Chapter Seven

Abigail.

I should have grabbed a jacket before I let Scott kidnap me. I rubbed my arms roughly, trying to keep warm from the winter cold as we walked down the street. I was just lucky I slipped on my slippers when I got up from my bed. I kept wondering what Scott was doing outside my window. How long was he out there? Scott came closer to me and took off his jean jacket, holding it out to me. I grabbed hold of it, a question in my eyes and he just nodded. I took it, but the jacket was also cold. I shivered, and Scott put an arm around me. What the- I started to think and my eyes widened when I felt his body heat.

My eyebrows furrowed together when I looked up at him and he just shrugged, “My whole family's like that. We're hot blooded.” I just kept close to him, loving, but confused at how warm he continued to feel.

“Abby, who did this to you?” he asked, touching the right side of my face. I winced slightly at the touch and shrugged like I didn’t know. How I actually got it was from accidentally tripping over one of Tyler’s toys with my dad’s plate of food. The plate slipped from my hold when I lost balance and it went all over him. He got really angry and punched me in the face and on my back, making it hard to breathe for a couple of seconds, but it felt like minutes. He looked at me questionably now and I shrugged again and faked tripping.

“That could have not happen by falling. It looks like someone punched you,” he said, his voice concerned as he stopped us when we were under a street lamp. He turned and went in front of me. He put one hand under my chin to lift my face up. “Yeah, it does look like someone did,” he said, his voice growing angry.

“Who did this?” he asked. I shook my head and brought my hand up, straightening my fingers out, and fake tripped again, telling him I hit a table.

“A table?” he questioned and I nodded.

He shook his head. “No, this bruise would have looked different. I've seen what happens after hitting at table. This is a round shape, like a fist.”

Getting annoyed now by his questions, I moved his hands away from me and he looked frustrated. I shook my head again and continued walking as he followed.

“I will find out,” he swore. “And when I do, that guy is dead meat.”

I just kept my face forward. But I couldn't help but feel nervous at his words. I heard the serious determination in his voice. The thought of him and my dad fighting didn’t look good. My dad would surely win. I don’t want Scott to get hurt, I thought desperately, surprising myself with how much I cared. This is why I can’t make any friends! I can’t let them get this close because they start questioning!

After just walking around for fifteen minutes, we walked back to the back of my house and he helped me back in.

I slid his jacket off and handed it to him. I was about to close my window, but he stopped it by putting his hand under the window again. Damn he's strong....

“Night, Abby.” he said and I looked at him before nodding.

*

“Tyler, stop, please!” I believe Tyler was crying for some unknown reason. He kept pulling at his ear. It was five in the morning and I still had to get ready for school.

“Shh.”, I said, trying to controlling his screaming cries. What could be wrong with him!! I put my hand on his forehead and he felt kind of hot, but I think it was from all his crying. He started pulling at his ear and I kept moving it, but when I looked at his ear closely, I noticed it was kind of red and a little swollen looking. Isn’t that a sign of an ear infection.

The door to Tyler’s room burst open. “Get him to shut up, Abigail!” my father yelled.

"I’m trying!” I told him. “But think he might have an ear infection! I don’t know what to do!” He groaned and walked over to us, taking him out of my arms. Tyler started squirming in my dad's arms. I could tell he was getting mad.

“Stop it!” he yelled, slapping the side of Tyler arm roughly. It made me jerk from him and Tyler only cried harder.

“Tyler Crow, if you don’t stop crying right now, I swear—”.

I reached out to take him. “Daddy, please—ahh!” I screamed when he pushed me back. I hit Tyler’s table stand, which was next to his crib, on the edge and pain increased in my back.

“Do you want me to give you reason to cry?” My dad asked Tyler and started smacking his back.

I ran up to my dad and tried to stop his hand. “Daddy, stop it! You’re hurting him!” I pleaded with him.

