She found her luggage easily enough when her feet finally hit solid ground. Her eyes narrowed in observation as she turned to hunt for the familiar brown–black set of curls that belonged to her best friend. She slipped the strap of her carry–on bag higher up on her shoulder as she dragged her pink suitcase behind her with a heavy click clack on the tile through the airport. Her feet grew heavier the longer she walked, but it wasn’t exhaustion that held her down this time, nor was it any sort of physical pain. It was her heart doing the stressing and it was hanging so heavily in her chest that there was no way she’d enjoy her mini vacation at this rate. She was too damn worried about what she’d left behind, those things mainly being David and her parents. But she was determined to give her insides an emotional break. She didn’t exactly know how she was going to do that, but dammit all to hell she had to at least try.
Seriously though, how many times did a girl get to go to Santa Cruz to go surfer boy shopping in her life? Not very many, that was for damn sure. And according to Harley, she’d be getting her fill—times ten—this weekend. It was just too bad not a damn one of them would be anything beyond a pretty face to look at. She only hoped that they were the perfect distraction to all the crappy things that would not take the hint and get the hell out of her mind.
She sighed, nodding to herself as determination took hold of her insides. She rounded the corner, with her chin held high, ready to make this thing happen. Ready to take on the world for one last weekend, before it all changed for good. And there, standing in the arms of the boy who’d robbed her heart, was Harley and her big, ginormous, and oh–so–contagious smile curling up at the edges of her lips.
Abigail’s heart swelled at the sight. It’d been three hellish years for that girl, it was about time she saw genuine joy in her dark, haunted eyes.
Feet picking up speed, as did her heart, the closer she came to her best friend, Abigail sprinted her way forward. Twenty feet, fifteen feet, Abigail blinked, pausing and stiffening for only a fragment of a tiny second. Oh hell, was Harley’s sign meant for her? Groaning she continued to move onwards until only ten feet separated their reunion. But then she blinked again. Did that sign seriously say “It’s my best friend’s first time in Cali, let’s find her a surfer boy!”?
Redness accompanied the smile on Abigail’s face. She was not an easily embarrassed person, dammit. But leave it to Harley to get to her for once. She shook her head, dropping her bag, and darted the rest of the distance across the tile to close in on her. Harley did the same, tossing the poster she was holding back towards Mason’s readied arms, before racing the rest of the way forward. They smashed into each other, all girly squeals and screeches. It was like pigs mating—loud and annoying—but necessary to keep the bacon pushed into production. A horribly bad analogy, yeah, but it was what it was.
“Oh my God, Abigail, my mom was right, look at you,” Harley’s arms loosened from around her waist, but neither let go as they pulled back to look at one another, “You look exhausted! What the hell? Don’t you sleep anymore?”
Abigail’s grin faltered for a moment, and her breath caught just in the base of her throat. She had to pull herself together. This was a reunion, not a powwow over her newly–discovered health issues. So she faked a grin, yanking Harley back into another fierce embrace. It wasn’t long, though, before a real hug took over the faux one with a vengeance. No matter what she was dealing with, seeing Harley always made things good, made things seem feasible, even though her best friend had no clue what shocking revelation she’d discovered only six hours beforehand.
“Ah hell, I missed you too, Harley!” Their mutual squeeze was full of so much emotion that Abigail wouldn’t be surprised if they were going to explode into a real life Hallmark card. It was moments like that when Abigail knew that life would eventually find its way back to a normal state.
They giggled in unison, pulling back to face Mason just as he released a low, pitiful groan, “Jesus you two, if I would have known you were gonna get all hot and heavy in the middle of the airport, then I would’ve brought my video camera,” he waggled his eyebrows teasingly, winking as he reached for Abigail’s suitcase.
Abigail shook her head, breaking away from the hold of her best friend’s arms to grab her bag off the floor. “And hi to you too, Mason,” with his hair just barely grazing the tops of his shoulders, and a five o’clock shadow that said lazy summer days all over it, Mason Daniel looked older than the last time she’d seen him, and most definitely the epitome of California, sexy surfer boy. But he was one hundred percent Harley’s. Always had been, and probably always would be. The two of them deserved every damn bit of that happiness they could get. Nobody deserved to live through the shit the two of them had. But they definitely earned the rainbow that happened after their storms. And if the pot of gold showed up too, then she wouldn’t complain if they took it all and didn’t share.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you too!” She smiled as they began to make their way to the exit. The boy was still just as chivalrous as ever, holding doors and carrying suitcases. The sweetest punk–head alive, “I’m gonna run this stuff to the car real quick, Little Beast, then I’ll meet the two of you across the street at Jo’s Cafe. Sound good?”
Absolute worship centered in his eyes as his gaze focused solely on Harley. Heat brewed between the two of them as he inched in closer to her front. Abigail’s eyes wandered between their googly looking faces, but it was as if she wasn’t even there, like the only two people in the world who existed at that point were the two of them.
She smiled sadly. Damn how she loved love. But with her moony thoughts, came a tiny pull that yanked the hell out of her heartstrings, forcing her to finally look away just before their lips connected. Yeah sure, she was ecstatic for them, ungodly happy as a matter of fact, but she didn’t need to see the kiss. Nor did she need to hear it either. Abigail wasn’t jealous of their happiness by any means, especially since they deserved it so very much. But she was only human and one of the only things she wanted out of life was what the two of them were lucky enough to find.
