Dallas (Time for Tammy Book 1)

The Aftermath

That night I tried one last time to apologize to Dallas. I felt I couldn't move on with Morgan until Dallas had at last forgiven me. I walked over to Ibsen alone as Jane refused to accompany me. I half-expected Sonofabitch to be there as another trick from my guardian angel, but Dallas answered the door. His shoulders sagged when he saw it was me, but he invited me in anyway.

I was about to walk into their room when I saw it: that stupid crab. I don't know why the sight of it disturbed me so much. I had half expected it to be under the bed, stuffing pulled out, or hanging from the ceiling, a stake through its little crab heart. At least put away somewhere, forgotten, out of sight. But there it sat in its customary spot on Sonofabitch's stereo, as intact as the day I bought him, when I still had dreams of Dallas having one look at it, and then taking me into his arms with the thought that anyone who gives such a desirable present must be worth loving.

"This won't take long," I told him from the doorway. "I just wanted to say I'm truly sorry for the tape. And the phone calls." Instead of looking into Dallas's eyes as I apologized, I stared at inanimate ole Sebastian. It might have been the last time anyone ever saw the thing. I wouldn't have been surprised if the Horse took a baseball bat to it after I left that night. Maybe Sonofabitch gave it to one of the million "weird" girls that always chased him around. Or the two of them threw it into the creek running along the back of campus out near the gym. Sometimes I wonder if it's still floating (literally) around somewhere. Maybe it's halfway to China by now.

Dallas nodded after I finished apologizing. "It's fine, Tammy, don't worry about it." That was it. No, "I'm sorry, too." No, "I liked you well enough, but I liked your roommate more." No, "I wish things would have been different," and not even a "Do you want to watch Revenge of the Nerds?" this weekend. Just a nod and a brush-off. But it was good enough for me. I left Ibsen for the last time and went back to Gandhi to get drunk with Jane and Lizzie and dream of my first date with Morgan.