Chapter 21
I wake to the sound of Adrian's snoring. It's dark in here, but that means nothing. When the light is off it feels like midnight even if it's noon. I'm still naked, draped in his shirt and jacket how I was when he left me to clean up. It feels like I've been sleeping for days, or maybe that is the effect of the sex afterglow. It feels right--him sleeping here with me, his chest against my back, his hand cupping my breast.
I don't know how long we've been curled together like this, but I don't want it to end. My fantasy of Adrian being this perfect man can just wrap itself around me as long as he is sleeping and I can stay immersed in the allusion. When he wakes, though, he's going to be the same pushy, demanding real estate mogul he's been the past month and a half, and even though I have made up my mind to sell to him after all, that isn't the person I want to be with.
I stare into the darkness, thinking of his ex-wife and how horrible of a person she must have been to lure him in and take all his money like that. It must have destroyed his heart, which is why he's so angry and bitter. Maybe it's why he acts so desperate to buy my property and expand his kingdom. If he lost almost everything, I can see why he'd be trying so hard to get it back. It also explains the room at the motel. There are super nice hotels in Johnson City, but maybe if she really did a number on him, he's become more frugal than his Rolex and BMW make it out to be.
Regardless, I'm helplessly in love with someone I can't be with. Maybe in five years, with therapy and anger management courses, but right now Adrian just isn't who I need. Or maybe he just needs a woman who is genuine to come in and love him to wholeness, but I'm not sure I have the capacity in me to do that for him. Not with having to move back to Johnson City alone and start over again. It will take everything I have in me to do it.
A man like Adrian--ambitious and driven--needs a woman along side him who can champion him and encourage his dreams. I'll be working long hours, run ragged by the end of each day, and have zero emotional energy left to devote to a relationship. At least until I find some way to really get back on my feet and mourn my parents properly. Gloria would let me stay with her and I could commute, but it'll be too difficult to watch this old place be torn down.
Maybe in ten or fifteen years, I'll visit and it won't hurt so much. But now my only task is surviving this basement encounter and finding out that number I need for Adrian. I guess if I'm going to sell anyway, there's no sense hanging on to that old door. I can't take it with me, and it'll be destroyed when the house is taken down. Maybe I'll donate it to the fire department, and Mark and his men can practice putting out a fire or something. I've seen them do that before.
Restless, I push myself up off the cot carefully, leaving Adrian covered in his jacket and shirt. I grope in the darkness too, searching for my clothing, only to find that he left them folded neatly and piled on a sheet of cardboard right next to the cot. It brings a warm feeling to my chest and tears to my eyes to know he's so thoughtful at times. How could his ex-wife not see that? How could she turn him into this monster of a man who has to control everything?
I dress quickly, quiet so I don't wake him up, and sneak up the steps. I don't hear Luna anywhere, but I peek out the hole in the door where the knob once was to see it's still daylight. I've been napping and he joined me, probably thanks to his own release of endorphins after sex. My body is tender there, where he filled me. I think about how amazing it was to crash into him like that, and how much I want to admit to him that I love him but he's so infuriating. I can't be with a man like that. I need peace and comfort.
Sitting on the top step, I smooth my hand over the wood of the old door, feeling the cracked peeling paint. Everything changed when Mama died. Nothing's been the same ever since. The town shifted, mourning and moving on, and even this house changed. They don't have the festivals here because no one is around to host them. No one has even tried to keep the property up. Daddy had to have been so depressed. It's like there is a huge hole in this town that can't be filled anymore, and maybe Adrian's shopping plaza can change that, replace something even if it's not the same.
The shopping center will be new and fresh, bring life back to Elizabethton the way it used to be. There's a whole new generation of young people turning to adults, choosing to make this place home. They deserve something this property in it's current state can't give them, and I've finally come to the decision that even Daddy would approve of it all. He'd hand me the keys and tell me to do whatever I think is best. It's the release I've been waiting for. My heart saying goodbye to the past once for all.
I sigh softly and lean against the door, feeling the heartbeat of this house. This place has existed for so long for one purpose--to bring the town together. I imagine new restaurants and pubs will do just that, even if it's not the same as a festival or town picnic. But things change, culture shifts, and maybe Adrian's dream for this little town is exactly what it needs.
The low rumble of Luna's growl shakes the door and I realize she's been lying up against it as I sit here thinking. I rise up and peek through the hole, attempting to see what's making her alert. She growls louder, and I see her ears pointed toward the front of the house. I can't hear a thing, but she's got better hearing than me. It raises my hopes though, especially when she disappears. Her nails clack on the floor loudly, but I hear the thump of a car door shutting.
"Oh god..." I stand quickly, and grip the handrail, rushing down the stairs. "Adrian!" My hand swipes at the air, groping in the darkness for the string to turn the light on.
"What?" he mumbles, rolling to his back with one leg bent, his knee sticking up in the air.
"Someone's here!" I snap, not meaning to sound angry, but it comes out that way. "We have to call for help."
He opens his eyes and blinks a few times. Then he furrows his eyebrows and sit sup, rubbing his face. "Someone's here? How do you know?"
And in answer to his question, Luna starts barking loudly. I grin at him and race up the stairs, pounding on the door and screaming for help. Adrian joins me a few seconds later, his shirt on, his jacket draped over his arm.
"Hey! Down here," he calls, buttoning the shirt up as he does.
"Help!" I bang the door, frantic to make as much noise as possible. I don't know why it's so important now, because I can just give Adrian the ax and let him go at it, but I continue banging and smacking the door.
"Thank god, I'm starving," Adrian grumbles and reaches up with his free hand to bang the door too. I'm not as hungry, but I'm glad someone is here too--probably Mark.
God I'm going to miss this...
Chapter 22
I throw my coat on while I'm screaming as loud as I can. Eden's jarring wakeup call made me grumpy at first, but knowing we are finally getting out of here makes my stomach come alive. It grumbles as I listen to her banging and the dog going crazy. I also hear a man shouting, and raise my voice louder. If this guy doesn't come around back and get us out, I'm getting that ax and going at this door like it or not.
"Hey! Down here!"
"Hello?" the man's voice is very distinct. I look through the knob hole and see Mark. He's wearing his fire chief uniform and holding his hat in his hand against his chest. "Eden?"
