Page 66 of One More Kiss

Bella

“You missed a great time last night,”Sabrina informed me as she plopped down on the sofa in my small apartment. The aroma coming from the small brown paper bag in her hand was enough to make me start drooling. I know she made a stop over at our favorite bakery for some fresh from the oven goodies before getting here. She was up to something and I was determined to get to the bottom of it after I got some caffeine into my system.

“I know I did,” I admitted as I poured a cup of steaming coffee into my favorite mug and made my way into my living area. Sitting down gently on the worn sofa, I hoped that the tattered piece of furniture would continue to stand up to Sabrina’s abuse. Watching her pull a warm donut from the bag, I silently prayed she brought one for me. It had been forever since I had anything warm and gooey from the bakery and really wanted whatever was in the brown bag.

“You know he loves you,” she started as I took a sip of the coffee and instantly burned my tongue.

Placing the cup down on the wood pallet that I was using as a coffee table, I turned and looked at one of my best friends. “This topic is off limits!” I was not in the mood to discuss Axel Bryant with anyone, especially Sabrina.

“Bella, just hear me out,” she pleaded as she sat up a little straighter and focused her gaze on me. The donut in her hand forgotten, I kept my eyes trained on it in hopes she wouldn’t notice if I just reached out and relieved her of it.

“No!” I insisted with a shake of my head. There was nothing that Sabrina or anyone else could say that would make me change my mind. I fell hard for Axel when we first met and I thought that he could be my forever love. All of that changed when his father decided I was someone he could use to make Axel fall in line. I gave up everything I had been working towards to remove myself from the toxic situation that arose. Did I have regrets? Of course, I did! If I could wave a magic wand and change things, I would in an instant.

“Geez you are so hardheaded,” Sabrina said with a roll of her eyes as she took a bite of her donut.

Her words jarred me from my thoughts and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes back at her. “I miss him,” I admitted before I could stop my lips from betraying me.

“I knew it!” Sabrina exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat and did a crazy little dance. A huge smile spread across her face and she looked at me with a mischievous look in her eyes.

“Whatever,” I sassed as I grabbed the bag of baked goods and helped myself to the remaining donut.

“Call him,” Sabrina instructed as she shoved her cell phone in my face.

“What?” I choked out as the bite of donut in my mouth went down the wrong pipe. Grabbing the still steaming cup of coffee, I drank the scalding liquid to help dislodge the piece of food from my throat.

“Call him,” she repeated as she dropped the phone at my side, rushed around the sofa and started to pat my back.

“I don’t know if I can,” I admitted as I took a deep breath. My throat stung and I wasn’t sure if it was from my choking or my nerves. I dialed Axel’s number more times than I could count but lost my nerve and hung up before he answered. I didn’t know what to say to him anymore. Too much had transpired between the two of us and I wasn’t sure if there was a way for us to fix things.

Taking a deep breath as she made her way back around the sofa, Sabrina kept her eyes trained on me. There was a softness in her gaze that I wasn’t used to. “Honey, that man loves you and misses you.”

“Then why hasn’t he called me?” I asked, already knowing the answer to my question.

“Because he is trying his hardest to respect your wishes.” Sitting back down next to me, Sabrina pulled me into an embrace. “You are the one who told him you would call him when you figured things out.”

“I did say that.” Tears started to well up in my eyes and my regret at my words and actions multiplied. I had truly made a mess of things and wasn’t sure if I could fix things. I always knew that Axel wasn’t responsible for his father’s actions. It wasn’t fair that I was punishing him.

“Pick up the phone and fix things,” Sabrina urged softly.

“What if he rejects me?”

“Are you stupid or something? He has been waiting to hear your voice and try to make things right between the two of you since you ended things between the two of you.” Sabrina’s annoyance with me was growing and I knew that I deserved every bit of it. I had truly made a mess out of things.

“Everything is so messed up right now.”

“Oh Bella, everything is messed up because you keep messing it up.”

“That’s not fair,” I exclaimed as I pulled away from Sabrina and wiped the tears that escaped. This was not the way I planned on starting my day and I needed to get back on track before I lost total control. “I’m not the one who threatened to take away everything I worked for to get Axel to fall back in line.”

“It’s not fair that you are punishing Axel’s for his father’s deeds,” Sabrina reminded me.

“I’m not punishing him!” I screamed as I jumped up, dropping the donut and coffee on the floor. Looking at Sabrina, anger radiated through me and I knew I had to get as far away from her as I possibly could before I said something I could not take back. Turning my back on my friend, I made my way to the door. Stopping my stride for a fraction of a second to grab my sweater off the hook on the back of my front door, I took a deep breath. “I can’t do this right now!”

“Bella! Where are you going?” Sabrina called out after me as I opened the door and stepped into the dimly lit hallway.

“To breath,” I informed her as I slammed the door behind me. Walking to the stairs that would take me out of the building, I gave up my fight and let my tears flow freely. My vision blurred and I reached for the disgusting railing that loosely hung on the wall. I hated touching the piece of old wood that seemed to house every germ from the tri-state area. I knew I was going to have to scrub my hands clean whenever I got to wherever I ended up.

“Bella! Wait!” Sabrina voice sound from somewhere behind me.

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