Back to You (20 page)

“
So, aren’t you underage
to drive Sarah?” He asks distractingly as he continues his
taunting. I squirm a little and he lightly slaps my leg. I freeze
in shock, but I like it.

“
Well, sure but I’ll be
sixteen soon enough. Plus, I’m a great driver. And aren’t you
already eighteen Lucas?” Finally he stops and I feel
relieved.

“
No, I’m like just a month
shy of eighteen. I’ll be legal right before graduation.” He starts
back up and I slightly jump.

“
Lucas could you not make
my sister all antsy while I’m driving? I’d hate to get in a wreck
and blame it on you for making her jumpy and in turn making me
freak out wondering what the hell is going on.” I laugh to myself
as he takes his hand away.

“
Oh yeah, sorry Sarah. I
guess I’ll save that for a private moment.” Sarah glances at me and
shakes her head. I turn my head and stare out the window. “So where
are we going?” I ask out of curiosity and to also break the awkward
silence. “I still love you Lucas.” I say as I turn to look at him.
He winks at me and licks his top lip.

“
Um, Denny’s?” Sarah asks
us. I look at her, confused for a minute then remember I asked her
where we were going. “I really don’t care. I just need to shut my
stomach up before I beat on it in irritation.” Sarah laughs and
says to Lucas “Is Denny’s ok or do you prefer something
else?”

“
Oh Hell I don’t care
where we go. Food is food. I took your sister to IHOP one night so
it’s all good.”

“
Oh it was fine Lucas. I
had fun regardless, even with that bimbo flirting with you the
whole time.” I retort.

“
What? Y’all went on a
date? When?” Sarah asks dramatically.

“
It wasn’t really a date.
He took me there after the party, since Brooke went home drunk with
some guy and Brady was too drunk and high to take me home.” I give
Lucas a smitten look and say, “He took care of me.” I touch my lips
as the memory of that night fills my mind. It was close to perfect,
when I think about making out with him on the bed, then again, in
the car after eating at IHOP.

“
Yeah, I swooped in as
your sisters knight in shining man, or something like that.” Sarah
laughs and says, “It’s armor, knight in shining armor.” I reach out
and hold his hand briefly then he brings my hand to his lips,
kissing each knuckle tenderly.

“
Seriously guys, ewe. Save
that mushy stuff for when I’m not in the same vicinity as you.” I
take my hand back as we pull into the parking lot.

We enter the half empty
half full restaurant, which has a small line waiting to get
in.
Okay, I can wait. I will not die of
hunger, not yet anyway.
I think to myself.
My stomach starts growling loudly and Lucas looks at me. “What? I’m
hungry.” I silently curse my stomach for being so annoying. Sarah
puts her name down, while we sit on the bench and wait. I look
around to see if I recognize anyone. My phone beeps, making me
jump. “My God Abby you’re mighty skittish today.” I smirk at her
and look down at my phone. “Sorry, I got a text that I wasn’t
expecting.” Lucas looks at me and cocks his head to the side
curiously. I shrug and read it to myself.

“
Hey, we need to talk.
Brooke feels horrible and doesn’t want to lose your
friendship.”
I mumble loudly to myself
some profanity, as curious bystanders look at me. I shut my phone
and Sarah stares at me, waiting.

“
What is the deal with you
people and staring at me? Do I look that funny to you?”

“
No, not exactly. Come on,
who was it and what did they say?” Lucas sits there quietly but I
can tell he’s just as anxious to know what my ex had to say. I
relent and put my phone away, letting out a long sigh then a
chuckle, mainly to myself.

“
It was Brady, he said
that Brooke feels bad, no wait he said horrible and she doesn’t
want to lose my friendship. Seriously? She hasn’t spoken to me in
like a freakin’ week or so and she’s afraid of losing me. Yeah, I
can see she’s so concerned about our friendship.” Lucas takes my
hand in his and squeezes, running his thumb over my knuckles,
gently. It calms me. I close my eyes and lean my head
back.

