Worth Saving(72)

“Maybe you should try to call him,” Marlene says. “It’s been a little while now, maybe he’s finally over his emotions and thinking a little more clearly. You never know.”

“Yeah, and what if he’s not over it? It’s only been a few days, and I’m sure he’s busy with work. I don’t want to butt into his life.”

“Girl, you’ve gotta get over that,” Amanda says. “I know me and Marlene have been together for a long time, so our situation is different, but if Marlene left me because I pissed her off, I’d give her a few days to get over it, and then I’d be blowing up her phone with calls. Not because I want to be annoying, but because I love her, and I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Yeah, but me and Austin haven’t been together that long, and we never even labeled our relationship as ‘together.’ Plus, we’re not in love.”

The two of them glance at each other for a second, then turn back to me.

“You sure about that?” Amanda asks, tilting her head to the side.

“What? Yes, I’m sure,” I answer, suddenly feeling defensive and emotional. “It’s only been, like, six or seven weeks, or something like that. That’s not long enough to fall in love with someone. Definitely not. No way. Nope.”

They glance at each other again and smile like I’m not watching them.

“I can see you, you know,” I snip. “Just what the hell are you two smiling at?”

“Nothing,” Marlene answers with a shrug. “Nothing at all.”

“Stop that!” I command.

“Stop what?”

“Stop that. Stop shrugging and making that face. We’re not in love. I see what you’re doing.”

“Okay,” Marlene says, but it’s so disingenuous. “I believe you.”

“Good!” I snap, unsure of why I’m so upset over it.

“Okay. So anyway, are you gonna call him or what?” Amanda jumps in, while Marlene takes a bite of her food and covers her mouth to chew. Or at least that’s why I think she’s covering her mouth.

I let out a loud sigh.

“I don’t know. I do miss spending time with him.” I look down at the charm bracelet that adorns my wrist. Faith. Hope. Strength. “Austin was the one who saw me as a butterfly. He saw something in me I didn’t know was there until he told me it was. He has a lot to do with me being strong enough and brave enough to quit Red Pony. He’s the only guy I’ve ever trusted. But, I can’t beg him. I can’t force him to be with me.”

“You’re right,” Marlene agrees. “You can’t force him. But, you can let him know how you feel about him. Does he really know? You’ve always been so guarded. Does he really know how you feel about him?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about that.”

“Well, that’s another reason why you should call him, right there. Maybe he just needs to know how you feel about him. You need to give it to him straight. No walls, no filter, no hiding anything. Just be completely honest with him, and if he still decides he doesn’t want to be with you, then there’s nothing more you can do about it, and you can move on. Nothing’s more comforting than knowing someone out there loves you.”

I let everything Marlene says sink in for a moment. She’s right. I care too much about Austin to give up without at least one more, all-out attempt. Maybe he does just need to know how I feel. I need to tell him that . . . I slowly shift my eyes over to Marlene, who’s staring at me, grinning from ear to ear.

“I don’t . . .” I begin, but she interrupts.

“Whatever,” she says, with Amanda smiling right along with her. “Just call him. Tell him.”





Austin

“What’s up, Mr. Adrien, Attorney at Law?”

“I’m kicking it, man. Just got back from the office. What took you so long to call me back?”

“I’ve been busy. Stressed the hell out over here,” I reply as I sit down on my couch and rest a cup of vodka and Red Bull on the coffee table.

“Yeah? How’s everything been since the accident?”

“Fucking annoying. They stuck me in a cubicle because I can’t fly until I prove I’m not crazy and dangerous.”

“Hey, ain’t nothing wrong with being crazy and dangerous. Crazy and dangerous is what makes me a good lawyer,” he says, chuckling to himself.

“Yeah, tell that to the Air Force. They think crazy and dangerous means you’re gonna crash a helicopter full of people into the ground.”

“Well, I guess they have a point then.”

“Shut up,” I joke as I take my first sip of the drink and enjoy the sensation of the alcohol hitting my belly. “It’s been crazy, man. I’ve been having a little bit of a hard time, to be honest. I kinda wish you guys were still here. At least then we could go out, and I could take my mind off all this shit. All I do now is sit around and think about how f*cked everything has become.”

“Damn. I’m sorry to hear that, man. I wish we could’ve stayed, too, at least for a little while longer,” Jason replies. I can hear him shuffling around in his house as he settles in from a day at his firm. “I felt pretty f*cking shitty having to get on the plane after all the shit we saw the night before. I knew you were gonna be f*cked up, so I felt bad we had to leave you like that.”