Protect Me (31 page)

“I wasn’t sure what to get you at first. I looked at probably a hundred different cars and trucks. I knew you were still a country girl at heart, but you never seem to like how big Gabe’s truck is. So I thought I could put a slight lift on it and it would be high enough, but not quite as big as a truck.”

“It’s perfect babe. I love it and I love you. And I love that it’s black and has black rims like yours. And the lift is perfect, it’s not too high but I feel comfortable, not like I am going to get ran over by the crazy lunatics out there.” She leaned her back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Merry Christmas baby.”

“Merry Christmas Ryan.”

“He did what?” Judy practically screamed. “Let me see that thing.” She reached down grabbing Abbi’s hand and holding it up to inspect. “Hot damn, that thing definitely makes you look like a trophy wife!” Judy giggled.

“Thank you, thank you. I am very excited. Although I do need to ask you something on a more serious note.” Abbi tried as hard as she could to keep a straight face.

“Ok, shoot.” Judy looked up at her with slight concern.

“Will you be my maid of honor?” Abbi couldn’t help the smile beaming across her face.

“What? Of course I will! Oh Abbi, I would be honored to.” Judy jumped onto Abbi giving her a huge hug.

“Congrats Abbi.” A mumble came up from behind her.

Turning around she saw Ashley walking up behind the bar, giving her a weak smile. “Thanks Ashley.” For a moment she really looked at Ashley, she look like she had been rode hard and put up wet. She looked exhausted, skinnier, and just unhealthy altogether. What was going on with her?

Abbi turned back to Judy, taking in the look on her face. Yeah, yeah. Abbi knew it was probably time to make amends, but she really wanted Ashley to apologize first for the way she had been treating everyone. Abbi could understand how it felt to not have people in your life that supported you, especially around the holidays, or people who showed that they cared, but she had never faltered from Ashley as a friend and had always been there for her. In no way had she or anyone else for that matter, done anything to deserve her random emotional fits of rage.

“Well one day this next week we will have to plan a lunch date and you will have to fill me in on all of the details. I am so excited! I can help you plan. Jace got me a new Ipad for Christmas! I mean, it’s not a rock and a Range Rover, but I can always trade it up later.” Judy joked.

Since the holiday season had started the night club had been packed, businesses had been renting out the private booths to use for Christmas parties. Abbi had decided that once the New Year’s holiday was over she would be putting in her resignation. She had contacted George Patton, the owner of the Sweet Shoppe, who had graciously offered for her to work part time if she were interested. She wanted to take a little time off and relax some before she got settled anywhere else, but knowing her attention span that wouldn’t last very long. The past few months had been exhaustingly busy and lately she found herself feeling completely ran down. Fatigue seemed to hit her just about every night and Ryan had been concerned that through the stress of the Holidays that she was beginning to come down with something again.

Throughout the night Abbi made drinks, chatted with customers who purged all of their depression of the holidays out on her. If there was one thing all bartenders should be given by default it was the title of shrink. People gravitated to bartenders, telling them all of their dirty laundry and secrets. She was sure between the three of them that they would be able to write a best seller from all of the stories they could collaborate on. Some of her tales from the backwoods were even better.

As the clock rounded two o’clock in the morning, Abbi noticed they were running out of drink supplies under the counter and she thought Ashley was in charge of restocking the bar tonight. Where was she? It was close to last call and the bar had died down quite a bit so she took the initiative to do it herself. She made her way past Aaron who stood alert just outside the side entrance behind the bar, Abbi made her way into the cooler that sat in the wall behind the counter. She took a few steps in and noticed Ashley towards the back of the cooler. Leaning over the small counter in the back, she heard her take a deep breath through her nose before she stood upright and wiped the remaining white powder off.

“Ashley, what the hell are you doing?”

“Nothing Abbi, don’t worry about it.” Ashley frantically wiped the counter before she made her way back to the entrance, but Abbi blocked her attempt.

“Ashley what the hell is going on with you? Have you been on this shit? Is this why you have been acting the way you have?”

