Continued...
I tried to sidestep, but he was faster, blocking my escape. "Will there be drinking? How are you getting home? Who's driving? Are there going to be—"
"Are we really doing this?" I deadpanned.
"Oh, we're doing this," he confirmed, arms crossed, stance unmovable.
I sighed dramatically, throwing my hands up. "Fine! Aria is driving. If she drinks, we're calling an Uber. I probably won't drink. Yes, there will be alcohol, this is college. No, I will not let some frat guy roofie me. And yes, I will come home at a decent hour—the last one has a maybe hanging over it." I smiled sheepish.
Jake stared at me, like he was trying to find a loophole in my words.
"Now can I leave?" I pressed. "Pretty please? Aria's probably freezing her ass off waiting for me."
His eyes narrowed slightly, then he exhaled, stepping aside. "Fine. Go."
Relieved, I moved toward the door, but then—
"Wait."
I groaned. "What now?"
He pointed at me. "Be safe. Text me if anything happens. And no boys."
I smirked. "Define boys."
His glare was answer enough. Laughing, I opened the door and stepped out into the night, the cold air nipping at my skin as Aria waved impatiently from her car.
Deep down…
I felt lighter.
Maybe having a protective uncle wasn't so bad after all.
As I turned to leave, Jake's voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Wait! I almost forgot—"
I turned back slowly, arms crossed, arching a brow at him. "Forgetting things already, oldie?" I teased, smirking.
"Shut up, I barely look a day over thirty," he shot back with an arrogant tilt of his chin.
I chuckled, shaking my head at his childishness, but my amusement was cut short when he reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving a small, timeworn box. The sight of it made my breath hitch.
I knew that box.
My heart thudded against my ribs as I stared at it, my fingers twitching slightly. "Is that…" My voice barely came out. "Is that what Mom used to have?"
Jake nodded, a small, solemn smile on his face. "Indeed. The one and only."
He slowly lifted the lid and pulled out a delicate silver chain with an even smaller, yet beautifully intricate pendant dangling at the end. The sight of it nearly knocked the air out of me.
I gasped, my throat tightening.
I knew that necklace.
It was mine.
"Oh my God… it's the one I used to wear as a kid, isn't it?" My hands flew up to my mouth, my eyes instantly welling with tears. The rush of memories came flooding in, blurry and faint but there nonetheless. I had worn this necklace every single day until one day—I didn't.
I had thought it was lost forever.