Wrapped Around Her Finger ✓

54. Offer

Paxton

"Bye Daddy!" Abigail calls as she shuts the car door and walks up the driveway. Tammy's waiting at the front door, and gives me a slight nod before she shuts the door.

It's nice to see Abigail acting like normal again, but I still feel like shit. I yawn and glance at the dashboard. It's only 11am, I was planning to head to the office and do some work, but I don't know how I'm supposed to make it through the rest of the day.

I'll just grab some coffee I guess. As I'm driving, I notice I'm about to pass the waffle café. Their coffee is pretty decent, I'll stop by and grab a cup.

The little bell by the door chimes as I step in. "Hey Paxton, just you today?"

Abigail and I come here so often that all of the staff know us by name, and vise versa. "Hey Veronica, yeah I just dropped Abby off at her mom's. A medium coffee to go please." She nods with a cheerful smile.

I sigh and walk further into the café and take a seat. I can't seem to get Lina out of my mind, even though I'm sure I'm out of hers already. I must be losing my fucking mind, I swear I can hear her soft voice and laughter.

Wait.

I quickly scan the room. Almost all of the tables are full, but I spot her at the one in the very corner. She's sitting with...a guy, smiling and laughing. I can barely remember the last time I've seen her do either of those things. It feels as if a knife has just been stabbed through my chest. Before I can decide what to do, Veronica calls my order.

Medium black coffee for Paxton.

I notice Lina suddenly freeze, and slowly turn towards the counter. Her eyes land on me. We both stare at each other, and she bites her lip. The guy says something inaudible to her, but she doesn't respond. My heartbeat quickens as she slowly stands up, and walks over to me. "Hey," she whispers and warily sits across from me.

"Hey."

We stare at each other in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before she speaks. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't responded to your texts or calls Paxton," her voice slightly trembles, and she stares at her hand resting lightly on the table, "but can you blame me?" I feel my stomach sink.

"Lina, I'm really sorry for the things I said," I say quietly.

"You really hurt me Paxton. I've been through so much with my family, and you decided to weaponize them against me?" her voice cracks a bit, and she takes in a deep breath. "I was just trying to help, you ignored me for two weeks."

"I was going through a lot."

"Do you think I didn't know that?" she snaps.

I'm a bit taken back. "N-no I-"

"Even before that, you had so many opportunities to talk to me," she sighs and looks up at me. Her skin is pale, and her green eyes look dull and exhausted. "You never took them." I reach to put my hand over hers but she quickly takes her hand away. "Don't touch me you jerk."

"Lina, I know I messed up. Can we please go somewhere to talk?" I plead.

"That sounds familiar," she scoffs. "Why should I?"

Harsh, but fair I guess. "Lina, please," I practically beg.

She avoids eye contact and shakes her head. "Just leave me the hell alone Paxton." She gets up and walks back to her table.

-----

"Fucking hell," I groan as I step into the office's lobby. I suddenly realize I had gotten so caught up with Lina that I forgot to take my coffee at the café. I'm about to text Janet to get me one, but realize it's Saturday. The thought of just going back home and calling it a day at 2pm is incredibly tempting, but I know leaving my mind to wander will just make me feel worse.