The next day, as Hayley and Sméagol were making lunch, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," I said, marching over to the front door, and opening it to see Abby standing there. "Hi," I said awkwardly.
"Hey," she said glumly. "Look, I know I owe you an explanation for last night... and for not answering your texts and calls." She took a deep breath. "This isn't easy for me to say, but I wanted to tell you to your face, instead of over a text like Logan."
"Okay," I said nervously.
"Look... I've been going through some stuff lately."
"Okay."
"I won't get into all the details, but it's... Things have been really tough for a while, and... I need a break."
"Um... wh... what do you mean?"
"I'm overwhelmed right now, and you've been leaning on me a lot lately. Actually, since we first started being friends, and..." She sighed heavily. "I can't handle it anymore."
My heart sank. "So... are you saying we can't be friends anymore?"
"I'm... I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you. I––"
"No," I said, trying to act like I was okay. "No, I... I totally understand."
"Thanks." Abby stepped forward. "I still really care about you, okay?"
"Okay."
She reached out to hug me, but I backed up.
"No, no, it's okay," I said. "You don't have to do that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm, um... I'm really sorry I overwhelmed you."
"Thanks. Well, I guess I'll go now."
"Yeah, okay." I swallowed my tears. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Cheyenne." With that, she turned and walked away as I stood there for a moment, completely dumbstruck. Then, I slowly backed up, and closed the door. I turned to see Sméagol standing behind me with a sad look in his eyes. As soon as I saw his face, I broke down sobbing.
He threw his arms around me, and held me tightly. "Shhhh," he said sweetly, "it's alright, Baby. It's alright. Sméagol's here."
Just then, Hayley joined in on the hug. "Me, too, Sweetheart. I'm here, too. Shhhh, it's gonna be okay."