Page 192 of Deadly Sweet

I chuckle. “You used to have one.”

“I did?” Savannah looks back at me with wide eyes.

Smiling, I nod and scroll through my photos until I find one of the three of us. “Wow, we look like babies.” She laughs softly. She stares at the photo for a long time, and with each passing second my heart beats faster.Will bringing up the past upset her? Make her sad?

“She’s cute,” she whispers. “What was her name?”

“Him,” I correct. “And you named it Sonic.”

“Wait.” Her brows furrow as her blue eyes meet mine. “Like the video game?

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “You—we—used to play all the time.”

She’s silent for a moment, and for a second I’m afraid I’ve said something wrong.

“Jake,” she whispers.

“Yes, Sweet Girl,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head.

“Can you tell me more?”

My body stiffens. “More about what?”

“Us. Our past. How things were after I was gone.”

My eyes shut, and I swallow down emotion. As much as I want to talk about the old times, I didn’t think about how much it’s going to hurt me to bring up the past.

But for her, I’ll suck it up and push through. She wants this, she’s asking this of me, and I’ll do it for her.

Walker and Caleb take this as their cue to leave, giving Savannah and me some alone time.

“What do you want to know?” My voice cracks as I hold her tighter.

“Everything.”

Afew hours later,we’re in my room, tangled in each other's arms. We’re still dressed, but my stomach hurts from laughing and my cheeks ache from smiling.

I didn’t know how healing talking about all of this with her would be. While she might not remember the things I told her, how she reacted and the way we joked around was exactly how she would have back then.

It was a small glimpse of the girl I fell in love with, and if that’s all I ever get, I’ll be okay.

Because I love this version of her just as much. We grow, life happens. Even if Savannah wasn’t kidnapped, there’s no guarantee life would have ended up the way I wanted.

The only reason I’d want to change the past would be so that she was never taken in the first place, not to better my chance of ending up with her.

But I can’t. And dwelling on it won’t change anything.

“I have something to show you,” I murmur, my heart racing a little bit faster as I reach into my bedside table.

“What is it?” she asks, lifting her head off my chest.

“You wanted to know what my life was like after you were taken. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to tell you, not right now, not in words. But this...” I hold up my journal. “This, I think, will give you the best understanding of how things were for me.”

She takes the book gently and sits up. Licking her lips, she looks my way. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” I smile up at her softly.

I’m a complete and utter mess as I lie there next to her, watching the different emotions take over her face as she reads. She’s good at hiding them, but I can see the smallest of changes. They’re there.

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