Chapter 25 "Trust Me"
EMBER
Dinner was at a small Italian restaurant called Lucia's, tucked into a side street Ember had never noticed before.
"My parents used to take me here," Adrian said as they sat down. "Before they died. It's quiet. Private. The food is amazing."
"It's perfect," Ember said, looking around at the dim lighting, the checkered tablecloths, the smell of garlic and basil.
They ordered, Adrian insisted she try the carbonara, promising it would change her life and fell into easy conversation.
Adrian told her about the game, about the rush of the final shot, about how his coach had been impressed. Ember told him about the research paper she was working on, about her favorite Gothic novel, about the greenhouse he'd shown her and how she'd been thinking about it all week.
"I want to take you back there," Adrian said. "Maybe tomorrow? We could bring books. Just exist there for a while."
"I'd love that."
The food arrived, and Adrian had been right the carbonara was life changing. They shared bites of each other's dishes, laughing when Ember got sauce on her chin and Adrian reached over to wipe it off, his touch lingering longer than necessary.
It felt like a scene from a movie. Like something perfect and untouchable.
"Can I ask you something?" Ember said after their plates were cleared.
"Anything."
"Earlier, someone mentioned your family. About how they're traditional." Ember chose her words carefully. "Do you feel trapped by that?"
Adrian's expression shifted, something darker crossing his face. "Sometimes. Yeah."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really. Not tonight." Adrian reached across the table, taking her hand. "Tonight I just want to be Adrian.The guy who really likes you."
Ember's heart stuttered. "I really like you too."
"Good. Because I was worried I was coming on too strong."
"You're not. You're" Ember searched for the right word. "You're perfect. Or close enough that the difference doesn't matter."
Adrian laughed, but there was something sad in it. "I'm not perfect, Em. Trust me."
"Nobody is. But you're perfect for me. That's what matters."
They sat like that, hands linked across the table, the rest of the restaurant fading away.
And for those few minutes, nothing else existed. Just two people falling for each other, trying to hold onto something real in a world that seemed determined to tear it apart.
ADRIAN
Adrian paid the check and led Ember outside, his heart pounding.
It was now or never.
The estate was twenty minutes away. The church was fifteen. He needed to choose.
"So," Ember said, pulling her jacket tighter against the November cold. "Party or no party?"
Adrian looked at her at this girl who'd somehow become essential to him in just two weeks, who laughed at his jokes and listened to his dreams and made him feel like maybe he could be someone other than what his family expected.
"Actually," he heard himself say, "I wanted to show you something. If you're up for it."
"Show me what?"
"It's a surprise. But I promise you'll like it." Adrian opened the car door for her. "Trust me?"
Ember smiled. "I trust you."
Those three words were a knife to Adrian's heart.
Because she shouldn't trust him.
But instead, she climbed into his car, buckled her seatbelt, and looked at him with those eyes that saw the best in people.
Adrian got in the driver's side and started the engine.
EMBER
"Where are we going?" Ember asked as Adrian drove away from town, toward the dark outskirts where streetlights disappeared and trees crowded the road.
"You'll see. It's not far."
Something in Adrian's tone made Ember uneasy. He was gripping the steering wheel too tight. His jaw was clenched. He looked like someone going to war.
"Adrian? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"About how I wish things were different."
The statement hung in the air, strange and ominous. Ember tried to laugh it off.
"Different how?"
"Different so that I could" Adrian stopped himself. "Never mind. We're almost there."
They turned onto a long, winding driveway, trees forming a canopy overhead. At the end sat a massive house, no, a mansion looming against the night sky. Most of it was dark, but lights glowed from a few windows.
"This is where you grew up?" Ember breathed.
"Yeah. The Ashcroft estate. My grandmother still lives here." Adrian parked the car but didn't turn off the engine. "She's, she wants to meet you."
"Meet me? Why?"
"Because" Adrian looked at her, and Ember saw something that terrified her. Guilt. Regret. Desperation. "Ember, I need you to listen to me very carefully. When we go inside, stay close to me. Don't eat or drink anything. Don't let anyone separate us. And if I tell you to run you run. Understand?
"Adrian, you're scaring me"
"I know. I'm sorry. But I need you to promise. If things go wrong run."
"What things? Adrian, what's happening?"
Before he could answer, the front door opened. An elderly woman emerged elegant, severe, with sharp eyes that seemed to cut through the darkness.
Margaret Crane.
"Adrian," she called out. "Don't keep your grandmother waiting. Bring the girl inside."
Adrian's hands were shaking on the steering wheel. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Ember. I didn't know what else to do."