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After she hugged me tight, she added, “I ran into Ava on her way out. She said you girls are going to have a night out.”
“Ugh, she’s totally taking me hostage. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t move from this lounger.”
“I think this is a great idea, and I have a feeling you’ll have a blast.”
“Mom, it’s literally the dive bar in town. Trust me, it’s not going to be Vegas by any means. I doubt we’ll get into too much trouble.”
She grinned.
“What?”
“Nothing. I just think you’ll have more fun than you give yourself credit for.”
“I doubt that.”
“Word on the street is that the bar got bought out by a private investor, and they’ve spent a pretty penny to make it top-notch. There’s been a complete remodel, and they’ve built on to it. A whole new top deck overlooks the lake and is supposed to be the new hot spot.”
“This is Fort Worth, Mom. How luxurious can it be?”
“I guess you’ll find out tonight. Now, I highly suggest you go shower and change into clothes that don’t include the sweatpants and hoodie you’ve been living in despite the arsenal of clothing you have in your closet.” She stood, dragging me with her. “I think you should wear a nice dress. I saw a pretty yellow one in your closet, and it’s always been your color. It brings out your eyes and hair. You should wear it.”
“Yeah… so I’ve been told.”
I shook away the thought of Elias because he used to constantly tell me that. It was his favorite color on me too.
The last thing I needed was to think about him more than I already was. I wasn’t expecting that Kyle cheating on me would have triggered my memories of Elias. It’d been years since I thought about him, thinking I finally healed from what could only be described as mourning the loss of the man I thought was my soulmate.
After I finished getting ready, I took a good, hard look at myself in the full-length mirror that was still in the same place it was when I was in high school. My parents kept my room intact, and it was where I stayed when I was in town visiting them and Kate.
Thank God I didn’t have any memories of Kyle in this house. In all the years we were together, he never came to my childhood home. Something always came up when he was supposed to visit them with me.
I might not have a history with Kyle in this house, but I sure as hell had one with Elias. I lived at home when we were in college since we attended the nearby Texas University. I could have moved into an apartment. My parents gave me the option, but I decided to stay at home instead. I didn’t mind living with them.
Elias lived on campus in a single dorm room, and let’s just say it was the size of a box, so it was nice to have all the space in my parents’ house. Elias was respectful and never had sex with me when they were home. When we did, it was only because I literally got naked, and he couldn’t say no to me after that.
I moved into my own place after Elias moved away. He only saw my place once in the three years we were together, and most of the things I had of his, like his clothes or the things he bought me, were still living in this room. They were in boxes in my closet. I never had the heart to get rid of them. After I moved to California, I guess I just forgot about it.
I swear I could still smell his scent on my sheets and pillow. It was probably why I saw him everywhere, and I was thinking about him. Without me realizing it, Texas reminded me of Elias.
Maybe that was why moving to California to be with Kyle was easy. I finally had the chance to leave all this behind and start a new life even though it only ended up being one big lie.
Maybe I wasn’t meant to have my happily ever after.
Maybe that was only for fairy tales and movies.
The longer I stood there, the more I could feel Elias’s presence with me. Trying to shake it off, I clipped my hair up, leaving two pieces in the front of my face. I wore black eyeliner and mascara, which emphasized my already bright green eyes. I added some blush and nude lipstick and finished my look with the yellow summer dress my mom suggested and black cowboy boots.
At that moment, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me, and that scared me the most. Instead of focusing on the unfamiliarity that was myself, I fixated on the fact that we were going to my favorite bar, which held plenty of my memories with him as well.
It was our spot, and the truth was, I hadn’t been back there since we broke up.
I couldn’t.
It hurt too much.
CHAPTER FOUR
CAPRI
