A Lover's Dream: A Deepwater Horizon Fanfic

Sticking Together

Felicia's POV

We were in the middle of our Skype session when I noticed Mike suddenly grow quiet.

"You okay?" I asked.

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I was talking to Caleb the other day," he started. "He's worried about Abby. Can't say I blame him though. After their Skype session, she thought she hung up but didn't. She broke down, Felicia. Completely. It broke my heart watching her, but it broke, even more, when I saw the look on Caleb's face watching her. Have you seen her lately?"

My heart sank as I saw the sadness in his eyes. It was clear by the look on his face that he was reminded about the first time he left me.

"Yeah, I talk to her every once in a while. I took her to the support group the first month."

"Fel," he said softly. "She's not doing too well, is she?"

"She's struggling," I nodded. "I know it's only their first time being apart, but, honey, I don't think Abby could keep doing this like us. I mean, it was hard our first time too but I had the support of my family. Abby doesn't have that. Her relationship with her dad has been rough since her mom died. And I try to be here for her, but. . . You know what she's like."

"She's a stubborn girl," Mike nodded.

"I wish she would let me help her. I know how much Caleb means to her. He's the only family she really has."

We were quiet as we thought about those two. I sighed as I looked up at the fuzzy video of my husband. "I'm really worried about her, babe." I sighed. "I want to help her, but she won't let me."

"Caleb is worried about her too," Mike sighed. "The guys want to offer him a full-time job out here."

"Really?" The little excitement I felt immediately disappeared when an image of a broken Abby flashed in my mind. "He can't take that job. Mike, I know working at the rig is great and all, but he can't take that job. You have to talk to him. He can't. . ."

"He already turned it down," he cut me off. "He told me that he couldn't do that to Abigail. He really loves her. Which is why he asked me to ask you to check in on her."

"Tell him, I will." I smiled at him. "Maybe I'll have her stay with us for a couple of days. That way Syd and I can be there for her."

"Thanks, babe. I'll let him know."

* * * * *

After I dropped Syd off at her friend's house for the weekend, I drove over to Abby's and Caleb's house. I had been trying to call her all day, but she wasn't answering her phone. I even called her office and her boss said she hasn't come in all week, since her Skype session with Caleb.

I got out of the car and walked up their steps. I knocked on the door and waited patiently for her to answer. I knocked a few times, still no answer. I hesitated before opening the door, sighing when it was unlocked.

"Abby?" I called out. I walked into her kitchen and froze in the doorway. There were dishes piled up in the sink, wrappers left out of the counter and the kitchen table had several empty bottles of wine and beer scattered across it.

I quickly put my purse down on the counter and ran up the stairs looking for her. I started to get worried when her bed was empty. I headed back down the stairs, nervously biting my lip. My heart sank into my stomach when I finally found her passed out on their couch.

I walked over and knelt down in front of her. I ran my fingers through her hair, gently waking her up.

"Felicia?" She slurred.

"Morning," I smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Well," she said as she slowly sat up. "It's four o'clock in the afternoon and I'm drunk."

The rest of the night, I took care of Abby. After she took a shower, I made her something to eat and helped sober her up. A few hours later, we were sitting back on her couch, drinking water with some random reality show playing in the background.

"Talk to me, kiddo."

She sighed as she tore at the wrapper on her water bottle. "I can't stop thinking about Caleb. Felicia, I am constantly terrified of losing him. What if something happens on the rig? What if he gets hurt? Or sick? Or. . . Or I lose him? I can't lose him, Fel."

"Honey," I sighed scooting over and wrapping her in a hug. "You aren't going to lose him. He's fine. All the guys on the rig take care of each other. Caleb is going to be fine. He's well taken care of. I promise."

"You don't get it," she said, leaning out of our hug. She took a deep breath before turning towards me, tucking her legs under herself.

"He's been there for me through everything. When I first moved here in high school, the bullies, all the fights I had with my dad. He even came with me when my dad married Hannah. He spent that entire day, glued to my side holding my hand. Then during senior year, I ended up getting really sick. I fainted at school and was rushed to the hospital. Caleb sat next to me in an uncomfortable hospital bed every day until I got better. After my dad got married, my depression kicked my ass. I even. . ." She took a shaky breath as she hesitated.

"I started cutting," she said, her breath getting caught in her throat. "When Caleb found out, he freaked. He got even closer to me than usual. He spent every possible moment he could with me. Caleb could always tell when I was having a rough day."

"Abby," I smiled softly. "I understand how much you both mean to each other."

"Felicia, there is something about the day Caleb and I met that you don't know. No one knows. Not even Caleb."

"I thought you and Caleb tell each other everything," I said slowly. She bit her lip as she shook her head.

"The day Caleb sat next to me in Chemistry, I wasn't in a good mental place," she sighed. "My dad had just started dating Hannah and mom had only been gone barely two years. Dad was acting like a totally different person, the move was lonely, I was missing my mom. I just wanted all of it to be over."

"Abby," I said under my breath when I realized where she was going with this.

"I had a plan, that day, of ending it when I got home. I had recently found some old pain pills in my dad's medicine cabinet and had planned to end it." She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "I planned to kill myself after school the day I met Caleb."

"Honey," I whispered.

"The only reason I didn't go through with it is because I was curious. I wanted to know what Caleb would do the next day. I wanted to see if he would sit next to me or if that was just some weird one-day thing. Every day after that, I thought about ending everything, but he kept doing things that left me wondering what he would do next."

I smiled as a slow smile spread across her tear-stained face. "He saved my life, Felicia. Without even knowing. And if I lose him. . . I won't be okay."

"Abigail, look at me," I said gently. "Caleb is safe. There are emergency procedures built-in, they rehearse situations and every guy on that rig would do whatever it takes to protect him. I know for a fact that Mike would protect Caleb. No matter what."

"I can't. . . I can't live without him," Abby said her voice breaking. I reached over and grabbed her hand, making her look up at me.

"You won't have to."