Addicted To You

79

I stare at my ring while I'm in the back of a cab. The news is still fresh, and we haven't mentioned it to anyone. I wish I can tell Claudia, I only know she'll freak out. The idea of Chase and I being engaged this fresh into the relationship is drastic, crazy, and probably stupid. But to us, we want nothing more than each other. Why wait when you already know who you want to be with?

It's not like we have to get married right away. We can be engaged for years and have a wedding later in life.

The driver pulls up to the Miller's house. I miss being around Rachel and speaking to her. I knock on the door, and Rachel opens it. Her arms wrap around me for a hug, and I hug her back. She's wearing jeans with a soft white sweater and long socks. I can tell this is her outfit for staying in. Rachel doesn't like to be in her pj's all day.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," I say.

"No, not at all, come in."

I take my coat off and hide the ring with it. "It'll be a quick visit. I just wanted to see how you're doing."

She places her hands on her hips. "Are you going to keep hiding that gorgeous ring from me or what?" Her laugh had me chuckling nervously.

"W...what ring?"

"I saw it on your finger the moment you walked in. Is it an engagement ring?"

I move my coat and grin while holding up my hand. "Yeah." I grin hard.

She takes my hand and examines it. "It's a beautiful ring. I saw this coming."

"Did you?"

"Oh yeah." She nods. "Since the day he came here asking Alex for advice, I knew he was up to something. He didn't want to admit it, but I'm glad he made a choice, a big one at it."

"That makes sense. He can't trust his father to ask for advice." I sigh.

"Yeah, Alexander is a great guy to Chase. He treats him as if he was like his own son. Oh, and I heard about the divorce. Mary and I had a meaningful conversation. For the baby's sake, of course."

"That's good. I'm happy for her."

"Me too. The only reason we were no longer friends is that she wouldn't fight for herself. I think she needed that strength that everything will be ok. She sees the things Chase is doing with his life, and he has you now. And Celeste is a mother." She chuckles.

Rachel is right. Despite all the things they went through, she raised her kids to be adults.

"She told us about the, you know-" The more I say it, the more I cringe.

"Oh." She huffs. "Yeah, unfortunately, she was going through that. I tried to help. I took in the kids for a little while, and I was there for her, but she just kept going back, and I don't know why. She was scared of the man, but he had the resources to take care of the kids."

Wanting to know more, I thought about Chase and his father. "Chase reacted in a calm matter about it, more than I thought he would. Do you ever think he would try anything?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He loves his mother more than anything. Just like he loves you. I am happy for you. Congratulations again."

I know almost all the time I talk to Rachel we gossip about things within our lives, but I have no other grown-up to do that with but her. I can't tell Cludia half the stuff I want to because she will only judge. Rachel is very understanding, it's like she's been in my shoes before. After talking, I checked the time and realized I need to head to work. Rachel told me that she'd have to plan another dinner for us all.