I wanted to rip my hair out at each smack he gave Tyler on the back. My eyes watered up and I tried harder to take him until I successfully got my hands under his armpits and ripped from him my father’s grasp. My father’s hand came across my face, in the same place he hit last night, and I cried in pain, but held Tyler close to me.

“You’re staying home today,” he ordered. “You’ll go to the doctor’s with your mother since she’ll probably be out most of the time. Check what’s wrong with him. If I have to wake up another morning ‘cause of his damn crying, it’ll be even worse for the both of you.”

"O-okay,” I whimpered, not looking at him as he left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

A few tears left my eyes, but I stopped then, not wanting to cry anymore. I placed Tyler in his crib as he continued crying and went to the bathroom. I wet a bath cloth with some cold water before going back into his room. He was fussing with me when I pulled his shirt up and pressed the cold cloth on his back to reduce the redness. I just hope he doesn’t end up with bruises.

All the way until nine thirty, Tyler wouldn’t stop crying! His cries would lower here and there every so often. But it was loud all the time in between. And during those times, I would try to find a way to ease it, but nothing worked. My mom was slightly sober as we walked towards the local doctor’s office that was a few blocks away. I was holding Tyler on my hip and his head was on my shoulders, his crying soft right now. Mostly tears were just coming out at the moment.

*

“Mom, hold him!” I yelled in frustration.

I tried to put the spoon full of apple sauce and half of the pill of antibiotic the doctor gave us for Tyler’s ear infection in his mouth, but the brat kept trying to knock the spoon away because he didn’t want to take it. She grabbed his arms and held him back against the high chair. I took my advantage when his mouth was open from crying and I closed his mouth. He swallowed it, but his crying only grew and so did my big ass headache. I can’t wait for this to be over.

I spooned up some more apple sauce and placed the other half of the one antibiotic in the middle where it stuck. I told my mom to hold onto him good and tight as I put the spoon in his mouth and closed it. He swallowed it again quickly.

My mom let him go and groaned. “This is why I didn’t want to deal with another baby. They’re all pain in the asses,” she said like Tyler and I weren’t here.

I wanted to look at her humorlessly, saying, "You dealing with a baby? I've been the one taking care of him since he was a few days old!" But I didn’t.

She went over to the freezer and took the bottle of whiskey out. She left the kitchen as I slid down the cabinet to the title floor, waiting for Tyler to stop, so I zoned him out. He’s alright, he’s strapped into the high chair, I told myself. I closed my eyes and let my head dip back. I’m exhausted! I went to bed late last night since stupid Scott had me up till one in the morning and Tyler woke me up at five this morning.

I blocked Tyler out. I wanted to pass out right here on the floor. I imagined myself somewhere nice, quiet, sunny, bright, and relaxing. Like a field of flowers. Call me cheesy, but it’s all I could think of that was peaceful. I was laying on the grass, the sun shining it’s warmth down on me. I felt a small smile tug on my lips, wishing that the place was real. I imagined myself turning on my side and looked at flower that I think are called lilies. It was white and pink with some dark dots in the pink.

So you know how a perfect imagination always has to end when something weird happens? The flower turned black and it dried up. My eyebrows furrowed together and I sat up from the ground, all the flowers were like that. I looked up at the sky and the sky was gray. It started down pouring and even though I know I’m dreaming this, it felt so real. I opened my eyes and I realized I was breathing hard. The scene scared my pants off. It’s like I’m traumatized! I can’t even have a peaceful dream without having things ruined.

I looked at Tyler when I realized he wasn’t crying anymore, but leaning down on the table of his high chair, fast asleep. He isn’t the only one that was tired. I forced myself to lift my butt up from the floor and I lifted Tyler up from the high chair. He rubbed his closed eyes when I placed on him on my hips and made my way up to my room. I lay down on my bed with him next to me and decided to take a nap before I had to get back up and do chores.

Scott.

