Enjoy! 🤍

"Because when I look at you, I can feel it. And I look at you and I'm home." - Dory, Finding Nemo
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Chapter 59
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I had to bite my lip to stop from giggling at Kade's previous distaste of my movies. "Okay, your turn."

"Mhm..." he considered over his next question for a moment. "Favorite color?"

I rolled my eyes. "Basic."

He chuckled, glancing at me before back at his straw. "This was your idea, sweetheart. Answer it."

"Okay, fine. Red. Some shades of orange are nice as well."

He eyed me with confusion. "Orange?"

I nodded, and scooted our milkshake closer to my side. "Orange is not that bad."

Kade snorted. "You're right, it's terrible."

I rolled my eyes around my straw. "Okay, tell me what's so bad about it."

His nose scrunched in disgust. "The name makes me want to throw up." He scooted our glass away from me. "You don't deserve this shit any longer."

I felt laughter bubble in my chest as I reached for it. Kade took that as an opportunity to trap my hands in his, his eyes glimmering with humor.

My head tilted as I watched his lips tilt. "Kade."

His eyes rung with adoration at me. "Kimberly." Before I knew it, he pulled me closer into his side.

I giggled against him, though I'd never felt more comfortable in my life. "You're going to squish me."

"I couldn't care less."

I rolled my eyes, though I never wanted to leave this spot. "Some chili cheese fries would be nice about right now." I wanted to smack my own self after the words. There were millions of words that I could have chose, but those were the ones I thought best to say.

Humor danced in his eyes as he watched me. "Absolutely not. You're going to be shitting all over the place. In my car, in the movies." I rolled my eyes, before he called for a waitress. I didn't mean for him to order a large order, but he did, anyway.

"There's no way we'll have any room for popcorn," I warned him.

He shrugged his shoulders, his hand trapping my own. "We'll make some."

The upcoming silence was comfortable, and well-welcomed. I wasn't quite sure where we were, but we'd been driving for hours like Kade suggested.

We drove until we found a decent restaurant. Kade had googled the nearest movie theater, and there wasn't one too far from here. I wasn't quite sure what movie we were seeing, but it wouldn't be until a few hours until the showing began.

Today was one of the perfect ones. It felt surreal, actually. I knew we'd have to return home at a certain point, but until then, I was planning on enjoying myself. It was an experience to see Kade so relaxed. We weren't worried about Chivo, or his father, or my mother. We could be us today.

I glanced up when I heard the screeching of the trays. That was quick.

I thanked the waitress as she set our food down. As soon as she walked off, I smiled at the plate of fries in front of me. Kade was focused on the mozzarella sticks while I picked up my fork.

"If you burn your tongue, it's not my responsibility to get you to the hospital," I heard Kade tease.

I chuckled at that. "Thanks for your generous consideration."

He was right about the fries, though. I decided to wait for the fried goodness to cool down before I took a bite.

In the meantime, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Past the cracks, I could see my friends' curious messages.

They were all of the same context, basically. Asking where I went, where I am, if I'm safe, if I'm dead. They really had a certain way of caring, and worrying that tickled me.

I texted my dad that I had stayed at Ravens, the  responded back to her, Maggie, and Jax, and told them that I was alright. I didn't mention where I was. Like I said, this was our day.

"You really do need another phone," Kade told me when I placed the phone down. "That thing is a piece of shit."

I lifted my gaze to glare at him. "Everyone can't afford the newest phones, you know."

Kade shrugged, as he picked up a mozzarella stick. "There's an Apple Store nearby."

I lifted my fork for the fries. "I'm not paying a thousand dollars for a phone. That's ridiculous." As long as mine worked, then I'd run it until it died. "I'd never pay that much for one."

"You're right, you're not," he agreed. "I am."

I almost choked on my own saliva at him. My eyes jerked over to him. "What?"

Kade blinked back at me. "You didn't think I just wanted to take you to dinner, did you? I'm getting you whatever you want. You deserve it all."

I almost gave myself a headache as I shook my head in protest. "You're not spending that type of money on me."

