With You

Chapter 27

"Okay, does everything looks in place," my aunt asks for the millionth time.

I groan and nod a yes. "Everything is fine. Maybe you should have a seat."

We've been cleaning the house for three days straight. There was nothing out of place or dirty to begin with, but I don't dare tell my aunt this. I've kept my mouth shut and followed her orders.

"It feels like a dream," she says.

I exit the living room and look for the crew. I find them in the kitchen laughing at something Ava said. I approach them and blow out a breath. "Josh, your mama is killing me. Imagine cleaning things that don't need to be cleaned."

My comment earns some laughs from them. "She's just nervous," Madison says.

"Yeah," Josh agrees. "She still doesn't believe today is really happening."

I lean against the counter and drink some of Josh's water. "I mean can you blame her? Aren't you nervous?"

"Nah, I'm not. I was born to play the game," he says smoothly.

When the camera crew starts to set up we all go to the living room and grab a seat. Everyone but me knew how this whole thing worked, so Josh gave me a quick summary. He told me they'll basically film us waiting on the phone call for him to get an offer. They'll film our reactions and interview him afterwards. A couple of days later him and his agent will discuss the contract offered to him depending on what round and pick he is.

Since he's a top selection we had to watch the draft from the beginning. Before filming, the camera crew kept telling us to act like they're not here, but it's harder than I thought it would be.

It only takes the Buccaneers two minutes to pick their number one selection. Noah Poutre, from Texas A&M.

"Wow, he must be good."

"Hell yeah he is," Cooper says. "He's the best QB in the country."

This is how it goes for the next couple of picks. After the fourth pick, our phone rings and Josh walks towards it, with so much confidence. It was his moment of truth and he wasn't nervous at all. It's so quiet in the room, you could hear a pin drop.

"Hello?" He stared at us while he talked. "Speaking," he paused quickly to smile. "Thank you so much, sir."

We all held our breath until he put the phone on the hook and shouted, "I'm a Cowboy!" We stood up and cheered him on. Madison rushed past us and pulled Josh in for a kiss.

"This is the second best day of my life," he says.

"Second?" I question

He smiles at me and looks down at Madison. "Yeah. The first day was when I found out I was going to be a father."

His agent pulls him away for the interview and I walk over to Cooper.

"Dreams really do come true," he smiles.

"Yeah," I say stunned. "It feels so surreal."

After hugging everyone, Josh walks to me looking a little unsure. "Don't be mad at me, okay?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I invited Tyler to the party."

I gather the plates on the counter and put them in the sink to keep myself busy. "I don't care," I say nonchalantly. "It's your party."

As I wash the dishes he helps me out by drying and putting them up. "I just thought I'd let you know. He just got here and he wants to talk to you."

"I don't wanna talk to him. We said everything we needed to say."

He turns the water off and kean against the sink. "Just hear him out." He bends down and whisper in my ear. "You going on a date with Zayden is a waste of time. Please, listen to me this time around."

I walk out of the kitchen and run right into the person I was trying to avoid.

"Hey, Adalyn" he says.

I awkwardly wave at him. "Hi."

He points at the door. "Can we talk, please?"

"Sure."

We walk down the driveway and sit on the back of my Jeep. "So?"

He runs his fingers through his hair and briefly looks away. "I just wanted to let you know that I forgive you, and I'm deeply sorry for what I said to you at the hospital. I'm also sorry for that phone call, too."

I get a good look at him and try my best not to break down. I hate how much I still love him. Surprisingly, I keep my shit together and reply to him very calmly.

"You're forgiven, Tyler. Where is all of this coming from?" I ask.

He take a seat next to me. "After I got out of the hospital, I was still mad at you." He sees me look away and quickly finishes up. "When I got home my mom cursed me out so bad. She overheard our conversation. Anyways, I talked to her about it and let her know I didn't mean any of it. I just wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me or even worse. I started thinking maybe it was karma. I did a lot of fucked up shit before I met you and maybe karma came back to bite me in the ass."

"Well, congrats. You succeeded," I say sarcastically.

"I know it was dumb, but I just needed to let you know that I don't hate you. I could never hate you, Addy." I close my eyes painfully when he uses my childhood nickname Josh gave me. I loved how he brought it back, but it sounds so foreign on his lips now.

"Thanks. I really needed to hear that."

He stands abruptly, and gives me his boy smile. "You'll always have place in my heart because you're the only girl I really felt for. I'm not here to try to get you back. I think we both needed closure."

I get up to hug him and he kisses me on the forehead. "Take care, Addy."

"You too, Ty," I whisper.

He lets me go and he leaves just as fast as he came.

I walk back in the house and see my friends approaching me.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping on y'all, but you're so strong," Ava says.

"Hell yeah, you are," Madison agrees.

"Nah, that was a front. The waterworks are coming now."