Second Chance at Forever | C. Cullen

015

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Blind Date

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-Abigail-

Rick was the one who drove with Abraham next to him. Beth and Abigail took the backseat, and while Abigail hadn't spoken much to the men other than to introduce herself, Beth spoke with them, laughing over funny stories until they got to the restaurant. It was in Port Angeles and part of her wished they could've stayed in Forks—she wanted to be closer to home, and she didn't know why, but she wasn't quite sure she meant the house she grew up in—but there was only the diner there in town and that wasn't all that romantic.

The restaurant Rick picked was La Bella Italia and it made Abigail smile at the name. She looked up in shock as her door opened and Abraham held out a hand to her. She paused only for a moment before smiling and letting him pull her out of the car. He didn't hold her hand into the restaurant, which she was thankful for as the idea made her incredibly uncomfortable, but she was seated next to him at the table with Rick and Beth across from them.

"So what do you do?" Abigail wondered, eyes flickering to Abraham.

He put down the beer he was drinking and turned to her slightly with an easy smile. He had opened up more as they had sat there and she found he was actually hilarious. She had giggled a lot as his comments and she found herself leaning closer the more she had to drink.

"Well, I was in the army for a long time, almost ready to make it my career when my knee was shot out. Had it replaced, but it wasn't good enough to join back up. I decided to start my own construction company, but that went belly up about six months ago. That's when Rick got me a job at the hospital."

"Are you also a lab tech?"

Abraham shook his head. "Nah, I do repairs for all the equipment around the hospital."

Abigail's eyes widened. "Does stuff really break down that much?"

"You'd be surprised," he said with a short laugh. "But you're a nurse, too, right?"

Abigail took another sip of wine as she nodded. "Down in the ER."

"Must be stressful."

"It can be, definitely. Especially the traumas." She shook her head. "But we've got some really good doctors there so it's not as bad as it could be."

That brought up unwanted thoughts of both Dr. Jones and Carlisle. Brett had made her uncomfortable all day, spending far too much time by her side making sure she "had gotten over the bug," while those feelings for Carlisle she had tried to ignore rose to the surface and she had to look away from Abraham.

What's wrong with me? she thought as her stomach twisted in the wrong way. There she was sitting next to an attractive, nice man. And she had been fine all night, managed to keep her thoughts off the beautiful doctor, but then one simple mention of the ER had her eating guilt, heart clenching, stomach twisting. She heard her name and she shook her head, quickly patting Abraham's arm.

"I need to use the restroom," she mumbled, and he quickly stood up. She didn't wait for anyone as she got up and fled, flinging herself inside the single person room and locking the door. She had barely anything to eat, but she had plenty of wine and all of that was emptied into the bowl. Her throat began to hurt and tears fell down her face.

I can't do this, she thought as she sobbed softly into the porcelain, feeling very much like a loser. One thought of the man had her so sick and so guilty she could barely stand it. It's like something cold gripped her heart and wouldn't let go. As a nurse, that should've been a concern, but she knew it wasn't something medical ailing against her, it was the cold reality of her situation. It made her wonder if she ever would be able to go out with a man without thinking of Carlisle and winding up in the bathroom getting sick. It was then she realized she didn't want to. The idea of someone else touching her or kissing her in ways that it mattered, in intimate ways only a lover should, had her dry heaving into the pocelain again. It was a disgusting thought, and she didn't understand it. It scared her, terrified her because if she didn't get over this aversion and if she didn't get over this unrequited love, she would spend the rest of her life alone.