He looked as if he'd expected my argument. "It's too late, sweetheart. The pickup time is in thirty minutes for your phone. I got you a tablet and some cases, as well. I know how clumsy you are. There are some stores nearby I want to take you to before the movie, too."

My eyes nearly bulged out of my head in shock. "You did what?" I couldn't keep my grip on the fork, so I placed it down. "You didn't have to. I didn't want you to. That's your money."

"And, I want to spend it on you." His brow raised at me. "Besides, my money is your money, too. You're not going to hurt my bank account, sweetheart, trust me." He chuckled, but my lips remained in a thin line of distaste.

I was beyond grateful, but it still felt wrong. It felt weird, to be loved this much. To be cared about this much. When I looked into his eyes, I could see how badly he wanted to do this. But, he didn't have to buy my love. We could sit in a patch of grass for hours, just talking, and I would cherish those memories for the rest of my life.

I ate my fries in silence. I knew that Kade wanted to say something to warm me up to his kindness, but I just needed a minute to accept it. The fact that someone else truly cared about me in the way he did made my mind swivel on the wheel of disbelief, and her hatred. Even hundreds of miles away, Diane Drude was still fucking with my head.

His unrelenting stare began to burn into the top of my head, before I heard him clear his throat. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

My head snapped up at him. My mind burned without pause as I thought over my next words. "No, you didn't upset me. I'm just confused, is all." I tried to pull a smile, but it didn't hold up too long. "It just feels weird to have someone do this type of thing for me."

Kade averted his eyes as he processed my words. Watching him continue to nibble on his cheese-stick caused my smile to return. "I understand that. I should have asked you before I did it, but I knew you'd reject it." The apologetic look in his gaze deepened. "I'm sorry. You're just always doing shit for other people, and I thought you deserved this. For someone else to do things for you."

My heart squeezed at his words. They were winning a battle against my mothers. "Thank you." My smile built as I tried to lighten the mood. "I promise I won't break the phone." It must have worked because, Kade's chest soon bounced with a chuckle.

We finished up our food, but continued to talk between bites. Up went his brows everytime we caught the others staring. It was a nice sight for me.

"We should get going to pickup your phone," Kade suggested, pulling out his wallet.

I stood from my seat, nodding. "Let's go." He threw out enough bills for our food, and the tip.

We made it right on time to the store. As soon as we pulled into a parking spot, I felt my stomach churn with both excitement, and anticipation. As soon as the employee came toward us, he handed Kade the bag, which he placed into my lap right away.

I couldn't keep my eyes from the bag until my curiosity got the best of me. I tried my hardest to not bounce out of the seat with my excitement.

My eyes jumped up to him in surprise. "Wow, you got the cases in orange."

He chuckled at me. "I already knew it was your favorite color, baby."

I peered back inside before pausing. "Wait. So, you asked earlier for no reason?"

"Maybe." His lips twitched. "I knew all of the answers to your questions, already. I love hearing you talk, though, so I kept asking them."

My brow raised at him. "You knew them all?"

"Mhm. A fuck-ton more, too."

At his cockiness, my smile grew. "Oh, yeah?"

He shrugged. "Try me," he offered.

I rolled my eyes, shifting to face him. "Favorite animal?"

"Dolphins, or bunnies."

I scoffed. "That was easy." I thought over it before asking, "Favorite author?"

"J.C. Peers," he responded before glancing to me. "That reminds me. I ordered you all of their books. I'm sorry that the delivery is taking so long, but they should be at your house by the end of this week. I got them signed, too."

I blinked with shock. "What?"

He chuckled at me, nodding at me to continue. "Keep going, sweetheart."

Past my surprise, I managed to find another question. "What's my favorite position to sleep in?"

"Your side, or on top of me."

My lips pulled into a smile, my chest fluttering. "Favorite artist?" This was a trick question since I didn't have one, but I didn't think he'd remember.

He chuckled at me. "You don't have one, baby. You like classical music, and violin covers of every song you do like."

"How do I take my coffee?" Another trick question.

His chuckle sounded through the car. "You don't drink coffee, sweetheart. It upsets your stomach. You only like tea. Your favorite is Rooibos."

