Hold The Line -Evan Buckley-

Chapter Six

(Some minor changes were made to the last chapter because I got an episode out of order. The chapter has only changed slightly, but feel free to go back and reread it!)

-Mabel-

My sleep is rudely interrupted the next day by Eddie who needs advice. I thought it was going to be important, you know since he interrupted my rest. He ended up just needed help picking out a tie. I take a last glance at him, handing a lint roller over as Carla pulls into the driveway. He cleans up well, I do have to admit. He's neatly put together in a navy suit with a gray tie to match. Once he and Christopher leave I start getting ready for my day.

I begin by taking a shower, getting dressed in a nice top and some leggings. After I am done I start to clean the living room followed by the kitchen. It feels nice to help out around the house since I'm pretty much freeloading at the moment. my thoughts are interrupted by a light knock at the door. I bound over while yelling to the person that I am coming.

The door swings open and I see Maddie standing patiently on the other side.

"Hi Mabel, It's nice to see you again! I'm sorry for showing up unannounced but I didn't have your phone number. I thought that we could get lunch or something if you're not busy." She says with a kind smile.

"Oh, sure! I can just make us something here if you want. I have to work the night shift today, and I'm just kind of waiting for Ed to come back from his meeting. Come on in." I reply, widening the door so she can pass by me.

"That's great. I'm actually on my lunch break anyway and thought I would come by since it's close to the office." She states, taking a seat at the small table. Now I'm glad I cleaned because before the table was sticky and covered in Chris' art supplies.

We talk casually as I make us some club sandwiches. I would have made something more elaborate, but I don't know how long her break is.

"So I heard about the call you had yesterday with the hiker. Is there any update on how he's doing?" I ask while holding up a mayonnaise jar asking wordlessly if she wants any. She nods softly.

"They actually told me that he's going to be fine. What I'm worried about are the bones they found. Earlier today Athena stopped by and we listened to a call from seven years ago. The man's voice on the other end sounded eerily similar to the call I got yesterday."

"And the guy claimed he didn't have his phone when he fell, right? How is that possible?" I question and sit at the table across from her, plates in hand. She grabs one and takes a bite, swallowing and thinking of what to say.

"Well, I'm not sure. There are some IT people at work looking into it in case it was some sort of malfunction. The funniest part is that this whole thing has my brother completely freaked out. He keeps swearing that it was a ghost, and there's no other reasonable explanation."

We continue to laugh and talk about how crazy her job is until she gets ready to leave. As I open the door for her, Eddie comes barreling in at the same time. He passes smiling at Maddie and looking towards me in pure distress. I say goodbye to Maddie and she wishes me luck with 'Whatever he's got going on' and we part ways.

As soon as I shut the door behind me, Eddie lets out a dramatic sigh.

"The school requires a parent meeting before they can enroll Christopher." He says, seeming defeated.

"Isn't that what happened today, I mean they met you right?" I reply, plopping myself onto the couch next to him.

"No," He sighs, shaking his head, "They need to meet both of his parents."

"Shannon." That is all I can say, feeling terrible for the situation Eddie has been put into.

***********************************************************************

We decide that it is probably best that I'm not in the house when Eddie invites Shannon over to talk. So instead of sitting in my room feeling the secondhand anxiety radiating off of Eddie, I decided to head to work early. The phone rings loudly in my ear before Buck picks up.

"Hello?" He answers in his usual chirpy tone.

"Hey, can you do me a huge favor? I need to leave Eddie's for a while and considering I don't have a car I'm not sure where to go."

"I'll be over to pick you up in a few on my way to work. Don't worry Mabel, I've got you."

As soon as I hop into Bucks Jeep I see Shannon's car pull onto the street. I panic, trying to get the seat to lay back. It doesn't budge and I glance back to see his duffle shoved in the floorboard. I glance back up to see her parked across the street, about to cross right in front of the Jeep. I give Buck a panicked look.

With no hesitation he reaches over and wraps his biceps around my head, pulling my face into his chest. From the outside looking in it seems innocent enough, but the smell of his cologne has my mind spinning.

"Who is that?" Buck whispers into my ear as if she could somehow hear us.

"That, is Shannon, Chris' mom. She never exactly liked me and I don't plan on reuniting with her now." I explain. Buck unravels me from his arms once he realizes we have been in this position way too long. Shannon has since disappeared into the apartment.

We settle back into our seats and I reach over, putting on my seatbelt. My heart is beating at a normal pace again, my head begging it to stop overreacting. Buck's cologne has rubbed off onto my shirt and I smile at the thought. I pause for a moment before I turn to him.

"I had lunch with Maddie today. She's such a nice person. I think I like her more than you actually." I joke, and he turns the ignition with a breathy laugh.

"She usually has that effect on people."

The rest of the ride is spent in silence, apart from Buck singing to the radio under his breath. I catch myself humming along occasionally, earning a grin from his flawless face.

We get to work, trying to ignore the looks we get from the firefighters leaving the parking lot, having just finished a shift.

"What's all that about?" I ask, genuinely confused. I've never met them before so I doubt it has to do with me.

"I uh, I used to be somewhat of a ladies' man. A player I guess. Bobby actually fired me once for sleeping with this girl I met on a call. I definitely deserved it though, and I learned my lesson." I only look back at him with curiosity.

"This was before Abby?" I question, not knowing much about the woman beside the fact that she left on some grand adventure and didn't come back.

"Right, before Abby. You know, people have been telling me for months that I'm single and I need to let go, but I live in her apartment. I'm surrounded by her every day, in every way except the one way that I want. I'm starting to think they're right." He says, taking a few strides to catch up with me as we head towards the building.

"So you have 'Before Abby' Buck, a heartless player. A 'With Abby' Buck, a whirlwind love story that makes you feel alone. I guess this marks the beginning of 'After Abby' Buck. You just have to decide now who you want that to be." I say, patting the hand that is holding his bag onto his shoulder.

When we part ways I can see the soulful look on his face. As I sit at my desk I think about what a hypocrite I am. I can dish out advice all day long about moving on and finding who you are, but who am I? Sure I have new friends and a new job, but I can't remember the type of person I was before Elijah. I make a promise to myself that I need to find that girl again.

Authors note

This chapter is short, I know. I am writing the next chapter right now so hopefully, it will be up really soon! Thank you for reading!

Question of the day

What is the funniest Chimney comeback or sassy line in your opinion?