No Man Left Behind: A Veteran Inspired Charity Anthology by Elizabeth Knox (black authors fiction TXT) 📕

etched across his forehead. Mr. Familiar’s voice sounded exactly like Phil’s; however, without a positive identification, he didn’t want to assume anything. Sterling moved off to one side of his hiding nook to get a better look when his phone jangled a familiar tune. He slipped it quickly out of his back pocket, sliding his fingers over the side buttons in an attempt to silence the blasted thing before the men turned toward him. Sterling’s eyebrows shot up as they stared straight at him.

Damn. He was caught.

Chapter Four

Phil took a step toward him. “Sterling?”

Sterling nodded in recognition. “Hey.” He turned away from Phil. Attempting to minimize the impact of the odd situation, he accepted the call and spoke into the receiver, ignoring Phil as if he happened upon them by chance and not as a result of his predatory stalking. “Not a good time, Abs.”

Abby replied, “Where are you? I’m at your house and dessert is waiting.”

Phil interjected. His words were shaky. His tone of voice trembled. “Are you—are you talking to—to—Abby?”

Sterling looked over at Phil, unsure of what to do or say next. With Abs on the phone, decking the sorry son of a bitch apparently was out of the question. Did she know Phil had a woman on the side? He doubted it. Abby would never willingly share the limelight with anyone nor should she. Capturing a guy’s sole attention meant too much to her.

A leggy brunette with glossy red lipstick and a too short skirt skidded up to Phil, temporarily stealing his attention away from Sterling. She placed her hands around his left bicep and spoke softly to him. “What are you doing back here, lover? I thought you left me.”

Sterling glanced at the woman Phil was cheating on Abby with. He balled his hands into fists as images of Abby’s sweet, genuine smile, the joyous ringing of her laughter and her beautiful, kind eyes shot across his mind. His heartbeats escalated as he glared at Phil. Sterling gritted his teeth and rushed past him before he had the chance to pummel the guy into the ground.

Phil reached out toward Sterling to stop him and then thought better of it when he caught Sterling’s murderous glance.

Sterling raised his voice, speaking clearly into the phone, before exiting the short hallway and walking back into the main room. “Did you know Phil has a girlfriend?”

The leggy brunette flirtatiously smiled at Sterling as he brushed past them. Phil waved his hand in the air and shouted after Sterling. “Don’t tell Abby, please.”

The brunette exclaimed at Phil, “Who’s Abby?

Abby slightly raised her tone of voice. “What are you talking about? What girlfriend? Unless you mean me.”

Sterling replied, “No, I mean a tall, busty secretary in a tight, red dress. She’s here at the bar with him, right now. You know the one I’m at, with my friends.”

Abby’s response was almost incoherent. Sterling strained to hear her whisper, “What? Are you serious?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Abs.”

There was a short pause before Abby replied, “I have to go.”

Sterling stared at his phone as the call abruptly ended. He placed the phone back up to his ear in case he was mistaken and she had stayed on.

“Abs? Abs? Abby? Are you there?” he asked, yet there was no response. His return call went straight to voicemail.

Sterling silently chided himself for Abby’s distress. Why did he have to be so thoughtless? He should’ve been more tactful in giving Abby the news, yet he had been angry with Phil’s betrayal of his best friend. Telling Abby the news gave him a warped sense of satisfaction that was, sadly, at her expense.

Sterling pleaded into the receiver. “Please call me back. I didn’t mean to distress you. I want to know that you’re okay. Please. Call me. Back.”

He re-dialed her number, yet each attempt went straight to voicemail. Striding quickly over to his friends, who remained at the pool table, he made a plausible excuse regarding his dad and then raced to his car.

At each stop light, he attempted to call Abby but he either got her voicemail or she let the phone ring. He slammed the palm of his hand across his steering wheel, silently cursing his impetuousness. How did he disregard Abby’s feelings? How could he be so impulsive? All he wanted to do was call out the good for nothing loser.

He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to Abby from his plain stupidity. He left her one last voicemail, urging her to contact him.

“Abby, please. I need to know that you’re okay. Please call me back.”

His call to his dad fared no better. Marvin informed him Abby didn’t say where she was going and that she left a while ago.

“Damn it. Where are you, Abby? Why won’t you answer your phone?” He racked his brain for the usual places he might find her and came up with only one alternative. Aiming the car in a different direction, he drove until he rounded the familiar twenty-four hour diner they used to frequent as teenagers. He stopped short of a parking space when he spotted her hunched over and sitting on a wooden bench just outside of the double doors.

He breathed a sigh of relief at finding her. After rolling the car up to her spot, he lowered the window and softly spoke her name. She promptly stood and walked away. Shifting the car into park, he shoved open the car door and took off after her.

A staff member shouted after him, “Sir, you can’t park here.”

In mid stride, he called over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back, I promise.” Then he broke into a sprint as Abby picked up speed. Abby had never been good at distance running. Sterling knew he’d overtake her, eventually; still he called out to her to let her know he wasn’t giving up.

“Abby. Please don’t run away from me.”

She stopped abruptly. Bending over at the middle, she covered her eyes with the palms of her