I frowned at how accurate he was. "Favorite candle scent?" I paused, thinking it over. He was answering too quick for me to catch up with. "And, my favorite drink? Is it soda or juice or..." I shrugged, dangling a grin his way.

His smirk only built at me. "You pretend to like anything vanilla someone gives you to be nice, but your exact favorite is the warm vanilla sugar." With an amused shake of his head, he added, "And, you love cranberry or apple juice the most, but when you do drink soda, you don't drink it with ice."

My jaw fell before I clicked it shut. Well. "What's something that I do when I'm anxious?"

His head cocked at me, his grin hanging. "Easy. You chew on ice, you start pinching the skin on your fingers, or you start playing with any strand you can find on your clothes." Just as my lips parted, he added, "And, you like to have gum, or snap a rubber band to your wrists to help your attacks. That's why I always keep them in my car."

The shock hit me hard. My mouth hung before I glanced around the car. "Wait. You keep an extra pack of gum, and rubber bands in here for me?"

He nodded, reaching over. In the console were several packs of my favorite flavor of gum, and a couple rubber bands.

My insides melted to mush at it. "Kade." I'd never even realized it was there, because I hadn't had an attack in weeks. Knowing it was here was a reassurance, though.

His hand stroked at my jaw, a soft smile ringing across his lips. "I know classical music helps calm you during an attack, too. I ordered a record player for my room, and your favorite songs, too just in case one hits. And, I read that sometimes you just need space, so I cleared out one of the guest rooms just in case you need a minute to yourself, and I bought another record player for that room, too—"

My head was ringing too hard. "Wait, wait," I stopped him. "You..." I couldn't even finish before my chest fell.

He studied over my anxiety, as well, so that he could be a help if an attack did hit.

I didn't say anything. Instead, I unbuckled my seat, leaning forward to grasp him. He caught me, immediately, his arms tightening around me.

His care and generosity was of one I'd never known before. He cared to learn about me, to make me comfortable, and happy. It was only worsening the thump of my heart.

"Thank you," I breathed out, my voice cracking.

His lips went to the side of my head as he hugged me back. "Don't thank me, sweetheart."

"How did you even know all of this?"

He snorted in return. "Sweetheart, you're my favorite person. My only person. Of course I'm going to try to know everything about you."

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the beat of my heart to calm enough. "Thank you for the books, too."

He shook his head, cupping the back of my head to him. "You've been clean for a few months now a couple days ago," he replied, kissing the side of my head, again. "I didn't forget. I wanted to show you how proud I was of you. Because I am. I'm so fucking proud, sweetheart."

It was true, but I hadn't even considered it. I was a few months clean from cutting. The scars remained, but I couldn't dwell on them, or let them take away my pride. It was a big accomplishment for me.

"Thank you," I murmured against his shoulder.

I left one final peck to his lips before I went back to my seat. My eyes were burning with appreciative tears, but I managed to hold them back. I pulled the bag back into my lap, again.

I glanced to Kade, who was like an excited puppy. "Open it."

I pulled out the first thing my fingers touched. It was the tablet. I couldn't help, but bounce with excitement as I unwrapped the plastic. When I finally figured out how to power it on, I felt my stomach turn when I met eyes with Kade.

"Thank you," I awed. "This was so sweet of you."

Before I could let my doubts stop me, I leaned forward to kiss him, again. He returned it, immediately, his neck craning to deepen the kiss. He leaned back enough to say, "I told you to quit thanking me, sweetheart. Just give me some more of those pretty smiles of yours, and I'll be fine."

My lips grew into a smile without my own will. When I finally released him, I went for the phone next. It was completely different from my own. I almost felt stupid trying to use it in front of Kade before I finally figured it out.

He began to drive us to the nearest group of shops as I programmed the phone. I didn't have many contacts so it didn't take too long before I had them all in.

I was tapping away at my tablet when I felt the car stop. I glanced up to the buildings, then him. I already knew what he was up to.

"Are you sure?" I questioned. "You've already did so much."

His eyes reassured me just as much as his words did. "I've already told you I want to, baby. You deserve to spoiled with every single thing you want. Just let me do this for you today."

The plead in his voice caused my smile to grow. "Fine, but I'm not getting a lot. I'm serious."

