I bit my tears back. Adrian didn’t say anything. We sat in silence. I tried not to let my emotions control me.
“Drinks?” Adrian asked.
I nodded. I really needed one right now.
“Since it’s your birthday and you’re finally legal to consume alcohol, I will let you drink.”
I smiled.
We moved to the living room and sat on the floor. We kept drinking and talking until we were too drunk to stand.
I dozed off on him, saying something I myself didn’t understand.
I wokeup in my bed. I saw some painkillers and a bottle of water on my nightstand. I took it and went for a bath. I missed Morris’s hangover soup. I missed him.
It was past one in the afternoon. I spent the rest of the day putting my plans in order and making up my mind. I was twenty-one now. Twenty years had taught me a lot. It was time to make the right choice, time to fix my life, time to start over again. I was the only one who could bring myself up and give myself the life I wanted.
I skipped dinner, telling Adrian I was not hungry.
I made my decision.
I wokeup very early the next day and made breakfast. Adrian came down in a dark two-piece suit. He looked surprised to see me awake.
“You are up early.”
“Yes!”
I watched him as he ate his scrambled eggs and French toast.
“I’m leaving,” I announced.
He almost choked on the coffee he was sipping.
“Sorry,” our voices sang simultaneously.
“You are leaving?”
“Yeah, I have made my decision. I think I know what I want now,” I said with a soft smile.
“I’m proud of you, Chlo. I will miss you. When do you plan on leaving?”
“Today.”
I saw his face fall.
“And you’re just telling me?” He leaned back on his seat with a scowl on his face.
“Sorry, I made up my mind last night.”
“Are you going back to your family?”
“No.”
“Tris—”
“No!”
“Then, where?”
