Song: meeting an old friend playlist by kaqshi

Ambrose placed the silver electric kettle down once the white mug was full. The strong aroma of mint wafted over him as he steeped the tea. Mindful of the cramped quarters of his office, he maneuvered around the boxes with the cup in hand.

"Thank you," Jill whispered. Her small hands wrapped around the hot cup. She blew on the rising steam while Ambrose settled across from her. The hot liquid burned her tongue but she swallowed a mouthful anyway. It was nice and she appreciated the kind gesture, something that was a rarity for her these days. "How've you been?"

Ambrose mulled the question over as he rolled his sleeves up to reveal his forearms. His hands were streaked with dry grease from the way he took off his gloves once the bouquet was settled in Jill's car. The car that there was absolutely nothing wrong with. Ambrose himself had worked on it and made sure it was in good shape before handing it back over to her.

Four months ago.

"Jill, what are you doing here?" Ambrose asked instead. He pushed his safety glasses up so that he could see her better without any dirt and smudges to cloud his vision. Jill nibbled on her bottom lip, wincing. Ambrose wondered if her lip would split open again from the additional pressure. "Jill."

"I just wanted to see you. To talk," she replied quietly. Her round eyes lowered as she took another sip to clear her tightening throat. "What, I can't come see an old friend now?"

Ambrose swallowed the lump in his throat. His dark gaze trailed over Jill's small face. It was as if the longer she stayed in his presence, the more that thin layer of makeup she wore seemed to fade.

Ambrose glanced away. He was sick of seeing her bruised and he was sick of hearing her excuses. There was only so much he could take before he had to distance himself from the situation for his own good.

Vincent was the one to make him realize that.

Ambrose, Vincent, and Jill. It was the three of them against the world ever since they were in diapers, back in their old neighborhood. Everything went to shit when Jill met her husband and refused to leave him no matter how many times he beat her.

Ambrose himself had come to blows with the asshole far too many times to count. Vincent was the one to pull him out of the situation once and for all with a firm:

You can't save someone that doesn't want to be saved, Ambrose.

So they stopped reaching out even after she came to her senses the last time she'd cut them off. That was almost three years ago and now she was back again for reasons Ambrose couldn't entertain.

"You can see an old friend whenever you want." Ambrose's eyes flicked towards her. They softened and so did his voice. No trace of gruffness could be found whenever he addressed Jill. "But you and I both know that it won't go beyond that."

Jill drained the tea in her cup to avoid Ambrose's burning stare. A heavy heat settled into the pits of her stomach when she placed the cup down. Her arms rested on his desk as she leaned closer, desperate to be closer to someone that cared about her.

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"I do."

Ambrose chuckled softly, leaning on his forearms as he met her halfway across the desk. "Then you need to stop looking at me like you wanna jump my bones. My guys won't stop talking about it and it's driving me crazy."

Jill ducked her head, bashful. Her cheeks flushed a bright pink. A stray hair fell out of her long braid. Ambrose had to fight the urge to move the chestnut hued strand behind her ear like he did when they were kids. He knew that it would mean more to her in this vulnerable state now than it actually did. He didn't want to lead her on when there was no future with him the way she wished there could be.

"I didn't come here for that," she promised, straightening up in her chair. When she found the courage to meet his eyes again Ambrose was shocked to see a dash of determination in her stare. It'd been a long time since he saw anything besides defeat there. "I met with Vincent a few days ago."

"Really?" Ambrose couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice even if he tried. Vincent had been the first out of the two of them to cut Jill off after she'd spurned years of their help. He was shocked to find out that he'd actually allowed her to speak with him. Let alone actually meet face to face. "Why?"

"I missed him," she said. "And, I don't know, I started thinking that he might be right. That you both might've been right."

"I bet he loved to hear that," Ambrose muttered, drumming his fingers against the wooden surface.

Jill's twinkling laugh filled the atmosphere. Ambrose's lips curled upwards into that same boyish grin she remembered. "Yeah. Minus the clothes, he's the exact same person that I remember."

Ambrose hummed. "Sugar baby life treats him well."

"Well enough to move you and Cameron in," Jill replied with a teasing grin. Ambrose's smile widened. Melancholy threads tugged at his heart strings. It was easy, effortless, really, talking to Jill like this. Like the old days when she wasn't a battered wife and he wasn't forced into parenthood. "Where does that leave the shop?"