“
It’s just frustrating.
I’m frustrated with myself but I’m also upset that she didn’t even
try to stop me from leaving Brady’s house and explain herself.
Anything would have been better than her just sitting there and
doing nothing. We’ve been friends long enough that I thought I
meant something to her.” I open my eyes and look at both of them
for some kind of reassurance that tells me I’m not the only one at
fault for everything. But they just stare at me
speechless.

“
Look Abby, maybe she’s
not sure what to say right now. Maybe she’s hurting because she’s
torn between her friendship with you and her relationship with
Brady. Give her some time; I’m sure she’ll be more apt to
explaining her side. I never liked Brady but Brooke was there for
you through a lot.” What Sarah said did make sense. Maybe she was
having a hard time with all of this as well and had Brady to lean
on for support the way I did with Lucas. I guess I should give her
a chance to explain or something before I throw away years of
friendship. But there is something I can’t get out of my
head.

“
Brooke told me that Brady
would probably leave me if I waited too long to give it up. She was
never certain if he’d ever cheated on me all this time but she did
say that he has needs and eventually would stray. Maybe he
initiated it and she couldn’t resist, leaving her in an
uncomfortable position.” It was likely.

“
Wow, she told you that?
What a friend! She must have jumped his bones first. Then again,
Brady always seemed to me like a creep that would do your best
friend if he didn’t get what he wanted from the home front.” Sarah
spat out venom, dripping from her words. She really didn’t like
him. Lucas sits there quietly, observing our conversation. I feel
bad, probably making him uncomfortable talking about sex with
Brady. I squeeze his hand and tickle his palm with my fingertip. He
perks up and smiles.

“
So, what do you think
Lucas? Being that you’re a guy and know what guys want and all.” I
nudge him with my shoulder.

“
Sarah, party of three
your table is ready.” The hostess at the counter says as she grabs
three menus. We get up and follow her to the booth, she places the
menus down.

“
Ladies first.” Lucas
smiles, while he gestures for me to sit down first, and then he
slides in next to me. Sarah sits across from us and stretches her
arms out and accidentally kicks me in the shin as her whole body
stretches out. “Ouch!” I shout. The hostess doesn’t pay attention
to the commotion; instead she keeps her eyes on Lucas, admiring
him.
Here we go again!
I think. “Your waitress will be right with you to take your
orders.” She smiles, still staring stupidly at my
boyfriend.

“
Thank you so much, you
can leave now.” Sarah says kindly to her. The girl takes the hint
and scowls at Sarah, storming off. I smile at Sarah in
thanks.

“
Geez, could that chic
have been more obvious? What a pathetic loser!” She never ceases to
amaze me with her sarcastic comments, which could be construed as
rude. I just find it endearing, at least now I do. Lucas holds my
hand under the table. Goosebumps crawl all over my body.

“
Honestly, I don’t know
what to think. He seemed to really love you but then again he
wasn’t always supportive in everything you did. I always secretly
wondered if there was something going on between those two. They
seemed too chummy to me.” Lucas says as he looks lost in
thought.

“
Please, he never loved my
sister. Not the way he should have. And definitely not the way you
always did.” Lucas looks at me then and smiles, melting me from the
inside. He winks at me before he speaks.

“
Yeah, I’ve loved your
sister since we were young. She makes me feel higher than a kite on
a really windy day.” I laugh.

“
Good evening. What would
you guys like to drink? My name is Ashley by the way and I’ll be
taking care of you tonight.” I break away and look at our waitress
for a minute. “I’d like a Sprite please.”

“
I want water please.”
Lucas says, never taking his eyes off of me.

“
Yeah, I’d like another
booth please. These two are making me sick.” Sarah says with a
little humor in her voice. The waitress laughs and says “Awe,
that’s cute. I’m sure we could find you a hottie in here somewhere.
This place is swarming with guys.” We both look at Sarah
apologetically. I drop his hand and put my elbows on the table,
resting my chin on my hands.

