CHAPTER 14 | Dallas
?CHAPTER 14
Dallas
I n the parking lot of Abby’s old apartment, she sits restless. “Are you ready?” She nods so small I almost miss it. With a click of the lock, I move to the passenger side and offer my hand. She takes it, pulling herself from the vehicle. I expect her to let go once she gets up, but she squeezes it tighter. “I’m right here,” I reassure.
“Okay,” she breathes.
The apartment is quiet, other than a light buzz from the refrigerator. It’s set up very similarly to mine, but there’s only one bedroom at the back. I set down the empty suitcases and duffel bags on the white couch in the living room before following her past a large, mounted TV. I follow her into the bedroom straight back from the front door. She opens the closet, starts pulling clothes off the hangers, not bothering how they land on the bed, and shoves them into one of her duffel bags without folding them. The walls are empty save for a large TV opposite the queen-size bed that sits on top of the dresser. The black comforter lies scattered across the mattress, likely from when she got up in a hurry that night. A purple blanket is draped over the footboard. Aside from the unmade bed, the place is utterly spotless.
I move to what I assume is her side of the bed, looking at the items that cover her nightstand. A pair of black framed glasses sit atop a thick book, likely fantasy based on the title. A single pen sits next to it. I pick up a gold picture frame with a photo of her and Sam dressed relatively fancy, standing in front of a brick wall. They smile at whoever is on the other side of the camera. They look happy. The picture frame is quickly ripped from my hand as I watch Abby move to the other side of the room and chuck it into a waste bin.
Well, that settles that. “What can I help with?”
She points at the dresser. “The three drawers on the left. Can you empty the clothes out of them for me?”
Once the bags and suitcases are full, we heave them down the stairs and into my car. “Got everything?” I ask before we leave.
“It’s going to have to be. I’m not coming back here again.” She folds her hands in her lap, eyes glued forward.
The drive back is silent but quick. As I start unloading the bags, I’m off caught guard with an extremely heavy suitcase. “What on Earth is in this one?” I ask, slowly lowering it to the ground.
“Um ...” she starts, a smirk slowly growing on her face. “Books,” she finally says, scrunching her nose.
“Good Lord, how many books do you have?” I can’t help but laugh. “I could do squats with just this alone.”
“I wish I could say that’s all of them, but I have so many more back home.”
“More? Sounds like you need a bookcase.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just stack them on the floor against the wall. They’ll be fine like that.”
“Oh no. A collection like this deserves its own space. They’d get damaged sitting on the floor. Why don’t we go shopping for some stuff for you? Anything you need. I’m buying.” In an instant, she pauses halfway up the staircase to our floor and turns around, eyes and brows drawn together. “What?” I ask.
“Why?” is all she asks, moving her feet forward again.
I can’t help but let my eyes wander, secretly glad I’m behind her. “Why what?”
“Why would you buy someone you’ve known for less than a week anything they want?”
The question throws me off. “Well, I want you to feel comfortable in your own room. You deserve a place to feel safe and somewhere to retreat to when you need to be alone. I want you to have that. Plus, I’m not going to let you sleep on the floor or live out of suitcases.”
The bag she was carrying lands at her feet outside our door. “But I can’t pay rent. God, I didn’t even ask about rent. I only have a small on-campus job. I just got a raise, but it still doesn’t pay much. I could probably get the cafeteria job back. I’m sure Randy would hire me back on, but he might not if —”
“Abby,” I cut in, stopping her rambling, her hands pausing mid-air. “Forget about rent. Logan and I have been paying rent by ourselves without any issues for months. You’re okay. Okay? I want to do this. For you.”
She drops her hands and takes a long breath. “Are you sure? Because I can find another job.”
“I’m sure. But I’ll also support you if you choose to get a job again.” We finally enter the spare bedroom, Abby’s room now, and I release the weight of the suitcase full of books with an exaggerated sigh.
“Wimp,” she jokes, smiling brightly.
I feign offence. “What if I secretly have super strength?” I flex my arms as a joke but something restless flickers past Abby’s eyes. Her gaze doesn't linger long enough for me to identify what it might have been.
She pokes me in the stomach making me grunt with laugh.
I shake my head, rolling my eyes simultaneously. “I’m free on Thursday after finals are done if you want to go shopping. I don’t work that day, so we’d have plenty of time.”
“Oh, I uh,” she hesitates, seeming to choose her words wisely. “Meredith’s birthday is that day and we already made plans. Maybe this weekend, though, since graduation is on Friday? She graduates Friday, too.”
“That sounds fun. Let’s plan for this weekend then. What are you two going to do for her birthday?”
She starts folding her clothes as if trying to avoid eye contact. I watch her carefully as she slowly folds a band tee neatly on the floor. “Um, just hanging out in her dorm.” She smiles quickly before disappearing into the small closet.
I have no reason to believe she’s lying to me, but I can’t help but wonder what she’s being so reserved about. “Cool. Well, you’re always welcome to have people over here. This is your place now, too.” Rather than pushing for more answers, I leave the conversation at that.
***
W hen an extra shift opens at work on Thursday, I jump at the opportunity since everyone’s busy. Being the last day of classes, there is guaranteed to be a lot of people in the bar. I can already see the drunken tips flowing in.
