ABBY'S POV
A whole month passed and Liam spoke to me a few times a week.
My phone got shut off last weekend though.
My electricity is gone, which means I've got nothing.
Not stove, no fridge, no TV.
Nothing.
My car got repoed.
I got told by my landlord that I have to be out this morning, and I packed up what I could and hid the boxes in a bush.
Everyone agreed with Liam, that I've gotta learn to ask for help, especially to ask him for help.
And I need help.
I walked to some rest stop down the street and used their shower, and now I'm sitting on a curb at a super ghetto gas station, holding tightly to a quarter I found on the ground. watching some ants carry crumbs.
I take the last quarter I've got and move to the phone booth at the gas station.
I pop the quarter in the machine and dial Liam's number.
It rings four times.
"Hello?" he sounds confused.
I hesitate.
"I need help."
There's a long bout of silence.
"Where are you?" he asks.
"That really ghetto gas station...the one you told me not to go to alone."
"Okay. I'll come get you. Are you hungry?"
I bite my lip, looking down.
"Yeah."
"Okay. I'm on my way. I-"
The money runs out and the line cuts off.
I take a deep breath and sit down on the curb.
I found one of his black sweaters, and I'm wearing it, and some jeans. I wrap my arms around my legs, the sleeves covering my hands, and I wait.
Nearly ten minutes later, the familiar blue Hyundai pulls into the parking lot, stopping in the spot next to me.
I grab my purse and stand up.
He gets out and pulls me into a tight hug. I cling to him for life, fisting his t-shirt in my hands.
He doesn't say anything, he just holds onto me tightly.
After a second, he pulls away and opens my door.
We make eye contact, and it takes all of my willpower not to cry.
I get in the car and he checks to make sure I'm in all the way, and he shuts the door, and gets in the car.
He turns it on and puts it in neutral, and we just sit there for a few minutes.
He finally puts the car in reverse and backs out of the parking lot.
I see him watching me from the corner of his eye.
I pull my seatbelt on, because I forgot.
"Can you go to that park across from the high school?" I ask softly.
"Sure."
He doesn't question, he just drives.
I tell him where to park.
"Pop the trunk please." I mumble.
Confused, he opens the trunk and gets out when I do.
He watches as I pull the two boxes from the bushes and put them in the trunk.
He just kinda looks at me, and pulls me into another hug.
"Let's go home, get you dressed and in clean clothes, and then we can go run errands, okay?"
I nod against his chest.
He shuts the trunk, and I get back in the car.
He gets in too, and drives us both to his townhouse.
He starts a load of my laundry handing me a pair of my jeans, a thong of mine, a matching bra, and a t-shirt.
All of which are mine.
"There's a razor still in the package in the cabinet." he runs his thumb across my cheek, smiling softly.
I nod.
"And there's also a new toothbrush, that shampoo you use, the body wash, one of those loofy thingys, and I got you tampons and pads too. Oh, and the toothpaste, too, and your deodorant."
He literally stocked the house for when I would call him.
I wanna cry.
"I love you." I mumble.
He smiles. "I love you too."
I take almost an hour long shower, shaving every speck of unwanted hair off my body.
I get out and stand in a towel. I brush my teeth four times, and I rummage around the cabinet until I find tweezers, and I spend twenty minutes working on my eyebrows. I pull on the clothes he handed to me, and I wipe up the water and get rid of the hair all over. He got me a new hairbrush too, and it's blue, because he knows I don't like the girl colors.
I brush my hair and hang my towel, and then I walk out of the bathroom, feeling like a new woman.
He's on the phone when I come out, he's removed his shirt, and he's making food.
He's making grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Oh god.
"Yeah Mom, she's okay. No, I knew she would." He glances at me. "Hey, I'll call you later, okay?" he pauses for a second. "I love you too. Bye."
He hangs up, setting his phone on the counter.
Neither one of us speaks to the other as I get myself a giant glass of milk.
He finishes making food and sets a plate down in front of me, and sits down across from me.
I always eat grilled cheese weird. He knows that. He watches me closely as I pick it apart, dipping each part in tomato soup, and then eating it.
Food.
Food tastes so good.
"Abby." He says quietly.
I glance up at him.
"How bad...how bad did it get?"
I look away from him.
"Uh..." I clear my throat. "My car got repoed, my phones off, my powers off, I had one night to get out of my apartment, my water was shut off a week ago, and the only reason I was able to call you was because I found two dimes and a nickel and I got some old lady to give me a quarter if I gave her the dimes and the nickel. Oh, and I'm like, six thousand dollars in debt."
I don't look at him.
I don't want to see the disappointment on his face.
"You're stubborn, Abs." he whispers.
"I know." I mumble. "I'm sorry, Liam."
"It's okay. I'm happy you finally came to me. Abby, it's okay to need help."
I clear my throat.
"I'm gonna have to go back to teaching. I don't' have a choice. There's no way the car wash is even a possibility."
"Well, what if we combined our two businesses?" he asks.
I look at him.
"Like...yours and mine mixed together?"
He nods.
I frown, thinking.
"You'd wanna do that?" I ask.
He nods. "Sure. Why not?"
"I feel like this is all too much. I don't want to be a burden."
"Abby..." he sighs slowly. "Let's get married."
"Liam,"
"I'm serious. I've got the whole thing planned. Everyone helped me. I've got a beautiful place. Let's do it. What's mine is yours, and-"
"And all of my debt becomes yours. No, Liam. I'm not marrying you until I can't affect you."
"Okay. Alright, I understand."