Night of Secrets (Night of Secrets #1)

Epilogue - New Beginnings

Three Months Later

"Adeline!" Mom calls. "Jax is here!"

"Coming!" I yell, pulling a shirt over my head.

I grab my backpack and bolt down the stairs. Mom and Dad are sitting in the living room with Jax. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, he turns around on the couch to look at me, a smile on his face.

"Ready?" he asks, getting to his feet.

"Yeah," I smile. "Let's go."

Dad rests his arm on the back of the couch, turning towards us. "You two aren't gonna eat breakfast?"

"We're gonna stop by the diner to meet up with the others," Jax explains. "But thanks, Barett. See you later."

Mom and Dad exchange smiles when they see Jax take my hand. I feel like they've been exchanging smiles with each other all summer. Same with Lillian and Anders, but I guess I don't blame them. I do ignore it, though, as I say bye to them. I shut the front door, and Jax leads me to his car.

"No motorcycle today?" I ask.

"Nah." Jax opens the passenger side door for me, helping me in. Once he's in front of the wheel, he adds, "Figured you'd be more comfortable with this."

He turns the engine on and starts driving as I glance at him. "You've driven me everywhere on your dad's motorcycle this summer. I think I'm used to it by now."

"That's not what I mean." He parks the car after two blocks. When I turn to question him, he leans in and kisses me. Once he pulls away, he smiles, cupping my face in his hand. "That's what I mean."

I smile, feeling my chest stir like it always does around Jax. "Well, thanks for not doing that where my parents could see."

"Trust me." Jax plants a quick kiss on my lips before facing forward. "That was as much to save me as it was to save you. If your parents saw, they would call my parents and I'd never hear the end of it."

I point at him, resting my elbow on the center divide. "Even if they don't see, our parents still don't let us hear the end of it."

Jax gives me a knowing look before he starts driving again. The entire ride is nothing but conversation about anything and everything. But the rare silent moments aren't awkward. It's just calming. Especially when I know there's absolutely no judgment between us. Something I've been too used to throughout high school.

Jax parks in front of the diner. We leave our backpacks in the car and head inside. The moment we walk through the doors, Santos jumps out of the booth we claimed over the summer and tackles me in a hug. He lifts me off my feet and spins me in a circle.

"Are you ever not gonna do that?" I ask when he sets me down.

"No," he scoffs, hugging me tightly. "It's like our thing now."

I glance at Jax when Santos lets me go. Jax shrugs, but I'm pretty sure he wants to laugh a little, too. He takes my hand, and when the three of us head back to the booth, Ty asks, "What took you guys so long?"

"Me," I confess, sliding into the booth after Jax. "Slow morning."

Mira comes by, setting two plates of french toast in front of me and Jax. "Then you two better hurry and eat." Jax and I don't argue and shovel food down as quickly as we can. "First day of senior year, huh?" She eyes all of us. "How are you guys feeling?"

"It's gonna be the best," Santos declares. "Especially since Adeline is gonna hang out with us full-time now."

Mira smiles, turning to me. "What do you think, Adeline?"