Abby

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Aaron woke first. He heard his parents talking in the hall. He felt like he should give them a heads up. Especially since Abby's face must still be bruised. He got up off the floor and looked at her. She was curled up in fetal position, the bruised side of her face showing. Yup. Still a mess. He stepped out of her room, his dad in the doorway to his parent's room, his mom probably in their room. He stood with a coffee; they were discussing weekend plans. Aaron had a tourney the next day. Long drive, long hours. His dad looked over with the creek of the door. He looked at him skeptically.

"Did you sleep in there?" He asked. Aaron nodded and held his finger to his lips to signal him to be quiet. He shut the door quietly and went into his parent's room. His dad followed him in, his mother waiting to see what the hush was for. He shut that door too.

"Abby came home last night. Or this morning rather. With Jace."

"That bastard is in my house right now?" His father asked. Aaron nodded.

"He's in my room sleeping, she's in her bed, and I slept on Abby's floor." Jason turned for the door. "Don't." Aaron said. He was a good kid and wouldn't object unless there was a reason. Jason turned, waiting for an explanation. "I don't know what happened yet. She didn't want to talk about it, they both crashed hard. But they weren't on drugs. And how often does she come here when she's in trouble?" Aaron had a point.

"So, we just wait around until they wake up?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"That's exactly what we do." Jennie said. "And then we have a nice family breakfast." Jason raised his eyebrows.

"I have to sit at the same table as that piece of shit? And be nice?" They didn't know that Jace was listening through the walls.

"Also, there's one more thing." His parents waited, or rather braced themselves. "They were both in some kind of fight. Abby's face is pretty swollen and bruised. Jace looks a lot worse. I'm just warning you for when you see them." Jennie nodded.

"Thank you." She went to Abby's room and cracked the door. She slipped in to take a look at her daughter. It was nice just to see her tiny body in the bed. She tip-toed over and looked down at her. Aaron wasn't exaggerating. The side of her face was a mess. But Abby was pretty frail, small. It wouldn't take much to do this damage. Abby rolled over, and the feeling of her swollen face laying on the pillow woke her. "Abby." Her mother whispered. She didn't want to scare her. Abby heard her mother. She didn't know if she'd seen her face or not. Or if Aaron had told her. She pretended to still be asleep. Jennie knew she wasn't. She knelt down next to the bed. "I'm glad you're here. I hope that you'll tell me what happened, but even if you don't, I'd like you to come down for breakfast. Jace too." She kissed her cheek and left the room.

Jennie and Jason started making breakfast while Aaron showered. They were quiet with each other. Jennie hoping things would continue to look up. A hiccup here or there she could take. Jason trying to bite down the rage so he could pretend to be happy Jace was here. He wasn't even doing it for Abby's sake this time, it was for Jennie's. When Abby heard Aaron in the shower, and her parents in the kitchen, she tip-toed to Aaron's room. She opened the door and slipped in. She knelt next to his bed. The bed Jace slept on. His back faced her, and she started to gently tickle his back. He woke and rolled over to see her. He didn't smile, his face hurt too much. But she knew he was happy to see her, and she smiled. She was wearing one of Aaron's t-shirts, her party clothes discarded the moment they'd walked into the house.

"Let's clean you up." She whispered. She led him into the bathroom once Aaron was done, and wet a facecloth, wiping up the blood. "Hop in the shower." Jace undressed, and Abby watched, not for a sexual enjoyment, she was still shaken from the night before, could still feel the unwanted touches. But an appreciation for the boy she loved. He stood in the shower, enjoying every second of it.