His grin widened. "All I heard was a fine, so that's fine with me." Before I could respond, he was already out of the car.

The next couple of hours went by quicker than I thought. I tried to get the smallest things but Kade continued to grab the things he saw me eyeing. By the time we left, both of our hands were full. Seeing the satisfied expression on his face, and knowing that he had got the things I secretly wanted helped my mood, though.

I nibbled on my pretzel, as he placed the bags in his trunk. I had practically tripped on the concrete to get to the food court before it closed.

When Kade got inside the car, he turned to face me. His smile was heavenly. "Thank you for letting me do this."

His eyes gleamed with happiness and it warmed my heart. "Thank you for doing this. I'm paying for the movie, though. No argument."

I could tell he wanted to argue, but decided against it. He tugged on his bottom lip to suppress a laugh, shaking his head at me.

I offered my pretzel toward him. "Want a bite?" He'd already eaten half of it.

He nodded, and bit off of the large pretzel. Watching his jaw move was mesmerizing for a minute before I snapped myself out of it.

We were headed to the movie theater when I felt my phone buzz. The facial identification was a strange feature, but Kade reassured I'd get used to it before I even knew it.

Raven- Guess what?

Me- Yes?

Raven- I saw Luke and Maggie getting all close, and personal earlier.

My eyes widened in shock at the message. Out of all the things I expected, that wasn't it. I responded quickly with 'what' and impatiently waited.

I almost dropped the phone once I felt it buzz.

Raven- Yep! They were arguing about something in the halls—I showed up toward the end because I was running late for Psych. but it doesn't matter, anyway—next thing I know, they were literally against each other. Luke had his arms around her.

Me- And, Maggie didn't amputate his hands?

Raven- I was waiting for the bloodbath, but it never happened! She didn't even try to stop him until she noticed me!

Me- What do you think it means?

Raven- They definitely fucked.

Me- Raven, no way. There's no way.

Raven- What? Everyone said the same about you and Kade, now look at you two.

Me- True...

Raven- Gotta go. Work. I'll call you later. Love you babes.

Me- Love you back.

I couldn't help but reread over our messages in shock. Maggie and Luke? My mind couldn't process the thought of them being anything other than enemies. Maggie didn't even like Kade; what could she possibly want with one of his friends, who was quite evil?

"Are you okay?" Kade caught onto my absence. "You're quiet."

I nodded a little too hard, moving my eyes to him. "I'm fine. Raven just told me something that's...pretty mind blowing."

Kade pulled the car into the movie theater parking lot. "Like what?"

I offered a weak smile, but that was it. It was giving me a headache to just think about, so I didn't think I could talk about it right now.

I shrugged it off until later. "We can talk about it on the ride home," I offered.

His eyes hung with curiosity, but he let it go. I glanced around the nearly vacant parking lot. We decided to go to one of the late showings since shopping took longer than expected.

Kade reached for my hand as soon as he reached my side. The night chill shook at my body, so we quickened up scanning the movie posters.

We finally decided on an action movie. When we went inside, the delicious scent of probably stale popcorn knocked at me. I welcomed it, wholeheartedly There was nothing like the feeling of movie theaters, especially near to empty ones.

I handed the employee my money, and waited for our tickets to print. My body immediately followed the heavenly smelling food. I practically had to bound Kades' hands at his side to pay for the food.

He rolled his eyes at me. "I'm going to get you back for that," he grumbled under his breath, though I knew he wanted me to hear.

My glare traveled toward him. "I warned you."

I held our drinks, while he carried our popcorn, candy, and nachos. I caught him gazing down at the nachos with a softened grin, and my own followed at the memory.

By the time we were seated, the trailers were just rolling around. The room was empty, much to my pleasure. That was the best type of movie experience.

I turned to face him. "I love this," I grinned at Kade like an excited child. "Empty theater, our snacks, us. Just us."

I could only see his silhouette, but his voice was loud and clear. "Just us." I smiled as he leaned over. His lips covered mine in a matter of seconds.

It remained that way for the next two hours. Everytime I felt his lips against mine, I couldn't help, but go back for more. My stomach stomach flipped in excitement as his lips went for my neck. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I just knew that I didn't want it to stop. His teeth gently grazed my neck, his lips closing in on that very spot. Before I knew it, a breathless moan skipped from my throat.