“You don’t know anything about me Abbi so back off my shit. You walk around here with your “holier than thou” attitude, with your big rock, and your rich fiancé. It seems like as soon as you made it up the ladder you just forgot all of us.”

“You know what, screw that. You can think whatever the hell you want to, Ashley, but you’re not answering my question. How long have you been on this shit?” Abbi stared at her glazed eyes. Ashley stood silent. “Answer me!” Abbi screamed.

Ashley flinched from the tone in Abbi’s voice. She opened her mouth to speak but before a word escaped her lips Ashley reared back her hand and brought it straight up towards Abbi’s face. Luckily for Abbi she wasn’t under the influence of anything and before Aaron could make it into the door, Abbi grabbed Ashley’s hand and swung hard with her other towards her face. Her fist connected just on the right corner of Ashley’s chin sending her stumbling back before she crashed to the floor.
Son of a bitch that hurt
, she grabbed her throbbing fist, clutching it to her stomach. Pain shot through her arm, making her stomach turn.

“What the hell is going on back here?” Judy came through the door. “Jesus, Abbi. I wanted you to make nice, not knock her out.”

“She was back here snorting coke on the back counter when I came in. I confronted her and she tried to hit me first. Needless to say she’s too messed up to see straight.” Abbi gave her hand over to Aaron who was waiting anxiously to make sure she was ok.

“It doesn’t look broken.” Aaron said flexing her fingers. “Does that hurt when I bend them?”

“It hurts, but mostly the skin.”

“Yeah, it looks like you ripped your knuckles open. Remind me to not piss you off.” Aaron smirked up at her.

“Damnit Ashley, get your ass up. I am calling you a cab.” Judy tried helping Ashley off the ground.

“I’m fine. Get the hell off of me.” Ashley sat up on the floor glaring at Abbi. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you bitch.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Aaron’s arm went flying up stopping Abbi from her attempt towards Ashley.

“Listen, Ashley. I suggest if you don’t want your ass sitting in jail for making threats against someone’s life, you shut your mouth now. Do you understand me?” Aaron took a step forward, his body rigid and tense. Damn Abbi had never seen him actually get angry. “I asked you if you understood me Ashley. I want you to answer.”

“Yeah, I got you.” Tears were glistening in the corner of Ashley’s eyes.

Judy helped her up before Ashley snatched her arm away and made her way out from the cooler. By the time they made it back up front she was gone. The spot where her bag had been was now sitting empty and her phone gone from the counter. Abbi’s head spun, how long had Ashley been doing drugs? Had she always been on them and Abbi just never knew? Thousands of questions flooded into her head. She wondered briefly if Judy was doing them as well. The two were together a lot and they had a good reputation for partying. As the bar died down and the last of the customers were leaving out the door Abbi turned to Judy.

“I need you to be honest with me and if you give me bullshit, Judy, I swear I will never speak to you again.” Abbi eyed Judy intently.

“You’re going to ask me if I do drugs. The answer is no, I used to. A lot.” Abbi saw as Judy let out a big sigh before she settled back against the counter top. “When I was younger I got in with some pretty bad people when I first moved here. I would do anything, just for a high. I stole money. I used people. I lied. There was one night that I had taken so much stuff that I couldn’t see straight and decided I was going to try and go home that changed all of that.” She took a deep breath, looking away towards the back corner as if being transferred back to whatever had happened.

“I left this house that we had been at partying. No idea who I was or where I was going. I remember ending up in this alley. It was a dead end and I couldn’t for the life of me find my way out. Every time I turned or thought I was turning, I would end up at a wall. I was so afraid and confused that I just laid down, right there on the dirty concrete and passed out.” Abbi could see a look of disgust on Judy’s face. “I mean could you imagine if you had been walking past that alley what I must have looked like bouncing from one wall to another; like a lunatic. Needless to say, I had passed out behind a pizza parlor and the next day I awoke to the cops checking my pulse. I had no idea what had happened at the time or where I was. I was filthy dirty. They even told me that if it weren’t for my designer handbag that they would have believed I was homeless. I still don’t’ know if that’s really what happened, but over the years those are always the flashbacks that I recall.”

