Page 41 of Let Me Protect You

“He’s right. I am pretty important to this place,” Abigail says with a shrug.

John rolls his eyes. “Can I have my regular, please? I have a job to get to. Or do you need to continue beating up Elias first?”

Elias steps forward. “I’ll do it. I don’t trust her not to poison you.”

“Who says I’d poison him?” Abigail makes a motion like she’d put a knife to his throat. “I’d get up close and personal.”

I glance between John and Abigail. They were once so close but now, she’s talking about how she’d murder him.

But John doesn’t miss a beat and winks. “I look forward to it.”

***

After our shift, Abigail and I go to her place to catch up and hopefully make me forget about all the bad. I haven’t had the time to explain my situation to her yet, so Elias is outside keeping watch.

She flips on the light switch, and I take in her apartment. I expected her place to be bright and vibrant, but the walls are white and bare. Her curtains are drawn, blocking out any natural sunlight. Her sofa is completely devoid of any decorative pillows or fluffy blankets.

I follow her through her small living room and into the kitchen. The only piece of furniture is a single stool at the small island with a gray and white swirly design on the granite. There’s not even a table. “Why haven’t you decorated? When we were kids, your bedroom was always alive with color.”

She waves a hand. “I have more pressing priorities, so I don’t waste money on frivolous things.”

The urge to find out what those “pressing priorities” are almost consumes me, but I hold back. If she wants to tell me, she will. “Do you have a roommate?”

“No. I’m not good at sharing space with someone else.” She cocks an eyebrow at me. “Why? Are you looking for a place?”

I shake my head and lean against the island. “I’m going to head back to New York when things calm down.”

Abigail turns to the refrigerator and grabs a pitcher filled with dark liquid. “Makes sense.”

John and Sophie pop into my mind. I can’t help but feel like Abigail is as lonely as this apartment screams.

“I can see something on your face.”

I force a smile. One of the first things I ask her can’t be about John. “It’s nothing.”

She pours two drinks and slides one over to me. Ahhhh, it’s her grandmother’s famous iced tea. “Did your Mema finally teach you the recipe?”

“Yes but don’t change the subject. Tell me what’s going on.”

I take a second sip, and my head lolls back as if I’m having an orgasm. “I’m not changing the subject, but wow, you have this perfected.”

Abigail crosses her arms over her chest. “If we’re still best friends, we can tell each other anything, so come on, and spit it out.”

This is a test. Simple as that. After I left and whatever happened with John, she has more walls up than before. And I get it.

“I was just wondering what happened between you and John.” The words tumble out of my mouth before I can chicken out. “And, uh, I met Sophie.”

Abigail’s eyes shutter. “That was the last thing I expected you to ask.”

My stomach knots. “I’m sorry. You told me you wanted to know, and you’re right, we need to tell each other things.”

She sighs and slides onto the stool beside me. “I don’t have anything against Sophie. She’s a sweet girl. Every time she comes into Cutesy’s, she chats my ear off. But I’ll never forget that John betrayed me, and he never had the balls to come to me and say what happened.”

I try to remain calm even though everything inside me is screaming to know. “How did he betray you?” When she raises her eyebrow at me, I say, “Okay, I know he has a kid with someone else, but I thought you two got together. Wait.” Rage courses through me. “Did he cheat on you?”

“No, he didn’t cheat.” She pauses. The sadness in her voice tells me there’s more, so I wait for her to continue. “He and I talked right before he left for his annual family vacation, and we both finally admitted how we felt.”

She drops her face into her hands, and I reach over to rub her back. Her body shakes beneath my touch. I sidle over to her and wrap my arms around her. When Elias disappeared, I left in my own grief without realizing I left behind a broken-hearted best friend, too.