I could feel the vibration of his laugh against my neck. My body pinched red, before I felt him continue. He pulled away only for a second, but caught my chin between his fingers soon after. His kiss was as light as a feather this time, but I wanted more. Whatever he had done to my body in those past couple of minutes felt amazing. I wanted to do the same to him.

I scooted closer to him, his body instantly warming at my touch. As soon as my lips were on his neck, I copied over his actions. My doubts were growing until I heard his breathy groan. It was deep, reaching from the pit of his stomach. His reaction only seemed to excite me.

"Kimberly, baby," he whispered against my hair. His fingers crossed over my waist, tugging me against him. "You need to stop," his chuckle was strained, but he made no further action to stop me. "You're going to start something you can't finish, sweetheart."

My lips returned to his, the need growing dire. "What if I do?" As soon as I heard the words for myself, the hesitation seized at my actions.

Kade peered at me, before his fingers pushed my hair back. "You're going to drive me insane, sweetheart."

I smiled at him, my fingers tracing over his jaw. "Good or bad thing?"

His eyes were eager as they fell down to his pants. "You tell me, sweetheart." I followed his gaze, my checks heating as I noticed his excitement. I'd felt it digging into me the moment I climbed on top of him, but I was too concentrated on him to pay it any other attention.

I nearly jumped out of my seat as the theater went black for a moment. I glanced at the screen to see that the movie was over.

With a frown, I mumbled to myself, "That was the quickest two hours of my life."

Kade chuckled, pulling me closer. "You and me both." He pointed toward my neck. "You might want to hide those from your dad, by the way." I gazed at him in confusion, before he handed me his phone to see it.

I've never had a hickey before.

I was scared of my brother and father seeing it, yes, but, when my fingers grazed past the mark, I felt an overwhelming wave of confidence wash over me. When I looked at Kades, that confidence only seemed to grow at the husky glaze in his eyes.

His tongue darted in his cheek to stop from smiling. "Come on," he offered a hand at me, which I took. "We have to get you home soon."

We kept half of our snacks since they hadn't been touched. While we walked back to his car, his thumb constantly grazed the back of my hand.

We both stopped as soon as we reached his car. I drew out a sigh. "I don't want the day to end."

Kade placed two hands around my waist, drawing me in. "Me either," he admitted, lightly kissing my forehead. "But, it's not over yet."

I nodded, a small smile feathering my lips. That was true. "You're right."

When we got inside of his car, I placed the snacks in the back with the rest of our things. That wasn't going to be fun to take into the house, I thought. Hopefully, everyone would be  asleep by the time we got to my house.

As we began to drive away from the town, I couldn't stop my smile from growing. I'd never had a day so good. I never knew happy until Kade. It was exhilarating.

My eyes wandered over the passing buildings when a thought caught me by the strands. Kade and I's bet to each other.

I turned to face him, my smile small. "Hey, Kade?"

"Mhm?"

With a mischievous hint to my tone, I asked, "Tell me something you're afraid of."

"Losing you."

I felt my smirk drop at his choice of words. My heart raced in my chest, my cheeks warming. But, I couldn't lose sight of the mission.

"What's something else?"

"Nothing."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on. There has to be. Some type of animal? Heights? The dark?"

Kade thought over it, but I could tell he was holding it back. The next couple of moments were silent before he answered.

"Bunnies."

I blinked in shock. Oh. "Bunnies?"

Kade nodded. "Yeah. Little fuckers are terrifying up close. I mean, I'm not terrified, but I'll never touch one willingly."

I said nothing, instead pulling out my phone. I searched up the nearest place bunnies were present, and waited for the coordinates. As soon as I clicked the location, my smile grew into a full pledged grin.

Only ten minutes away.

I cocked my head at him. "Can we visit one more place before we leave?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course." Kade glanced at me with confusion, but nodded, anyway. "Where?"

"I'll lead you there. It's only ten minutes from here."

I did just that. By the time we arrived, the sky was pitch black. The adoption center was a twenty-four hour business, much to my satisfaction.

