Abby

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

"No one has heard from Abby today, I assume." No one spoke. Her husband stood so quickly his chair fell over.

"I'm done with this shit. I'M DONE! She's already been to rehab! I'm not doing this again!" He grabbed his coat and walked out the door. Aaron ran after him.

"I'm coming with you." He said. They drove downtown. They knew where she was, it wasn't a mystery. He parked the car in front of the house and marched up to the door. Aaron stayed on his heels. He pounded on the front door. No one answered.

"ABBY!" He yelled. "I know you're in there! Jace! Open the goddamn door!" Some scrawny red headed kid opened the door. Jason didn't even wait for an invite in. He pushed past him and started opening every door there was. "Abby!" He yelled. Aaron followed closely. He opened one last door and saw her on the bed. "Abby!" He yelled. Jace wasn't there. She was sleeping, or rather unconscious. He knelt next to her and shook her. She didn't wake up. He took her pulse, felt for a breath. "Aaron, call 911." He commanded. Aaron did as he was told. His father started doing chest compressions on his sister's lifeless body with 911 on speakerphone. He didn't have time to cry. To be upset, to be angry. To be scared.

"When will someone be here?" Jason yelled into the direction of the phone.

"They're four minutes out." He was assured. Jason heard a crack, and he wanted to throw up.

"What was that?" Aaron whispered.

"That's perfectly normal." Dispatch assured them. "Keep administering the chest compressions." Aaron couldn't stop staring even though it was making him feel hysterical. "What's your name?" Dispatch asked.

"Aaron. My name's Aaron." He said, his voice high in pitch, but void of any other feeling. He was trying to keep it together.

"Aaron, is Abby your sister?" She asked.

"Yes." He said, still not able to pull his eyes away from her.

"Tell me about Abby, tell me about your sister." The dispatcher commanded, firmly but with compassion.

"Abby – she's a musician. Piano and bass mostly." He said tentatively.

"That's way cool." Dispatch encouraged.

"Do you play any instruments?" She asked. Jason heard the voices, but he didn't listen. He counted and he compressed over and over.

"No way. Music is all her." He answered.

"Is Abby younger or older than you?" she asked, keeping him distracted, his panic at bay.

"We're twins." He replied. "But technically she's older." The heard sirens. "They're here!" Aaron announced.

"Great to hear, Aaron. But stay with me until they have Abby. She's going to be fine."

"Okay." Aaron said. And there was commotion as they ran in and pushed Jason aside. They talked a mile a minute, most of it gibberish to Jason and Aaron. They strapped Abby to a stretcher and lifted her up. One of the EMTs addressed Jason.

"Are you the father?" Jason nodded, too shell shocked to speak. "We're headed to Elliot. Will you be following?" Jason didn't answer right away, but they were bringing Abby out.

"We're following." Aaron said for him. The EMT nodded and ran to the ambulance.

...

She opened her eyes to her dad pacing back and forth across the small space at the end of the bed. He was angry. Rage blazed across his face. Her mother sat on the loveseat against the wall at the foot of the bed. She sat sideways, her feet on the seat, knees pulled up to her chest, leaning against the back. She'd been crying. Aaron sat to her right. His head was tipped back, staring at the ceiling. He could have been asleep; except he tapped his leg a mile a minute. She closed her eyes pretending to still be asleep. She needed a minute. Lucky number three. Her third overdose. Even she knew this needed to stop. She wanted her dad to leave. She couldn't take the screaming first thing. But he wasn't leaving. A nurse came in.

"Has she been up yet?" The nurse asked.

"No." Jason said, a little more aggressive than he'd intended.

"She's awake." Aaron said, his head still tipped back, eyes up towards the ceiling. His tone was irritable. Damn the twin thing. Abby opened her eyes and sat up too quickly. She gasped, her chest on fire, taking her breath away.

"Abby, lay back down." The nurse ordered, gently leading her back by her shoulders. Abby's expression registered as horror.

"You have four broken ribs." Aaron told her. With no emotion. Boredom even. He continued to tap his foot while he stared at the ceiling. Abby stared at him, trying to feel what he was feeling inside of her. "I know because I heard them break." The room was silent. Even the nurse waited quietly by her bedside. "Did you know it takes sixty pounds of force to break a rib? Apparently, that's how much it also takes to jumpstart your heart. Well, that and a whole lot of Narcan." She looked away. Jennie wanted to spare her son, to protect him, but this was their life now. And it was making him bitter.

...

"You're never seeing him again. And if you leave this house without permission, or fail to come home, I will send you to rehab, and I can do it without your permission." After this last overdose, Jason had lost all empathy he had for her. At this point, it was all for Aaron and Jennie. She didn't speak, only stared at the ceiling from her hospital bed. "Funny how he came with flowers before, but now he's a ghost." Jason paced back and forth; his fear had turned to anger. "And you will go to school every miserable day of your existence." She didn't speak.

...

I can't never see you again. He texted her.

I'm dying without you. She replied.

Why can't I just pick you up from school in the morning? He begged.

I should have been expelled already. And my parents and the principal are tight. They would just call the police or send me to rehab again. She replied. He sent a sad emoji. She put her phone down and rolled over on her back, staring at her bedroom ceiling. Her mom popped in.

"Hey. Want to run a few errands and go out to lunch?" She asked. Abby looked out the window. It was a nice day. And then it clicked in her head. The answer to her problems.

"Sure." She said to her mom. She tucked her phone in her back pocket as she stood up. She grabbed a sweatshirt. Jace could meet her at lunch every day. She didn't eat in the caf anyway. As long as she was back for the next period, no one would know.

...

And it was just as easy as she thought it would be. She slid into the back seat of his car where he sat waiting for her. They both wore a silly grin. He hugged her and then kissed her long and hard.

"I miss you." He whispered when their lips parted.

"I'm here now." She whispered back, her hands running across his jaw line and then his lips. His hand cupped the back of her head, fingers in her hair, the other on her cheek. They both closed their eyes, foreheads touching.

She lay her head in his lap, he played with her hair and tickled his fingertips across her stomach.

...

And the next day was the same. She saw his car, and she hurried over. She had thirty-two minutes before sixth period. He saw her coming and hoped in the back seat, she jumped in. Immediately, their hands were on each other, she was on his lap.

"I'll always find a way to see you." She breathed in between kisses.

"Let's start this party then." He said, pulling out a small baggie with cocaine in it. She giggled and kissed him again.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" She asked. He laughed.

"Every day." They each did a line and fell into a rhythm.