A Long Time Coming (8 page)

“Abigail? Um, are you okay in
there?” The knock on the stall had her entire body jumping out of her skin. She
found herself flat on her ass only seconds later, leaning her head back against
the stall door. She sighed, wiping the wetness from her mouth with her
fingertips, her blonde hair sticking to the dampness of her neck and cheeks.

Hell no, this wasn’t happening
to her. But she knew, without a doubt, that those two pink lines wouldn’t have
lied. 

She moaned, lying once more,
“Ugh, I’ve been fighting something for a few days now, not sure what it is.”
She gulped, acid burned in her throat as she shut her eyes. Behind the darkness
of her lids, the room started to flash a neon yellow color, just as the
dizziness accompanied the darkness she was trying not to welcome.

“Um, are you sure you’re okay
in there? That hit you like, really quick.”

Abigail sighed, finally
standing up to unlock the door, praying the whole way that her shaking knees
would hold her upright. Her body was still sweating as she stepped in front of
the sink, and she shivered, slipping her shaking hand over the cold water knob.
The flow slowly dripped out, as she gathered a small amount of the liquid in
her palms to splash against her face. She didn’t bother looking over at Harley.
There was no point in accepting the sympathy that was burning across her best
friend’s face. And she certainly didn’t deserve the sympathy either because
Abigail knew exactly what was wrong. And it definitely wasn’t a stomach bug
creeping up on her.

It’d been eight weeks and
three days since that night she’d spent in the back of her sports car with
David. Eight weeks since they’d gotten drunk on her dad’s vodka to celebrate
his new leg… And eight weeks since they’d finally given in to the emotions and
physical desires David had always been adamant to fight against.

She reached for a paper towel,
closing her eyes as she pressed the scratchy, brown material down the front of
her face. She blew out a shaky breath, remembering everything about that night,
like it had happened only days ago. Remembering how
she
was the one who
had climbed on top of
him
. How
she
was the one begging
him
to give in to their mutual desires. Remembering how she’d cried like a psycho
maniac when he’d tried to push her away, denying her and her needs. Remembering
how
she’d
kissed him first. Remembering his answering groan that she’d
quickly swallowed with her mouth, and then her tongue. Remembering the way his
powerful hands had slipped her shirt off in one, quick, frantic movement…how
his eyes bored into hers with so much intensity, and soulful love, that she’d
become completely lost in them, forgetting everything else in that
moment…including protection.

Remembering rough fingers,
smooth lips, hot breath…remembering how it had felt just as their bodies
connected. How she’d nuzzled her face into his neck, inhaling his warm skin as
he kissed her face, and touched, and pulled and pushed against her… She grinned
to herself, remembering how they hadn’t even bothered with his shirt or her
shoes for that matter. The only thing that
had
mattered was the fact
that he’d finally accepted her, finally accepted
them
…at least that’s
what she had hoped was happening.

But then when they’d woken up
in a tangle of limbs the next morning, she realized by the stiff ramrod state
of his body as she kissed his neck, that he’d regretted what had happened
between them after all. Neither of them spoke on their way home. Neither of
them seemed to breathe either. And that had been the last time they’d spoken,
or really seen each other…until the party.

“Um, you okay over there?”
Harley’s warm hand pressed lightly against Abigail’s forearm, causing her to
jump. She stared down at her best friend’s fingers, but didn’t meet her eyes,
at least not right away. She was terrified that Harley would see the secret
written there on her face if she did. And she was in no way ready to tell her
baby’s aunt the news of its unexpected appearance, not before she got the
chance—and most definitely the courage—to tell its daddy. “Because a second ago
you were puking your brains out, and now you look like you were just lost in a
kick–ass daydream or something.” Abigail sighed, shrugging as she tossed her
towel in the garbage.

Yeah…or something was right.
Because that was definitely not a daydream, more of a memory she’d like to both
forget, and relive over and over again for every single day of her existence.
Unfortunately though, she’d acquired a forever kind of souvenir from that night
too. And now there was no way she’d
ever
be able to forget it, even if
she wanted to.