I was worried. Abigail didn’t show up to school today and I've been paranoid all day since I asked her about that bruise on her face and she lied about falling. I know she didn’t fall, someone hit her and I do plan to find out who hit and touched what is mine. I walked up the porch of her house and opened the screen door before knocking on the door. I stuffed my hands in my pocket as I waited for someone to open it.

“Tyler, stay right there.” I heard on the other side of the door. My eyebrows furrowed together. Was that her? The door then opened and Abigail’s eyes widened as she took a step back in shock. I raised an eyebrow and pointed in her house.

“Was that you who just spoke?” She quickly shook her head and her eyebrows furrowed together. “Okay, well anyways, I just wanted to see if you were okay. You didn’t show up to school today and I just thought I’d come over and see,” I told her. She waved me off and nodded, putting her hand across her throat and rubbed. I felt guilty now because she got sick because of me.

“Eh, e—eh.” I heard coming from the floor and our heads looked down to see Tyler tugging at the sweatpants Abigail was wearing. She bent down and picked him up, placing him on her hip. He leaned his head down on her shoulder, but stared at me.

Awkwardness filled the air, so I raised my hand as I looked at Tyler. “Hey buddy.” He shyly hid his face in the crook of her neck, covering his face with his hands. Abigail smiled at him, patting his back.

“He must love you a lot,” I commented and she nodded. “He’s really lucky to have you as a--”

“Abigail, who was at the door?”

I heard a female voice coming from inside. The voice was rough and a little sluggish. Abigail’s head snapped to the side and I saw a women walk down the steps. Abigail turned her head back around. Her look was worried and that only confused me more. The women came up to the door and Abigail stepped back. She looked over me.

“Who are you?” she asked. I smelled something like alcohol and my nose scrunched up for a second before dropping. Is she drunk? She didn’t look that drunk, but her voice did sound lazy.

“I’m a friend of Abigail’s,” I told her. Abigail’s eyes widened and she shook her head quickly to me. I was confused, terribly confused.

“A friend?” she questioned and I nodded.

“I’m sorry, but you have to leave. My husband will be home any second now and he won’t like it he finds a boy on our porch.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just show up randomly. I just was wondering why Abigail didn’t show up to school. I didn’t mean to get her in trouble or anything,” I told her honestly.

“You didn’t,” she said. “I’m just saying you should go. My husband’s protective of his family and he won’t like it if he finds you here asking for Abigail, whom he’s extremely protective of. Abigail doesn’t even have times for boys.”

“Excuse me?” I questioned. She hit a nerve, but I kept myself calm. Though, my expression wasn’t since it was a little hard. “Ma’am, I am not a boy and secondly, Abigail and I are just friends.”

“Boy and girl friendships turn into something else, and the boy always turns out to be someone else. I should know. Here’s a suggestion. Leave Abigail alone or regret it,” she said, closing the door before I could speak.

My hands balled up in fists, not believing she just got so disrespectful with me when I was being nice! What the hell? And how can she just tell me to leave Abigail alone? Abigail’s my mate, like hell I’ll just leave her alone! I decided to just leave before my anger got the best of me. I needed to relax before I did something stupid like turn into a giant wolf on Abigail’s porch.

Abigail:

I was turned away from the door as my mom went on about how girls and boys can’t be friends. I knew what she meant by that. She and my dad were great friends in high school and when college came, they got in a relationship. They got married, he got abusive, and you know the rest. I turned back around when she stopped talking and she slapped me across the face. Not as hard as my father did, but enough to hurt a little.

“Never bring that boy around here again,” she said. “Do you know how much shit we would have been in if your father showed up? A boy that handsome will only want one thing, Abigail, and I raised you better than that.”

You didn’t raise me at all! I wanted yell at her. It was true. She would hand me off from babysitter to babysitter just so she wouldn’t have to deal with me until I was nine years old.

“You did, and he won’t come around again,” I told her and she nodded, walking back up the stairs.