I shrug. “Maybe to add a tiny bit of dramatic flair to the situation?”
“I think your situation has enough dramatic flair. What the hell happened?”
Jack follows me into the living room where I drop myself back down onto the couch. I cross my arms over my eyes and shake my head.
“I’m assuming it involves Cath. I told you to stay away from that girl.” Jack says as he sits down next to me.
“I thought I was in control of the situation.”
“I sure hope you are prepared to grovel at Abby’s feet because that girl is upset.”
“She was pretty angry when she left here.”
“She was crying when I left my place.”
I mutter a string of profanities under my breath.
“I suggest figuring out what you are going to do to get her back and doing it soon. I have a feeling if you and Abby break up Cath isn’t going to hesitate to jump right in. If she kissed you while you were in a relationship, lord only knows what she will do to you if you’re single.”
I need a plan...a good plan...one that works.
What exactly does one do to say “I’m sorry for kissing another woman and not telling you only for you to find out along with lord only knows how many other people when you read it in some shoddy rag of a magazine?”
Seems to me, and I am no expert, that it is going to take a lot more than flowers and candy to get Abby back.
I’ve been ringing her phone all evening and it keeps going to voicemail. Finally, after what must be the thirtieth time I’ve called in nearly three hours, she answers the phone.
“What part of I don’t want to talk to you do you not get?” She asks angrily.
“Oh I get it.”
“Then why do you keep calling me?”
“Because I want to let you know that I’m not giving up on us.”
“Tyler...”She pauses to sigh and I take that opportunity to say what I want to say.
“I love you and, no matter what you say, I know you love me too. I’m not calling to beg you to take me back. I’m calling to tell you that I’m not giving up. I’m going to win you back. I haven’t the slightest idea how, but I will come up with something and it will blow you away.”
“I have to go Tyler. I can’t talk to you right now.” She says, her voice faltering.
I can hear the sadness in her voice and it rips me apart because I did that to her. I hurt her. I made her cry. I made her leave. Now I have to make it better.
“Ok Abby. I just...I want you to know I love you and I am so, so sorry I hurt you.”
She pauses and I can hear her crying softly on the other end.
“Goodbye Ty.”
She hangs up the phone and I am left feeling like an ass.
I know I need to give her time and that’s why I am going to fight the urge to call, text, email or Facebook her. I’m not cutting off all contact with her though because she has to know how much I want her.
The first thing I do the next morning is ring the florist. A friendly sounding woman answers the phone, asking how she can help me.
“Yes,” I say. “I am a total jackass that did something stupid followed by something even stupider and I need to send flowers to the woman I love as soon as possible. What flowers do you recommend when trying to say I’m sorry I’m such a cock up and I’ll never do it again? Not roses though. She doesn’t like them because she feels they are overrated as a flower...Though I am sure your roses are simply lovely.”
“Well, how much trouble are you in dear?” She asks.
“I’m on the verge of losing her.” I cringe as I admit it.
“If that is the case, you may want to stick to something safe, such as her favorite flower. You don’t want to upset her any more than you have. Do you know what her favorite flower is?”
“An orchid, she loves this kind of orchid. It starts with a D or maybe there is a D in the name...or maybe it’s an S.”
“Could it be the Dendrobium Orchid?”
“Yes! Yes! That’s it. I only remember that because it somehow makes me think of some sort of a constellation.”
“Dendrobium Orchids are quite lovely. We can do that in a bouquet of fifteen stems or thirty.”
“Thirty please, as big and beautiful as you can make it. I need all the help I can get.”
“Would you like a vase to go with it? You can choose from clear, purple or silver.”
“Purple please. It’s her favorite color.”
“What would you like the card to say?”
I hesitate for a moment. I need this card to say the perfect thing...but is there even a perfect thing to say in this situation?
“Sometimes less is more, dear.”
“Could you make it say I’m sorry for betraying you and breaking your heart? I love you forever, Tyler.”
“And the name of the recipient?”
“Abigail Carver.”
I give her Abby’s address at Chloe and Jack’s and also order a second bouquet to be delivered to the bakery. The second bouquet is a mix of Asiatic and Peruvian lilies. I have no idea what those are but the lady on the phone assures me they are gorgeous.
Next I ring up this place called The Naughty Chocolatier. They have these white mint truffles that Abby loves. I get the girl to send out two chocolate truffle towers - one to Jack and Chloe’s and one to the bakery, just as I did with the flowers.
I feel like I need to send her something else but what?
I wonder if Chloe would be upset if I sent a puppy over there for Abby?
Most likely she would not be too happy and I already have one Carver woman upset with me. No need to add another one. The picture albums on the bookshelf catch my eye and I walk over to pull them off. I sit down on the sofa and start flipping through them. There are pictures from our first date. I took her to this place called Medium Groove’s which is a jazz bar. We had the best time. I knew that night she was the woman for me.
I took a picture from that night, one from our first Christmas together, one from the day we moved in together, one from this past New Year’s where we are kissing and tinker tape is falling all around us and one from our last date, when we went to the speakeasy bar. I know I said I wasn’t going to email her but I never said anything about tacking things to Jack’s door when I know she isn’t home. Plus, I’m just going to write something on a sticky note not send some long drawn out letter so it’s different.
