Page 39 of Come Apart

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I call her phone. It rings three times, all the way to voice mail. Not a good sign.

"Fuck, Sam. Come on," I mutter under my breath.

I call again. This time, it rings once, then voice mail. She rejected the call.

Fine, she doesn't want to see me today. She needs time to build her nerve.

I walk back to my car, thinking.

Sam might change her mind today. But I don't want to just wait around for the off chance that happens.

Alyssa's party is tonight. I know how much she's dreading it.

I get it.

She's been bitten by the fucking sharks in her industry too many times to not worry about it.

I check the time.

I could easily make it back in time.

Yes, work will suffer for it.

But Alyssa is so fucking worth it.

And I can always drive back here tomorrow. Maybe Samantha will even deign to see me then.

I feel a weight lift from my shoulders and know I'm doing the right thing.

Maybe it's wrong to feel this way, but I'm kind of glad Sam didn't want to see me if it means it frees me up to support Alyssa.

I'm actually excited on the drive back, a marked difference from the previous drive.

I feel a twinge of guilt, but shit, I'm only human.

I don't even get mad when I hit the cluster fuck of traffic.

* * *

It's wellinto late afternoon when I make it back.

I text Alyssa, wanting to be sure she's home.

She is.

Anticipation bubbles up in my stomach as I knock on the door.

"Coming!" I hear through the door.

It's Alyssa. I can tell even though her voice is muffled by the barrier.

The door opens quickly, the expression on her face distracted.

But her eyes quickly sharpen when they land on me, the mixture of surprise and joy on her face making the trip so worth it.

"Luke!" she cries, jumping right into my arms, peppering my face with kisses. "What are you doing here?"

I laugh, wrapping my arms around her.

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