She cleared the emotion from her throat and shook her head, getting back to business as she went to stand at Harley’s side again. She nudged her in the ribs with her elbow, grinning down at Harley’s blazing red face, “Man, are you two getting hitched or something? Because you kind of make me sick with all that lovey–dovey crap.”
Abigail turned to face Harley full on, expecting to see anger or even annoyance in her best friend’s eyes at the assumption. But instead, all she could see there was hope. And maybe even a little bit of fear. Abigail’s eyes slowly bugged from her head. Hell no. Miss sensible Harley couldn’t possibly be considering the big M, at nineteen years old, could she be? After multiple nudges, Harley still didn’t respond, nor did she even flinch at the unrealistic words coming from Abigail’s now slack–jawed mouth.
“Hello, Harley Ann? Are you in there?”
“Huh?” she finally blinked, seemingly coming back to life from her apparent love coma, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
Abigail rolled her eyes and shook her head, leading them towards the exit. When in the hell had the two of them gotten this bad? “Nothing,” Abigail sighed, looping her arm through Harley’s, “I gotta go pee. Show me to the toilet, would ya?”
Harley smiled, leading the way, “Yes ma’am, one bathroom coming right up.” Her best friend continued to smile, but there was a knowingness on her lips too, as well as a set of secrets. Abigail was dying to question her about them all, but then again, was it really even her business what they did and how they loved one another? Nope, not at all.
“So, tell me. Did my dumbass brother call you yet?”
Abigail worried her lip, shaking her head. No, he hadn’t called. But Harley didn’t need to know that she’d seen her favorite and only brother, face plant and have a seizure on the floor of a party only four nights ago. “Nope,” she shrugged, keeping her expression as neutral as possible.<
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“I swear, Abigail, I don’t know what’s up with him lately. Mom says that he’s been an agitated mess for almost two months now. It’s weird too because his mood seems to have worsened, like he’s harboring all this crap inside of him again. I thought he’d gotten passed that, you know? I thought once he got the prosthetic, that things would be…well—”
“Better?” Abigail sighed. Her insides churned at the lie she was keeping. She squeezed Harley’s shoulder, hoping she was sending her reassurance through touch, even though she wasn’t sure if it’d help. Harley’s guilt over her brother’s accident would never waver, she knew that, but she’d come so far with her issues, that telling the girl how bad her brother had looked would only break her down again. It was Abigail’s job to protect the ones she loved, and she would always and forever protect Harley, even if it meant keeping secrets. “David will never be better again, Harley. But he will get by. He’s tough. You know that as much as I do.” Abigail shrugged, needing to move on from the subject. This lying business was going to brutally murder her stomach soon if she wasn’t careful. Sure, Harley deserved to know the truth, but it wasn’t her secret to share, nor was it her issue to reveal.
They continued on their way, weaving through the parked cars on the street as they headed towards the restaurant. Mason sat on a bench right by the front door of the tiny little diner, just like he’d promised. His smile was bright like always, and his gaze was focused fully on Harley, like she was the only thing he ever saw. Abigail knew more than anybody, how true that sentiment was.
He stood, gleaming from ear to ear, moving at the speed of a superhero to reach them. Abigail fought another eye roll. God though, how pathetic could this guy be? It’s like he hadn’t seen Harley in years, rather than minutes. Abigail wanted to snarl in disgust, but get all giddy at the same time for the two of them. Her emotions were all over the place. She was a living and breathing messed up pile of hormones.
He waved them over, and Harley literally ran the rest of the way to see him. Arms and hugs, and more kissing, it was blissfully…disgusting. Abigail shook her head, fighting a smile anyways, “God, don’t you two ever get tired of kissing like that? How are your lips not broken by now?” Mason turned to face her, winking again, but no words left his smiling mouth. Oh he was a shit–eating bastard and Abigail clutched her bag just to fight the urge to deck his ornery grin. She’d always had a soft spot for him though, because underneath all his wickedness, was an emotional guy who loved harder than any person she’d ever known. She couldn’t blame him for that, especially since he directed that love towards her best friend.
“Oh, Abs, you just wait until it happens to you.” Harley giggled, as they wrapped their arms around each other’s waists, losing focus on the world once more as they pressed their lips together for another brief, agonizing moment.
“Um, no, if I ever get all giddy and swoony like you two, then kick my ass, seriously,” really though, just the thought of kissing David and simply holding his hand in a public place for the world to watch as they declared their love with PDA, was exactly what she wanted. She was all tough and crap on the outside, but she was secretly a girl who longed to be romanced the hell off her feet.
Harley smiled sadly, nodding, as if she could read her thoughts. Abigail looked away, red in the cheeks as she waltzed into the quaint little diner that boasted about their fantastic pancakes right there on the door. But the moment the booths appeared, the moment the scent of eggs and hash browns and bacon assaulted her nose, her stomach soured to that of curdled milk. She was so going to hurl. Hell, it was a wonder she was still standing as it was. She covered her mouth, her body racing towards the bathroom door only seconds later. And it definitely wasn’t just to empty her bladder this time.
Damn it all to hell…
She hovered over the toilet, sweat pouring down her temples and onto her neck, soaking her tank top to an icy cold temperature. She shivered, squeezing her eyelids shut as she retched into the toilet. Holy, freaking hell—this wasn’t good.
“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.
A Long Time Coming Page 6