I grab a sticky note and a pen and write a simple I love you – Ty.
I place the pictures inside an envelope with the sticky and write her name on the front.
I glance at the clock and mutter a string of profanities when I see the time. Grabbing the envelope, my keys and my cellphone, I rush out the door, jump into my car and drive over to Jack’s flat. I don’t see his truck or Abby’s car in the parking lot. Chloe doesn’t have a car, but that doesn’t really matter since I am about ninety eight percent sure she is at work right now. I park my car, grab the envelope and jog up the steps to the third floor. I don’t have any tape to stick the envelope to the door, and I don’t really want to cram it underneath, so I finagle it inside this weird wreath hanging on the door that Chloe made out of wine corks.
There’s a part of me the wants to knock on the door just to see if maybe someone is home but I don’t know what I would say if anyone actually answered. Plus, I was supposed to be at the studio about two hours ago.
~*~
“Where have you been?” Noah asks as I rush into the control room.
He is sitting in there with Domino, Bash, Colin, Ann and Marie. Cath, Dean and Jack are in the recording booth strumming on their guitars. Domino presses a couple of buttons and Noah and Ann’s voices flow through the speakers.
“Did Jack tell you?” I asked him.
Noah frowns as he glances through the window at Jack and then back to me. “No, he didn’t tell me anything. What’s going on?”
“Abby left me.” I say.
I glance war
ily at Ann and Marie, not wanting to say too much because I don’t know what they would say to Cath and I don’t want to deal with her right now.
“She left you?” Noah asks, sounding somewhat surprised. “Why?”
“Because I got caught kissing Cath and I kept it from her.”
“Wait...what?”
I roll my eyes not really interested in rehashing this but feeling as though I have no choice because I already said something to him. I take a deep breath and sigh.
“When we were at Barnaby’s and I walked Cath outside. She kissed me and I kissed her back. I keep it from Abby because it didn’t mean anything but the guilt was getting to me and I decided to tell her but before I got a chance, pictures of me and Cath kissing showed up in some tabloids and she saw them. She asked me to leave and I said no so she left. I spent the morning sending her flowers and chocolates and pictures of us...anything I can think of to win her back.”
“Alright, guys that’s it for now. Come on out so we can get the drums laid out now that Tyler has decided to grace us with his presence.” Domino says to Cath, Dean and Jack through the intercom.
I feel everyone turn and stare at me. Without saying anything to anyone, I grab my drumsticks out of my back pocket and head into the recording booth. Once Marie is set up at hers, Bash gets on the microphone and tells us to go ahead.
I glance over at Marie and she moves her lips to count us in without actually saying anything. I start playing and every emotion I have felt over the couple of days flows through my fingers and into my drum sticks. I am beating my floor tom, rack toms and crash cymbals so hard that I am surprised my drums stick aren’t cracking in half. I don’t think I have ever played the drums with so much feeling before and the more I drum, the more my emotions are all over the place. I’m sad and I’m angry and I’m hopeful and I’m furious.
I’m angry that Cath kissed me knowing that I have a girlfriend and I’m furious that I kissed her back. That’s not me. I’m not that guy. I’ve never been that guy.
I am so into the drumming zone that I don’t even hear Bash tell us to take a break. I probably would have kept slamming my sticks against my drums if Dean hadn’t run up and grabbed my crash cymbals.
“For heaven’s sake Tyler stop!” Dean exclaims.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re going to break something. Did you not see your cymbal stand about to fall over? You’re lucky I caught it.”
I drop my head down and scrub my face with my hands. “No I didn’t.”
“Didn’t think so. Why don’t you go for a walk?”
“No I’m okay.”
“I disagree,” Collin says as he walks into the sound booth. “You need to talk a walk and come back when you’ve calmed yourself down a bit.”
I sigh. “Fine, I’ll take a walk then.”
I set my drumsticks down on top of my floor tom and walk out, through the control room and out the front door. I walk down the street to where Murphy’s Deli is. I grab a cola and a bag of crisps and sit down on one of the black leather stools along the window.
Alright, I have to clear my head before I go back. I can’t go back in there like some sort of thrashing beast. I just need to get through this and then, when I get home, I can be as self-destructive as I want.
With a sigh, I slide off of the stool and make my way back to the recording studio. Cath is sitting outside with Ann as I walk up.
“Hey sticks, you okay?” Ann asks me.
I shrug. “I’ve been better.”
“I heard what happened between you and Abby.” Cath says.
“Uh, yeah...I’m sorry but I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I just want to do what I need to do and get out of here.”
Cath places a hand on my arm. “Okay, well if you need someone to talk to, you know I am always here for you.”
I nod, knowing there is no way I am talking to her about all of this. I think I’ve gotten myself in enough trouble for one week. No need to add anything else to the list. I walk past them and head into the control room.
“I’m ready,” I say. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirteen – Abby
It’s been nearly a week since I walked out on Tyler. Nearly a week since the last time he tried calling me. I would have thought he had given up on me and just accepted the end of our relationship if he hadn’t been sending me flowers and candy and pictures. He even sent a singing telegram, which Chloe wasn’t very impressed with but I kind of liked it.