“
No that’s okay. I’ll just
stick with a coke for now. Thanks.” She walks away with our drink
order and Sarah sits in her seat sideways looking at us.

“
You know I’m just kidding
right?” She looks from me to Lucas, and we shake our heads. “What
do you mean?” I ask.

“
About my comments of
y’all making me sick and all that crap. I was just kidding. I think
it’s great that y’all snuck around and got it on and whatever. I’m
just glad to see you happy again Abby. You were never this happy
with Bonehead.” I hear Lucas chuckling next to me. I elbow him in
the arm. “Okay sorry, I mean Cheater!” I kick her under the table
and annoyingly glare at her.

“
Seriously guys, you can’t
call him a cheater without calling me one. Now let’s not call
anyone names please. It’s not-“ I look up momentarily stunned, then
angry. “What the Hell is that dirtbag doing here?”

Chapter 20

Sarah looks up puzzled, and then turns
around to see who I’m staring at. “Oh yeah.” she says as she turns
back around to face me again. My eyes go wide in confusion.

“
What a coincidence,
seeing you here. Sarah. Abby.” My father says as he stands next to
our table with a grin on his face. My eyes narrow and I purse my
lips.

“
I don’t believe in
coincidences. What do you want?” I ask bitterly.

“
Oh hello Lucas I didn’t
see you there. How have you been?” He ignores my question, making
small talk with Lucas. He just nods at my dad and says “I’m good
thanks.” Then he drops his head down and stares at the
table.

“
Can I help you or did you
just come by here to ruin my life as usual?” I ask with an angry
grin.

“
Well this is a restaurant
is it not?” He asks as he waves his hands gesturing to the place. I
grind my teeth irritably.

“
Can we not argue guys?
Please?” Sarah interjects. She looks at my dad apologetically
before she says, “Can we talk later? I’ll call you tomorrow.” I
look at Sarah briefly and back at my dad.

“
Well, I suppose. I really
hope you convince your sister to give me a chance. I’m trying
here.”

“
I know dad. We’ll talk
later.” He unwillingly leaves, in the hope that I would change my
mind this second. Fat chance of that happening. I’m totally over
this.

“
Ha, yeah he’s really
trying. Can you believe that guy? What a fool!” Sarah eyes me with
arched brows.

“
That guy, Abby, is your
father. And he is trying. Maybe you should give him an honest
chance.” It seems pretty obvious that I’ve pissed her off. But it
makes me mad that she would take his side when he was never there
for us.

“
What makes you change
your mind about him? You never cared about him before and always
talked ill of him. What gives?” I ask to soften the
blow.

“
Honestly, I didn’t want
to at first. But when things got out of control, after getting into
so much trouble at school and us not getting along, I turned to
dad. I called him and asked him for help. I didn’t want to be a
burden on you and mom anymore. He really wants to help. He knows he
hasn’t been there for us and wants to change that now. And if you
still don’t want to give him a chance, that’s your choice. But
don’t ruin this for me, because I want to give him this chance. I
need a father in my life.”

I understand what she’s saying. I may not
agree with it but I understand. I’ve always wished our father would
show up on our doorstep and back into our lives again. Every girl
needs their dad, especially when it comes to big milestones such as
high school graduation, or wedding day. Or the birth of your first
child being born. It’s just one of those things that are a must for
a teenage girl or young woman. I slink back in my seat in defeat. I
hate to admit when I’m wrong, but when it comes to him, I know I
am.

Lucas grabs my hand and squeezes. I look at
him and give him a small smile. He pulls me close to him and I rest
my head on his shoulder, listening to his steady breathing. “You
know she’s right Abby. He did seem sincere to me.” I look up at him
and snicker. “Who asked you?” He lifts my face to meet his eyes,
full of concern and love. He tucks a stray hair behind my ear and
gently caresses my jaw line. I feel the heat rising in the pit of
my stomach. “I know, I know. I get it, Sarah’s right. Can we move
on now?”

“
Oh my God, did I just
hear you right? Say it again.” Sarah says with her hand over her
chest in mock surprise.