Page 20 of Buried

I stepped out of my room in a fresh pair of jeans and a blue and black flannel shirt rolled up to my elbows, my cut on over it. I found Adelaide at the bar with Reina, teaching the newer girl the ropes of mixing drinks. Adelaide laughed when Reina muttered something, her brown eyes lighting up with amusement.

Fucking perfect.

I stepped up to the bar, drawing Adelaide’s eyes to me. I reached over to wrap my hand around the back of her neck, drawing her lips to mine for a hot, slow kiss.

I was so fucking addicted to her. It was hard as fuck to keep my hands off of her.

When I pulled back, her eyes were slightly glazed over. She blew out a shaky breath as she locked her eyes on mine. “You havegotto stop doing that to me, especially when I’m trying to help someone,” she complained, but there was a smile on her lips.

I smirked at her. “What’s the fun in that?” I teased.

She rolled her eyes, but there was a beautiful smile on her face. Her eyes flickered over my shoulder when the clubhouse doors opened. I turned around, watching as Sam let in Joey and Ink.

Adelaide squealed and ran around the bar. I grinned, loving how happy she looked at that moment. I knew she would always loveJoey, but as I told her, as long as she continued to live for me, I didn’t care how much she loved him.

She launched herself at Joey, and he caught her, his back slamming against the wall as she locked her arms and legs around him, her shoulders shaking as she began to cry. He released a soft laugh as he locked his arms around her, burying his face in the curve her neck. My smile widened, loving how beautiful she looked when she was properly being loved.

How she should have been loved all along.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t any jealousy in my veins as I watched Joey settle in a chair in a dark corner. He nodded once at me before he focused his attention on the beautiful, crying woman in his arms.

He’d take care of her, and I was secure enough in my relationship with her to know that she wouldn’t be leaving me nor cheating on me.

Those two just had something together that would rip them both apart if they were separated.

She may live for me, but Joey taught her how to breathe when she felt like her only option was dying.

Chapter Thirteen

Adelaide

Joey ran his eyes over my face, a small smile on his lips. I sobbed as I reached up to trace his jawline with my fingers. It’d been so long since I got to touch him. Since I got to just look at him.

He grabbed my wrist and pressed a tender kiss to my palm.

“I held you with me,” I choked out, my bottom lip trembling.

“I told you I’d find you again,” he soothed. “I’ve never broken a promise to you, pretty girl.”

A sob ripped from my throat, and I trembled on his lap. “It was so hard not to come crawling back to you,” I confessed. “But I wanted to show you that I was strong enough to let him take care of me. Like you wanted.”

Joey kissed a tear off of my cheek as it rolled down. “I’m proud of you, pretty girl. You’re glowing, and it’s all because of him.” He shook his head, blowing out a soft breath. “Heseesyou, Adelaide. He sees every part of you, even the parts of you thatyou’ve given to me and Tristan. He sees them all, and he loves every single piece.”

“It doesn’t hurt so much to let you go anymore,” I whispered, my voice breaking. Butknowingit didn’t hurt so much to let him go hurt. It didn’t make a lick of sense, but itdidhurt.

He brushed his nose with mine, and I sniffled. “Just hold me with you. It’ll make the pain a bit more bearable. We were toxic as fuck together, pretty girl, and I had my own hand in breaking you down, but I’m trying to be better for you, even if you’re not mine anymore.”

I gave him a broken smile, shaking my head. “I don’t care if you move on, Joey. A piece of you will always be mine.”

He brushed his thumb over my cheek, running his eyes over my face for a moment. “Where did it all go wrong, pretty girl?” he quietly asked.

I shrugged. “From the very beginning,” I admitted on a weak laugh. “We fought from day one, but you made me comealive. Some days, it was all I could do to justbreathe. But you saw a broken, eighteen-year-old girl who just needed a purpose, and you gave me that purpose. So, no matter how much we destroyed each other, I’ll always love you.”

Joey looked at me with something akin to awe in his eyes. “God, he’s so fucking good for you, Adelaide,” Joey breathed. “Before him, you did your damnest to ignore every emotion you could.”

“He’s showing me it’s okay,” I told him. My bottom lip trembled. I drew in a deep breath, hoping to calm myself. “He told me that it was okay to still love you both just as long as I lived for him.”

Joey smiled, and there was no pain in his eyes as he looked at me. Just happiness. Like he was happyfor meeven though me being with River meant he lost me. “Then live for him, pretty girl.”

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