I mean the guy wasn’t much of a singer, though he did say he was having an off day, and I’m pretty sure he may have been drunk. He serenaded me with Yellow Submarine, which I didn’t get until Jack explained that he was supposed to sing Eight Days a Week. I can appreciate what Tyler was trying to do even if Sing-a-gram Sam didn’t quite work out.
I’ve spent just about any time that I’m not asleep at the bakery working on cakes and cupcakes to send out to local businesses and gearing up for opening day, which is now just a few days away.
“Abby, there is a young man here asking to see you.” Marci says as she pokes her head into the kitchen.
“I’m kind of busy,” I say, not looking up as I continue piping icing onto the cake in front of me.
“Hello Abby.”
I glance up somewhat surprised to see Dean standing there next to Marci. Dean has a somewhat sorrowful look on his face, which makes me wonder if he is here on his own free will or if it is because someone sent him.
“Hey Dean...did Tyler send you?”
“No, he has no idea I am here.”
I nod. “Okay, you can come in then.”
Marci waits for Dean to walk in before she walks away, allowing the door to swing shut behind her.
“Have a seat.” I say, waving my hand towards the various stools and chairs are the kitchen.
Dean grabs a stool, carries it over to where I am working and sets it down before sitting on top of it. Wiping my hands on my apron, I turn towards the refrigerator, open it and pull out two bottles of water and a plate of fudge. I hand a bottle to Dean and set the plate down in between us.
“Thanks.” Dean says as he picks up a piece of rocky road fudge. He takes a bite, closes his eyes and sighs deeply. “Mmmm...This is good.”
“Thank you...so what’s up?” I’m not trying to be rude but it isn’t like Dean to just pop in to see me.
“I wanted to see how you are doing.”
I shrug. “I’ve been better.”
“Are you and Tyler broken up?”
“Kind of, I guess.”
“You guys are kind of broken up you guess?” Dean flashes me a puzzled look. “How does that work exactly?”
“It means I walked out and we’ve barely spoken. I guess it’s assumed we’ve broken up but neither of us has officially said it.”
“Well I can tell you that he is not going to say it and I’m pretty sure you know that. If anyone has to say your relationship is over, it would have to be you. The question now is do you want to end it?”
I look down at the floor quickly before glancing back at Dean and shaking my head. “No I don’t want us to break up. I just don’t know how to look at him right now without thinking about him kissing her and then hiding it from me. The thought of his lips on hers...is killing me.”
“Did he tell you how much he regretted everything from that night? I mean everything too, from agreeing to go out with us down to that meaningless kiss.”
I look down again and sigh. I’ve known Dean for over a year now but it still feels weird talking to him about this. He will always be Tyler’s friend before he is mine so maybe that is why.
“I haven’t really given him a chance to say much.” I admit.
“Don’t you think you should give him a chance to tell you his side of the story? I’m saying that as a neutral party, not as his friend.”
I pause to think for a moment before answering him. “My first reaction was blinding rage and from there I was sa
d and heartbroken and now...I’m still heartbroken and sad and at times angry but now I just feel numb. I suppose I should give him a chance to talk.”
“Well look, we have a show tonight. It’s at Stoaked. You should come and if you want to talk to him then talk to him and if you aren’t ready then at least you tried and you know.”
“Yeah...yeah, I could do that. Could you do me a favor though? Don’t tell him I’m coming.”
Dean hops off of his barstool and walks over to me. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug.
“He really does love you Abby.” He whispers in my ear.
I pat Dean on the back and turn away from him without saying anything. I grab a small white cardboard treat box, line it with wax paper and fill it with a couple pieces of fudge.
“Here,” I say as I hold the box out to him. “Take this with you.”
Dean smiles and takes the box from me as he turns to head towards the swinging door.
Go to their show...I could do that right? I can’t stay the whole time but I could go for part of it. Plus I do want to see Tyler. I miss him...a lot.
~*~
I feel nervous as I walk into Stoaked. I’m still not sure if I am going to talk to Tyler yet and, if I do, I’m not sure what I am going to say to him. There’s a part of me that wants to make him work a little bit harder - though I know he has been trying. The other part of me just wants to bum rush him when he comes out on stage and put all of this behind us.
“Hey Abby, what can I get for you?” Dex asks as I approach the bar.
“Hey Dex, can I get a martini? The dirtier the better.”
“One of those nights?”
I pull a face. “One of those weeks. Where’s Jocalyn?”
Dex waves his hand towards the crowd that has already formed in front of the stage.
“She’s out there somewhere.”
He slides the martini glass across the bar. I hand him money and take a sip.
“Mmmm it’s perfect. Thanks!”
Giving Dex a wave, I walk over to the wall, staying towards the back of the crowd. A few minutes later, the side door opens and the guys make their way to the stage. My eyes immediately move to Tyler. He hops onto his stool and spins his drumsticks between his fingers as Noah introduces the band.
Always in my Heart (The Subzero Series, #2) Page 10
