Bittersweet Memories (Off-Limits #4)(24)

Alanna gasps when I lift the bottle up, and she all but snatches it from me. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” she whispers.

I smile, the feeling bittersweet. “Not as long as I’ve waited.” My words are soft, barely above a whisper, but she hears them nonetheless. She has no idea how hard it’s been to resist her. I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t even consider being with her until she turned eighteen, but the truth is that I’ve been falling for her, little by little, day by day, for two years.

“Can I open it?”

I nod, and Alanna stares at the glass bottle for a moment before finally opening it. She takes out the card and unrolls it, her hands trembling. I watch her closely, my heart pounding. When she looks up at me, her eyes are filled with the same need I’ve been battling.

“It’s us,” she whispers. “Standing underneath this tree.”

I nod.

“You’re kissing me in this drawing.”

I nod again.

“But… you drew this last year. I saw you bury this on my seventeenth birthday.”

I smile and look away. “That’s how long I’ve been wanting to kiss you, Alanna. At the time, you were obsessing over firsts, and you weren’t happy that you didn’t have any of mine, so I gave you this. You and me, this tradition… that was a first, but it wasn’t the one I wanted.”

“What do you want?” she asks, her eyes filled with hope and desire.

“You,” I whisper.

I rise to my feet and pull her up with me. Her eyes widen, and I smile when I pull her closer. “This is how we were standing in the drawing,” I whisper.

She smiles at me, nerves and desire dancing across her eyes. “I was even wearing a similar dress in your drawing. Tell me, Si. Can you see the future?”

I smirk at her and lift my hand to her face, the back of my fingers trailing over her cheek. “I can, and both of ours are entwined, starting today.”

“Is that so?” she whispers, her gaze dropping to my lips. “In that case, I can’t wait for the rest of our lives.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous before, certainly not over something as simple as a kiss, but this is different. I want this to be perfect. I lean in, tilting my face toward hers, a small part of me still scared of crossing the line with her. There’s no going back from this, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to be friends with her anymore.

My lips brush against her, and Alanna freezes, pulling away. I tense and take a step away from her, confused.

“Si, no,” she murmurs. “It’s my phone. It’s buzzing. No one ever actually calls me but my dad, so I have to take it.”

I breathe a sigh of relief as she answers the phone. This isn’t exactly how I saw tonight going. I’ve replayed this evening in my mind countless times, but I never expected to be interrupted at such a critical moment. I’m nervous as hell, and her speaking to her dad isn’t helping. It just reminds me that I shouldn’t be doing this, that I’m not good enough for her.

“What? Which hospital?”

I straighten, instantly on high alert. Alanna’s eyes fill with tears, and by the time she ends the call, I’ve got her keys in my hand. “What happened?”

“They said my dad was injured when someone tried to rob him, and he’s in the hospital. What do I do, Si?”

I wrap my arm around her as I lead her to the car. “I’ll drive you. Come on, let’s go.”

Alanna is barely holding back her panicked sobs as I drive her to the hospital, and I hold her tightly as we walk in, taking the lead. She’s shaking, and she seems in no position to be asking for directions. It takes a moment, but eventually, we find her father’s room.

The two police officers standing in front of it have me instantly worried. “Alanna Jones?” one of them asks. She nods, and the pity in his eyes has me tightening my grip on her. “They tried all they could, Ms. Jones. They couldn’t save your father, but I promise you that my partner and I will do all we can to catch the man who shot him.”

“What?” she asks, her voice breaking. “This… what… it can’t—”

She pulls out of my embrace and rushes into her father’s room. My heart breaks as I follow her in, knowing what I’ll find. “Please,” she begs, her voice breaking.

I watch as she shakes his arm, but it’s too late. He’s gone. I walk up to her and wrap my arm around her waist, offering her silent support as she continues to plead with her father, her tone getting more and more frantic as realization dawns.

“Silas, please,” she pleads, her breathing weighed down by the sobs she’s trying to restrain. She looks at me, and the desperation in her eyes destroys me. “Please wake him up. Please.”

I pull her into me, hugging her tightly, one hand in her hair, and the other around her waist. She struggles in my embrace for a moment, and then she collapses against me, loud sobs tearing through her throat as she falls apart in my arms.

The two of us stand there together, clinging to each other. I’ve never felt more powerless than I do tonight. Her heart is breaking, and there’s nothing I can do.





Chapter Fourteen





Alanna