Dissatisfaction plowed his brow as he glanced at the building. "Kimberly."

"Kade," I grinned back, clicking the seatbelt off.

"What are we doing here?" he said the words slowly, as if he already knew the answer.

My grin hurt. "Do you remember our bet? You know, where you got me on the Ferris wheel. I did something I was afraid of, so now it's your turn."

Seeing his eyes widen with fear set me back. "No. Fuck no."

My head shook. "I was afraid of the Ferris wheel. I could've died on that ride, but I did it!" I tried to reassure him, despite how overdramatic it sounded. "It's just a bunny. Trust me, they're much more afraid of us than we should are of them."

My words didn't register to him one bit. "I don't give a damn. I'm not doing this. I'm backing the hell out of this parking lot before—"

I sighed. "Kade, I'll be right by your side. I promise you it's not bad. I had a bunny when I was a kid who was the sweetest."

His hand went to the gear shift. "Not every one of those things are like that, though. I'll do anything else, but this? Fuck no," he argued.

I rolled my eyes at him, stepping out of the car. I marched to his side, and pulled his door open. I tugged his stiff body out, gazing up at him.

"If you do this, I'll have to do something that scares me shitless, too," I offered with a smile. "Please."

Kade's fear-filled eyes roamed mine for reassurance. I tried my hardest to show him that it'd be okay. I knew he could do it, he just needed a little push. It was nearly impossible to believe that big, bold Kade was afraid of one of the cutest animals on the planet.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and said nothing. Finally, his head nodded in a small flick. I grinned, gripping his hand in mine, and taking him toward the building.

When we entered the building, a couple of employees were tending to the animals. One of them noticed us standing in the entrance, immediately heading our way. When I felt Kade's hand tighten around mine, I squeezed his back in reassurance.

I asked the employee if we could take a look at the bunnies, but she notified me they'd all been adopted already. I heard Kade's sigh of relief, before the lady informed us that they were still carrying fully-grown rabbits.

Kade cursed under his breath. I grinned back at the employee. "That would be perfect."

"Alright, just follow me," she smiled warmly and lead us toward the rabbits.

If I were crazy, I'd say that Kade was dragging his feet behind me. I almost wanted to laugh, but I knew some people couldn't help their fears. You could only conquer them.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of the adorable animals. I continued to pick up each, and everyone of them as we walked the line. I froze at the sight of the brown rabbit. Before I could help it, my eyes began to water at it.

I cradled it in my arms, softly sniffing as I stared down at it. I felt Kade watching over me before his hand rubbed at my back.

"Hey," he whispered to me. "What's wrong?"

I didn't remove my eyes from the rabbit. She looked just like Emma, the rabbit I'd own years ago at my mom's house. She'd been my only friend for years in that place, and my mom killed her in front of my eyes.

I rubbed at my eyes. "I'm sorry," I mumbled back. "She reminds me of Emma."

Kade thought over it for a moment before kissing my head. "I'm not sure if I've told you yet, but your mom's a bitch," he told me, his hand continuing to rub my back in reassurance. "Here. Give me the little evil fucker." He stretched his arms out as if I were launching a bomb at him.

I glanced up at him in surprise. "Are you sure you're ready?"

I could tell he was lying, but he nodded, anyway. "I'd do anything to put that smile back on your face right now." I nodded, my chest caving in at him.

Slowly, I placed the rabbit in his arms. His eyes were wide, and his arms were as stiff as a board. It was a funny sight. His body trembled as her head grazed his arm.

"You just hold her like normal," I instructed. "She may move some, but that's okay."

His head bobbed as he stared down at her. Her nose twitched as she buried her head into his arm. I guessed she liked him as much as I did.

"Oh, fuck this," he hissed, gulping. "She's about to turn my arm into a fucking steak, Kimberly."

I shook my head, biting back my laughter. "No, she's not. She's not going to hurt you. Just don't panic, she can sense it." I stroked her fur, before I grabbed his hand and placed it where mine was. "Here, pet her."

I continued to lead his shaky hand until my own fell. His continued on, slowly running it over her head. "She's soft as shit," he murmured.