Ambrose's smile slipped a little but not by much. He was on his way to making his peace with the situation even though it hurt him to think about it for long.

The shop belonged to his Uncle Ambrose, his dad's brother, originally. He had a lot of good memories growing up here with him passing on his uncle's tools while he worked. Jill and Vincent played house inside, both of them curling their little noses up at the smell of oil. His dad was a high school teacher back then. But he helped on the weekends when he wasn't busy grading papers and scheduling lessons.

When his uncle died it passed onto his dad. When his dad got into his accident then it moved onto Ambrose. And now here he was, only a few years later, giving it all up because he couldn't keep the business afloat.

"I'm keeping it going until the end of next month," Ambrose said. "We shut down right after Halloween."

Jill's smile fell. Her small hand curled around his clenched fist, easing some of the tension there. "I'm sorry. I know how much this place means to you."

Ambrose shrugged, willing away the emotions that made his chest tighten. "It was bound to happen. There's no way to own a business without being a shark and I'm far from that. I don't think anyone will be surprised."

Jill pursed her lips, knowing his words to be true. Ambrose was a good mechanic, there was no doubt about that. But he was an even better man with an even bigger heart.

He didn't scam his customers into wasting more money than they needed to. He gave people time to pay off the cost of the repairs instead of requiring an upfront payment. He bent the rules and gave leeway even when there was no leeway left to give because he understood.

So, no. The shop closing down wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But it would leave a massive hole in the community that had come to rely on Ambrose's kindness.

"Do the guys know yet?"

Ambrose shook his head. "I was about to tell them before the great rose debacle came in and messed up my day."

Ambrose cursed that woman to Timbuktu and back in his mind. Damn her.

On the bright side, he at least had jobs set up for his remaining workers once things came to an end. He'd made three calls to three different shops that were in the area and looking for more mechanics. With John's, Timmy's, and Pete's years of experience plus Ambrose's glowing praise, it had been a piece of cake.

The other owners knew Ambrose. They knew his word was good. So taking on Ambrose's men didn't make them feel like they were going out on a limb for anyone. If Ambrose said they were good workers then they were good workers. End of story.

He was grateful to have alternative shops to refer to his customers too. They wouldn't bend the rules as much as Ambrose did. But if there was some wiggle room to be found, well, then Ambrose's old customers would certainly be in luck.

Ambrose had buyers coming by later to pick through his garage. He knew that based on his own knowledge and research, everything he had would amount to $100,000 minimum. Split four ways that came out to $25,000 each.

"I've got it all sorted, though," Ambrose continued. He rubbed his face, feeling the prickly dark stubble and made a mental note to shave later. Cameron preferred him clean shaven because he said he looked better. Ambrose was more convinced it was because it gave Cameron an excuse to slather his face with foam and play. "Got jobs for the guys and I'm gonna split the money from selling everything equally. It'll work out in the end."

Ambrose had also refused all offers of a job at the other shops. Told the security guard at his apartment complex to sit on a cactus with no lube. He deserved it considering he was the one to steal Cameron's bike. And he'd kissed his deposit goodbye once he let his landlord know he was breaking his lease at that shitty place.

Ambrose couldn't explain everything that he was feeling right now. But somehow, deep down, he knew that this was a change he needed. Declining those job offers and accepting the one that Vincent and Kiki got for him at the country club. It would be a change of pace for him. A whole new world that he was unfamiliar with.

He couldn't afford to do much because Cameron always came first. But this, this new change of scenery, was the most he could grant himself given the circumstances.

It made Ambrose feel guilty given he was a failure right now. Yet a small, childish part of him, actually looked forward to what might become of his life. Once he had the load of running a business off his shoulders, he could finally breathe a little.

"That's good, then. You didn't have to put in all that effort to take care of them but you did. I'm sure they'll appreciate that." Jill paused and she squirmed as her mind drifted to the great rose debacle. Ambrose knew that roses were her favorite flower. However, with the way he was acting now, she couldn't help but be a little confused. He was always shooting her down in the past few months. But now he was sending her roses? Talk about mixed signals. "So, the roses. Those were, what, platonic?"

