“I’m not surprised, sweetheart.” He sat at the kitchen table and rested his head in his hands. “You know I’m glad to see you, always.” He lifted his head and smiled at her. “Hangover and all.” He winked, and she felt her insides melt. Of course, she didn’t let it show on the outside.
At first, she had been coming over to make sure he was all right and still alive. She would make him breakfast and get him back to the land of the living, and then it just kind of turned into their thing.
“I take it Maxi’s gone?” She opened the fridge to get the ingredients for an omelet.
“Who?”
She glanced over her shoulder and cocked a brow at him.
“Oh, you mean the rode hard put away chick at the bar who tried to get me to take her home and I said fuck no?”
Sophia knew her face looked disgusted.
“Do you have to be so damn crass?” She knew her voice sounded hard, but she couldn’t help it. Jealousy was an ugly bitch.
“Sorry, Kid.”
She was used to the way he was and a part of her felt really bad for the girls that were obviously a notch on his bedpost, but those girls knew how Abe Rochester was. Everyone in three neighboring towns knew exactly what a bad boy he was. Despite all that, they flocked to him like bees to flowers.
She exhaled and put the ingredients on the counter before grabbing a knife and mixing bowl. He now rested his head on the table, and she knew he had to feel like shit, although he had been relatively fine when he left Tiny’s.
“You drank more when you got home, didn’t you?” She started cutting up the peppers and tomatoes and tossed them in the bowl. He didn’t answer right away, but she heard him sigh. She cut up the ham and threw that in as well. The eggs were next and then a little splash of milk. She always added a little milk.
He finally made an affirmative noise, and she shook her head. After pouring the eggs into the pan, she grabbed a spatula. When the omelet was done, she cut it in half, poured him a full glass of water, and grabbed two ibuprofens. She set the plate, glass, and two oblong brown pills in front of him and took her seat. He looked up at her, and even in his very hung-over state, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen.
“Go on, stud, eat.” She tended to tease him about his promiscuous ways, but she did it to compensate for how she really felt. It was just easier that way. He made a face at the food and grabbed the water and pills first.
“You’re way too good to me, Soph.” He popped the pills in his mouth and downed half the glass of water. He looked into her eyes and stared at her for several long moments. She started to get a little uncomfortable with the attention, but before she called him out on being a creepy douche, he dropped his head.
“Yeah, I know.” She smirked and started eating her omelet. “I know you feel like shit, but you need some food in your stomach.”
He glanced up at her and smiled before picking up his fork and eating. She wanted to ask him why he slept around so much, but deep down she knew Abe was fucked up. After his parents died, something changed inside him. He had been young and ended up living with his aunt and uncle until he turned eighteen and moved into his parents’ house. He had slept with girls in high school, but nothing like he did now.
It was sad and tragic to watch, but the only thing she could do was be there for him. They finished their breakfast in silence, all the things Sophia wanted to say lodged in her throat.3Sophia left Abe right after breakfast, knowing he needed to sleep off the alcohol. Sometimes, they hung out until he had to go to work. She didn’t have to go to the bar that night, and they had a movie night planned, just her and Abe. After looking at the clock, she grabbed her purse and headed out of her duplex.
Her neighbor, an older man named Theo, waved at her as he planted a row of daisies. He wore a lilac-colored hat and floral-printed gardening gloves.
The trip from her duplex to Red’s Bike and Motor Shop was only a ten-minute drive. Their town, Northon, was on the small side and certainly not what one would consider serene. There were industrial buildings all around, and the land that was used for farming was set miles outside the city limits.
That was where her mother’s old house was, the one Sophia had grown up in, and the one that was shattered and condemned.