Back to Me without you (Sibling Love Book 1) (9 page)

“Where are we?” Sam asked.

Abby slipped the driver some money, paying for the taxi. “Thank you,” she said, ignoring Sam’s question for the moment.

They both got out of the car. Abby watched the taxi drive away before she turned her attention toward a traditional style one story house. The outside looked the same despite the tall oak tree that once stood just to the left of the front window.

“So where are we?” Sam asked her again.

Abby let go a deep breath she didn’t realise she had held in. “This is where I used to live with Steven and Jess—before our parents passed away.”

“You grew up here?”

Abby nodded her head, unable to get the words out without choking up. She hadn’t been back here since the day she had helped Steven and Jessica move out. That was also the day she had transferred to another country. It had been hard being so far away from Steven and Jessica. She had never lived so far away from them before. She thought it would be good for them, that it would bring them closer together, and she had been right. Even though she was far away, Abby cherished her siblings more now than she ever did.

She didn’t think coming back would churn up as much heartache as she was experiencing now.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked. He reached out to her, but she pulled away from him.

“I’m all right,” she said. “You don’t need to be here. I’d much rather do this alone.” She didn’t know what Sam was doing here, anyway. He could have stayed behind in the taxi, but instead he was standing beside her.

“I want to be here. Besides, where else would I be? I have nowhere else to go except back to the hotel I’m staying at.”

Abby didn’t know how to respond other than say, “Thank you.” It had been a long time since any man had shown her as much kindness as he was showing her right now.

“Are you going to knock on the front door?” Sam asked.

Abby shook her head. “No. It would be nice to see what the house looks like on the inside, but I don’t want to disrupt the family that’s living there now. They’ll think I’m a weirdo for wanting to explore the house they now call home.”

“Correction, they’ll think that we’re both weirdos for exploring their home. But if we tell them it was the house you grew up in, I think they’ll understand and maybe even sympathise with you. It’s sentimental. I’m sure they’re nice people. What do you say?”

Abby didn’t say anything, which prompted further questioning from Sam.

“What were you going to do? Stand outside the house and take a picture? Then people will think you are a weirdo.”

Abby knew he had a point. She didn’t know what she was going to do. Maybe she was just going to stand here and look at the house. All she knew was she had to see it again.

“We’re here. I think we should at least knock on the door and ask if it would be okay to take a tour of what used be your house. And even if they’re not home or they don’t allow us inside, at least we tried and you can say it wasn’t a complete waste of a trip.”

Before Abby could respond, Sam was opening the small gate and strolling up the pebble path leading to the front door. Butterflies surged through her. She was nervous as hell. Abby was never as outgoing as Steven and Jessica. But she couldn’t back out now. It was too late. Sam was already standing on the veranda. He knocked twice on the front door, looking back at Abby with anxious eyes.

Abby ran a hand through her curls, hitched up her dress and began making her way towards the front door. Memories flooded back to her as she walked along the pebbled path leading to the door, and she had to blink twice to keep the tears at bay.

She thought back to the days when she and Jessica would play hopscotch out front. They would wait for their father to come home from work.

Abby stepped onto the veranda, which triggered more memories. She was sure she was ready to break down right here, glad to have Sam standing next to her.

She reached out to touch his arm for support just as the door opened revealing a young couple that couldn’t be any older than Abby herself.

“Hello, can we help you?” the man asked.

“We don’t mean to be intrusive, but I’m Sam and this is Abby,” Sam took it upon himself to introduce the two of them. “Abby used to live here when she was a child and has since moved to New York after her parents’ passing.”

Abby nervously cleared her throat, then spoke. “I don’t want to trouble you or disturb your business. I was just wondering if I could take a peek into your home for cherished memory purposes.” Abby could see the hesitation in their faces and she understood their uncertainty to let two strangers into their home. For all they knew, Abby and Sam could be serial killers who preyed on unknowns as their next victims. She felt her face heating up and hurriedly added, “I understand if you decline. It’s silly even to think it, and I’m sorry for intruding. We’ll go.”

Abby grabbed Sam’s arm, turning to leave.

“No, it’s okay,” the young man said. “We’re sorry but we weren’t expecting visitors at our door tonight. We’re just surprised. That’s all.”

Abby nodded. “Of course. Apologies for that.”

They both smiled, and the young woman said, “Please, come in. You can look around, but you’ll need to be quiet because our children are already asleep in bed.”

Abby felt a gush of relief and gratitude. “Thank you so much,” she said, returning their smiles. “We’ll be quiet, I promise.”

The front door opened wider to allow them inside. Abby had her differences with Sam, but she had to admit she was grateful she had someone by her side. She almost felt like tugging on his arm but refrained from doing because she didn’t want to look like a weirdo who couldn’t stand on her own two feet. She supposed they looked weird enough standing there wearing a fancy dress and a tuxedo.

