I opened my eyes to see that I wasn't in my usual room. Instead, I was in a totally different place which appeared to be a bit familiar, but I couldn't recollect it because of the ache in my head. The pain was killing me. What the hell did I do last night? Seven shots of tequila, my brain answered and in an instant, all the memories of last night came flowing back.
I remembered calling Adam and waiting for him to pick me up from that shady pub. The next memory was sitting in his car and talking about something. But what happened after that? I struggled to recall the events of last night and abruptly an image flashed in my head. Adam and I were kissing in the car. Oh my God! I was the one who made the first move. Damn it. I hate alcohol. The more I thought about it, the more images flashed in my head. We had a passionate make-out session in Adam's car and he didn't seem to mind that at all.
A soft knock on the door pulled me back to the present. Natalie came in with a bowl of soup in her hand. "Good morning, Adam made this for you and asked me to make sure you drink this before leaving," she said with a smile on her face. Now I remember, this is Adam's room. That's why it appeared so familiar.
I gave a soft smile to Natalie before glancing at the door, hoping Adam would join us too. "He left a while ago Adaline. He had to go back to his place." Natalie answered, she seemed to guess what was in my mind.
"He doesn't stay with you guys anymore?" I asked and grabbed the bowl of soup from her hand to take a sip from it.
"No. Tessa and Adam bought a new house when she got pregnant," she replied and I nodded my head in understanding. We were both quiet for a while before Natalie asked a question which I didn't know how to reply to. "Is everything okay between you and Adam?"
Definitely not. This is what I wanted to say. But instead, I just bobbed my head and said, "Yes everything is okay." She didn't seem convinced by my reply as she furrowed her eyebrows and stared at my face, trying her best to read my mind. "Stop lying to me, Adaline. I know something's up."
"It's nothing, Natalie. I just got extremely drunk last night," I replied, hoping she would discontinue the topic.
"Yes, you got so drunk that you weren't ready to leave Adam's hand last night. That's why he brought you here because he couldn't take you like that to your place," she told which made my entire body go numb. Why the hell did I have to get drunk last night? Not only have I embarrassed myself in front of Adam but also his mom.
I didn't have the courage to look Natalie in the eye hence I kept my head low to avoid her gaze. "I'm sorry Natalie."
"It's good Samuel wasn't home last night. He would have been so mad if he saw you both together," she said and I just nodded my head. "Adaline when you left three years ago I honestly thought you didn't want Adam in your life anymore, and that did make me a little sad. But what I saw last night made me realise that I was wrong," she said in a low voice. "I have always loved you like my own daughter and it hurt me to see you and Adam drift apart and as much as I always wanted you both to end up together...things have changed now," she added with a sad smile.
"I haven't seen my son as happy as he was staying next to you last night. And honestly, I don't even know what's going on between you two but all I can say is that all this is wrong."
"Natalie, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I'm just so sorry to disappoint you. This won't happen again. I promise you," I said pleadingly to gain back her confidence in me. Natalie has always supported me with everything in my life but my actions last night definitely hurt her and I hate myself for doing that.
She gave me a soft smile and said, "It's okay Adaline. I forgive you, just don't do something like this again." I smiled listening to her words. She had forgiven me so promptly and I'm glad for that. "Now, drink your soup fast, Eric is coming to pick you up. I lied to your mum last night saying you wanted to spend some time with me hence you decided to crash here."
I laughed when I heard that. Natalie always did this. Ever since I was a kid she used to save my ass by lying to mom all the time. "What about Tessa? You said Adam stayed next to me the entire night. What did you tell her then?" I asked because I was genuinely curious about it.
"Samuel wasn't home so Adam just told Tessa that he was staying here with me since he didn't want to leave me alone."
"I'm sorry again for everything and thanks for taking care of me," I said and hugged her tightly.
"There's a lot I want to ask you two but I'm going to wait and give you both some time to figure things out yourself," she said while hugging me back. Thanks, Natalie. I definitely need some time to figure things out.
***
Eric came to pick me up exactly half an hour after I finished having my breakfast. By the time he arrived, Natalie and I caught up on everything that happened in the last three years. She told me how diligently Adam worked with Samuel in the company and helped him increase his revenues. I wanted to ask her about football and why he didn't play for the club but I didn't dare to ask that. Natalie seemed to like Tessa a lot. She was extremely happy being a grandmother to Sophie and couldn't wait to have another grandchild. Listening to all this did affect me a bit, but I made sure to not reflect that on my face.
She did express that she was hurt when I broke things up with Adam before leaving and she wanted to pursue me to get back with Adam but he stopped her from doing so. Obviously, he would. He was the one who cheated, not me. As much as I wanted to tell her the truth, I couldn't get myself to do so. She would be so hurt if she found out that Adam cheated on me with Tessa. She was happy with her family and I didn't want to break her bubble.
"How did you end up here last night? I thought you went to meet Tessa," Eric asked the moment I entered his car.
"I did something very bad last night," I said which immediately made Eric turn his entire attention towards me.
"What did you do Williams?"
I already knew he was going to be mad after hearing my story but I so wanted to get this out of my chest. "I got extremely drunk, ended up calling Adam and also made out with him last night." When I looked at him after narrating my mini-episode of last night he was silent for a while. His face clearly showed that he was disappointed with me and that made me feel worse.
"You got to be kidding me Willaims! We are not teenagers anymore that you get drunk and hook up with your ex," he said fuming with rage.
"I'm sorry. All this is my fault," I replied in a low voice.
"You should have been more careful Adaline. He's engaged now plus he's a father," he said angrily and I kept my head low because I didn't have the courage to face his wrath. "But it's not entirely your fault. He could have stopped you but he didn't which means he still has a thing for you," he added which made me realise that this could be true. Adam might still have feelings for me, just like I do.
I didn't dare to say anything to Eric since he seemed extremely mad. He started the engine with a roar and we both kept quiet for a few minutes after which he asked me something I wasn't ready to answer yet. "What exactly happened between you both three years ago? You still haven't told me the truth."
I hesitated for a bit and then asked, "Can you give me some more time Eric? I don't want to talk about that right now." He nodded his head and I felt grateful for having such an understanding friend.
"Well, I got invited to your family dinner tonight," he said to change the topic.
I laughed. "Obviously, you are my fake boyfriend now. Get ready to be invited to a lot of family dinners from now on."
"The Carter's are joining too," he told which made my body cold. I didn't have the courage to face Adam so soon.
"Tessa and Sophie will be there too," he added and I genuinely felt like skipping the dinner at this point. But I know I couldn't. Natalie had started this tradition of family dinner year's ago and never allowed anyone to skip. Plus if I didn't show up, Tessa would assume that I'm frightened of her which I'm definitely not.
"Tonight's going to be a fun night I guess," I said sarcastically and chuckled. Eric joined in too. "All four of us under one roof. It's definitely going to be a night to remember," he said and winked at me.
Yes, that's what it's going to be. A night to remember!
***
Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you so much for supporting this story. We hit 1k views and I'm so grateful of all of you :D
Ps who do you think Natalie prefers more? Tessa or Adaline?
Please don't forget to vote and let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Thank you
Love you all <3