“I’m good. Like I said, I
just…have a bug or something.” She shrugged, lying through her teeth as she dug
through her bag for some breath mints. “Let’s go. I’m hungry now,” which wasn’t
a lie. Her stomach was suddenly ravenous. The spawn growing in her belly
apparently had its daddy’s appetite already.

Abigail was still in shock
over the news, or denial maybe was the better emotional description for it. But
did she regret it? Did she regret the life growing inside of her, the baby
currently the size of a tiny chick pea in her stomach? Hell no she didn’t
regret it, she just wished the timing and circumstances were different. She was
nineteen years old for freak’s sake! Fresh out of high school, living under the
roof of two people who didn’t even like each other. Yeah, her parents wouldn’t
let her suffer, or her baby either. They’d give her the money she needed and
they’d shelter her and the bambino. They’d make sure they were taken care of
physically, even though she’d refuse it until the very end. But it wasn’t just
the physical aspect of the situation she was worried about—it was the emotional
craptasticness she was about ready to suffer through instead. Like, who would
hold her hand as she heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time? Who would
be there in the delivery room, holding out her puke bucket, or acting as her
punching bag?

There was no denying that
there was an Anderson alien growing inside her stomach. Now she just had to
figure out what in the hell to do about it. But one thing was for sure. This
baby now gave her a reason to exist and to be a better person. It was already
so much a part of her that she couldn’t live without it. And she loved the ever
loving hell out of the little monster making her hurl ever morning.

But then there was David. The
guy would ultimately freak the fuck out when he learned the truth, especially
since he was still so messed up as it was. All she could hope for in the end
was a little acceptance on his behalf. She’d deal with the rest as it went.

Chapter Eight

“I’m sorry David. You’ll just
have to call back in a few days. Abigail is actually in California, visiting
your sister.” Dammit. Fucking hell! She’d gone and left after he’d begged her
not to? Christ she was stubborn.

He shook his head, wanting to
throw something—or possibly even cry. And he was
not
a crying little
pussy either. It’s not that he could have stopped her from going. He had zero
pull over that girl. Abigail Zane was the freest–ass spirit he’d ever met. She
was also a big girl, and when you told her not to do something, she always did
just the opposite, and she did it hard and she did it fast. The simple fact
though that she was on her way to California to hang with guys like Mason
Daniel, had his gut clenching in jealous, angry knots.

“Oh, okay,” he responded,
leaning back in his chair as he squeezed his lids shut.

“Yeah, she left at four this
morning. Didn’t even take her cell phone with her either, otherwise I’d tell
you to call that. I’m sorry, son.”

David blinked his tired eyes
open, only to look down at the palms of his hands a second later. Nail marks
sat in perfect moon–shaped crescent marks as he opened and shut his fingers.
“No problem, Mr. Zane, thanks for letting me know.”

Goodbyes were said, and
without even realizing what he was doing, David found his hand hovering over
the letters and the mouse of his laptop. He narrowed his eyes as the screen lit
up, and almost crapped himself when he clicked on the airline website.
Seriously…what the hell was he doing? He wasn’t in any shape to go to
California, and Abigail was
not
his girlfriend. Nor would she
ever be
his girlfriend. But somehow or another, his fingers clicked on reserve and in
one, loud beat of his heart, his plane ticket to Santa Cruz for tomorrow, was
booked.

He was one messed up son of a
bitch…

He groaned, leaning back into
his chair again, dragging his fist down the side of his face. Now he had to
figure out how he was going to tell his parents. Either his mother was going to
kill him, or cry big bucket loads of angry tears. Or maybe even do both. But
did he really even care what she thought? Did he value her or his father’s
opinion anymore? No, not really. He was just a guy who was simply obsessed with
a girl he could never have. A girl he was so in love with that he didn’t have a
single bit of control over what he did, or didn’t do any more when it came to
her. Hell, Abigail had always ruled his life in a way that he didn’t
understand, and there was no way he’d be able to change that.

But really, who in the mother
of fucktards was he kidding in this current screwed up situation? He didn’t
have a plan as to what he would do two days from now, let alone two years or
even two months from now! Why was he chasing after her? He didn’t deserve her!
She was better off without him. He’d only drag her down with his ongoing
issues. But unfortunately he did know one thing: He had to go to her. If
anything just to make sure she was safe and okay. And yeah, he could have just
called his sister. That made a hell of a lot more sense, but he also knew that
it would never be the same as physically seeing her. And ever since their night
together, he’d been her stalker of sorts. She wasn’t his, but he wanted her to
be safe because he loved the fucking hell out of her.

