Page 8 of Love Rewritten

“For now.”

He cocks his head, now turning his full attention to me. “For now?”

I nod once. “For now. I’d rather not think about it tonight.”

He watches me for a moment longer but ultimately accepts my answer. Tipping my head onto his shoulder, we relax for the rest of the game before heading to bed for a new week of who knows what.

Chapter 4

Dallas

I’vebeenwaitingformy mom to call since Abby got out of the hospital. The hardest part is being careful not to push her into talking about anything that happened or to force her to start the legal process sooner than she’s ready. The cops completed their initial charges and statements but without Abby’s participation, they can’t fully get into the case like they’d like. Abby made it clear that she’d press charges, but only if she felt like she was in control.

It’s more than fair, but as a bystander, I wish she would move a little faster. The sooner Sam gets what’s coming for him, the better. I’ve been checking with my mom on Sam’s whereabouts. Every time I check, it’s still the same. They can’t find him. Maybe he skipped town or he’s just that good at evading the cops, but they’ve been to his apartment multiple times and he’s never there. And no one has seen him around town since the day he put Abby in the hospital.

It’s infuriating knowing he’s still walking around a free man. But someone has to be strong for Abby. I don’t want her to feel like she only has herself to rely on through this. If I need to be her rock, I’ll do exactly that.

“So, are you going to talk to her?” Logan asks, his coffee mug now covering half his face.

“We’ve barely spoken about it since she got home. I don’t know how to get back in that headspace without freaking her out again.” I turn to set my coffee mug in the sink.

Abby is still sleeping, giving Logan and me some time to talk alone. She’s been sleeping in a lot lately, though I’m sure she needs it. It took her a while to get back into a normal sleep schedule.

“Have you tried?” he asks.

I lean back against the counter, folding my arms. “A little. Small things like asking how her pain levels have been and such. But she made it pretty clear that she needed some space and to feel like her own person through this, so I’ve been afraid to dig any deeper.”

He taps the side of his mug impatiently. “You might just have to rip off the bandage, as hard as that may be.”

I know he’s right, but I don’t want him to be. Abby has been so mellow, and I’m afraid of ruining that peace. Everything will turn into chaos when all the legal stuff starts. At least that’s what I’m assuming.

“I know,” I finally say. “That’s the problem.”

Abby wakes up an hour later and I delay the conversation as long as possible by joining her on campus for the day. She loads up her backpack with work and writing necessities, and then we take the bikes. She heads to my dad’s office for their weekly meeting, and I find myself in the cafeteria for an early lunch.

“Meredith?” I ask, walking up to the checkout counter. I forgot she worked here. I'm surprised she still works here after graduating. I haven’t seen her since she called the cops at the field.

“Dallas!” She jumps up to hug me, giving me barely enough time to set my food down.

“Hey,” I say, a little surprised by her excitement. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing me or Abby again. This answers one of those questions.

“How are you?” she asks and then holds up a finger. “Wait. One sec. Let me see if I can take a short break.” She disappears through an office door before I can protest. When she reappears, she’s beaming. I pay for my food and then she packs up her things, leading me to a more secluded table. “Okay. Now, how are you? How have things been?”

How do I even answer that? The last two weeks, things have been going great. Overall since I saw her last, it’s been a bit of a shit show. “It’s been … uh … interesting.” It’s the only word that comes to mind that doesn’t completely give away what’s been happening. But I know for a fact thatinterestingisn’t going to cut it with her.

“Just interesting? Nothing remotely exciting happened in the last few weeks?”

Exciting isn’t exactly the word I would use. I cock my head to the side, knowing I might as well be a little honest with her. “Life has been a little chaotic since we last spoke. I don’t want to be the one to explain everything. It’s not my place. You’ll have to talk to Abby about that. But I can assure you, she is doing as well as she can.”

Meredith looks deep in thought like she doesn’t know what to say. She and Abby left things in shambles. Abby hasn’t even brought up the idea of talking to Meredith again, and I certainly don’t want to be the one to bring it up first. It’s not my job to tell her how to live her life.

“Is she happy?” is all she asks when she meets my eyes again.

“I think so.” I slump against the back of my chair.

She smiles but looks away. She swipes a tear from her cheek before looking back at me, likely trying to play off her true emotions. “Good.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes. I awkwardly eat my sandwich while she stares out the nearest window.

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