With Sam behind her, Abby stepped inside. The house took her back to another time and place. More memories flooded through her and she almost shed a tear or two, but she stayed strong.

Abby stopped at the entryway leading toward the living room. She expected this family made a lot of their living there, just as her family had. In her mind’s eye, she could still see her family sitting around the fireplace during the winter. They would talk about their day and what they were going to get up to on the weekend. There was no better way to unwind after a long day at work or school than by watching television with family.

Her mother would be sitting in her faded floral armchair with whatever knitting project she was working on at the time. Her father would be in his shed out back attempting to fix something he was sure wasn’t broken, while proving a point to his wife at the same time. He always aimed to assure his wife that he was good at fixing things when he wasn’t. He usually made them worse off than they were originally. Abby couldn’t help but smile at the memory. She supposed that was where Steven got his desire to help others.

Her father also made his beer. And he would insist to anyone who would listen that his home-brew was the best kind, better than any beer you could buy at the supermarket.

The room looked just as it used to look except for a change of paint colour. The fireplace was still intact. The mantle above it was the same as well. It had been the home to a selection of framed photographs from memorable moments of the family throughout the years.

Abby used her fingers to trace over the markings on the wooden frame of the doorway. Her mother had used the doorframe to measure each of her children’s height over the years. Even to this day, they were still etched into the woodwork. She could see that even as a child, there was a height difference between Steven, Abby and Jessica. He always towered over his sisters.

As Abby continued to roam the rest of the house, she opted to stay clear of the bedrooms at the risk of waking the couple’s two young children. Sam remained in the hallway. She was grateful he left her alone with her memories. While it was wonderful to be able to come back and visit the house she had grown up in with family, Abby also knew that she had to move forward with her life. Although she would never disregard her past and would treasure her memories forever, she couldn’t dwell on what used to be anymore.

Abby thanked the couple, Seth and Jamie, for their warm generosity. Then she joined Sam at the door, scanned her surroundings one final time and headed out into her sometimes-scary new life.

L
ater that night, Abby was still with Sam, having agreed to join him for a couple of drinks back at his hotel. She’d hesitated when he’d offered but surprisingly changed her mind. So now they were on drink number three, and it seemed to Sam that she was having a good time. Of course, being a little tipsy probably had a lot to do with that. He guessed she didn’t usually indulge in a lot of wine.

“I don’t think I thanked you for earlier, so thank you,” Abby blurted out.

Abby could see that she had surprised Sam by her comment. Up to this point, Abby knew that she could come across as being uptight. Although she must admit that she had thought the same thing about him too.

His job at the hospital was often the reason why he couldn’t commit to a long-term relationship. That, and memories of his disastrous first marriage.

“You’re thanking me?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Don’t look so surprised. You don’t know that it doesn’t happen a lot. Even with people I’m not crazy about. I am glad you made the first move in knocking on the front door. I would have never done it alone.”

Sam chuckled, clutching at his chest. “I don’t know whether I should feel sad at the fact you don’t like me.”

“Well, I didn’t like you a whole lot, but after the way we met, you should have expected that. You were chatty on the plane and you spilt coffee on me.”

Sam opened his mouth in shock. “What? Do you mean to say you don’t like small talk on a plane? I’m sorry. I was a bit anxious about flying. I thought it might help that it would keep my mind off the fact that I was in the air.”

“I guess you couldn’t know that when I travel by plane, I like my flight quiet. I like to read a good book, listen to music or get some work done. I’ll forgive you for that. But after we landed, you stole my taxi!”

“I’m sorry for that,” Sam said. “That was wrong of me to do. I don’t usually do that.

“It’s okay. Just don’t make a habit of it or I might have to hold against you. I can be mean when I want to.” Abby downed the last of her wine in her glass. “But I don’t want to talk about that. I’m ready to have some fun.”

“Would I be correct in saying you don’t have a lot of fun?”

Sam guessed he was spot on by the look Abby gave him. “I have a good time,” she protested. “I know how to have fun. I bet I have more fun than you do, Dr Collins. Given your line of work, I bet you practically live at the hospital.”

Sam raised one eyebrow, lifting his glass of beer. “Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe. Are you up for it?”

Something told him he wasn’t going to stand in the way of Abby proving a point. She seemed a lot stronger than she looked. “Let me get this straight. Are you saying you can be more fun than me?” Abby nodded. “Fine then. I’m willing to take on the challenge if you are.” Sam wasn’t one to back down from a bet.

“Of course I am. I’m not about to back down now,” Abby said, tossing her hair over one shoulder. She had lovely hair. It was thick, glossy and chocolate brown. For a moment, Sam caught himself imagining how soft it would feel if he ran his fingers through it.

He extended one hand towards her and gave her a smile. “It’s a bet then,” he said as he and Abby shook hands.