Unbreakable Currents

Chapter 33

After Nick and I's encounter, Natalie and I decided to call it a night. I walked away from Nick and I was proud of myself. I could have easily let him kiss me and been sucked back in our disastrous relationship. Regardless of how much I wanted him, we would never be on the same page on what we wanted our futures to look like.

Sam and I had text each other last night and he would be arriving to my house any minute. I was ready to talk. I was ready for closure.

I jumped when I heard the knock at my door. Just because I was ready to move on from the chapter of my life that involved Sam, didn't mean I wasn't tense.

"Hey. Come on in." I cheerfully answered the door.

Sam walked in and scanned the room in admiration. "I like what you've done with the place. Very beachy. Reminds me of the screen saver you used to have on your work computer."

I wasn't interested in small talk.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Sitting on my couch, I waited for him to explain.

Sam footed around the room. "First, I want to apologize for how I acted after the event. I was a jerk. I screwed things up between my fiancé and you. Not my finest moment." Sadness set across his face. I didn't want to feel bad for him but couldn't help but feel mildly responsible for what happened. It takes two to tango.

"It's fine, really." I smiled, tying to reassure him.

"It's not fine but I just need to know you forgive me. After everything happened and Sarah left me, I started seeing a therapist and apparently facing your past helps the healing process. I am a cheater."

"You were a cheater. People change. I have changed. And sounds like so have you. I was not innocent in all this. I appreciate you not telling Sally or anyone what happened. I could have lost my job."

"I wanted too. I liked you and loved Sarah. I wanted both of you. Which sounds beyond sleezy."

"It's okay. I just appreciate it. And believe it or not I do forgive you. I don't think you needed to be quite an ass like you were and act like I was a crazy person who made the entire thing up but I get it. I am glad you're talking to someone." Sam took the seat next to me.

We talked a while longer and decided to go eat lunch at the café next door. That turned into hours later and we ended up at the tiny bar around the corner, two margaritas in. I should have not been drinking around him but liked to think I had grown since the last time we were in this situation.

I was attracted to Sam, but my thoughts always lingered back to one man. Nick. Who, surprisingly, I had not heard from. I figured he would be blowing me up since our altercation last night but nothing. I became angry. I excused myself to the bathroom and with a little help from the tequila, I dialed his number.

It rang a few times and his answering machine picked up. Hearing his voice enhanced my anger and I left him a not so pleasant message. When I got back to the table, I downed my margarita and thought about what I had done. I don't know why I was pissed or surprised he didn't call. In a way, I did tell him to get lost the night before. I couldn't deny I still wanted him and had no desire for him to stay away but I was holding strong. If only he would change his mind. It wasn't going to happen. I was delusional and drunk. 

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A hour later, and two more margaritas, Sam and I started back towards my condo. I wanted to invite him in but didn't want to revert to my old ways. Since we were both single, that would surely make it different. Damn tequila messing with my mind.

As we approached the complex, a faint charcoal smell and cloud of smoke filled the air. Firetruck horns roared in the distance. Panicked and concerned, I grabbed Sam's hand and we ran to the back entrance of the complex. I noticed Natalie and a crowd of residents swarmed around the picnic area and attempting to put out the blaze. Tyler came from the building with a fire extinguisher and gestured for Sam to come help. Natalie set down the water filled bucket she was using and ran towards me.

"What the hell happened Nat?"

Winded she said, "I don't know. Tyler and I were at my house and I smelled smoke. We looked out the patio and the table grill was up in flames, along with the rotted wooden table it was sitting on. No one was around."

"Who the hell would grill on wooden table? Good lord. Why didn't anyone call me?" Remembering I turned my phone off after my drunken call to Nick, I retracted. "It doesn't matter. It looks like the extinguisher is working."

The firemen and police arrived just as the blaze was being tamed. Applause rang out for the two out of town heroes, Tyler and Sam. They were amused and both bowed to their fans.

One cop approached me. "Looks like these boys got the fire to go out. Are you the manager?"

Behind me, I heard a familiar voice and I froze.

Nick reached out to shake the officer's hand. "I am one of the owners. Do we know what happened?" His voice was stern, and he was taking charge like he always did. It may have been the alcohol, but Nick's assertiveness turned me on.

"Well, I was just asking the manager that myself."

I managed to gather my voice and said, "I am not sure what happened. My phone was off, and my assistant manager said she smelled the fire. Her name is Natalie. She may be the one you should talk too."

The police officer walked away, and Nick and I were alone. He was glaring at me and looked pissed. "What the hell are you doing?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "As in?" I said sarcastically. I tried to play cool, hoping he hadn't heard my voicemail yet.

"You know what I mean. Your swaying and you left me a drunken voicemail about how my feelings are bull shit and I need to change my mind, get over myself and-" I cut him off. I remember rambling but what he was saying sounded way worse.

"Okay, so I may have had a few drinks. Sue me. I was out having a good time. And why the hell are you here anyways. You're not technically the owner. Remember, you don't sign my paycheck."

"Funny. And I am here because the fire department got a call from Natalie and when you didn't answer she called Sally. Sally asked me to come down here and make sure everything was okay." I was instantly mad at myself for turning my phone off and leaving Natalie to deal with the situation.

"Okay well it's handled. You may leave now."

I got ready to turn around as Nick rested his hands on my shoulder. I turned around to face him.

His gaze became rigid and I knew who was walking up behind us.

Sam moved around to my side and reached out his hand to greet Nick. "Hey, I'm Sam. And you are?"

Through gritted teeth Nick said, "Abby, move."

Perplexed I said, "What?"

The next sound I heard was Nicks first hitting Sam's jaw and a loud thud.