Noah – Do you still love her?
Rivers – More than you’re prepared to know.
Noah – And you’re here for good?
Rivers –Yeah, man. I’m on reserve now. I’m fucking home.
Noah – Fuck.
Noah – I know she’s with Spencer, but fuck it! Go get her back. I’m sick of seeing her hurting.
A grin rips across my face. I was going to get her back with or without Noah’s consent, but knowing that I have his approval to be with his sister just makes it that much better.
Now knowing where she lives, I find myself moving, I don’t even think that I locked up my house in my need to get to her. Hell, the door could be left wide fucking open for all I know, but I can’t find it within myself to care. I just need to check on her. I need to start working on this plan to win her back because fucking around doing nothing is only going to drive me insane.
I had the smallest taste of having her in my arms again and I need more. She’s my addiction and I’ve gone far too long without it.
I get to the entrance of her building before realizing that I don’t have a game plan. What am I going to say to her that isn’t going to have her kicking me out within seconds? She’s no doubt still pissed off. Out of all the chicks I’ve ever met, Tully Cage takes the prize for grudge-holding.
I pull open the door and look around in wonder. Tully lives on the outskirts of Haven Falls and it’s nicer than I could have possibly imagined. It’s not quite Broken Hill standards but for a kid from Haven Falls, it’s pretty fucking impressive. She must be doing really well for herself.
Pride surges through me as I hit the call button on the elevator. I always knew that she was going to succeed with whatever it is that she’s doing, but being able to afford a place like this at twenty-three is astounding. It’s an accomplishment that hardly any other people in Haven Falls would be able to achieve and seeing that she has it well within her grasp tells me that whatever she’s doing with her life, she’s kicking ass at it.
I make my way up to level three and over to apartment 308.
This is it.
This is either going to go really well or really bad. There’s never any middle ground when it comes to getting inside Tully’s head, but maybe I should be taking Noah’s warning. She’s not the same girl I once knew.
I come to a stop before her door and let out a breath as I clutch the frame with both hands and rest my head against the door. My future is on the other side of this door.
I pull my shit together. Tully needs a man, not a fucking pussy.
I knock on the door and wait patiently for her to answer. I wait a little longer and then some more before wondering if she’s even home. After all, it’s Monday. She’s probably at work.
I’m about to give up when the softest sigh comes from the opposite side of the door and I’d bet anything that she’s been watching me through the damn peephole.
Placing my hand on the door, I lean into it, knowing that only a piece of wood stands between me and my girl. “Baby, let me in.”
There’s a short pause, but I don’t dare move. I’m not here to pussy around. I’m here to check on her and win her back. The softest murmur comes through the door and despite her voice being muffled through the door, I know the sound of heartbreak, especially when it comes from her. “You need to leave, Rivers.”
“I can’t do that, Tullz. I’ll stand out here all day and night if that’s what it takes.”
A frustrated groan comes through the door and I don’t doubt she’s contemplating all the different ways to torture me, but she should know that just having this door closed between us is more torture than I’ve ever endured.
I’m just about to get down on my knees and start begging when I hear the little piece of metal siding along the lock before the sound of the deadbolt being released. The handle turns and the door begins to fall open and not a second later, my breath is taken away by the woman standing before me.
Four years really has changed her. The night of the wedding, she looked spectacular. She was radiant and looked like a fucking angel, but that’s not the woman I fell in love with. This is. The one who wears sweats and has her long hair a mess. There’s no makeup, no gown, no attitude, just her, all-natural just the way she was intended. It’s raw and those green eyes shimmering with years of memories is enough to draw me forward.