Free It Was Us by Anna Cruise Page B

Griffin was nowhere to be found. I opened the door. Abby was standing there, her arms folded across her chest, a frown on her face.
    “Why are you still sleeping?” she asked.
    “Uh, because it's morning?” And because, for once, coach had decided to give us a weekend morning off from practice.
    “It's nine o'clock.”
    I yawned. “Right. Nine o'clock. A.M. Morning.”
    She lifted her sunglasses and propped them on top of her head. “Can I come in?”
    I grabbed her around the waist and yanked her over the threshold. “Yes, you idiot,” I said, nuzzling her neck. “Of course you can come in.”
    She leaned into me for a second and I breathed her in, the smell of her shampoo still fresh on her almost-damp hair.
    “Why didn't you just come in?” I asked her, my lips against her ear. “You have a key. You could have surprised me. In bed.”
    I felt the smile that moved across her face and I felt a wave of desire wash over me. We still hadn't resolved anything but that didn't matter. I still wanted her. More than ever.
    “I don't know,” she said. “I didn't know if you were out or something.”
    “Where would I be?”
    “School. The field. Running. I don't know.”
    “Coach gave us the morning off.” I leaned down and kissed her. “And I gave you the key for a reason.”
    She pulled away. “I know.” She walked over to the couch and sat down, but not before peering down the hallway. “Is Griffin here?”
    “I don't know,” I said, then yelled, “Griffin!”
    No response.
    “Guessing he's out surfing.” I sat down next to her. “What's wrong?”
    She looked at me, surprised. “Why do you think something's wrong? I mean, other than the obvious thing that's wrong.”
    “You're distracted,” I said. “You pulled away when I kissed you. You never do that. And you want to know if my roommate is around. All very un-Abby like.”
    Her cheeks colored. “I'm sorry.”
    “Don't apologize,” I said, reaching for her hand. “Just tell me what's going on.”
    Her hand was limp in mine and she blinked several times before she spoke. “I made an appointment.”
    Something hard settled in my gut. “An appointment?”
    “Just a consultation,” Abby said quickly. “With Planned Parenthood. Just to...I don't know.”
    I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay.”
    “It's in an hour,” she said.
    “Today?” I had no idea they'd be open on a Saturday.
    She nodded.
    I was caught off-guard. I thought back to the other night, when we'd really started talking about options. I knew what she'd been leaning towards but I hadn't felt like we'd come to any definitive decision. I knew a consultation wasn't a decision but it felt like she'd jumped a step ahead without me.
    “Alright,” I said. “I'll shower and get dressed.”
    Her face darkened. “No. I'm going by myself.”
    “The hell you are.”
    “I'm serious, West,” she said, pulling her hand from mine. “I'm going by myself. I'm not going to decide anything. I wouldn't do that. But I want to go by myself.”
    Anger flared in my chest. “Why? Why don't you want me to go?”
    She wrapped her arms around her like she was cold. “I...I don't know. I just need to. I just want to ask questions and find out what's involved. I'm not going to do anything. And I just feel like it needs to be me that goes.”
    I chewed the inside of my cheek and looked away from her. I was pissed. I knew that whatever decision we made, it would affect her more. I understood that. She would either have to go through pregnancy and have the baby or she'd have to have an abortion. There was nothing I could do to insert myself into that equation. But I also didn't expect to be left on the outside.
    “Don't be mad,” she said.
    “Too late for that,” I said.
    “West. Come on.”
    I raised an eyebrow. “Now you want me to go?”
    She didn't say anything.
    “Okay,” I said, shrugging. I shifted away from her on the couch. “Well, thanks for letting me know. I guess let me