I chuckled, nodding. "Yeah, she is." Slowly, his frown shifted into a smile at her.

"It's not so bad," he admitted in a mutter. "I guess."

"You have to admit, she's really cute," I added, smiling in awe at her. "And, sweet."

Kade nodded, glancing up at me. I smiled back at him. "I'm so proud of you for this."

His grin widened. "I knew I could do it," he said cockily. "I guess you helped some. Just a tiny bit."

I rolled my eyes, rubbing her back. "Yeah, I guess." My hand continued on, recalling how much she resembled Emma. They were both so sweet, and innocent.

Kade's gaze lingered on the top of my head as I swiped at my cheeks. Not even a second later, he handed her back to me. My eyebrow raised in confusion at him. 

Kade turned toward the worker, who was tending to other rodents. "Excuse me."

Her name tag read Janet. She smiled at us, stepping closer. "How can I help you?"

His arms crossed over his chest. "I was wondering how the adoption process goes," he said to her.

I looked up at him in confusion before I pieced it together. Oh my god.

Her eyes lit up with excitement as she did, too. "We can get you guys ready in about an hour! Lily was actually one of the ones we were about to put down. There's not enough space around here, sadly."

Kade nodded his head, glancing at Lily, then to me. "We're going to take this one."

Janet placed the hamster down, grinning back at us as she approached. "Fantastic! Lily is going to be a great choice for you. She came from a breeder, but we rescued her a couple of months ago. Her personality is quite shy at first, but once she gets to know you, I promise she'll show such a different side of her."

We followed behind her before I stopped Kade. My widened eyes fell to his. "Why?"

His head tilted at me. "Why not?"

Our staring contest continued only for a couple of seconds before I glanced down at Lily. She was so comfortable. I blinked away the tears, sighing. "I'm just...scared." Pulling in a shaky breath, I admitted, "For so long, I blamed myself for what happened to Emma. I feel like I'm replacing her, like I'm just forgetting all about her, and what she meant to me."

Kade grasped my hands, shaking his head at me. "You're not, Kimberly. Not at all." His fingers grazed at my cheek, tilting my head up to him. "You deserve to move on, and grow. When you looked at Lilly, you thought of Emma for a reason. You'll never forget her." He paused before adding, "And, if you think about it, this is a big ass fuck you to your mom. You're doing exactly what she told you you couldn't, sweetheart. And, you're going to continue to do so."

His reassuring smile brought comfort to my worries. My eyes fell back to Lily as I thought it over. He was right. Even if it wasn't directly, my mother didn't want me to have Emma, to have any resemblance of beauty or happiness. This was me getting it back.

My eyes raised to Kade as I nodded. "Let's go, then."

Janet's prediction was right: we were in the office for about an hour. The process was quick, and easy. Once we paid the adoption fee, we were free to go. I was practically buzzing with excitement the moment she handed Lily to me.

"Thank you guys so much," Janet smiled at us as she kissed Lily. "Bye hun. You're going to go to a great home."

I waved goodbye to her before walking to the car. The container she was in would hold her until we got home.

"Do you want to stop somewhere so that we can get a few things?" Kade asked, softly stroking my back. "We can get the rest tomorrow."

I nodded. "That sounds good, yeah."

We found the nearest store, and purchased some things. I decided to change her name to Pyper when we adopted her. Like Janet mentioned, she was shy at first, but I knew the feeling, so I gave her time.

My eyes lifted to Kade in appreciation: "Thank you so much for everything you've done today," I said genuinely. "I appreciate it all so much."

His gaze softened at me. "I told you it was no problem. Not at all," he said to me. "Seeing your face light up is my favorite sight."

I felt my lips perk up as I squeezed his bicep. "Today has been one of the best in my life, because of you."

Kade was focused on the road, but I could see the glimmer of happiness in his expression. He tried to fight a smile, but it proved to be too difficult.

"I know I've told you already, but I love seeing your smile, you know," I admitted, my own in view at sight of his dimple. "It's one of the most beautiful things ever."

"No," he shook his head. "It's you."

I smiled, resting my head against the seat. I wished that I could stay here forever with him. This moment, this day. It was pure bliss.

It was perfect.