Page 48 of Love Rewritten

Aubrey eyes him curiously before taking the paper. She reads it over before looking up at him, confused. “Who’s quitting?”

Bill nods at me, and Aubrey spins around so quickly I’m surprised she didn’t fall over. “What?” she almost shrieks. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Bill turns around and heads back to the kitchen to let us sort this out. A few customers sitting at the bar watch us curiously, clearly enjoying the entertainment.

So much for not telling her. I sigh and finish filling a glass of beer for one of our regulars. “I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”

She comes over to me and leans on the bar. “We’ve been working for almost two hours.”

I shrug, trying to play it off, but she’s not having it. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Aubrey. The hospital needed me sooner than they planned. That’s not my fault.”

“I … What about … You should prioritize your current job.” She follows me around the bar like a lost puppy, trying to get me to pay attention to her.

“This wasn’t going to be a permanent thing. It never was. It was a job to get me through college. That’s all.”

“You don’t mean that.” She clears a couple of empty glasses from two customers sipping their new beers.

“I do. I’m done in two weeks. I told Bill I could help train whoever I needed to.”

She frowns and watches me move about the bar. I find any little thing to keep me busy, anything to keep from stopping to face her fully. This is the reaction I knew she would have. The one I’ve been trying to avoid.

She grabs my elbow, her once dark purple nails now a baby pink. “Will you stop for a second and talk to me?”

“About what?” I ask, spinning around. Customers watch from their seats, enjoying the bout of drama for the morning.

I don’t think she expected me to stop and listen to her plea because now she stands there speechless. She’s rarely speechless. “I—” She cuts herself off when someone yells to her for another drink. “We’ll talk after work.” She leaves to take his order, and I’m left standing there while the rest of the bar eyes me half apologetically, half with a look of “Oh, you’re in trouble.” I roll my eyes at one of the regulars, and he gives me a sympathetic smile.

It’s not until the second shift employee finally arrives that I start to wind down for the end of my shift. Aubrey and I spoke all of two words to each other since our original conversation. She’s pissed, that much I’ve gathered. She pulls me around to the back of the kitchen once two other bartenders can take over.

Rather than saying anything, she folds her arms and waits for me to say something first.

I mirror her position. “There’s nothing to say. I’m quitting. That’s all there is to it.”

Her jaw tightens at the words. “So, what about us then?”

“What us?” I jump in, a little harsher than I intended, but maybe that’s the right call here. I can’t say this any blunter than I have previously. I enunciate each of my next words. “There is no us, Aubrey.”

She swallows and reaches up to tighten her short ponytail. The auburn hair needs a redye. “Can we stay friends?”

Maybe that’s her way of staying attached to me as long as possible. I have no reason to deny it other than she’s been rather annoying the past couple of months. But I cave and say, “Fine. But that’s it. I need you to understand that.”

She nods furiously before pulling me into a hug, arms pinned at my sides. “I’m going to miss working with you.”

“We’ve still got two weeks.” I’m not sure why I’m trying to reassure her. Maybe I feel bad, but I don’t know why. Could be some “you helped me when I was struggling, so I’m helping you while you’re struggling” kind of thing.

“I know. But I already know the bar will be far less lively without you.” She’s still hugging me. I still can’t move my arms.

I shrug away from her and say, “It’ll be fine. I’m sure whoever replaces me will be just as good.”

“Nope. No one will measure up to you.”

One of the other bartenders peaks their head out the back door and tells Aubrey she’s needed for something.

“God, it’s always something. Can’t they figure it out themselves? I already told Dylan where to find the backstock.”

And just like that, she’s back in work mode. I take off to head home, finally feeling like the Aubrey drama has been cleared up. It’s the first time she’s settled for my boundaries, and I couldn’t possibly make them any clearer than I have.

It’s been two days and Bill and Aubrey have already had three interviews for my position. He hired the last guy on the spot. I’m not sure what his credentials are that made them jump on him so quickly but he’s due to start today. Aubrey leaves in an hour, so it’ll mostly be me training him today. Half of the first day is paperwork, so it shouldn’t be too complicated.

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