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“He does now. I was afraid that if I told Logan that Julian was back, he would want to pack us up and move again, God knows where. And I couldn’t do that. Not to Logan and not to you. It wasn’t until I’d received that email with the pictures, that everything kind of blew up. Those pictures forced me to face the ugly truth. I was living in a state of denial. I didn’t want to believe Julian was back but seeing Logan that way, I needed to know the truth.”

“Sure.” She purses her lips, nodding. Her body sways in her chair, mulling over my words. “I know you’ve been through a lot, Lena. Still, that doesn’t give you the right to keep secrets from those who care about you. I could have helped you. I could have been there for you.”

I stare into her eyes, hoping she can feel sincerity in my apology. “I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’ve been a terrible friend and you don’t deserve to be kept in the dark. The way I’ve handled this is no excuse. I just wanted you to know.”

“You’re right. It’s not an excuse.” She shakes her head. “And you should have told me.”

I fight back the urge to cry, biting on the inside of my cheek. I’ve cried enough the past two days to last a lifetime. There was no more room for tears. I needed to protect both my husband and my best friend. The time for hiding was over.

“How do you know he’s not just going to disappear if he’s only sent emails?”, Abby asks, sidestepping the change of conversation. She tips her chin up, wanting to know more.

“He hasn’t only been sending emails.” I wince, biting my bottom lip. Chills spread across my skin, remembering how it felt knowing Julian had been inside our house. “We think he broke into our house a few weeks back.”

“What?” She leans forward, her chest pressing against the edge of the wooden table. Her gold necklace dips, dancing across the glossy top. “You assured me you had an excellent security system. How in the hell did he get in?” Her anger has begun to boil over, her cheeks staining with red and her smooth lips thinning.

“It is a good system,” I reassure her. “I don’t know how he got in. He’s smart so I’m not surprised if he found a way to unlock it. We changed the code after it happened, and we made an appointment to have the new upgraded system installed this week.”

“Huh,” she says, still clearly stunned. She picks up a chip, a string of cheese hanging off the end. Popping it into her mouth, she chews. Her cheeks are still blushed with red, her anger subsiding.

I repeat the words I just said to Abby in my head. I wanted to believe the new system would make us feel safer in our own home. Ever since I’d opened up to Logan about the emails, he immediately jumped to wanting to upgrade our system. Julian had returned and we were more prepared to protect ourselves this time, not willing to take any chances.

In a way, Julian had taken advantage of my weaknesses. He sent those emails, boldly, knowing I would suffer in silence. He always had a knack for exposing my weaknesses and using them to his advantage. I’ve been married to Logan for nearly a year but had managed to carry a piece of Julian along with me. Fear had overridden my courage. The weakness that had been embedded in me after my relationship with Julian was all but gone now. Being with Logan has taught me more than I had bargained for. He taught me to trust, even when the truth may hurt.

I’m silent, suddenly unsure of where Abby and I were going to take our conversation. There were many things that needed to be said between us, yet none at all. My eyes move past Abby, watching a man sitting at the bar. His back is facing me, but I can see his reflection in the large mirror covering the back wall of the bar. He’s wearing a black sweatshirt, the hood pulled up over his head. My breath catches in my throat when his eyes meet mine. He removes his hood, allowing his brown mop of curly hair to fall down around his face.

A heavy breath escapes my chest. I lift my hand, pressing it against the bottom of my neck. My pulse beats against my fingertips.

“Were you home?”

Abby’s voice brings me back to her. She’s chewing on another bite of the Irish nachos. The basket nearly half empty.

“What?”

“I asked you if you were home when Julian broke in.”

“Oh.” I brush my hair away from my face, gripping the back of my neck and leaning my elbow on the table. “No, I wasn’t. I was at my meeting with Candace in Tacoma.”

“Good.” She nods, waving to the waiter for a refill of her drink. She raises her arm, snapping her fingers.

I study Abby, trying to understand her reactions. One second, she’s calm and cool, the next she’s hot and damn near boiling over in anger. Maybe the time and distance we were apart from each other put a distance in our friendship. Over the course of time, we’ve become two different people, changing with our experiences. Along with the time spent apart, Abby wasn’t the one who took the brunt of Julian’s abuse. Most of her experiences were ones I only told her about, after the fact. She isn’t as close to the situation as Logan and I are.

“Was Logan home?” she asks.

“No.”

She shakes her head, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “Well, I’m glad neither of you were home.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I give her a reassuring smile. “Look, Abby. I just want you to be careful.” I search the pub, glancing at the faces of the people surrounding us. “We’re not sure how far he’s willing to take this, and I want you to be safe.”

“I will be.” Her mouth forms a flat line, her red lips thinning.

“Abby...” I can tell she’s putting on a front, showing she’s stronger than I think. Not taking this as seriously as she should.

“Lena,” she sighs. “I can take care of myself. I have for the past several years, ever since I left for college. Don’t start worrying about me now. If Julian’s been around this long and you’re just now telling me, how dangerous can he be?”

A piece of me sits shocked. Shocked with Abby’s lack of concern for me, Logan, and even herself. My eyebrows dip in confusion. How could she not worry?

I decide to change the subject. “How’s the office coming along? Last I heard, you said they were delivering the signs.”

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