Ambrose groaned, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. Jill's traitorous, thirsty stare traced the veins in his beefy arms and the ink that colored his tanned skin. It was hell, wanting a man that she could never have. Especially one as good as Ambrose.

God, Jill shook her head. I should've listened to Vincent and pulled the trigger back in high school.

Maybe things would've been much different for them both now.

"No, those were apology roses." Ambrose rolled his eyes. "From the most annoying woman I've ever met in my entire life."

Ambrose painted a not so pretty picture of his run ins with Lilah that had Jill chuckling at his misfortune. She ignored the little needles pricking at her heart. Recycled flowers. Why had she been so foolish to expect more?

"So, listen, about my meeting with Vincent." Jill reached into her coat, pulling out two business cards and gave them to Ambrose. One was from three days ago and from Vincent. The identical second card came from the stranger, Caius. What a funny coincidence, she thought, to be given the same card from two different men that wanted to help her. "He gave me an ultimatum."

Ambrose read the address for the women's shelter, nodding. "He's good at that."

"I could go to the women's shelter and figure things out while I divorce Noah." Ambrose's shocked eyes met hers and she faltered. "Or..."

"Or?"

Ambrose already had a feeling where this was going.

It's my apartment and I can do whatever I want with it. I can have whoever I want living there.

"Or I can move in with Vincent. He has a friend, some girl he knows, that he thinks might give me a job. Something simple so I can get out there because..." Jill laughed hollowly, ducking her head in embarrassment. "Noah never let me work. Vincent thought it would be great for me to start off with something simple, y'know? And he says his boyfriend knows these lawyers that are nice and good with divorces and they could help. But then he told me about you and Cameron and I know we haven't really talked in years and I have this weird thing for you and you've beat up Noah tons of times and I was scared that—"

"Breathe," Ambrose interrupted, taking her hands in his, "Jilly, you need to breathe."

Jill's chest was heaving and there were tears running down her face in black streaks. The more she cried her tears of silence the more Ambrose saw the various colors that decorated her face.

"Just say the words," she forced out.

Jill was trying to be brave but it was hard. Years of being young and stupid meant she had to live with all the mistakes she'd made. Cutting off Vincent and Ambrose was the dumbest thing she'd ever done and for what? A man that isolated her from everyone that loved her. Never let her work. Locked her up in a cage of codependency where she took beating after beating because she loved him.

"If you tell me that you don't want me there, then I won't move in," Jill said. "I'll go to the shelter and live there instead. Just say the words and I'm out. I promise."

Ambrose shook his head, he didn't even have to think about it. "We told you that we'd be waiting for you when you were ready to get out. Are you ready to leave him?"

Jill nodded eagerly. Her eyes stung as her mascara continued to run. "I am."

"Are you sure?" Ambrose had been through this with her before. Right before she kicked him and Vincent out of her life and went back to Noah. He didn't think his heart could take it again if she pulled the same stunt. "I need you to be certain that you're not gonna go back to Noah once you start missing him."

"I lost another baby," she admitted quietly. Shame flooded her devastated stare. "I'm not gonna keep letting him hurt me. I'm done."

That boyish grin she adored so much graced his face, chasing away the stern mask he constantly wore. Ambrose held her hands, gentle and sweet. Jill knew that nothing would ever come of it but she realized that, maybe, that was alright.

Maybe what she needed now wasn't a new love to fill the hole her old love left in her heart. Maybe what she needed now was old friends to remind her what it was like to be safe again.

"Then it's settled." Ambrose dropped her hands and stood. "Stay here. Once I get off work we'll get your stuff and drop it off at my place. We'll figure things out from there."

Jill breathed out a sigh of relief. The weight that'd been crushing her lungs for eight years vanished. It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot. But this was a small step towards something better, right?

Jill could do this. She could take small steps.

One day, she looked forward to having the courage to walk on her own like she did when she was younger.

"Thank you, Ambrose."

Ambrose ruffled her hair like when they were kids. That boyish grin and that light tone of his never left as he said, "No problem, Jilly."

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QOTD: How do you think things will go for Jill as she takes this big step out from under her abuser? What do you think awaits everyone as Jill, Ambrose, Vincent, and Cameron prepare to move in together? What are your thoughts on everything Ambrose is doing before the inevitable end of his shop?