Besides, it’d be good to see
Harley again too. Yeah, he’d keep telling himself that. It’d been two months
since his two minute younger sister had been home, and he missed the hell out
of her. She was his twin—his best friend—the one girl who got him, even if she
technically didn’t.

So he put on his metaphorical
big boy pants, and sucked in a breath, taking his mistakes and regrets in
through his nose and out of his mouth right along with the air. Slowly, he made
his way down the hallway to find his parents. The TV was on, and their eyes
were fully focused on the news, like he figured they would be at six o’clock at
night. They were creatures of routine and never once had they wavered from
their little schedule. And there really wouldn’t be a better time to break
his
news than in that moment.

“Hey Mom, Dad, can we talk?”
He cleared his throat, leaning against the doorframe. Immediately their eyes
whipped his direction. Surprise registered on his mom’s face because nights
were his time to rot away in his room, alone. But his dad’s face was stoic as
ever.

He swallowed the anxious lump
building in his gut, as the sweat welled in his palms. His mind burrowed
through all the different ideas ransacking his brain, all the different ways to
build up to the inevitable truth he was about to spill. Shit though, this was
going to be harder than he thought…

“Sure sweetie, what’s up?”

He ran a hand through his
hair, watching as his mom slowly leaned forward against her knees. She clicked
the remote off, and the background noise of the TV went silent. All he could
hear now was the furious pounding of his heart in his head. He had his mother’s
full attention, but his grizzly bear of a dad just looked downright pissed at
the disturbance.

Double shit.

“What did you need, David?”
His father sighed, lifting his paper up in front of his face. David scooted in
closer, cracking his neck from side to side as he moved to sit on the end
table.

“Actually, I’ve got some
news,” his mom’s eyes narrowed, his dad sighed. His stomach danced a ballet of
fear, taking his dinner for a ride along with it. Shit, where’d his balls go?

“I, uh, I’m leaving in the
morning to go see Harley. I’ve already booked a flight so you can’t change my
mind. And I’m gonna be fine, so don’t try to talk me out of it either.” He held
a hand out in front of him as his jaw clenched tight. Okay, one bad detail
down, time to face the bad background music next.

His mom cleared her throat,
but didn’t respond right away. Okay, so that was either a really
bad
thing,
or a really good one. He couldn’t be sure. But like he’d said, he didn’t care
what they thought about his impromptu trip, he was nineteen years old! He had a
savings account, he was self–sufficient. He was definitely a big–ass boy. There
was no way they were going to change his mind. No way in hell.

     “What in the hell are you
thinking, David? You can’t just
book a flight
like that without asking
for permission first.” He lifted his head, watching as his mother stood and
began to pace the floor. Crap, pacing was never a good sign.

     “Umm, I think I can,
Mom.
I’m nineteen. I used my
own
credit card. I’ve got money saved. Oh,
and I
know
what the hell I’m doing, so don’t
even
go there!”

“Don’t talk to your mother
like that young man,” his dad stood, eyes looking murderous, anger falling from
his burly body in thick waves. The guy was a monster in the hugest sense, and
the only thing that could
physically
stop David from leaving.

But David was strong; he could
hold his own. He was going whether they agreed to it or not. “I’m not sorry,
and I’m really getting tired of being treated like an invalid,” he motioned
down to his leg for emphasis, “I am more than physically capable of doing this,”
minus the no pills part, the headaches, the seizures, and the fact that my
fake leg is all jacked up still, but hey, that’s my issue, not theirs. I’ll
deal with it.

The room thickened with both anguish and tears, mostly from
his mother. Dammit! If only they’d see things his way! He was tired of being
their little pet. He didn’t have a leash and he didn’t piss outside in the
grass. He was a guy who just wanted to be let out of the pound without any real
criticism or risk of being taken over by the guilt and anger of everyone who
didn’t agree with his choices. Sure, he knew they were probably just worried
and all, but he also didn’t see them chasing Harley’s ass home either.

