20. Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Dallas
H alfway through my shift, I take a short break to talk with Abby at the bar. Jordan should be here soon, so I'm taking a break while I can. She’s been working for a few hours, something for my dad, I think, based on the stack of papers next to her labeled Shakespeare 101. She looks up when I fold my arms on the bar across from her.
She leans back. “How’s the day been? It hasn’t seemed too busy. Unless I’ve just been so glued to my work that I haven’t noticed.”
That makes me laugh. She has been pretty stuck to her computer today. Then I notice her new notebook sitting open. Two lines are written on the first page. I let my mouth drop open in shock and say, “Did you finally decide to write in it?”
She glances at her new notebook and smiles. “I did. Figured it can’t sit empty forever. And I’m almost on the last page of my other one, so it’s time to retire it.”
I peek over the counter. “So, what’d you write?”
She slams the notebook closed so fast I pretend to check that I still have all my fingers attached. She rolls her eyes at my joke and says, “Some theme ideas for my writing, and something else that’s confidential. But that’s all I’ll tell you.”
I scrunch my face together with mock frustration. Abby sticks her tongue out at me in response. We glare at each other playfully until Abby says, “Stop distracting me. I’m on a deadline.” She pretends to shoo me away with both hands, a pen still propped between her fingers in her right hand and then looks back at her laptop.
The front door chimes when Jordan walks in a few minutes later, happily approaching the bar. “What’s on the agenda for today, boss?”
He and Abby’s heads snap toward each other at once, and when they make eye contact, something like shock and fear coats both of their faces. Neither of them moves for a solid ten seconds.
“Everything okay?” I ask, taking a tentative step toward Abby. I look between them, their eyes still glued in place, bodies still as statues.
Jordan speaks and moves first, barely getting his words out before hurrying into the back. “Yeah, sorry.”
When the kitchen door shuts, Abby lets out a quick heavy breath and looks around, panic striking her features.
“What’s wrong? Do you know him?” I take another slow step toward her, not wanting to startle her further.
She nods frantically. “He—I—we—” The words are so short and fast I almost can’t catch what she’s saying or trying to say.
“Okay, okay. Hold on. Take a breath.” I move around to sit on the seat next to her, but she gets up as I sit down.
“I need some air.” She practically runs out the front door, leaving her things strewn about on the bar top.
I look over at Dylan, who’s been watching the whole thing with very little care about getting caught or not. “I need you to handle the bar for a minute. And watch her stuff.” He nods, so I follow Abby out the front door to find her around the side of the building, hunched down against the red brick wall, hugging her knees. She’s not crying, but she’s definitely panicking. I take a deep breath and crouch down next to her, resting a hand on her knee. I trace light circles over her jeans, hoping the physical sensation will help draw her out of the state she’s in.
Thankfully, it doesn’t take long. She leans her head against the brick, her eyes resting on mine. “Sorry, I couldn’t think straight.”
“That’s okay. Do you feel comfortable telling me what all of that was in there?”
She sighs. “He’s the new hire, isn’t he?” I nod, a little confused. “I suppose I can’t really be all that mad at him. He didn’t really do anything wrong. We were all just trying to have fun. But that night …” she trails off, taking a long breath in and letting it out even longer. “He’s one of Sam’s friends—or was—I doubt they stayed friends after that party.”
“ The party?” I ask. I don’t really need confirmation on it, but the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Yeah. I decided to go swimming that night. Well, more like skinny dipping.” She holds both hands up like she’s defending herself. “I did manage to keep my underwear on.” She pauses and drops her hands to rest on mine that still trace her knees. That would confirm my suspicions from that night. “I ended up on his, Jordan’s, shoulders for a game of chicken.”
I sit back on my heels, knees digging into the asphalt. I hadn’t expected that. I never asked about everything that happened that night. I didn’t think I needed to know unless she felt the need to tell me. Reopening wounds just didn’t seem like a necessary evil. But I can’t help the gut ache that comes with the idea of her sitting practically naked on Jordan’s shoulders. The irritation isn’t geared toward her. It’s all on Jordan. Especially if he knew she was in a relationship at the time—with his friend. And she was drunk. How delusional do you need to be?
Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to fire him, I can’t. Like Abby said, he didn’t do anything inherently wrong per se.
“Don’t be mad at Jordan. It’s not completely his fault. I was drunk. So was he. Sam gave him a bloody nose for his efforts.”
I can’t believe this thought even popped into my head, but I think that’s the only thing I will ever agree on with Sam.
I hang my head, trying to gather myself enough to not say something stupid. “Okay …” I cannot for the life of me think of what to say.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll move to a different spot in the bar. Just please don’t take whatever anger you have out on him.” I peer at her out of the corner of my eye, and she says, “Don’t look at me like that. You wear your emotions on your face almost as clearly as I do.”
“You’re being far calmer about this than I am.”
