24 - Samantha
“Alright, let’s go!” I say as I grab my keys. Dean nods and gets up off the couch. He runs his fingers through his hair and turns around as I walk towards him.
“Thanks again,” he says to Jess who followed me towards the front door. “And sorry again.” She nods and smiles.
“Happens to the best of us. Glad you’re feeling better.”
We walk out the front door and I nod to Jess’s car which is parked just outside the front door on the street.. “I guess it’s my turn to open the door for you now, hey?” I laugh. I turn to look at him as I walk down the few steps towards the sidewalk. He grins and then looks beyond me and his expression falls. I turn my head to follow his gaze and my heart immediately drops to my stomach.
“Ronnie,” I breathe. “What are you doing here?” I freeze, squaring my shoulders towards him as he takes a step in my direction. He holds out his hands in front of him, palms facing towards the sky.
“Sam,” he says. “I’m sorry.”
My blood turns to ice and a new anger starts bubbling up inside me. How dare he! How dare he show up here, unannounced, after we’ve signed the divorce papers! Telling me he’s sorry?!
“I don’t want to hear it Ronnie. Go away.”
“Sam, please!” he says again, taking another step towards me. Dean appears by my side.
“She said she doesn’t want to see you,” he growls. Ronnie’s eyes swing towards Dean and his face hardens.
“Who the fuck are you?” he spits. He looks Dean up and down and puffs out his chest, balling his hands into fists. I take a step between them and try to keep my voice calm. I need to de-escalate this.
“He’s my friend. Ronnie, it’s over between us. You have to leave.”
“Is that how it is? A lifetime of friendship and almost three years of marriage and you’re just going to throw it away! And for what, for ‘a friend’?” His voice is more aggressive now, and I can see that fire burning in his eyes. I take a long breath, trying to keep my own voice steady and ignore the righteous anger that’s flooding through me. Before I can speak, Dean takes a step in front of me.
“She’s not throwing anything away, friend. You’re the one who fucked someone else. Now do what the lady asked and fuck right off.”
Even though I know that wasn’t the right thing to say, even though I know it’ll only make Ronnie angry, even though I know I could have handled it better, there’s still something that sparks inside me when Dean speaks up to defend me.
“What are you going to do, punch me?” Ronnie scoffs, nodding to Dean’s cast. “Go ahead and try.”
“I’ve still got one good arm, asshole,” Dean growls.
“Ok, ok, ok,” I say, stepping between the men. I can almost smell the testosterone in the air and I take a breath, putting my hands on Ronnie’s chest. I look up at his face and wait for him to look at me. My heart breaks for the millionth time as I remember the eyes that I fell in love with, the same eyes that betrayed me.
“Ronnie, I don’t want to do this. Not today, not like this.” I whisper.
His shoulders slump slightly and he brings a hand to his forehead.
“I made a mistake, Sam. You need to forgive me. It was a mistake. I’m so sorry. I need you, please!” The supplication in his voice tugs at my heart and my eyes start filling with tears. Something else grows inside me at the same time. It feels like strength, or fresh air building me up and supporting my whole body. I shake my head from side to side.
“I can’t, Ronnie. I just can’t. Please leave.” It barely comes out above a whisper. Ronnie’s face contorts and twists until he doesn’t look like himself anymore. He turns around and with an animalistic yell, he kicks a nearby garbage can and sends its contents flying down the sidewalk. He yells again and walks to a nearby car, getting in and speeding off down the road. Another car pulls out behind him and I watch them drive off. I frown and exchange a glance with Dean. He shrugs.
I let out a breath as my shoulders slump down. Suddenly I feel exhausted. I walk slowly to the garbage can and set it upright before bending over to pick up everything that spilled out of it. Dean appears by my side and helps me without saying a word. When we’re done, he turns towards me and wraps his arm around me. I bury my head in his chest and a sob rakes through my chest as my whole body trembles. He cooes and rubs my back and kisses the top of my head as I cry into his chest.
The pain in my heart eases and I pull away, wiping my eyes.
“Thanks,” I say. “Sorry.”
Dean laughs. “That’s all I’ve been saying today as well.”
I try to laugh but it catches in my throat. I nod to Jess’s car. “Come on, let’s go.” Dean slides his hand down my back and we walk slowly towards the car. I get into the driver’s seat and he slides into the passenger’s seat as I turn the car on. I take a long, deep breath and let it all out. I swing my head over and look at Dean. He’s looking at me with concern written all over his face. He reaches his hand over and stokes my cheek.
“You were great back there,” he says. “I don’t know how you kept your cool.”
I laugh bitterly. “Lots of practice, I guess. He used to get mad a lot.”
Dean stiffens and searches my face. I hate the way his eyes are boring into me and I pull my cheek away, nodding to the road and clearing my throat.
“Alright, lead the way,” I say. Dean settles into his seat and we start driving. The silence is only punctuated by Dean’s directions - turn left, take a right up here, left at the lights. I just nod whenever he says something, not trusting my own voice. Finally he points to a tall building.
“That’s me,” he says. I pull up outside and take a deep breath. I can feel him looking at me and he clears his throat. “You want to come up?”
I finally look at him again and the strength of his gaze almost knocks me over. His eyes are searching my face as if he wants to know everything about me. The ice that formed around my heart when Ronnie appeared starts to melt and I nod my head.
“Yeah,” I say. “I do.”
Dean smiles ever so slightly and nods his chin down once. “Cool,” he says. I can help but laugh gently and feel the tension in my body start to relax a little bit more.
“Cool,” I repeat.