A New Life

fifty five.

"Thank God,"

Abby's POV

Monday, March 30th

I'm tossing and turning in my bed, my minding racing and my brain completely unable to turn off. I reach over to my nightstand and pick up my phone to check the time.

3:42 a.m.

I groan audibly, bringing my hands up to rub my face. I have to be awake and getting ready for set in less than four hours, and I haven't slept a single second.

I'm exhausted, and I want to sleep, but sleep doesn't want me.

Tomorrow marks the four week time frame since the last of my emancipation paperwork was submitted, and also the date in which I am supposed to get an email informing me on whether or not I have a court hearing. My thoughts have been turning all night, thinking of all the possibilities and what will happen if I don't get this court date.

I think I would be broken.

This court date is the only piece of hope I have right now, and if I don't get it, there are truly no other options that aren't way too risky.

I roll out of my bed and over to my bedroom door, pressing my ear against it to listen for any noises coming from downstairs. Once I make the conclusion that the coast is clear and my mom and Rob are asleep, I quietly make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Walking over to the cupboard to grab a glass, I take a deep breath, trying to clear my mind of all thoughts. I gulp down a big glass of cold water, and walk over to the living room to sit down on the couch.

I almost feel uneasy being in my own living room. For the past many months, I am never down here because whenever I'm home, Rob or my mom is as well. Rob is always home from work by the time I get home from set, and over the weekend there's almost always other people here, too. It feels weird being able to sit down in my own house, not locked away in my bedroom.

Deciding I don't like the unfamiliarity of it, I make my way back up the stairs and slip into my room, locking the door behind me, of course.

I take my phone from it's charger, and sit up in my bed, coming to the conclusion that scrolling through Instagram for a few minutes might distract myself enough to try to go to sleep again.

I go to the tagged posts on my profile, and look at all the edits and photos that fans have posted. They love my character on the show, which I was not expecting at all since I'm such a new edition. I then go over to Danielle's profile and click on her tagged posts, scrolling through all the edits of her and Stefania, smiling to myself knowing how happy everyone would be if they knew the truth.

After about a half hour, I decide to try to sleep again, and to my surprise I actually am able to fall asleep...for about 45 minutes.

When I wake up I check the time again, and it's 5:02 a.m. now. I'm wide awake, and I know if I do actually fall asleep for real at this point, I'll be extra tired when I have to wake up in less than two hours.

I pull up my text chain with Danielle, my fingers hovering over the keys while I debate whether or not to text her right now. After a few moments of hesitation, I send a message.

A: Are you awake?

A: I can't sleep.

I throw my phone down on my bed and bring my hands up to cover my face, letting out a big sigh. I feel my phone vibrate and immediately pick it back up, seeing Danielle's name on the screen.

D: Neither can I.

D: Nervous about today?

Honestly, I kind of forgot the original reason why I wasn't able to sleep; waiting for news about the emancipation. But now, those nerves are coming back.