Page 83 of (Un)Spoken

His eyes started to drift closed just as Calla knocked on the door, softly looking down at Theo. He pulled open one eye just enough to scowl at the cup. “That better be decaf.”

“Sure,” she smirked. “Whatever you want to tell yourself, sunshine.”

Theo grumbled something under his breath as he drifted off to sleep. Adam squeezed my hand as he stood, making room for Calla at his side. But before she sat, she walked up to Adam and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.” She reached out and placed her hand on my cheek. “Both of you.”

Adam shook his head. “He would have done the same thing for us.”

She smiled as she let go, settling into the chair next to Theo’s bedside. As her fingers trailed through his hair, Adam took my hand and led me out into the hall. When we exited the ICU, he pulled me into his chest, letting out a long exhale. “I can’t believe he’s going to be okay.”

“Believe it,” I sighed into his chest. When I pulled back, I brushed my thumb over his cheek, hating the defeat still in his eyes. “We all are.”

Adam leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine. “It’s going to be a long road, trying to get back to normal after everything, trying to remember that I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore.” He smiled softly at me. “That’s not what you signed up for, Tori. If this changes things….”

I lifted to seal my lips with his. As I pulled back, Iwhispered, “This changes nothing. I’ll always be yours, Adam. The hard times don’t scare me as long as I know we’re in them together.”

He smiled, the first one I’d seen all day. “Gotta admit, I really like the sound of that.”

“Good, Rice. Because you’re stuck with me for a long, long time.” I reached down and intertwined our fingers. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”

EPILOGUE

SIX WEEKS LATER

“You know, if this is some kind of weird role-play thing, I think it’s a bit too soon.”

Victoria tried to lift the blindfold, but my hands covered hers, trying to keep her from ruining the surprise. Emilia giggled at my side, unable to hold back her excitement a moment longer. When I told her that today was finally the day, she almost screamed, only holding back because I promised her it would all be worth it.

Over the last week, fall had faded away to winter, and there was no question that snow would be on its way soon. As much as I hated to see the bare trees after months of warm colors, I had to admit, I wasn’t sad to let this season of my life go.

The past six weeks had been some of the most challenging of my life, and I was still having trouble sleeping through the night without nightmares. But slowly, I could feel their hold lessening on me, in no small part due to the almost daily therapy sessions I had with Dr. Kedir. She was helping me process all my emotions, from the guilt that continued to plague me to the bouts of anger I had at howEloise had harmed the people I cared about. But with the help of our sessions and an anti-anxiety medication regimen, I was starting to feel like myself again.

It also helped that Eloise, or whatever the fuck her real name was, decided to take a plea deal instead of taking things to trial. With all the evidence against her, there was no way she would have been exonerated but I liked knowing she’d be locked in an institution for the rest of her life. As much as I hated her, I also pitied the woman and was grateful she’d be able to get help and wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.

Theo had returned home from the hospital a couple of days after his surgery with strict orders not to work or exert himself, which he almost immediately ignored. Still, Calla made it her mission to get him to relax.

Victoria held her arms out in front of me, trying to feel out where we were. “If you make us late for Calla’s party, Adam…”

“Relax, trouble,” I chuckled at her side. “Just a couple more feet, and then we’ll be there. Although, I gotta admit, isn’t it kind of weird to have a “we’re pregnant” announcement dinner when everyone already knows?”

“Maybe,” Victoria chuckled. “But after everything we’ve been through, I think we need to celebrate the good stuff.”

“The good stuff, huh?” I said, leaning close to her ear. “And when are we going to have some good stuff to announce, trouble?”

She shivered as my breath coasted along the shell of her ear. “I thought we agreed, Rice. House first, maybe some traveling, and then we’ll talk about the whole baby thing.”

“I’m just teasing you,” I said, pulling her against my chest. I smirked as I looked out at the view, silently hopingthis would go the way I wanted it to. Still, apprehension started to fill my veins as I looked at my love in my arms, unsure if I’d done the right thing. “Okay…” I eventually sighed. “You can take off the blindfold.”

She pulled off the black fabric, her face furrowing at the sight in front of us. As she took a step closer to the old farmhouse, she turned to face me. “Adam…this is a house.”

I held up the keys. “Yeah, baby. It’s our house.”

Victoria’s eye widened, her head snapping back to me. When I nodded, she turned back toward the house, taking in the aging structure. In truth, it looked worse for wear. The paint was peeling, half of the shutters were missing, and a lot of the porch needed to be replaced. But Cole and his team assured me that it was all cosmetic fixes, things that we’d probably want to change anyway a long the way.

“I’m sorry,” Victoria said, turning to face me. “You bought us a house?”

I shifted closer to Victoria. “I know you wanted something close to town, and this is only a ten-minute walk if you don’t feel like driving.” I stepped around the porch, motioning for both of them to follow me, pointing at some of the rotten planks. As Victoria spotted the view from the backyard, she brought her hand over her mouth. I continued, stumbling over my words, “I know it’s not quite the same, but you can still see the lake, especially from the kitchen and the dining room.” I pointed to the far corner. “Em and I talked about getting a swing set over there so she could play outside. Maybe add a fence if we want to get a dog or two. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I figured that was what you wanted, that way we can really make it our own…”

But as I kept talking, all Victoria did was stare at me, her dark eyes wide with an emotion I couldn’t quite place. Imoved in front of her, cupping her cheek. “Baby, please say something. If you hate it–”

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