Abby

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

He paced back and forth across the room. He was making her dizzy. Slowly, and with trepidation, Abby had been spending more time with Jace. And she'd noticed an increase in his anxiety. He couldn't relax anymore. He was always humming with worry.

"Jace, what's wrong?" She'd asked half a dozen times already. Every time he told her not to worry. But now she was worried. He was amped up, and he swore he wasn't on anything. She stood up and grabbed him by his shoulders. She looked him in the eye. "Jace, I love you. And I will do anything for you. But you have to tell me what's wrong." He contemplated it. He swore he'd deal with it himself. He didn't want to involve her. Or look weak. But he was desperate.

"So, you know those guys we party with up in Bristol?" She wanted to smile because they'd always had a killer time up there. They adored her. But his edginess made her rethink it.

"Yes." She said, prompting him to continue. He looked away.

"I owe them a lot of money." He admitted.

"How much?" She asked.

"A lot." He repeated.

"How much, Jace." She asked gently.

"Two thousand dollars." Her eyes went wide, her mouth hung open.

"How'd that happen?" She asked, slightly ashamed to not have known prior to now, that something was wrong. He shrugged.

"Drugs cost money." She knew that. But he worked. And they hadn't been using as much since the accident and then rehab as they had been. He sensed her confusion. He sat on the bed. "I haven't worked in a month or so." He admitted. And her guilt kicked into hyper drive. How had she not known that. For stretches of time, they practically lived together. And she knew that a large portion of that debt was hers. Jace never asked for anything when they used together. He just wanted to see her happy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. He shrugged.

"It's not your problem. And I know you'll want to fix it. And this time, you can't." She wouldn't accept that she couldn't help.

"It is partly my problem. I burned through quite a bit of those drugs myself. And I do want to help you fix it." He shook his head.

"Even if I thought you could fix it, I wouldn't let you." She stood between his legs, her hands gently cupping his chin, so he'd look her in the eye.

"I love you, and I want you to trust me. I want to be your partner- everything that happens, we are in it together. I want you to come to me when you have a problem." He smiled despite the very dangerous mess he was in. She smiled back. He let out a deep breath knowing she was going to force her way in to help, and that he was powerless to stop her. And honestly, he was desperate for help.

...

"He's not allowed in." The bouncer of sorts said, pointing to Jace. "As a matter of fact, if they see him, and he doesn't have their money, he's as good as dead." Jace hung back, ready to bolt. It was a Friday night in Bristol. Abby was convinced the debt issue could be resolved. He wasn't.

"Can you tell them that Abby Demarco is here, and that I just want to talk for a minute." The bouncer looked at her skeptically. "Please." He nodded. Abby could get just about anyone to listen to her with the proper motivation. Jace's life was motivation enough. A few minutes later, he let her in. Jace didn't want her to go in alone, but she wouldn't listen. Abby followed the bouncer to a back room. She was let in, and he left.

"Abby." Mikey said. He was second in command, if that's what you could call it.

"Hi, Mikey." She said with a smile. They'd hung out a few times, he'd given her a ride here and there. He stood up and approached her. "Any weapons?" He asked. She shook her head.