Page 71 of Love Rewritten

“There used to be. We could go back to that.”

I cannot believe what I’m hearing. I thought she’d figured this out after our last discussion. My pulse speeds up with each passing second as I try to figure out how to process this and finally get the point across.

“I miss what we used to be,” she says, taking another step closer. She’s trying to make her voice sound as sultry as possible but all it’s doing is making my stomach churn.

I take a step away from her, my back almost to the door now. “Aubrey, I don’t know how else to get my point across. You and I are done. Have been done. There’s no going back. And I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to be with you. Nor do I want to be friends anymore. You've crossed a line.”

She cocks her head. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do!” I yell at the same time that my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out to see a desperate text from Abby that sends my heart into my throat. One word in all caps.HELP.

Aubrey's sticking out her bottom lip like a child who just got candy taken from them when I look up from my phone. I dart back in through the back door, through the kitchen door, and into the main area to see Sam standing at the edge of Abby’s table, arms braced on the edge, leaning over her.

I don’t hesitate for a second before running over and placing myself between the two of them, a fist gripping the front of his shirt. “The fuck are you doing here?” I yell. As much as I want to check to make sure Abby is okay, I need to get him away from her, and fast.

I stalk toward the front door, dragging him with me outside to the pavement of the parking lot with zero care if he’s keeping up with me or not. Somehow, I have enough sense to bring us to the side of the building before I slam his back into the brick and plant a left hook to the side of his head. I don't let him fall. He doesn't make a sound as lifts his head to look at me, blinking away the pain.

By the collar of his shirt, I raise him high enough that he’s struggling for purchase on his toes. “I said what the fuck are you doing here?” My voice is a hiss as I repeat the words, but he doesn’t seem to care.

He regains his feet beneath him and smirks. “What? I can’t visit a friend at work? It was just coincidence that Abby’s here, too.” I open my mouth to yell at him again, but he continues. “I know, I know, I should leave. But I just wanted to say hi.”

I cannot believe my ears. It’s just one thing after another lately. I have so many cuss words running on a constant loop in my head, but I push past them to find one of the questions I need to know. One I’m worried I know the answer to. “What friend?” I enunciate both words.

Sam hums as if this is amusing to him. “Aubrey. She didn’t tell you?”

I could kill her. “Tell me what?” I spit.

“That night at the new bar that we fought? Aubrey and I got to talking. She’s really helpful, you know? Told me all sorts of information without prompting. So, we stayed in contact. She said she wanted you back. I told her I wanted Abby back. It wasn’t difficult to work things out.”

It’s an effort to let him talk and not smash his head into the brick behind him. But if he’s going to spill his guts like this, I’ll let him continue. The only rational thought in my head is that hopefully, I can provide some of this information to my mom for court. So, I let him run his mouth even though my fist shoved against his chest begs for something more physical.

“She invited me in today. Said Abby would be here and that it would be good timing to get you alone, too. I just wanted to talk to her. But your dumbass can’t stay in one place long enough to get a simple conversation in.”

I tighten my grip on his shirt even more, lifting higher, my fist pressing against his neck. “And you're dumbass doesn't know how to stay away. You know the rules. You shouldn’t even still be here.”

He has the audacity to grin again. “So, why am I? I’ll leave if you let go of my shirt.”

I shake my head. “Not this time. This was planned. Not a fucking coincidence. The cops can deal with you.”

I pull my phone out to dial 911, something I should have done sooner, but as I’m about to hit the call button, two squad cars pull into the parking lot, their lights reflecting off every surface. Thank God someone else called them.

I drag him over to the cops, pushing him toward the two that hop out with just enough force that he stumbles to the ground. It's a pleasant sight to see them flip him to his stomach and cuff him. They sit me down on the sidewalk out front. One officer heads inside while the other stays outside with me after putting Sam in the back of his car. Another squad car pulls up and the two cops we met the day Abby went to the hospital step out.

It’s a bit of a relief to see some familiar faces in all this. The cop that went inside comes back out with Abby, who’s sobbing uncontrollably. I get up, engulfing her body with mine and she clings to me like a lifeline, her whole body shaking. "Did he touch you?" I ask into her hair as calmly as I can.

She answers with a shake of her head. Thank God.

“Abby?” the familiar female officer says, approaching us. “Hey, it’s me, Olivia. I’m glad you texted me. They were going to send someone else, but I told them I would take the call instead.”

Abby called them? Willingly? To say I’m surprised is an understatement. I hadn’t expected the call to come from her. The thought almost makes me smile even amid this chaos.

Abby pulls away from me, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Hi,” she says in a shaky voice.

“Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance?" Abby shakes her head the same she did with my question. "Okay. Can you tell me what happened?”

Please. I’d like to know what happened while I was so stupidly distracted by Aubrey. God. She and I are through, on every level. No way is she getting any semblance of my friendship ever again.

Abby swallows. “He just showed up. I’m not sure how he knew I was here. But he came right over to my table like he knew exactly where I was. He just kept asking if we could talk and saying he wanted to apologize and that he wanted me back.” She sucks in a sharp breath. “I never said a word. I couldn’t. Nothing would come out. I was too scared of saying the wrong thing and then things going wrong like they have so many times before.”

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