Page 87 of Game Over

“EXACTLY!” I screamed, startling both her and myself. Several onlookers stood around, probably hoping for some gossip to pass along. “You did nothing. Nothing to stop him. Nothing to help me. You. did. Nothing. I do not owe you any explanation to protect my peace. It’s taken me a long time to forgive ya’ll for what you did, but I will never forget.” Shaking her hand off my arm, I took a step away from them. “I will never talk to any of you again. I already told Jason this, but clearly that wasn’t passed along. If you ever see me in public again, I ask you to have enough respect for me to pretend you don’t see me, and I’ll do the same if I see you. Goodbye, Debbie.”

Turning and practically running to the car, I threw the groceries into the back seat. Quickly buckling and flinging the car into drive, I peeled out of the parking lot. I took one glance into my rearview mirror and saw Greg trying to pull her back to the car. My heart was still pounding, and a sob broke free. A deep body-shuddering sob that would not be contained. I needed to get to Allie. I just needed home.

Allie. I needed Allie.

Finally pulling into the driveway, I snatched the bags from the back and ran into the house, throwing them onto the counter.

“Allie!” I choked out between sobs. I wasn’t sure exactly why I was crying, but it wouldn’t stop. My throat was tight, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Out here!” Her voice rang out from the back patio. “I was starting to wonder where you were—baby? What’s wrong? What happened?” She was stepping inside as I was headed to her. Confusion and worry were etched on her face. I fell to my knees in front of her, pulling her close to me.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m here for you, my love. I’m right here.” She softly ran her fingers through my hair while I knelt there crying against her legs.

“Take a deep breath for me.” My body shook as sobs racked through me. No matter what I did, breathing was impossible. Allie stepped back from me, sat down on the floor, and cradled my head in her hands.

“Spencer. Listen to me. You have to breathe.” Starting deep into her eyes, I finally did as she asked, letting her whiskey-smooth voice calm my frayed nerves.

“That’s it. Another deep breath for me, okay? You can do this.” Tears still fell down, but my breathing evened out.

“What happened, baby?” Hesitantly, she asked, as she wiped the tears from under my eyes with her thumbs.

“I wanted to make you dinner with a new recipe I found, so after work, I had time to stop at the store. Everything was going great till I was leaving. When I got outside, I was stopped by Greg, my father, who was drunk and yelling for everyone around us to hear how ungrateful I was and how I needed to grow up. I tried to leave, and that’s when Debbie, my mother, ran up.” Another shuddering breath came out. Allie sat patiently, rubbing small circles against my cheeks, but I could see the worry in her eyes being replaced by anger.

“She tried to say I was the one hurting her. That I was killing her, and that she did nothing wrong. At that, I yelled. I said that was exactly the problem. I told them I wanted nothing to do with them, and then I rushed home.”

For a long moment, we sat in silence, and part of me worried maybe this would be what scared her away. This entire time we’d been together, I avoided talking about them because it hurt too fucking much. Now the hurt was ripped open, leaving me raw and exposed. One altercation with them and I shattered. That voice in the back of my mind tried to claw its way up. She could do better. She doesn’t need someone so weak.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone. I know there isn’t much I can say or do to make it better or magically fix it, even though I wish I could. God, I fucking wish I could, but I’m here for you, Spencer. For anything you need. I’m here.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, planting a light kiss on my jaw and cheek, and held me tight. “I love you more than anything, and I’ll always be here no matter what.”

“I love you too, Allie. So fucking much.” I pulled her even tighter, burying my face in her neck and inhaling the lingering coconut and outdoorsy scent on her.

“Come on. How about you show me that recipe and I’ll make us dinner. Does that sound good?”

“God. I wanted to make your Monday less stressful because I know they can be busy, and yet here I am on the floor crying. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize.” She leveled me with a look that would send lesser men running. “Don’t ever apologize for how you feel, do you understand me? Especially not in this situation. Okay?” She held my gaze, refusing to let me look away. This woman.

“I understand, sweetheart. Thank you for being there for me.” Placing a kiss on her forehead, I stood, helping her as well.

We headed into the kitchen, getting all the groceries put away, and I pulled my phone out to show her the recipe. I tried to insist I was fine to cook, but she wasn’t having it. While she cooked, I headed to the bathroom to shower, hoping the hot water would ease the tension in my shoulders a little more.

Going no contact with them was my choice, but seeing them in person again after all this time made all the awful memories and feelings resurface. It brought back all the hurt, the pain, every night I lay there wondering what I did wrong. I’m glad I had an appointment with my therapist scheduled because it’s clear I still have some things I need to work through.

Letting the hot water cascade down my body and the steam billow around me, I could finally feel myself start to relax little by little.

Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped the towel around my waist and quickly dried off my hair, not bothering to fix the curls. They could dry however they wanted to tonight. I tossed on a shirt and sweats and made my way back to the kitchen. Allie was in her own world, leaning up against the counter on her phone. She had on those tight-as-sin workout shorts, another one of my old shirts, and had her hair pushed back with a little headband. She was barefaced and completely at ease. Knowing I had her in my corner eased that knot in my chest a little more, and I thank the gods above that I get to call her mine. Walking over and wrapping my arms around her, I planted a trail of kisses along her neck.

“Hi there to you, too. How was your shower?” She turned to face me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Really relaxing, actually. Thank you again… I know that was a lot first thing, and I—” She lifted her finger to my lips to silence me and quirked her brow.

“What did I tell you? Don’t apologize for how you feel. Partners are supposed to be there for one another no matter what. I’ll always be your safe space when needed. Your healing center, if you will.”

“Are you trying to use gaming terms?”

“Am I succeeding?”

“Close enough, I’ll let you have that one.” I shook my head and laughed. I liked that she paid attention to my interests and didn’t laugh at me for them. Okay, well, she does like to call me a nerd at times, but I dish it back because I’ve seen some of the books on her shelf. The most recent was about a girl falling for this masked man, which may or may not have sparked some ideas, if you will.