“Well, I’ve had some time to process. I’m not upset with him anymore. But that doesn’t mean I want to talk to him either. We can coexist. That’s it.”
I raise my brows out of instinct before forcing them back down. “All right.”
She gets up from her spot on the ground, dusting the gravel off her butt. She wraps her arms around my stomach, head resting on my chest, so I hug back. Words won’t come to me right now. This works just as well.
“Let’s go back in. I’m sure Jordan’s waiting for you. I’ll find a new seat.”
“You sure you don’t want to go home?”
“No, I work better out of the house. I’ll be fine. Promise.” She pulls me along with my hand, and I have no choice but to follow her back in.
Jordan and Dylan chat, leaning against the back of the bar. They both glance over at us, casually watch Abby gather her things, and move to a booth at the back. Once she’s settled, I gather whatever sanity I can and join them behind the bar.
“Look,” Jordan starts, pushing off the bar.
“Save it,” I say, holding a hand up and moving past him.
He turns to follow me. “Can I explain?”
“No,” I say a little harsher than I intend so I force my voice calmer. “Not right now.” He goes silent. “Take this rack of glasses to the back and bring out a fresh one. Please,” I add as if that’ll help ease the tension.
He does as he’s told, and Dylan watches me carefully, seeming to get a boost of confidence to say something. “A bit harsh, don’t you think?”
“Don’t start. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He folds his arms across his chest. “You’re right, I don’t, but I doubt he deserves to be the scapegoat for your anger.”
“I’m not having this conversation with you.” He eyes me for another few seconds before shaking his head and moving back to his side of the bar.
I can’t say it’s harder than I thought it would be to ignore the elephant in the room for the rest of the day. I knew it would be hard. But I wasn’t expecting Jordan’s glances toward Abby all day. Not long ones. They’re so short I’m sure I miss most of them. It’s impossible to say why he keeps looking at her, whether to see how she’s doing with him here or if he’s interested in her. Either way, my blood runs hot all day. It doesn’t help that I catch Abby noticing his glances a few times, too, and I watch her shift uncomfortably in the booth before forcing her attention back to her laptop.
Near the end of the night, after the fifth or sixth time catching him looking over at her, I finally have to say something.
“Dude, I see you look over there one more time, I’ll make the rest of your training a living hell.”
He lets out a short, annoyed breath, but holds both hands up in surrender. I’m thankful when it’s time to close and I can send him home, giving Abby and me some time to loosen up after such a tense shift before we leave, too.
“Table for two, please,” I say. The hostess grabs two menus and leads us to a table in the middle of the restaurant.
When Abby told me her favorite restaurant was one near her hometown, an Asian place, I was a little surprised. I had expected something more American based on some of her go-to foods, but she insisted that this was hands-down the best place to go. We took the bikes. Being this far out of Oxly, it made for a nice evening ride.
“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” the hostess says with a smile before walking away.
“So, what’s good here?” I ask, scanning the very long menu.
“Honestly, all of it. But my favorite is the pho.”
The waiter arrives and takes our drink and food orders. Abby gets a glass of red wine and beef pho. I order a Coke and the chicken pho. We also start with some spring rolls. Our waiter disappears with our order and menus before shortly returning with our drinks.
My phone buzzes in my pocket with a text from Rose.
R: Dal, I could kill you for not introducing me to Meredith sooner. I think I’m in love.
I chuckle and turn my screen to show Abby. She laughs, too, before holding her index finger up and pulling her phone out.
“Look what Meredith sent me this morning.” She turns her phone around after some scrolling to show me a text from Meredith.
M: Girl, why did it take so long for Rose and I to meet?! She’s amazing!
Both of us laugh at the situation, finding it funny that they both sent similar texts so soon after meeting. That must mean they’ve seen each other again since the ceremony.
Our conversation is casual for a few minutes before a couple following the hostess walks up behind Abby. The woman glances at Abby curiously and she peeks her head around as they pass.
“Abby?” she asks, brows tight. She briefly glances at me and then back at Abby before recognition crosses Abby’s face. The thick-bearded guy with the woman pauses a few feet past us with the hostess, who waits impatiently for them to continue to their assigned table.
Abby’s eyes go wide. “Cameron?”
The woman, Cameron, motions to the guy and hostess to keep going. “I’ll meet you over there.” He gives a thumbs up before following the hostess to their booth a few paces ahead of them. “Um, hi. How are you?”
Abby doesn’t move. She’s still in shock. “I’m okay.” She blinks a few times and then shakes her head, seeming to finally come around to what’s happening. “How are you? How’s Will?” She glances toward where he sits alone in a booth on the back wall.
“We’ve been good. Just out to dinner for our anniversary.”
Abby’s eyes go wide again. “Shit, fuck. That’s right. Sorry. Happy anniversary.”
Cameron laughs. Abby hesitates but ultimately stands and offers a hug. Cameron hugs her back with a sweet smile, but the exchange is awkward. When they pull away, Abby doesn’t sit back down but must have remembered I’m still sitting there.
