Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)(131)

My mom stands from the couch, and Hallie slips out of my arms to let me greet her with a hug. It’s a bit tighter than usual because we haven’t been okay for a while now, and I fucking hated that.

“Are we good?” I ask quietly.

“No.” Pulling back, she puts a hand on either side of my face. “I have a lot to apologize for before we’re good.”

I shake my head. “Ma, we’re good.”

“I’ll get out of here and let you two chat, but I hope we can talk later.”

“We will,” I promise her. “But you don’t need to go anywhere. Hallie and I can talk upstairs.”

She smiles at me, but I can tell she’s both tired from today and regretful from some of her actions lately. “I love you, Rio. I’m sorry we haven’t been okay.”

I bring her in for another side hug. “We’re okay now, and I love you too.”

Hallie is already a few steps ahead of me as I start up the stairs, so when she gets to the top of the landing, I slip my hand into hers to stop her.

“Wait, Hal.”

She turns around, confused, as I stay two steps below her.

“Why didn’t you tell me what your mom said to you?” The anger towards that woman starts simmering under my skin again. “I feel sick. You should’ve told me after I learned about your dad.”

She shakes her head. “I didn’t need to add onto your plate with how you were feeling at the time. You had already forgiven me for not telling you about the affair. It didn’t matter then. You already understood without that piece of information added on.”

“I think I hate her.”

She huffs a laugh. “Get in line.”

“This is what your dad meant when he told me she said something unforgivable around the time of his diagnosis.”

Hallie nods.

“And none of you talk to her anymore?”

“No.” There’s not an ounce of sadness on my girl’s face. “My dad offered to forgive her because he knew if he didn’t, it meant I’d be the one taking care of him during treatment. But there was no way I was going to let her around him after what she did to him and after what she said to me.”

Fuck, I love this girl.

“You’re good down to your core, Hal. You know that?”

“So are you, baby.” She wraps her arms over my shoulders. “Now let’s stop wasting energy on her. I can tell you’re worked up right now, but she’s not worth it.”

There’s that soft, contented smile again and I decide to focus on that. Focus on her and us and what’s ahead instead of what’s in the past. It was six years ago, and she’s clearly moved on.

“Call me ‘baby’ again.”

Chuckling, she drops a kiss on my lips before turning to head for my room, but once again, I stop her.

“Thank you.” The words come out like a breath of relief because that’s exactly how I feel. “Thank you for coming to talk to her, Hallie. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Or rather she does know and that’s why she did it.

Hallie’s expression softens as she puts a hand on either side of my face, thumbs running gentle strokes against my skin. “I’d do anything for you, Rio.” Her eyes bounce between mine. “Anything.”

“I think you meant to say, ‘I’d do anything for you, baby.’ ”

She playfully rolls her eyes as I take the last two steps to meet her. Picking her up, I carry her the rest of the way to my childhood bedroom where I don’t put her back on her feet until we’re inside, with the door closed behind us.

Hallie immediately takes herself on a tour, as if she hasn’t been in here a million times before. It hasn’t changed since I last lived here in high school. My walls are still covered in Boston Bobcats memorabilia. My closet is still filled with clothes I haven’t fit into since I was a teenager.

She rifles through the closet before finding one of my old team hoodies, slipping it off the hanger and pulling it over her body.

Leaning back on my door, I watch her.

It feels like déjà vu without one specific memory to tie it to. Her in my childhood room, wearing my high school team sweatshirt. Shit, just her being in Boston again feels nostalgic.

Where it all started.

I spent six years missing a huge piece of who I am because that’s how integral she is in my life. That’s how embedded she is in the fabric that makes me me. I’ve heard the claim that you don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve lost it, but I knew what I had. It made losing us that much more unbearable.

Those six years were their own kind of torture, and it would’ve made it a hell of a lot easier to go through if I knew this was the outcome. Me and her, for good.

I’d rewind and relive every goddamn moment.

Hallie continues her tour of my childhood bedroom while I cross to the window to check the roof. As I had hoped, it’s clear.

“It’s almost midnight,” I remind her, sliding it open.

She looks at me over her shoulder. “Are you trying to say it’s almost my birthday?”

“Meet me on the roof?”

Her smile is tender as she crosses the room to me, carefully climbing out the window. Once I’m sure she’s steady on her feet, I grab a blanket off my old bed and follow her out.