“Judy, I’m sorry.” Abbi felt like a total ass bag now.

“Abbi, you didn’t know and it wasn’t something that I thought I would ever need to share. I probably should have. I have been drug free for years. I drink and party but I have never taken any drugs since then. It was seriously the worst moment of my life.”

“So what is going on with Ashley? She has been acting so weird the past few months and then tonight, openly doing drugs on the back counter.”

“I don’t know, I have suspected that she was using for a few weeks, but I never asked her. I think I was too afraid of what her answer was. But she needs help that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, but if she doesn’t want it, how do we help her.”

“I don’t know really. I don’t think there is a lot we can do other than support her. I will go by her apartment tonight when I leave here to make sure she’s good.” Judy grabbed the towel she had sat down and began wiping down the counter again.

“Ok, just let me know how she is.” Abbi began sweeping.

“You know I will.” Judy smiled over her shoulder.

*****

“Abbi, you seriously punched her in the face?” Ryan smirked over at her as they lay in bed.

“Yes, she was going to hit me. So I hit her first.” Abbi smiled as she held up her bandaged hand.

“Holy hell babe! How many times did you hit her?” Ryan grabbed her hand slightly inspecting around the bandages on her hand.

“Only once, but I busted my knuckles all up. Can I please ask why no one ever really tells you how bad it hurts when you hit someone?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a lose-lose.” He smirked over at her. “My little Rocky Balboa. I can’t believe you hit her. Remind me not to piss you off.”

“Ha! That’s what Aaron said. He wasn’t too happy with me about hitting her. But then she smarted off and he got all angry and turned Hulk on her.”

“Well, I will have to remember to give him a bonus.” He leaned down and kissed her. “So, my parents are flying back this morning, Gabe is coming home. Trish is going to be back in a day or two. I think life is going to be back to normal again.”

“Babe, can I talk to you about something?” He saw her eyes turn concerned.

“Sure love, anything.” He maneuvered himself onto his side propping his head up on one hand.

“I want to quit the club.” She peered up at him through her lashes.

“I think that’s a great idea. I know how exhausted you have been over the past few months and it would give us more time to be together on the weekends. I know our schedules have been a little off lately. I am sorry that I have been working so much.”

“It’s ok, I know you have a job that you have to do. But I agree, I want a normal job. Where I can work during the day and come home at night and have the weekends off. I called George Patton.”

“Oh yeah?” Ryan was intrigued.

“He said he would be more than happy to let me work part time whenever I wanted to start. Though I think I want to take a few weeks off to reboot before I start working again. But that job would be fun and low key.”

“Babe, you don’t have to sell me on it.” He smiled as he brushed the hair back out of her face. “If that’s what you want then I completely support you.”

“How did I get this lucky?” She smiled before rolling him onto his back. Her lips flew towards his as her hair spiraled down around him.

“I’ve been asking that same question all along.” His hands traveled to her waist as she straddled his growing erection.

After the passionate sex session they had this morning after they woke up and again while they were in the shower, Ryan felt completely sated. He finished dressing before he made his way back into their bedroom. He looked up to find Abbi turning from side to side in the full length mirror in her closet. He came up propping himself against the door frame.

“Babe, does this dress make me look puffy?” She eyed him through the mirror.

“No, I think you look beautiful.” He smiled. He knew better than that. That was a loaded question. But honestly, she would look beautiful in a potato sack.

“I feel puffy.” She turned one last time looking at her ass.

“I think you look great, honestly. And don’t worry we are just going to drop the old folks off at the airport. You don’t even have to get out if you don’t want.”

Being physically self-conscious was a side of Abbi he wasn’t used to. They had been together enough at this point that most of the time when she made it into their bedroom she was naked for the rest of the time.

“Ok, if you think I look fine then I will just go with it.” He watched as she popped the tags off of it immediately throwing them into the trash can. “Gotta remember to throw that bag out before I get nosey.” She smiled.