“Look, I’m going, and you can’t stop me. I didn’t want this
to get ugly, but if I have to go without your agreement, then that’s what I’ll
do. Besides,” he knifed a hand through his curls, pulling at them with every
angry beat inside of his chest, “it’s not like I’m going to be gone for
forever. Its two days, that’s all,” he softened his tone, hating the big tears
falling down his mother’s cheeks. He loved the hell out of these two, but he
loved Abigail just as much, therefore he
had
to do this.

“Is this about Abigail? Is there something going on with
you two finally? Harley told me she was coming down this weekend so it kind of
seems like a planned coincidence, David.” He groaned. Even through her tears
the woman was wicked smart.

But did he want her to know that was exactly the reason?
No, he didn’t want to give them false hope. They’d been on his ass about him
and Abigail since the days she’d sat by his bedside in that hospital three
years ago after his accident.

“No Mom, I just…” he stuttered, looking down at the carpet.
Shit, what would he say? What would his mega lie of all mega lies be this time?
He blinked as his face heated to a red that he couldn’t hide if he tried. His
eyes traveled between his mother’s damp cheeks and his father’s clenched jaw.
“I just…want to see my sister, all right? I miss her so damn much that I can’t
take it any longer,” he sighed pulling at the back of his hair this time. It
wasn’t a lie at least, because his sister’s absence had seriously messed with
his mind whether he wanted to admit it or not.

     His father shook his head
and sat back down, scratching at his beard that grew longer every day. “You
need a major attitude adjustment, David,” he growled, “but I’m not going to
stop you.”

He stared down at his dad,
eyes narrowed, but not really surprised at his sudden relent. The man had
wanted him gone anyways, and it was more than obvious that his son’s disabled
body had been a thorn in his side since day one.

His mother blew out a shaky
breath, drawing his attention towards her face. “Are you sure you’re ready for
something like this? I mean you’ve never actually flown on a plane before, let
alone traveled on one by yourself.”

David laughed,     “Mom,
seriously? I think I can handle it.”

She sniffled, running a hand
under her eyes. His stomach muscles tightened in unease as he watched her. He
was always screwing with everyone’s emotions. He just couldn’t help it,
especially since he could barely get a handle on his own.

David stood, wincing as he
stretched out his prosthetic leg. Luckily nobody noticed his cringing face,
otherwise they’d probably be locking his ass in a room, or taking him straight
to a hospital instead. He’d stopped with the meds for the headaches because,
for one, they were doing all sorts of jacked up things to his dick. But he
didn’t realize that the meds also had helped with any lingering leg pain. He
was screwed in so many ways now and apparently he was in a forever stage of
damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

     “David, I don’t like the
idea, but if your father agrees and thinks you can handle it, then I guess I
can’t say much to stop you from going.” His mother sighed, leaning back into
the cushions as she shut her eyes.

     They never really had a
say in the situation in the first place. Like he’d said, he would go whether
they approved or not. But admittedly, it made him feel slightly better knowing
they were accepting his decision. He nodded, turning to leave, biting on his
tongue as the pain chewed him with its poisonous, invisible teeth.

“Wait! Do you need to call
your sister?” his mother’s voice stopped him just short of walking through the
threshold. He shut his eyes again just as the pain began rocketing up and down
his thigh with a vengeance. He needed to lay his ass down and sleep. Or he just
needed to break down and take the pills he’d been trying to avoid. What he
didn’t
need to do though was to talk anymore.

“No, I’ll call Mason and tell
him,”
yeah right…
“I want Harley to be surprised,”
and unable to stop
me.
He swallowed the lie and it scratched the hell out of his throat. She
needed to just stop talking, or he needed to just stop listening.

“Okay,” she whispered silently
to his backside, “but we
are
going to take you to the airport in the
morning, that way we can make sure you get settled on the plane okay.”

He nodded, but didn’t answer
in any other way as he shuffled from the room. He’d managed to overcome one
hurdle by telling his parents, but now he just had to figure out how the hell
he was going to make it through the next forty–eight–hour marathon without
screwing up his life permanently.