Page 59 of Love Rewritten

“I mean, legally you do have to be there now, but I don’t like the idea that you’re going to ‘power through’ this. It’ll get easier as we find evidence.”

Abby shrugs. “I don’t know how else to get through it right now, so that’s what we’re going with.”

“Okay.” My mom cocks her head and thinks.

One thing I’ve learned about Abby is that she can be stubborn. Sometimes, in the moment, there’s no changing her mind. It’s both a good and bad trait to have through this. But I know Abby, and she’s far easier to talk to about factual things than the feelings side of things, especially with people she doesn’t know very well.

“How about for now, we focus on the details rather than the emotions,” I suggest.

Abby squeezes my hand as a thank you and my mom smiles before turning her attention to the paperwork on her desk. “All right. I think that’s a fair request.”

The next thirty minutes are spent running through what is expected to happen at the hearing. My mom provides a few tips and asks Abby to take some time to herself to recall as much information about her relationship with Sam as she can. She suggested writing it down since the mind sometimes remembers things better that way. Abby takes it all in stride, nodding along as we go. My mom does most of the talking, only pausing to get yes or no answers from Abby or to answer the occasional question.

“Okay, well that’s all I have for you today,” my mom finally says. “We will meet again closer to the hearing to start prep work. We can schedule that later.”

Abby’s hand finally relaxes in my grip, and the feeling in my pinky slowly returns. I didn’t dare move my hand from hers. I’d lose the finger if it meant she was even that much less stressed.

“I need a burger,” Abby says, walking down the steps of the county courthouse, “and maybe some fries.”

I laugh and say, “Coming right up.” I’ve gathered over the past few months that a burger and fries are her comfort food.

Once we’ve sat down at a local burger place, Abby digs into her fries, dipping them in the chocolate shake she ordered in place of a drink.

“Today was a lot,” I say, testing the waters to see how she’s doing after the meeting.

“Just another routine day in the life of Abby,” she says with so much sarcasm it almost hurts. “I’ll be all right. Always am.”

I cock my head, ready with a rebuttal at her attempt to blow off my concern, when the bell above the front door chimes. I swallow hard when I see who walks in. Abby doesn’t turn around as she takes a bite of her burger. I will every ounce of calm into my face to not scare Abby even though every vein in my body has lit up in white-hot flames.

We can’t catch a fucking break.

Sam strolls forward, alone, thank God, to the counter to order. I’d really rather not have to take out more than one person today. He hasn’t seen us. I look behind me. The women’s bathroom is on the back wall, only one more booth behind us. I keep Sam in view out of the corner of my eye while I try to keep calm. My voice is as low as I can get without whispering. “I need you to go into the bathroom and call 911.”

Abby doesn’t match the pitch in my voice. She’s still loud enough for everyone to hear. “What? Why?”

Sam does a double take as he turns. He drops his head back, eyes closed for a moment after he recognizes us. “Fucking Christ,” he hisses. The words are followed by a vile laugh.

The kid behind the counter looks between us, utterly confused, and completely unaware of how badly this could go. Abby’s frozen in place, fingers gripping her burger so hard she might poke holes through it.

“You need to leave,” I say with every bit of grit I can manage, and slowly stand, positioning myself in front of Abby. I slip my phone from my pocket and punch in 911 but don’t hit call. I won’t be able to talk to them right now. Instead, I start a text thread and slide the phone behind me. I feel Abby’s hand wrap around it, and then her hand takes hold of mine, securing me in place. At least she’s not frozen solid right now. All I can do is hope she’ll start messaging them.

“I can’t go anywhere in this fucking town anymore.” The annoyance is clear in Sam’s voice, and I can see how much he’s seething. He leans both hands on the counter and hangs his head.

And then he dares take a step toward us.

I shift my right foot forward and tense every muscle in my body. "Take another step toward her and I swear to God, I will fucking end you."

The fucker smirks. "Is that a threat?"

“Out,” I snap. I would move closer, hoping both the threat of my words and my body would be enough to make him leave, but I can’t pull myself away from Abby or the grip she has on my hand.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He holds both hands up, head shaking back and forth. Every visual form of annoyance emanates from Sam at the same time. The eye rolls, the huffing and sighing, the short laughs, it’s all there. And yet, that sly fucking smile he always wears is still there, never wavering. He enjoys making Abby uncomfortable more than he cares about all the charges being brought against him. He’ll get what’s coming to him.

The poor kid behind the counter still doesn’t understand what’s happening though he’s picked up on the tension based on how many steps backward he’s taken, his back almost pressed against the subway tile behind him.

I don’t breathe until the front door is closed. I look back over my shoulder, thankful to see a text thread with a 911 dispatcher.

I take the chance to move to the front door. His car pulls out of the small parking lot onto the main road and disappears. A minute later, two cop cars pull into the lot and the officers make their way into the building. I rejoin Abby, who’s still tightly gripping my phone in both hands. I almost have to pry it from her fingers.

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