“Uh, sorry. Cameron, Dallas. Dallas, Cameron. My sister.” She waves a hand back and forth between us.
I stand, offering my hand to Cameron, who shakes it politely. “Nice to meet you.” I notice the awkward and curious glance she shoots Abby and can almost hear the thought screaming in her head: why are you out to eat with someone other than Sam?
“Do you two want to join us for dinner?” Cameron asks, looking toward their table.
Abby looks at me. I can’t tell if she wants me to answer. If she does, I can’t tell if she wants me to say yes or no. I knew she had a sister, but we’ve not talked much about their relationship. I’m unsure if they even like each other. This is all new territory for me. So, I give what I think is a safe answer. “That’s up to you, Abby.” Who knows if that’s the wrong call?
She glances between the tables and says, “Sure. That sounds wonderful. We’ll meet you over there once we let our waiter know.”
“Great.” She smiles and disappears to her table, taking a seat on the same side as her husband. Will, was it?
Abby sits again and meets my eyes. “Should I have said no?” I ask, nose scrunching up.
Thankfully, she chuckles and says, “No, it’s fine. I just haven’t talked to my sister in at least two months. We’re not close, which means she knows nothing. Unless my mom updated her, which is a possibility. So, I don’t know what she knows.”
“Ah, okay. Well, we can take it in stride. See how it goes. If we need to dip out early, just um—” I pause to think of a sign she could give me that wouldn’t be obvious to her sister. “Squeeze my knee twice and I'll make up an excuse to leave.”
She laughs again. “Okay.”
We let our waiter know that we’re changing tables and make our way over, drinks in hand, to where Cameron and Will sit. Abby slides into the booth first, and I slide in next to her.
Cameron is the first to speak. She gestures to her husband next to her. “This is my husband, Will.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dallas.” We shake hands and I can’t help but feel extremely awkward. It’s not my place to start this conversation, so I wait patiently for Abby to say something.
I don’t have to wait long because Abby blurts out, “Sam and I broke up,” and then presses her back into the cushion behind her. Her face falls flat, a hand landing on my thigh with a grip that could kill, as she waits for their reactions. No better way than getting right to it, I suppose. Though, now I feel oddly exposed for some reason like I’m the cause of it even though I know I’m not.
Neither of them reacts as I expect them to. Both offer sweet smiles. Will leans back while Cameron leans forward and says, “I know.” She must have noticed the shock on Abby’s face because she quickly follows with, “Mom told me everything. Or at least everything you told her. I don’t know if there's more.” And then she sends a pointed look toward me.
Oh, there’s more.
“Right. Of course, she did.” Abby relaxes her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry,” Cameron says with so much sympathy it hits me in the gut, too.
I look over at Abby to see how she’s taking it, and to my surprise, a very faint smile sits on her lips. Cameron reaches across the table, offering to take hold of Abby’s fidgeting hands. To my surprise, again, Abby lets her. It’s quiet for a minute. Will watches them with what looks to be adoration. I’m not sure if this level of connection is normal for them, but the way Will watches, it seems not.
“So,” Cameron says, still holding Abby’s hand. “Will you update me with the correct information? I don’t know how much Mom twisted your words when she explained everything to me.”
Abby smiles and launches into her story. It seems to come out easy this time. The details don’t seem to bother her as much as they have in the past. That’s good. That means she’s processing it all, even if she doesn’t realize it. She stumbles a bit when she gets to the most recent issues with the court case, but she pushes through. Will and I listen while the two of them converse. Will barely chimes in. It seems he’s not much of a talker.
Cameron lets Abby finish her story with only a few questions. Though it seems she’s waited until the end to ask them all. She runs through some basics on the timeline and then turns her attention toward me. “So, you two, friends? More? What?” She points between us with a finger and smirks. She knows the answer.
I look at Abby, who swallows, lips pinned tightly together. I didn't fail to notice that during her story she left out most of the parts about us. Only that she moved in with me and that my mom is her attorney.
“We’re together,” I answer for her.
Cameron settles back into the cushion behind her. “Good. I never liked Sam. Especially now. He can rot in hell for all I care.”
“What?” Abby asks, sitting forward.
Will smiles knowingly. “Neither did I."
Cameron shrugs. “I always knew there was something off about him. He was always too good to be true. No one has zero flaws. But you seemed happy, so I never said anything. Besides, we’ve never really been on boy-talking terms.”
Abby chuckles. “Yeah, I suppose not.”
The rest of dinner is easy. Far easier than I think Abby was prepared for. Will finally starts talking more after and he and I hit it off. I find out we have quite a bit in common. He’s a nurse at the local hospital and works in the pediatric unit. He and I converse while Abby and Cameron discuss just about everything under the sun. I haven’t seen her talk this much other than with Meredith. Not even with me.
Sometimes, the people we least expect can make a night just that much better.