Abby felt something tickling her back and she squirmed. She groaned into the pillow her head was resting on. The rain outside matched the steady tempo of her now calm heart. She felt Alex's arm encircle her waist and she blushed. The alarm clock on his nightstand indicated a few hours had passed since they had come in from the rain.
"Are you awake?" She felt his breath dance against her spine when he whispered his question.
"I am now, Mr. Carter."
"Mr. Carter?" Alex repeated. She could hear the laughter in his voice. "I think we're a little past that at this point, don't you think? You should just call me Alex."
She nodded in the dark.
"Are you regretting what happened?" he asked, still not moving away from her.
"Are you?"
"No."
His answer was quick which somehow relaxed her.
"This is weird," she answered.
"What's weird?"
"This. Us. I thought you said I wasn't your type," Abby reminded him.
"You're not."
She felt herself stiffening to his response, causing him to chuckle. He sat up and leaned over her to kiss her forehead. "That wasn't an insult."
Abby pulled the blanket up to her chin. "I know that tonight doesn't change anything between us."
"You do?"
Abby nodded.
"Interesting. What else do you know?"
"I know that both of us were stressed and feeling emotional which sometimes requires a physical release."
"And you were that release?" Alex asked.
"We both were. You were stressed about your biological parents. I was stressed about Bryce. It's natural that we--"
"Whoa...whoa there." Alex placed two fingers over her lips. "Let me tell you that when you're in bed with me, you shouldn't talk about other men. I don't care if they're dead or alive. No one is here except you and me and I want it to stay that way."
"That sounds like you're being possessive."
"Does it?" Alex rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. He shrugged.
Abby cleared her throat and sat up. "Still, all we have is a working relationship. What happened earlier can't change that."
"Why is that?" Alex asked as he pressed his lips to her neck.
"Because I need my job and it'll be weird if we have a meaningless fling. I know you're some kind of playboy and that's why those reporters want to catch a picture of you with a woman you're in an actual relationship with. Them catching you with a girlfriend is like catching a unicorn."
"A unicorn?" Alex laughed. "I wouldn't go that far. I've never had a real relationship but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of one."
"What are you saying?" Abby asked. "Aren't you supposed to be a playboy?"
"I'm considered a playboy? What does that mean exactly?" His voice was teasing again.
"It means you play with women's hearts. Other women's hearts...not mine. I should make that clear. I know exactly what this is and my heart is not involved."
"You sound so sure of yourself," Alex grumbled.
"After what I've been through, I have to be."
"All the women I've dated knew going in that I didn't want something serious. How is that playing with their hearts?"
"Are you sure they knew that?" Abby asked.
Alex shrugged. "I never really thought about it before. It's not like love is something I spend a lot of time thinking about."
"That's so sad," Abby whispered.
"What's so sad about it? Love is dangerous. You should know that firsthand. Besides, what is love anyway? If we're being honest, it's just increased levels of serotonin and dopamine."
"That's not love." Abby laughed. "Who gave you that definition? Wait, don't tell me. You probably came up with it yourself."
"No? Then what is love?"
She thought of Bryce and shuddered. That's wasn't love. It was blindness. She looked back at Alex's expectant face and answered. "When two people fall in love...sure there's all the physical attraction and lust. Sometimes that gets confused with love. Love is the heel."
Alex laughed. "What did you just say? Love is the what?"
Abby grinned. "It's the heel. The heel of the bread."
"I'm not following." Alex shook his head in confusion.
"I once read a story in one of those Chicken Soup for the Soul books about this really old couple that had celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary or something. Anyway, after the party was over, the husband and wife go to their kitchen to have some wine and bread. The husband pulls out this fresh loaf of bread and slices the end piece- the heel- and hands it to his wife. She gets upset and yells at him that he always gives her the heel of the bread. She demands to know why he always gives her that particular piece when he gets a nice piece from the middle of the loaf. After she's done yelling, the husband answers, 'I give you the heel because it's my favorite part of the loaf.' I may not be remembering all the details but that was the gist of it."
"Well, hell. That's pretty sweet. Even my jaded heart can recognize that," Alex muttered.
"It's really sweet, isn't it?"
"That's supposed to be the definition of love to you?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. Don't you see? He sacrificed his favorite part of the bread for her for fifty years. She didn't even realize how thoughtful he thought he was being. Love isn't always loud and in your face. To me, true love is found in small gestures and quiet moments. Like when you're holding hands or something."
"Or something?" Alex grinned.
Abby shrugged, a blush on her face.
"That's really sweet Abby." Alex smiled.
"Anyway, I know you don't love me and I don't love you so what we have here is two consenting adults that spent a night together."
