Page 48 of Mine

I shrug into my favorite black sweater and meet Abby outside.

She’s sitting on the bench in front of our electric fire pit. She’s already turned it on, the warm orange flames reflecting across her face. A cigarette is perched between her fingers, a trail of smoke floating into the air, disappearing into the night. She lifts the cigarette, taking a drag then blows the cloud of smoke back out.

The flames flicker on top of the shiny rock bed of the fire pit as I sit beside Abby. The bench isn’t as large as the couch so when I sit down, my thigh rests against Abby’s.

“Do you know what I was thinking of the other day?” Abby asks.

“What?”

“I was thinking of the coffee shop in Providence. The one you and I would always go to down the street from campus.”

I sigh, tilting my head. “The one with the bookshelves filled to the brim with old books. I loved that place.”

“I can still smell the old books if I think about it.” Abby laughs under her breath.

Memories Abby and I shared at the coffee shop come to mind. It was some of the only pleasant memories I have of that place.

“You’re right, I can smell them.” I laugh again, enjoying this moment with Abby.

The flames continue to flicker, warming the space in front of us. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and raise my hands to the heat.

“We had a lot of fun times there, didn’t we?” Abby asks.

I glance over my shoulder, catching her as her bottom lip pouts. She’s looking down at me, her eyes saddening. She misses Providence as I once did. But unlike Abby, for me, Providence holds more bad memories than good. Enough to make me never want to turn back the hands of time. I was only looking toward the future. A future with Logan.

“We did.” I give her a reassuring smile. The moonlight reflects off the strands of her silver hair, her pale skin glistening from the heat of the flames.

Abby finishes her cigarette, putting it out on the concrete patio. Afterward, we head back inside and watch a movie, digging into the popcorn she brought with her.

Halfway through the movie, my eyes slowly close, whisking me away with sleep. Sometime later, I crack open my eyes. The movie is no longer playing, the home screen from our TV glowing through the dark space. My head is resting on Abby’s. I don‘t remember falling asleep on her. I must have scooted my way over to her side at some point and laid my head down on her.

Her hand is on my head, threading her fingers through my hair. She stops, sensing I’m awake.

I sit up, brushing the hair from my face. My head is heavier than it was before. I’m more tired than I was before I fell asleep on the couch beside Abby. I run my hand down my face, willing myself to fully wake up. I open my mouth, my tongue peels off the roof of my mouth. It feels like I’ve eaten a cotton ball. “I’m sorry,” I croak out. “I must have fallen asleep.”

“That’s okay.” Abby grins.

“I missed the ending of the movie.” I pout, knowing it was a movie I’d waited to watch until Abby and I could see it together. Moisture has finally returned to my mouth making it easier to talk.

She shrugs. “You didn’t miss much. It ended on a cliffhanger, but it didn’t even make sense.”

I pick up my phone, reading a text from Logan saying he was about to finish up. It’s near midnight.

“Logan should be home soon.” I give Abby a closed lip smile.

“Okay, okay...” She sits up, sliding the blanket off her lap. “I can take a hint.”

“That’s not what I meant, Abby. I’m sorry.”

She spins around. “Don’t be sorry. I was joking, Lena.” She laughs, gently pushing my shoulder with her fingertips.

“Oh.” I half-heartedly laugh.

I walk Abby to the door. She gives me one last hug before saying goodnight.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her in. Her hair is laced with the scent of the cigarette she had earlier. “Thank you for coming over tonight. It was fun.”

“It was.” She presses her cheek to mine before pulling back. “I’ll see you later.”

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