A heavy breath escapes my chest. I lift my hand, pressing it against the bottom of my neck. My pulse beats against my fingertips.
“Were you home?”
Abby’s voice brings me back to her. She’s chewing on another bite of the Irish nachos. The basket nearly half empty.
“What?”
“I asked you if you were home when Julian broke in.”
“Oh.” I brush my hair away from my face, gripping the back of my neck and leaning my elbow on the table. “No, I wasn’t. I was at my meeting with Candace in Tacoma.”
“Good.” She nods, waving to the waiter for a refill of her drink. She raises her arm, snapping her fingers.
I study Abby, trying to understand her reactions. One second, she’s calm and cool, the next she’s hot and damn near boiling over in anger. Maybe the time and distance we were apart from each other put a distance in our friendship. Over the course of time, we’ve become two different people, changing with our experiences. Along with the time spent apart, Abby wasn’t the one who took the brunt of Julian’s abuse. Most of her experiences were ones I only told her about, after the fact. She isn’t as close to the situation as Logan and I are.
“Was Logan home?” she asks.
“No.”
She shakes her head, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Well, I’m glad neither of you were home.”
“Yeah, thanks.” I give her a reassuring smile. “Look, Abby. I just want you to be careful.” I search the pub, glancing at the faces of the people surrounding us. “We’re not sure how far he’s willing to take this, and I want you to be safe.”
“I will be.” Her mouth forms a flat line, her red lips thinning.
“Abby...” I can tell she’s putting on a front, showing she’s stronger than I think. Not taking this as seriously as she should.
“Lena,” she sighs. “I can take care of myself. I have for the past several years, ever since I left for college. Don’t start worrying about me now. If Julian’s been around this long and you’re just now telling me, how dangerous can he be?”
A piece of me sits shocked. Shocked with Abby’s lack of concern for me, Logan, and even herself. My eyebrows dip in confusion. How could she not worry?
I decide to change the subject. “How’s the office coming along? Last I heard, you said they were delivering the signs.”
She grabs another chip, biting it in half. “It’s coming along.” She taps the back of my hand. “Sorry I haven’t invited you to come over and see it. I’d rather wait until it’s completely finished. Make it a grand opening of sorts. Well, more like a grand opening for Lena.”
“I’ll be there.” I grin, thankful to have moved on. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I fish a small piece of ice from my glass with my straw, crunching on it until it dissolves against my tongue. “When are you thinking of having the real grand opening.”
She shrugs. “The plan is to open in about three weeks. That’s if the contractors can stick to the schedule and there are no hiccups.”
I nod, proud of how far Abby has come since moving to Seattle. She finishes the basket of chips on her own, leaving a few crumbs scattering the bottom of the basket. Despite how delicious they looked, my thoughts were too preoccupied to be focused on eating, knowing Julian was out there.
Abby tips back the last few drops of her Bloody Mary, signaling the waiter for another drink round.
I hold up my hand, picking my phone up from the table. “Actually, Abby. I should get going.”
“Oh come on.” She pouts. “This lunch was just starting to get fun. Now that we have all the bullshit chatter out of the way. Logan this, Julian that. Blah, blah, blah.”
“What?” I tilt my head back, surprised she would call our conversation ‘bullshit’. I can tell the alcohol has already started to take effect. Her violet eyes are two glass orbs, reflecting against the yellow industrial lights hanging above us. Her movements have become more animated over time. She waves her hands, then leans against the table, nudging it with her body.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” She rolls her eyes.
“Then how did you mean it, Abby? I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to tell you. Do you think this is a game?”
She scoffs, narrowing her eyes. They morph into two small slits. Her neck is flushed with pink as she stares at me across the table. “Of course I don’t think it’s a game, Lena. I’m fairly certain I know how big of an asshole your ex-boyfriend can be. I was there, remember?”
“I remember, Abby.” I stand from my seat, sliding my arms into my leather jacket.
“Look,” she says, reaching her arm out across the table. She can’t reach me from where I’m standing but I can see she’s hoping I won’t leave. “I’m just tired of always talking about you and Julian. And now you’ve forgiven Logan for having an affair.”
“He’s not having an affair, Abby. I told you. Someone is trying to set us up. Trying to ruin my marriage.”
She widens her eyes. “Whatever you say.”
“Seriously?” My jaw drops, the sting of my best friend’s words shooting straight through my chest. She doesn’t answer me, her vacant eyes staring right through me. This conversation has gone from apologies to warnings to outright anger. “I’m trying to warn you, Abby. I just want you to be safe. And me forgiving Logan for something I know he didn’t do is on me. It’s my marriage so why don’t you just stay out of it.” I grab my purse from the back of my chair and storm out of the pub.
My feet don’t take me very far, the constant weaving between tables slowing me down. I shove my hands against the large wooden door, stepping
