Take Me Back

Chapter 24

Mark

Present Day

Sitting at the kitchen island the following morning, Mark drank his coffee in silence and considered leaving without having to deal with any awkward goodbyes. His car was already packed, it would be easier to hit the road, but he knew if he did leave without telling everyone goodbye, Ashley goodbye, he would regret it.

Gemma arranged for a taxi to pick her up and connected with a shuttle service that drove her back to Seattle. She left at 5:30 am hoping to avoid seeing anyone. Needless to say, it was over between them.

They fought in their bedroom until Adam and Sabrina showed up at their door, timidly available to referee and calm the situation. Gemma cried all night and kept saying how she knew something was off during their trip. Mark knew he was being a prick, but he was relieved when she said she was leaving without him. He couldn't imagine dealing with a hostile ride home and offered to pay for her taxi, which she adamantly refused.

He had a fitful night's sleep in the guest house and then watched Gemma get in the taxi when it arrived, not bothering to see her off. Despite the messy circumstances, their breakup was pretty clean. She had no stuff at his place, he never visited hers, so it was easy to just go their separate ways and not deal with lingering goodbyes or awkward post-breakup encounters. He would have to avoid The Barrel Thief, but he'd find another favorite bar to frequent.

Sabrina entered the kitchen in her pajamas, her hair wet from the shower. She offered Mark a half-smile, poured a cup of coffee into one of the clean mugs resting on the counter, and then perched atop the bar stool next to his. Without saying a word she rested her temple on his shoulder and sat in companionable silence for a few minutes.

Andy jerked to a halt in the threshold of the kitchen, taking in the sight of two of them. With a thumbs up he walked around the kitchen island, followed the same routine as his wife and leaned a hip on the island facing Sabrina and Mark.

"Did she leave?" The question was directed to Mark, but both he and Sabrina nodded their heads in unison. Sabrina's head wobbly as it was perched on Mark's shoulder.

"I'm not sure if we helped matters last night, we were just afraid she was going to kill you, man."

Mark nuzzled Sabrina's head and took a sip of coffee, "I guess I deserved it."

Sabrina propped her chin on her hand and regarded him sympathetically, "What are you gonna do?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark just sighed and mumbled, "Go home."

"No!" Sabrina straightened. "You need to tell her how you feel!"

"I already have, Sabrina." Mark wanted everyone to lower their voices, the last thing he wanted was Ewan or Ashley to enter the room and turn everything upside down again.

"Oh," Sabrina slouched on her barstool and chewed her bottom lip.

"You tried, man," Andy consoled. "It's shitty but what else can you do?"

"I think it's for the best," Mark stood and dumped the last of his cold coffee in the sink. He gripped the lip of the farmhouse sink and hung his head. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he turned back to his friends with a smile and went to Andy for a hug. "Thank you," he said softly.

Sabrina stood and he wrapped her in a bear hug, kissing the top of her head. "Thank you for inviting me."

When she pulled back her face was blotchy and she pinched her lips together, her eyes misted over.