Zach and Abby

Chapter Five - Edited

December - Edited

Zach

My life wasn’t real happy growing up. My dad left the minute he heard my mom was pregnant and by the time I was old enough to want to meet him, I find out he was dead. My mom was never really there mentally, I think over time the drugs found a permanent spot in her brain and from then on she was seeing alligators in the kitchen and always screaming about broken glass in her hair.

Abby made that all better. I didn’t tell her every horror story, some of it was just too bad to tell anyone else, but I tried to tell her everything she wanted to know. One day she asked about the scar running down my arm and I didn’t have the heart to tell her my mom thought she saw a snake crawling on my arm and grabbed a knife to kill it. I told her I fell off my bike when I was eight and needed surgery to fix some broken bones.

But she never pushed for more answers than what I gave her. After a week, I thought we were even over the whole thing with Mia. Austin told me later he’d let Abby in on some things but left the rest of it up for me to tell her. I had to promise him again I wouldn’t hurt her, that I’d tell her about Mia when I thought she could handle it without running.

Two months have passed since then. Abby and I made it a point to do something every Friday night now that the football season was over. We’d see a movie, get a bite to eat, hang out at one of our places or visit her mom. It didn’t matter to me what we did, as long as I was around her, nothing else existed.

Austin and I seemed to be back to our high school selves. The three of us were like a little family, Abby had called us cute on numerous occasions. I didn’t prefer being called cute but if Abby wanted to label us as that, I’d go along with it.

Deb started making us meals every Sunday. The guys looked forward to it, every Sunday there was a certain vibe in the house because we all knew we were getting a warm cooked meal that night. After a while, I explained to them what was going on with her, how they needed to act like grownups and not assholes who were obliterated drunk the night before. They understood, most nights they were all polite and treated Deb like they would their own mom.

Now we only had a week before finals started and first semester ended. It seemed like forever since Abby and I got a minute to just be instead of studying or stressing about tests or hurrying off to class. Even our Friday nights had turned into pizza and textbook dates. We’d order in and spend the rest of the night reading and writing and watching videos to help us pass these exams. I always managed to sneak in some kissing and touching but she was better at pushing me away than I was her.

The only break we ever seemed to catch was in the mornings walking to class. I tried to show up with drinks whenever I got up early enough and she’d be waiting at her doorstep for me. It was five minutes for her to tell me about her dream the night before or what new shit Bridget had said when she came home drunk.

I’d hold her hand and watch her as she spoke because I don’t think I could ever get tired of the sight. I never knew what it felt like to look at someone and see your entire world looking back. I knew it now – I felt like I knew what my future looked like.

That Wednesday morning, Abby wasn’t waiting outside. I figured she’d overslept and needed a few extra minutes. But when five minutes came and went, nervousness set in. Class started in less than ten minutes and it took at least that to get across campus. I knocked, testing the handle to see it was unlocked and the door opened in front of me. That wasn’t a great sign either.