Page 74 of Guarding Glenda

“Yeah. You’re right. God, I hate this. I’ve become such a pussy.”

“Hey, you’re not a pussy,” Linny said. “You’re going through a bunch of shit. And between us, Hammer can be kinda scary.”

“He can be a fucking dick. But I mean, I’m over here nervous about seeing him. I have been through some shit. And I’ve always come out. I was in the fucking military. I shouldn’t be intimidated by him.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I knew when I first met you that if I got stuck in a dark alley, you’re the one I’d wanna be with.”

Giggling, I said, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I still think Bama would be a safer bet than me. Plus… well, never mind.”

“It’s not your fault what happened to us. We were outnumbered and ambushed. You made sure I ran, you made me go ahead of you, and you fought hard.”

“You’re my best friend.”

She shook our arms. “And you’re mine. So c’mon. I got your back.”

I nodded, so she turned and opened the door. She was right. I didn’t plan to leave Leigh, which meant I’d be around. I’d be faced with Hammer sooner or later, so I should do it now and get it over with. That was why I was going back to therapy, right? I had to stop running from things, stop pushing everything to the back of my mind.

We walked in and a few heads turned. Sofie waved both of her arms from the bar.

Looking around, I didn’t see Hammer.

“See, he’s not even here right now,” Linny said as we kept heading to the bar.

Bama slipped from his stool and kissed her then patted my shoulder. “How’s your first official day back?”

“Not bad. Pretty busy,” I said, taking my seat by Sofie.

“So good to have you back,” Pinkie said from across the bar. “You want a beer?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

Sofie turned. “They made me chickie nuggies and fries.”

“Ohh, sounds good.”

Pinkie passed me a cold bottle. “You want some? We had burgers or chicken sandwiches for the big people but I can start some more nuggets for you.”

I waved her off. “No, I’m good with whatever you got. I’m starving.”

“I gotchu girl. Be right back.”

“I knew you didn’t eat today,” Bama said as he sipped his beer.

Linny took a swig of hers. “I was too excited to have Glenda back. I was busy chatting.”

Pinkie came back and put a plate down in front of Sofie, then me, Linny, and Bama. She grabbed ketchup from under the bar and handed it to Sofie, but there were mayo and mustard packs on our plates.

I pushed a fry in my mouth. “Yep, I’m starving. These are so good.”

“Pinkie, make sure these two eat during the day,” Bama said as he squirted mayo on his burger.

I put some mayo on my chicken sandwich and my phone buzzed.

Smiling when I saw it was Leigh, I answered and asked, “Hey, where you at?”

“Hey baby. I gotta make a stop. It’s gonna be a bit. And I need to run by the house to check on Bruce. You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll just be here with the girls.”