Page 7 of Back to Me
“God, you sound just like her!”
“What the hell happened?”
“We ended up fighting then Cash overheard something that was said and took the phone from me and…”
“For fuck’s sake! Dallas and I weren’t enough, you lot had to go and dump more shit on her! It’s no wonder she was so scared to tell anyone she was coming back if this is the reaction she got! My God.”
“I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing!”
“Yes, Savannah, that is exactly what you were supposed to do. You forced her hand by having me going in there then she had to deal with her two best friends. Years of built-up pain from all three of us. It has nothing to do with anyone else! You had no right. Just do me a favor and stay away from her. All of you. Do not go near that shop, if you see her in the street, walk away! I mean it. If I hear of anyone going after her, I am done with the lot of you.” I picked up my tablet, sketch book, and pencils and put them into my satchel. Grabbing my phone and keys, I walked over to the door and turned off the light. I had already locked up after my last client so I could just leave.
“Austin, don’t go. We need to talk about this.”
“No, we don’t. Stay out of it.” I walked out the back door to my truck and unlocked it. I got in and put my things in the passenger seat, then closed the door. I knew I was going to have Cash on my doorstep but better mine than Ally’s. It took a lot of reflection, and sobering up, to see shit clearly today and while I was a long way from forgiveness, my family was pushing me closer. Picking up my phone, I brought up a new message. Adding Savannah, Belle, Beau, and Cash to it; I was ending this once and for all.
Austin: I have said this to Savannah, now I am saying it to everyone. No one is to go anywhere near Ally. Her shop is off-limits until her or I say otherwise. If you see her in the street, keep walking. Do not call her or go to her house. Cash, under no circumstance are you to find out her address either. The damage is done. Leave it alone. This is none of any of your business. It’s between me and her. If I choose to forgive her then that is on me. Anyone goes against me, and I am done. I mean it.
I hit send before tossing my phone in the center console, then started my car. Pulling out of my parking space, I headed for Ally’s shop to apologize for my family and tell her that they won’t be a problem for her anymore. If they are, I would sort it out. As I drove, my phone was going off, which I expected but I had spoken my mind. I wasn’t going back on this.
Pulling up out the front of her shop, thankful that there weren’t many cars out at this time, I did a quick check of my phone. Beau and Belle were on my side. Savannah had a lot of shit to say that I ignored. Cash hadn’t said anything yet, which meant he was busy at work, and I would hear from him when he was done. Getting out of my truck, I locked it behind me and headed into the shop. She wasn’t in the front when I walked in but the bell above the door told her someone was here. She stepped out from behind the curtain, and I watched her take a breath.
“Please, Austin, I don’t have the energy to fight today. If you are here to finish what your brother and sister-in-law started last night, can it wait?”
“I’m not here for that, Ally, the opposite actually.” She pulled back the curtain and motioned for me to go through. Crossing the shop and stepping past her, she led me through the kitchen to her office.
“In case someone walks in.”
“I won’t keep you long.”
“Okay, what’s up?”
“Savannah told me about her phone call last night and that Cash had something to say.” She snorted and looked down at the floor.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“I’m sorry for them both. I didn’t ask them to do that. I wish they had of just left it alone.”
“I mean no disrespect, Austin, but your family has never been able to stay out of your business. Even before I left, it was the same. I may not understand, because the closest thing I had to siblings was Dallas, but I won’t be dealing with this.”
“You won’t have to. I have told them all to leave you alone and to stay out of it. This is between me and you. If you have any problems, please let me know and I will deal with them.” She nodded and leant against the desk.
“Did they tell you what was said?”
“No and I didn’t ask. I am not going to hold anything spoken while you were upset against you.” She took a shaky breath and the look on her face made my chest hurt. Moving toward her from where I stood in the doorway, I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m sorry, Ally, I really am. You did not deserve that.” Her arms wrapped around my waist, and she clung to me.
“It makes me wish that I never came home. I wasn’t under the illusion that everything would be fine, but I never thought I would have to fight so many people all in one day.” I had no words to comfort her, so I just tightened my arms around her. I couldn’t lie, though; having her back in my arms was the best feeling in the world. She fit so perfectly against me. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted to be strong enough to stand on my own two feet and hopefully repair the damage I had done. I knew it wouldn’t happen overnight and we would never have what we once had, I broke us and there was no way to fix that, but I hoped to one day have my best friend back.”
Ally lifted her head to look at me. Moving a hand to her face, I ran my thumb under her eye to wipe away the tears.
“I can’t speak for Dallas but give it time. Once the dust settles and we are all thinking clearly, we can talk about everything.”
“I’ll respect that.” She went to pull away, but I held her against me. I needed to get something off my chest.
“For what it’s worth though, I still love you, Ally and I don’t think I will ever stop. I tried to move on and made mistakes but at the end of the day, they weren’t you, so it was never going to last. You will always be the one who got away.” She stepped up on her toes and pressed her lips against my jaw.
“It was the same for me. I have only ever seen you. I’ll do whatever it takes to gain back your trust.”
“Just be you, Duchess, the same girl I fell in love with back then. Dallas will come around and everyone else can either get over it or not.” Ally laid her head against my chest. I tightened my arms around her, I rested my chin on her head.
