Overwritten

18 ; soy latte

"It's really gorgeous," Jessie stammered, motioning vaguely to the watch on my wrist. Holding her hand out for a moment, before letting it drop to her side. The pain lingered as she stared at me with deep blue eyes which were glossing over with tears.

"Um, hey Jessie," I said, taking a step forward. I had expected anything but her, which now placed me into a scenario that I was actively trying to avoid. Abbey watched intently as Jessie turned away, before back at me.

"How's work?" she asked, her voice shaking. Wearing a sunflower yellow dress with long white sleeves underneath, brown boots tied tightly she may have been mistaken for a model. However, the seemingly bright attire did not match her apparent mood. Bags rested under her eyes as tears crept up on her.

"Yeah work's alright," I replied, followed by silence. Having not expected nor wanting her here, it reminded me of who I felt I was fighting against. One way or another. She paused, taking a deep breath.

"Take care of him," she said, her bottom lip quivering as her words barely held any strength. I knew she was talking about Jake. A tear rolled down her cheek, which she wiped away with her sleeve. Adjusting her satchel over her shoulder, she sniffed, before mumbling, "Please, just, treat him well,"

Another moment of silence. The, she began to sob. She brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to hold the tears back. But it was hopeless, pain washing over her. It wasn't like when a kid wanted attention and would cry so loudly so someone would notice. It was the kind where you just wished you would disappear.

As Abbey continued to watch unmoving, I became aware of my dilemma. This was Abbey's job, and even if it wasn't, she had no knowledge of this girl. Nor no duty to her. However, I knew her and was in the exact situation she was upset about. Doing nothing would continue this drama, maybe further it. And having an enemy who's in this mess would continue to cause issues beyond control.

And so I hugged her.

It wasn't a choice I had much say in, not exactly something I planned to do nor exactly had hoped to. But given the situation, there wasn't anything else that would happen. Pulling my arms around her, I noted that I was slightly taller than her.

She wrapped her arms around me in return, resting her head on my shoulder and continued to cry. I didn't know how to react, so I just continued to embrace her. Abbey remained silent, watching on, as I seemingly hugged a random girl.

"Sorry," she said, quickly standing back. Her eyes were red, but she immediately tried to hide the fact. Wiping her face on her sleeves, she tried to smile. Instead, her bottom lip wobbled as she attempted to maintain some appearance of strength, "I don't... I don't really know what came over me... I should probably go,"

"No, it's fine," I said, giving a half smile. Abbey had started to aimlessly type into the computer, pretending to do something, whilst maintaining a glance every so often at the situation. I took a deep breath, before I asked, "Why don't we go to a nearby café? If you're free that is, I don't think they close for a few hours..."

"You sure?" she asked with an eagerness clinging to her voice, and I nodded. Of course, the thing I would least like to do at this point was to go for a coffee with a girl who likely disliked me. And although I could never fully trust Scott's opinion, the fact that he appeared to have a distaste for a girl who was supposed to be perfect for him gave me some doubts.

"Yeah. It will give us a good chance to get to know each other," I said, smiling. Turning to Abbey, I gave a goodbye and she smiled at me. I hoped that I would be able to have a proper conversation with her at another time.

It was nearing four as we entered the café, which had been only a few shops down from Abbey's work. Jessie said it was a decent café, which I decided to trust her on. It was empty, an older man working behind the coffee machine and a younger boy at the cash register. They gave us a brief smile as we entered, as we sat down near the back of the café.