“Aubrey, we need more straws over here. Can you cover my side until I’m back? I’ll be quick,” I yell over the live band playing on stage.
“I got you!” she yells back, shifting to the middle of the bar.
When I return with a handful of straws and some extra lemons and limes, Aubrey nods, motioning that she’s going back to her station.
I wonder what Abby and Meredith are up to right now. There’s only so much you can do in a dorm room, especially if you’re celebrating a birthday.
Right now cue, Logan bellies up to the bar and asks, “Dude, what’s Abby doing here?”
I blink. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “What?” I ask, certain I heard him wrong.
“Abby’s here with a friend. I thought she was only twenty. I mean, I can’t say I never used a fake ID, but I’m just checking.” He waves at Aubrey with a smile, but it fades into a frown when he turns back to me. “Dude, what’s wrong?”
I ignore his crime admission and scan the room frantically. “Where?” is all I can muster.
“I saw her next to the stage. She seems pretty drunk.” He points toward the stage where Abby and Meredith dance freely, both raising drinks over their heads. “Can I get another beer?” he asks, clearly not grasping the extent of my concern.
I pour his beer while keeping my eyes on Abby. She should not be here. A quick scan of the room for any of the guys that I forced to move tables last weekend, or Shane, and more specifically Sam, even though he’s not due back for another week and a half, eases my mind a bit when I don’t spot them. “Will you try to keep an eye on her for me? I close tonight.”
“I’ll do my best.” Logan holds his beer up to me before disappearing into the crowd.
At least I’ve got another set of eyes on her. And if she’s with her friend, she should be safe enough. I can’t promise she’s one hundred percent safe unless she’s with me, and that makes me nervous, but I have to trust that Logan and Meredith have her back. Plus, she deserves to have a little fun. It’s been a rough week for her. Her fake ID must be good if it got past our bouncer. I laugh under my breath, thinking about innocent Abby walking past big burly Greg. She probably batted those long lashes and flashed him her cute, lavish little smile and he would have had to let her in. I would have.
A server must be getting them drinks because neither comes to the bar all night, but their cups remain full. Though, I secretly wish Abby would come up to the bar. Any extra time with her is something to savor. Plus, it would give me a reason to check in on her. But she does look happy. That’s the only thing that keeps me behind this bar. Reigning in my emotions is harder than it should be, but she does something to my head that drives me wild.
“Last call!” Aubrey shouts over the crowd.
The live band relays the message over the speakers. A rush of people gathers around the bar to get their last fix before the night ends. The servers have closed all their tabs to start cleaning up. To my delight, this forces Abby and Meredith to the bar for their final drinks. They end up on Aubrey’s end, but I catch Abby’s eyes, and she freezes in place. She thought I wasn’t working tonight, meaning she assumed she wouldn’t have to explain how her night truly went. Instead of sending her a disapproving look, I smile and tell Aubrey their drinks are on me. She smiles back when Aubrey relays the message, and they disappear toward the stage for the final few songs.
“What was that about?” Aubrey asks as we finally start closing the bar.
“What? Paying for their drinks? Just being nice,” I say, hoping to come off as nonchalant as possible.
“Dal,” she starts, not a hint of amusement in her voice. “I’ve never seen you pay for anyone’s drinks. And based on the way you two looked at each other, there’s clearly something going on. So, spill.”
“She’s just a friend.” At least the cleaning gives me an excuse to avoid eye contact because I’m sure she’d pick up on every shred of deceit.
“A friend? I saw the way you looked at her Dal. She’s obviously more than that.” She’s stopped cleaning and has turned to face me, a hand on her hip. She exudes annoyance. “And if so, then what are we? Done?”
I sigh, leaning both hands against the bar top. “Aubrey, it’s not like that.”
“Not like that? Like what? Dude, I’m not saying you can’t date. I know we’re not exclusive, but maybe you want to let me know at least?”
“Honestly, she’s just a friend that I’m helping out. She was in a rough spot and needed a place to stay, so I let her move into the spare room in my apartment.”
“Seriously? The same room I’ve been asking to move into for ages? Come on, Dallas. Do you really not understand what I’m getting at here?”
“What? Getting at what?” I pivot to face her, arms crossed. “Letting you move in would have been a big problem. You’re my boss, Aubrey. We shouldn’t be living together, let alone sleeping together. Can you imagine how complicated things would get?” I catch myself before I start yelling, but a few customers have noticed. With a deep breath, I head out the back door of the building to get some space, but Aubrey follows me.
“Complicated? As if it’s not already. You really don’t get it do you?” Her arms are splayed wide. “I haven’t seen you all week other than here at work,” she says, voice faltering.
“Get what?” I practically yell. I take a deep breath before continuing, rubbing my hands down my face. “Look, Aubrey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about our friends-with-benefits thing and I think we should end it.”
Both brows raise in astonishment, and she huffs. She takes a moment to fix her ponytail. “End it? You want to end this relationship?”
There it is. That’s what I was worried about. That word. With her. I have tried so hard to keep things from going too far, from getting too involved, but I see now that that was never possible. “We can’t end a relationship that was never started.”
Her face twists tight together and she turns around. “Okay. It’s done, or whatever fucking word you want to use here.” She turns and walks back inside, leaving me standing in the chilly evening air.