Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

River

I furrowed my brows, keeping my eyes on Darryl. "What is it?" I asked, starting to get nervous. He sounded serious, and Marilyn also didn't look as if she had good news to tell me.

I woke up feeling good about myself and my life. Dreaming of Mom wasn't new to me, but the older I got, the better I was able to see her in front of me. I was happy she appeared in my dreams, even if it was only once or twice a year.

Bowie seemed worried, and I knew she didn't know what her parents were going to tell me either. To support me, Bowie took my hand in both of hers and squeezed gently, silently telling me that whatever it was, she would be right there with me.

Darryl breathed in deeply, carrying the stack of pancakes to the table and setting the plate down. He had yet to talk. Marilyn set the bowl of fruit down next to the pancakes, then nudged Darryl's arm with her elbow. "Maybe it's best if you show him."

I frowned, wondering what they were hiding from me. Darryl nodded towards the hallway and started walking into that direction. "Follow me," he said, and I did, pulling Bowie with me. Whatever it was, I needed her by my side.

Darryl stopped in front of the guest bedroom door next to his office. The door was closed, and I raised a brow to let him know that I was getting impatient.

He sighed, rubbing his beard. "Last month, your Dad knocked on our door and told us he was leaving town." That sentence didn't bother me at all. I hadn't seen Dad in two years and didn't really intend on changing that.

I waited for Darryl to continue talking. "He asked if we wanted to take the rest of your things left in your bedroom and put it into storage, so he wouldn't have to pay to throw it all away. We figured putting all your things away until you finished college would be a good idea, so once you've graduated, you could get the things you wanted and take them to your own apartment."

He stopped again, reaching for the doorknob. My heart was suddenly pounding in my chest, and I felt Bowie's hand squeeze my arm, showing just how excited she was to find out what her parents were hiding in the guest room.

Marilyn smiled, looking up at me. "We know you're not a kid anymore...but I couldn't help myself. If you don't like it, we can get rid of it," she said while Darryl opened the door.

The old guest bedroom didn't have any of its old furniture in it. Instead, my old twin bed was in the middle of the room, my dresser covered in stickers next to it, and the bookshelf with the books on it which I didn't take with me to college was on the other side of the room.

No words left my mouth, and I stared at the superhero stickers I decorated my dresser with when I was four. Then, my eyes fell to the chest in front of my bed, and I knew exactly what was in there. Toys. Action figures, cars, and probably some teddy bears.

"Oh, my...this is perfect," Bowie whispered, and I felt my eyes sting. Shit, was I really about to cry? Before I could shed a tear, I turned to hug both Darryl and Marilyn. Marilyn chuckled, while a sob escaped Darryl.

"I take it you like it?" Marilyn said, and I nodded, unable to speak. I let go of them, looking back into the bedroom and finally taking a step in. I rubbed my eyes, amazed by the whole situation. Bowie's parents have always been good to me...but this was more than I could've ever imagined they'd do for me.

"This is amazing. God...look at all those books," I said, letting out a laugh instead of a sob. "Fuck..." I whispered, taking a step closer to the bed, and running my hand over the covers.

Not sure how long I stood there, staring at my old stuff, but as I turned around, only Bowie was there by the door with tear-filled eyes. She smiled at me and came closer. Her arms reached around me to hug me tight, and I wrapped my arm around her back, rubbing it slowly and turning my head back to my bed again.

"I think I'm gonna sleep in here tonight," I told her, and she laughed softly. "I'm not stopping you from doing so," she said, leaning her head against my chest.

"This is the first time you're seeing my bedroom," I said, only just realizing it.

"I like it. It's all I imagined it to be. You really were a huge fan of the Hulk, huh?" she pointed out.

"Hell, yeah," I grinned, finally getting my emotions under control again. "There must be a figure of him somewhere. I took that thing everywhere when I was little." I let go of her and kneeled down in front of the chest. After lifting the lid, I grinned at what I was seeing.

"God, this brings back so many memories," I said, grabbing the Hulk action figure out and holding it up for Bowie to see.

"This guy was my best friend before you came along," I explained, and she took it out of my hand to look at it.

"I can only imagine how cute you were playing with these toys. You were lucky I had some action figures of my own upstairs. You could've brought yours over too," she suggested, but I shook my head.

"I was a selfish kid, Bow. I don't think I would've ever let you touch any of my toys." I laughed, and she rolled her eyes with a grin on her face.

I got back up and saw Darryl come down the hall. "You two coming? You got plenty of time to sit in this room. I wanna eat breakfast with you before I head over to the club."

With a nod, I took the figure out of Bowie's hand again and put it on the bed, then followed Darryl into the kitchen. "Thank you, guys. You have no idea how much this means to me. It brings back so many memories," I told them.

"We're glad you like it," Marilyn said, and after we sat down, Bowie reached for my hand and squeezed it one last time before starting to eat the pancakes Darryl made.

I was lucky. So damn lucky to have them.