t right, but I’m not going to pry in front of everyone. “It’s kind of a long story we’ll have plenty of time to catch up on later.”
I nod my head, knowing we need to talk in private. “Do you guys mind if Adriana and I grab a drink from the bar?”
“Go ahead, I’ve got Eric here to keep me company,” Julian says. Eric is beside him and he’s already drunk on champagne.
As we walk toward the bar, Adriana links her arm in mine just like we had done a thousand times over inside the hallways of our school.
“He looked for you,” she reveals, the second we get to the bar.
“Adriana, look… the past is the past.”
“Charlie, Lex isn’t the same. Not since you. You have to understand he was under a lot of pressure back then.”
“I know he isn’t the same. I’ve run into him twice now, and everything about him has changed,” I tell her, not oblivious to the stranger who claims to be Alex, or Lex, or whatever. “He isn’t the Alex I once loved.”
“I know he comes across cold, but deep down he still has something for you, Charlie. You were the love of his life.”