Abby

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

"I'll let Sierra know you stopped by." She didn't know if she wanted him to. She smiled. "Bye, Abby."

"Bye, Mr. Harris." He watched her drive away.

...

"Is that the shower?" Jennie asked as they walked in.

"Sounds like it." Jason said. Jennie shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't expected Abby to stick around this long. If she was home on a Sunday evening, perhaps she was going to school tomorrow. After another ten minutes of the water running, Jennie went to peak in. Steam poured out from under the door. She saw Abby's phone on the sink counter. She looked at it as she called her name.

"Abby, what's up with the hour-long shower?" Twenty missed calls from Jace. Even more text messages. She never ignored him. Jennie pulled the shower curtain back when Abby didn't answer. "Abby?" Jennie reached in and turned the water off. Abby sat, knees to her chest, arms wrapped around knees, staring straight ahead. Her skin was beet red from the heat of the water. She didn't respond to her mother. "Abby, let's dry you off, get you out of here." Jennie tried not to panic, or let her daughter hear the fear in her voice as she let her mother stand her up. And that's when Jennie saw the bruises. On her thighs, on her torso, and on her upper arms. Abby hung her head, a zombie, in another world. Jennie wrapped a towel around her body and dried her hair with another towel. And just like that, Abby was five years old again. Jennie took advantage of the moment and combed her hair as well. She ran conditioner through the knots, being careful to be gentle. At one point, Abby began to cry. It was soft and light. Jennie pretended not to notice. If there was one thing they'd all learned, it was that no one had control of Abby but Abby. "Ready to head to your room?" She asked "We'll get you in some comfy clothes? Maybe I can get you some dinner?" Something clicked, and Abby acknowledged her words.

"I think I'll just go to bed." She whispered. "I'm tired, and I have school in the morning." Jennie hid any emotion she had and walked Abby to her room. Luckily, the boys weren't in the hall. Jennie tucked Abby in. She wanted to ask if she was on drugs. She wanted to ask where the bruises had come from. "Mom, can you lay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked. There was no need for words. Jennie climbed in her bed and wrapped her arms around her baby girl. They both fell asleep from emotional exhaustion.

...

"Is mom still with Abby?" Aaron asked his dad.

"I assume so. I haven't seen her." They heard a door click open and then shut. They looked into the hall and saw Jennie. "And there she is." Jennie didn't speak. Jason knew the look on her face wasn't good.

"Aaron, do you need one of us for something? "She asked.

"No." He said, knowing even if he did, it wasn't the time.

"Okay. You should probably go to bed then. It's getting late." It was only eight, but Aaron knew when he was being told to get lost. He shut their door and went to his room.

"What's up?" Jason asked, preparing for the worst.

"Want to take a walk?" He looked out the window at the darkness of night.

"It's dark out." He observed for her. He looked at her like she was a lunatic.

"Oh." She observed, looking out the window for herself. "A drive then?"

"Sure." He said, growing more nervous by the minute. Once they were in the car, and a few minutes down the street, he pulled over. "Please just tell me what it is." He begged.

"I think Abby was raped." Her words hung in the air. Nowhere for them to go, because he couldn't hear them. He couldn't even think about them. "She was sitting in the shower, a zombie. And so I helped her up, and there were bruises all over her thighs, torso and upper arms. I swear I could see finger marks." She continued to tell him about her experience in the bathroom, and then in Abby's room. The feeling of nausea passed, and anger replaced it. Rage.