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"You stalking me?"

She snorts "You wish I finished some business next door and saw you wander into this fine establishment" Abby leans over the bar "Where are the cherries?"

Denny slams his laptop shut "I’et two of roups here" Abby lifts the bowl of peanuts and swivels it "Protein food group and the cherries are the dessert group You’ll feel bad if I die of ht of the peanuts and h that Abby lifts a brow

The Vin Diesel wannabe actually cracks a smile He picks up a foam container and the smile fades as his eyes land on ry, but his tone isn’t I have no idea what to rabs a fistful of peanuts and feeds them into her mouth, one at a ti the salt on ue Her eyes flicker between me and the bartender and I try to refocus on this h: Abby knows Mo?

"I’m here for the job," I say

Denny tosses the container at Abby and she catches it midair and immediately flips the lid to revel a half-eaten deli sandwich and chips My knees go weak at the sight He then crouches, fishes out a jarful of cherries, joins us at the end of the bar and slides it to Abby She digs in and shoves a cherry in her ht, deliberate es the bowl of peanuts in my direction I try to act casual as I approach the bar, but I’ry it was probably a full-on run After snatching a handful, I shove them into my mouth My eyes close as I chew, part relieved, part devastated How have I been reduced to such desperation?

When I open e"

"So’s she" I tilt my head at Abby

"I just feed her"

"It’s true" She tears a hunk out of the sandwich "See, if you had listened tolances at Denny "--this is West Young We go to school together" Her forehead wrinkles as she chews "I think I didn’t go today"

Denny crosses his arms over his chest "Abby"

She waves hi to end up dead and pregnant then dead again by the age of eighteen Then I’ll have thirty venereal diseases and end up pregnant again before I’ll die in a fiery car crash Do you have those tiny pretzels? No? Daainst the bar and assesses me "I’ve not seen you around Are you new to the area?"

I don’t knohy, but part of me is disappointed I hoped his initial reaction meant he kneho I was and therefore he would be the reason why o He could still be the fk, he just ht not be familiar with her children "Yeah"