Page 55 of Love Rewritten

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.”

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