“Don’t try to get drunk, man,” I warned.

“I won’t,” he growled.

His state was truly pitiable. Perhaps he might need a therapist.

I hated to see him this way.

“Why don’t you tell her you still love her and want her back?” I suggested.

He looked up at me and began laughing.

“After seven years?” He suddenly grew somber again, his eyes red with emotions.

“It’s not a crime to still be in love after seven years of divorce, is it?”

He went mute and resumed drinking.

“Man, I want you to know that your cowardly flight must end sooner or later. You will have to eventually make a decision that’s best for you and your family.”

He ignored me and rose to his feet.

“We didn’t work out seven years ago. We’ll never work out.” He solemnly said.

“Won’t you at least give it a try? It’s not bad to try. You still love this woman, and you are here torturing yourself with the past.”

“You don’t know her like I do,” he turned away and began walking out of the room.

“I can drive you home.”

“I can drive myself.” He snapped back, and then he was gone.

It was sad to know that Mason was in a much tighter situation than I was. He was in love, yet his love tormented him. He had children, yet he lived alone.

He wanted to act in the best way possible, yet he was shooting himself in the leg.

The lights that flooded the town rivaled the stars in the sky. My mind wandered to Fiona.

I wondered what she was doing at that moment. Glancing at my watch, I decided she must be asleep as we were in the early hours of the following day.

Chapter Eleven

Fiona

The knocking persisted and won over my will to ignore it. No one should be knocking at this unholy hour. I picked up my phone to check the time, a few minutes after six am. It was really a ghastly time to come calling on someone’s door.

I dragged myself off the bed and walked to the door where the person, whoever they were, was having a field day with the door. This type of behavior should fall under public disturbance or something of the sort.

And the person at the door would hear from me in really colorful words. Every single word died in my throat as I came face to face with the offender, who looked absolutely put together and was wearing a pleased look on her face.

“Oh, Allison!” I said, and I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

“That’s enough; let me go,” she said with a chuckle, but her arms remained wrapped around me. I had missed her so much.

“How did you find your way to my apartment?” I asked, knowing she couldn’t have done it without Christian’s help. I looked past her hoping he had come too, but there was no sign of him.

“Christian brought me, but he went back home,” she said, and her eyes roamed around my face.

“Okay,” I said, my heartbeat picking up, hoping I hadn’t given myself away.

I was good at concealing my emotions with Christian, but I’m uncertain I can manage it around Allison. She is my best friend, for crying out loud, and we have both grown to be very vulnerable around each other.

“Come here,” I said, and grabbed her left hand, pulling her into the house. I led her to the sofa, pleased to have distracted her.

“Sit.”

“Thank you,” Allison said, pulling me closer. The grin on her face was all I needed to know: she was happy to be back in Laketown. I was so glad to have her back, too.

As kids, we spent all our time running around in their backyard, Christian joined us sometimes. She was always quick to protect me from her mother’s judgment. While Melissa never made it obvious that she wasn’t pleased with our relationship, some things couldn’t escape my keen eyes.

Things have changed, not just the times, but Allison. She was taller now and elegantly dressed. She has the same emerald green eyes as her brother, but besides that and their kindness, they share nothing in common.

I rushed out of the living room, happy to tend to her. I made us cups of coffee while making small talk with her. Allison grinned when I handed her the cup of coffee.

“Thank you,” she said, and took a small sip.

“So, tell me, how have you been?”

When she started to talk, it was easy to see that the coffee wasn’t doing much to wake her up. Whenever her voice began to drawl, she took another sip of her coffee.

I wondered why she decided to come back early. When I contacted her about Christian, we had agreed on a date for her to return. She just came earlier than the date. The coffee wasn’t enough to distract me, and neither was the small talk she was holding for my sake when we both knew there was a serious matter we had to tend to.

“About Christian...” she said, and looked at me.

I nodded, encouraging her to keep talking, but she stalled for a while because it felt like she was leaving it up to me to read between the lines. And what was written between the lines felt like a request to leave Christian alone. He was off limits because of Aurora, after all.

“I think we should go out tomorrow and talk about it,” I said, unwilling to give her the chance to continue. I needed to regroup my emotions because I was under-prepared to have the conversation.

“Are you sure about this, Fiona?”

“Yes, I am. You are tired, and I do not think it is a good idea to talk to you in this state.”

“Alright, but I traveled so early to spend enough time with you today; why don’t we just talk right now and have fun tomorrow?” She raised a brow, but I didn’t feel like giving in.

“Allison, you are still as insistent as you have always been. Let’s just get you into the shower, get you settled, and then we can play games later at night.”

“Fiona, you are still as defensive as ever,” she counters with a shake of her head, but it looks fond if I am to read it as something. “Anything you want is fine.”

I grinned at her words before getting to my feet with the promise of a mind-blowing breakfast.