The door opened, and a man in a button-down and slacks stood in the doorway, inviting us inside. He had a kind smile, and I could feel Micah relax a little. We exchanged some polite conversation as we followed the man down a hallway and into a room with blue walls and a bunch of art that all looked the same.
We didn’t wait long before Ada walked into the room. Her grin crumpled when she saw Micah, and she rushed toward him, hugging him with such force, he stumbled back a little.
“Whoa,” Micah said with a laugh as his eyes fell shut and he held on, his hand running up and down Ada’s spine. They held onto each other for a long time until Ada pulled away and turned to me and gave me a hug just as fiercely.
“I’m so happy to see y’all,” she said, wiping the corners of her eyes as we all sat down together. Her face had filled out even more, and her skin had cleared of all the sores. Her smile had life in it again. “How was the vow renewal?”
Micah babbled about how beautiful it was, going into insane detail about the flower arrangements, food, and music. He’d taken a million photos and videos so he could share them with Ada.
I expected her to be sad about the fact that she couldn’t be there, but she wasn’t. She was happy as hell, talking about how great the party looked, laughing along as Micah talked about the way their dad danced all night.
“How’re you doing?” Micah asked, rubbing a hand down Ada’s shoulder.
“I’m okay,” Ada said, her voice a little worn, like she was tired. “We talk a lot. In group, in therapy, with my psychiatrist. There’s a nutritionist here, and I talk to her a lot too. I mean, all we do is fucking talk, which isn’t bad, but sometimes I’d like to take a vacation away from my past.”
I laughed, knowing all too well what she was talking about. “Won’t lie. It gets worse before it gets better. Those therapy sessions are killer, but they’re worth it.”
“I believe you. You haven’t steered me wrong yet,” Ada said with a wink to me. She turned to Micah, taking his hands in hers. “How’s therapy going for you?”
Micah exhaled a long breath, his cheeks puffing. “Better. Acceptance is a difficult thing to achieve. I still feel guilty for how I treated you and Mom and Dad. Grief’s a bitch.”
Micah and Ada continued to talk. I sat back and listened. It was insane how they were so connected with each other, finishing each other’s sentences and rambling on at a rate that was hard to keep up with. I’d seen nothing like it. They thrived when they were together.
“I wanna show you something,” Micah said, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. I nodded, hoping he wouldn’t bail out at the last minute. He’d been talking about showing this to Ada for the last two weeks.
Micah lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt, revealing his new tattoo. Ada leaned closer, drawing a line underneath the tattoo with her finger.
Her eyebrows drew together, lips moving silently. “Abstemius?” she asked, her gaze flicking up to Micah.
“Means sober in Latin,” Micah said, pulling his shirt down. “It’s for you.” He glanced at me. “And Nik. Both of you taught me a lot about meeting people where they’re at, and I wanted to have something that would be important to both of you.”
Ada didn’t hold back the tears this time, letting them slip down her cheeks and off her chin. “It’s beautiful. I love it.”
Someone knocked on the door and poked their head inside, letting Ada know she had five more minutes. Ada nodded and got up, wiping at her face with the back of her hand.
“All right, back to talking about feelings,” Ada said, giving Micah another hug. She whispered something in his ear that I couldn’t hear, and Micah nodded along, his arms tightening around her small waist.
Ada turned to me, her arms open wide, her fingers and hips wiggling. It was so goofy, I couldn’t help but laugh as she enveloped me in a hug.
“Thank you for saving me when I thought I wasn’t worth saving. I’ll never forget that,” she whispered in my ear, her voice unsteady with emotion. “I’m so glad we have you.”
She kissed my cheek as she stepped back, grabbing Micah’s and my hands. “Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”
We said one last goodbye in the hallway before we split, heading toward opposite ends. Outside, the air bit at my skin with the promise of fall. Micah was quiet, as he always was after talking to Ada.
“Ada’s doing good,” I said as we walked to the car.
Micah hummed in agreement, staring up at the sky. “She is. It’s taken me some time, but I’m learning that I can still love the Ada I wanted back and the Ada I have now.” He fixed his gaze on me and ran both of his hands up my neck, cupping my face. “It’s uncomfortable as hell not knowing if she’s going to stay clean after this, but at least it gives us time, right?”
I pressed our foreheads together, squeezing my eyes shut. “We just have to give her time.”
Micah’s thumbs moved over my jaw, his lips brushing mine as he said, “You have taught me that love is endless, and that my love for you will never run dry.”
We held on to each other while the sun set, the evening air getting colder. Tomorrow, I’d check in with Walt to see how he was holding up in the halfway house before staffing the hotline to talk to strangers while they got high. I didn’t know how Walt would feel or how those calls would go down, but I knew Micah would be there with me at the end of the day, and that was more than enough.
“C’mon, let’s go home,” I said, walking to the car.
“I don’t know if I’ve told you this,” Micah said, “but I like that we have a place we call home together.”
I bobbed my head in consideration. “Hm, maybe once or twice.”
Micah had said it countless times over the last couple of weeks, and I never got sick of it. We didn’t plan for it to happen, but if I’d learned anything in the past couple of months, it was that it was okay to be spontaneous.
“You know that phrase ‘with age comes wisdom’?” I asked as we pulled out of the parking lot. I looked at Micah, and he nodded. “I don’t think that’s how it works. I think it comes with experience and accepting those experiences. Ada will figure that out too.”
Micah picked up my hand and kissed my wrist. “Just gotta give it time.”
THE END
Get more of The Collective in The Worth Within!
The Worth Within is the fourth novel in The Collective Series. This novel is a hurt/comfort, angsty bisexual romance that follows two brand new characters, Theo and Elias.
You can pre-order on Amazon for limited price of $2.99.
