Page 47 of Love Rewritten

I pull myself to the bed where my purple blanket sits at the foot of it and wrap it around my shoulders, but it’s not tight enough around me to hold me together. I press my back into the side of the mattress, needing something solid to keep me steady, or as steady as I can be right now, but it doesn’t give me what I need. I search the room, frantic for something, anything solid to back myself into when a knock sounds on the door, and it slowly creeps open. Dallas peaks his head in, his eyes seeming to ask if it’s okay for him to enter.

I’m standing and hugging him so fast he almost falls backward into the wall. He shuts the door quietly, and we stand there. For how long, I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Time doesn’t matter right now. I need stability. I need security. I need his unwavering embodiment of a statue to tie myself to until I no longer feel like the hole in my chest is getting bigger, until the feel of him, his touch, his voice, his bond with me starts to fill the gaps.

Chapter 18

Dallas

Sleepdoesn’tcomeeasilytonight, or almost at all. I’m pleasantly surprised when Abby finally dozes off for an hour before waking with a jolt. She groans and cuddles into me tighter. The frustration is thick in the dark room, hanging over our heads like storm clouds ready to open in floods. I just hope that when they do—because I know they will—she’s in a place where she feels safe and comfortable to let the rain fall in sheets, the lightning strike where it needs to, and the thunder carry out the rest of the thoughts circling her mind.

In the morning, after only a couple of hours of real sleep, I pull myself from the tight grasp of her arms around mine. I check my phone on the way to the bathroom and see I have a missed call from the hospital. The voicemail is brief, and my future boss simply asks me to call her back.

The dial tone rings a few times before she picks up. “Hello, Oxly Physical Therapy Outpatient Services. How can I help you?”

“Hey, Sarah, it’s Dallas. You called?” I turn the coffee pot on because Lord knows I’ll need it after getting so little sleep last night.

“Dallas, good morning. Before I get into it, how is baseball going?”

“Oh, um, it’s not anymore. We lost the second round of games. So, we’re done for the season, and my baseball career is done now, too.”Okay, Dal. Word vomit much?I guess that’s what no sleep does to me.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve heard you were a really good player.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I have a feeling I know where this conversation is going. She’s probably trying to check in to see if I’ll still be set to start work for her in a month.

“So, I have an update for you. Sherly, the woman you’re replacing, well, baby came early. She’s on maternity leave as of this morning.”

“Oh, wow. Congrats to her.”

“Yeah, we’re all very excited for her. What I wanted to ask is if you’d be open to starting early. I’m not sure if you’ve got anything else tying you down right now, but we could use you as soon as you’re able.”

“I’m still working at the bar, but I’ll chat with my boss and see how quickly I can get out of there without causing too much chaos for them.”

“Awesome. Keep in touch. Bye.”

I hang up and place my phone on the counter. I wasn’t expecting that, but I can’t say I’m upset. I think getting out of the bar scene will be a nice change of pace. Good thing I work today so I can talk to Bill. And Aubrey. Fuck. She’s going to be pissed. But after everything, I can’t say I’ll be upset about leaving.

I kiss Abby on the forehead and explain that I’m leaving for work, but that Logan will be here for the day. She nods and decides to go back to sleep.

I haven’t said anything to Aubrey yet. I’m waiting until Bill gets in to talk. I’d rather he be the first person to find out. They all knew this was coming. They just didn’t know it would be this soon.

Ignoring all of Aubrey’s advances has become an unwanted habit lately. It’s been her new thing, trying to get me back, I suppose. I’ve told her I’m not interested and that I have a girlfriend now. She was taken aback by that at first but seems to have brushed it off and doesn’t care anymore. All she cares about is getting back on my good side, which in her eyes means getting in my pants. It's a vicious cycle of me telling her no and her pretending those conversations never happened.

Bill walks in just before noon and I’m thankful for the distraction to get me away from Aubrey, even if it means I have to break the news to him.

I peek my head through the open door of his office. “You got a minute?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I need to quit earlier than expected. The hospital called this morning, asking me to start sooner.”

He nods as he takes in the news. “No worries. I understand. How soon do you need to be done?” He flips through his schedule binder to the next few weeks.

“I was thinking two weeks out so you can hire someone else. I can help train them if needed.”

“Okay. That would be great. Thanks for the heads up.”

I leave his office and head back out to the bar. I’ll tell Aubrey later. No way am I spending an entire day working with her and having her also know I’m leaving. She'd just spend the day trying to convince me to stay.

An hour passes as we focus on our work before Bill appears at the end of the bar with a few papers in his hand. “Aubrey, can you put one of these on the bar bulletin and one at the front door?”

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