Abby

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

She thought they were all stupid. That no one knew she was still seeing him. It took a few weeks for them to figure out how she was doing it, but they'd figured it out none-the-less. Principal Stone watched from afar as she walked out the side door of the school. He didn't follow, but instead walked to the front door on that side of the building. He waited inside the vestibule for her to come around. And moments later, there she was. He watched her get into a car. When it was clear she was preoccupied, and he didn't even want to let his imagination go there, because it was clear they were doing more than just talking, he stepped outside on to the portico and leaned against one of the poles. He waited the full thirty minutes of the remainder of lunch. He wanted to see if she ever left the property. He waited for sixth period bell. That passed. He debated going over there. They were sitting and talking now. He could see the tops of their faces from the back seat. She shifted and kissed Jace. He looked away. He heard the door open, the murmur of voices. He looked back over. She fixed her shirt and shut the door. She started walking towards the school, she hadn't noticed him yet. She was walking towards him, but diagonally to the side of the school again. She wasn't completely steady on her feet, but she didn't have the drunk look. He'd debated whether to go unnoticed, hope to be noticed, or make himself noticed.

"Abby, nice of you to come back in." She jumped out of her skin.

"Jesus Christ." He heard her whisper. She stopped walking and starred at him. She'd been caught. There was no reason to avoid him. He stared back, not sure what to say. She put her arms up. "What now?" He scoffed.

"That's it? What now?" He almost bellowed in amazement.

"I've been caught. You'll call my parents, punish me... blah, blah, blah." The mockery of it all lit him on fire.

"You just really don't care, huh?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"I care that I'm a prisoner, and everywhere I go someone is watching me. All I ever wanted was to be left alone." He rolled that around for a minute.

"Left alone to skip school." He held up a finger, ticking off what she wanted. "Left alone to fail out of school. Left alone to use drugs. Left alone to throw your life away."

"God, you're like my parents. So dramatic." He knew the only opinion that really mattered to her.

"Am I like your brother? What does Aaron have to say about all of this?" And he'd crossed a line. He could see it in her face.

"You don't ever bring him into this again, do you hear me?" He grinned.

"Listen to you. Badass Abby Demarco threatening the principal." She looked away. She could have chosen better words.

"I didn't mean it that way. I'm just sick of people using him against me." She mustered up every ounce of clarity she could. "I'm sorry." The apology hit him. She was sincere, he could tell. They'd learned to read her lies. She wasn't lying.

"Thank you for the apology. I know that was hard for you." She shrugged and raised her eyebrows. "How do people use him against you?" He asked, curious. She debated whether to tell him or not. But he was a nice guy. Students and staff loved him. She felt like he really cared, even if she didn't want him to.

"So, Aaron and I have this thing- the twin thing. It's like mental and emotional telepathy. Anyway, if I'm not home, or I don't answer my phone, my parents will grill him about how he feels to try and figure out where I am and what I might be doing. Like are you anxious, is she dying for a fix. Do you feel pain? Is she in trouble?" She started to cry. And he knew no matter how much he hated her she was just a teenager who fell off the track. And now she was addicted. A certifiable mental illness that could have hit any one of his students. His children.