She heard Alex chuckle. He was about to say something when they both heard a loud crash coming from down the hall. It sounded like glass breaking. Abby froze.
"Stay here while I go check it out." Alex quickly pulled on some sweatpants and rushed out of the room.
Abby didn't want to be left alone. She saw one of Alex's button-down shirts laid out against a chair. She pulled it on and began searching the pockets of his pants that were tossed on the floor.
"Where's your cell phone?" Abby muttered in the dark. She wanted to be ready to call the police if it was something dangerous. When she found what she was looking for, she ran out of the room to check out where Alex was at.
"Alex?" Abby called out.
"I'm in here!" She followed Alex's voice to the pink room.
Abby stepped inside, her eyes staring in the direction of his gaze. The window was broken.
"What happened?" Abby asked. "Did something get thrown inside? Maybe from the wind?"
They both watched as the rain splattered inside from the broken glass.
"No, I don't think so," Alex said softly.
"Well, how else could it have broken?" Abby asked. She had an idea but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about ghosts again.
Alex pointed to the ground below the window. "There's no glass."
"So?"
"So whatever broke this window...broke it from the inside."
They both stayed quiet for a moment, not sure what to do. Abby looked down and saw the music box on the floor. She bent down and began picking up the pieces. She noticed there was a rip in the silken layer that covered the interior of the music box's lid. She pulled the red cloth back and noticed there was a note tucked inside.
"There's something in here," Abby said.
"What's it say?" Alex asked, looking at the note she was unfolding. His eyes darted around the room as if he were expecting another surprise.
"It's a letter to Lionel." She sat on the bed to read the note.
Alex crouched down next to her as she began reading.
"Lionel,
I'm returning this music box to you. This is the last time I want to deal with you. I can't believe you told Dan that Crystal was yours! Why would you do that? He's made me take a paternity test and is talking about getting a divorce. It came in the mail but I hid it. What am I supposed to do if he wants to leave me? I told you what we had was over. You said you loved me but I've heard the rumors about how you've been sleeping with other women. Do you know what you've done? How you've ruined my life? I can't believe I thought I loved you. You're the biggest mistake of my life. Don't write me. Don't call me. Don't even go anywhere that you might see me. "
"Is it from Maggie?" Alex asked.
Abby shrugged, "I'm not sure but it sounds like it. She didn't sign it."
"Why would she write a letter and hide it in the music box but keep it?" Alex wondered aloud.
"Maybe she couldn't go through with it," Abby said softly, thinking of Bryce. She was still wearing her blessing bracelet and lightly touched it.
"Why? He was a bastard! Why not stop seeing him?" Alex couldn't understand Maggie's actions.
"Have you ever been addicted to something? If you have, you'd understand. If you never have, then what I'm about to say won't make any sense. You can tell from this letter that she's hurt. She thinks he's cheating on her."
"Who cares? She was cheating on Sheriff Don."
"I know but that's not what's important to her. All she cares about is that she gave up everything for this man thinking she could trust him but she won't be able to because he's cheating on her. She made a bad decision and now she's going to have to live with it for the rest of her life. That's devastating for her."
Alex shook his head. "It wasn't just her life she was destroying. Don't you see? Other people were affected. Other people were killed!"
"Alex, are you okay?" Abby asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He was breathing heavily.
"Crystal is dead. Lionel is dead. What is she doing to pay for what she did? I'll tell you what. Nothing! Absolutely nothing! She's holed up in some mental hospital feeling sorry for herself. She won't even talk to me. Me! Her damned son! I'm so lucky I was adopted because I wouldn't want anyone to be raised by a woman like that."
He was shaking in anger. Abby was in shock. She could never imagine that a man most men looked up to, a man who was considered a business genius, a man who woman drooled over...was broken just like her. The cracks were different but the end result was the same. They were both had invisible scars.
She wrapped her arms around Alex and squeezed while he calmed himself.
"Thank you, Abby," Alex whispered into her shoulder.
"I'm pretty nice for a woman who isn't your type," she joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"You're right. You're not my type."
"And what exactly is your type?" Abby asked.
"In a word--disposable. The women I've dated were never serious. I could easily get rid of them."
"So I'm not disposable? Is that what you mean?"
"You? You're what I would call...complicated."
Before she thought too much about it, Abby leaned over and kissed his temple. They both were surprised by the buzzing of his cell phone.
"Where did you--?" Alex started to ask as his eyes widened, recognizing the phone.
"What the hell?" Abby whispered as she looked up from the phone.
A text message had come through.
"You told us Alex Carter is inside with his girlfriend. How can we sneak into the cabin to get a picture of them in action?"