Page 116 of Mommy

If she is here with Derek, I will flush myself down the toilet, I just know it.

She’d be the perfect upgrade after me.

Abigail doesn’t seem to notice my discomfort, or at least she doesn’t care to remove herself. Instead, she drops her pink gym bag to the floor right next to mine and grants me another dazzling smile.

“Do you mind if I join in?”

Yes.

“No.” I lie, forcing a thin lipped smile onto my face.

If she did come here with Derek, I refuse to be the petty ex-whatever that can’t be nice.

I refuse to not be nice.

Swallowing my self pity, I step outside of the cage, offering Abigail the bar to do a set. With an ass like that I’m sure the weight I just barely moved is nothing more than a warm up to her.

Indeed she slips underneath the weight, and—after throwing me a sideways glance—effortlessly does a couple of perfect squats. My eyes are glued to the way her muscles worked underneath the fabric of her leggings, and I nearly choke on my water when she clears her throat.

“What’s your name?”

“Ivory.”

I should ask her what hers is, but I don’t get the words past my teeth.

“How come you’re all alone today?”

The curiosity in her tone shouldn’t make me feel as relieved as it does, because it means she hasn’t spoken to Derek. And that means, he’s not here with her.

I shrug, not sure how to answer her question.

Telling her I’ve been dumped feels like oversharing, but anything other than that would be a lie, and… I don’t want to lie to her.

It’s not her fault, Derek and I hadn’t drawn clear lines. And she did nothing to hurt me.

Taking her place under the bar, I do another painful squat. My muscles shake with the effort to not crumble, but at least the vibrating pain forces the tears back away from my waterline.

“Did the idiot hurt your feelings?” Abigail asks, one hand stemmed into her waist.

Even annoyance looks good on her. The small line between her accurate brows is centered with her straight nose and the face framing strands fall around her heart shaped features when she cocks her head.

When she grabs a large 25 lb plate to add to the bar, I struggle but manage to mirror her. Lifting the weight up to my chest and wrestling it onto the bar makes me groan, but at least my back doesn’t break in two as I do it. Abigail doesn’t laugh, she only gives me a gentle nod once I’m done.

I kinda like her.

Despite her flirting with Derek, I feel oddly comfortable around her. She’s so perfect, I feel like maybe I can blend into her background and be myself without getting judged. Maybe I can turn into her shadow.

Abigail is so unapologetically herself, I feel like I’m allowed to do the same while I’m around her.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I assure her with a smile. “I’ve been a second choice my entire life. You get used to it.”

Not that she would ever get used to it. I doubt that this girl has even been a second choice.

Abigail doesn’t look convinced.

“Boys are stupid,” she says, shaking her head before loading the bar onto her shoulders to do her set.

Her sentiment and the annoyance still etched into her perfect face make me laugh a little.