Encounters With Abigail

Chapter Twenty- Nine

We are deposited outside a tacky looking Spanish restaurant while Mike -the scary Texan- parks the car. I drop my head to Abigail's shoulder and groan for probably the tenth time, "can't we just bail."

I can hear the smile in her voice when she says, "how about we compromise, today I traumatised you at the beach and forced you to come to a family dinner so tomorrow we do whatever you want for the whole day."

Lifting my head from her shoulder and grumbling a "fine" Abi dramatically rolls her eyes and takes my hand dragging me inside the most cliché restaurant known to man.

I hear our table the second we walk through the door and sigh, I'm way too tired for this. The half an hour sleep we had before Anna thundered on our door yelling that they were leaving without us has done nothing to revive me from emotional or physical exhaustion of the day.

The closer we get the more dread I feel. How are they this drunk already they left half an hour before us.

Abigail releases my hand to hug her parents and I drop into one of the empty chairs in front of Mary she scans my face before failing to hide a knowing smile. "Alex! I told you not to tire yourselves out today" Anna practically shrieks across the table. My face burns as a glare at Anna but she just drunkly cackles in response.

Reluctantly, I move my eyes to Mary and David not sure if we know each other well enough for my sister to be joking about me fucking their daughter. David is already snickering behind his hand and when I mouth "sorry" they both lose it joining in with my cackling sister.

My lips find Abigail's ear and whisper "told you we should have bailed" the make-up she fired on in the car failing to hide the blush glowing on her face.

She sighs "yeah remember me to listen to you next time" we both smile to each other as the table calms down around us. I'm thankful that only one other table is being used and it's on the other side of the room since we are nightmare dinner guests.

A short skinny guy with his brown hair pulled into a bun adds another wine bottle to the table before handing us menus. I flick through quickly scanning for one dish in particular when my eyes find it, I nudge Abi tapping the sticky menu "highly doubt that this is going to be better than Valencia but worth a shot right" the smile she gives me turns my already struggling brain to soup as she pulls me by the collar into a kiss.

Anna reaches for the wine but I snatch it away from her pouring Abi and I each a generous glass before returning the bottle to her outstretched grabby hands. I should probably try to get some water into her but she deserves to have some fun god knows she hasn't had much reason for it recently.

"If that poor guy dares come back to this mess, can you order me the questionable paella please... I'm going to the bathroom." Abi drops another quick kiss before standing, Anna bounces out of her chair to join her.

My eyes fall to Abigail's tight ass as it sways across the restaurant toward the garish wooden toilet sign. Mary's face enters my field of view "You seem quite smitten with our Abigail" her eyes laser focused on me.

"Yes, I'm quite in love with her," heat re-blooms on my face as I awkwardly avert my gaze. Instead watching Mike move across the restaurant to keep an eye on the hallway the girls just went down.

"We're so glad she has lost too many years thanks to that..." she trails off grumbling profanities "anyway thank you for bringing our girl back to us," she wraps her hand over the top of mine giving it a squeeze. "We worried she would never trust again," her voice is full of adoration that I definitely don't deserve.

"I appreciate that but Abigail has helped me in a much greater way, if anyone is lucky here it's me." Letting out a nervous breath allowing my gaze to drift back to where Abi and my sister has gone.

Thankfully, she is gliding toward us, Anna's linked their arms together talking her ear off. I cough to cover my laugh Abigail looks like hell would be more desirable than whatever my sister is rambling about.

She slumps next to me downing half her wine in one gulp, her eyes are wide and I fake cough again earning a clawed thigh squeeze in return. I raise an eyebrow and she mumbles "yeah I know... shut up Alex" we are both grinning wildly at each other when the poor waiter arrives to take our order and probably solidify us as the crazy table.

The second dinner is done, we make our escape. The paella is a solid five out of ten not even in the top twenty Abi has had but while we sit wrapped in one and other in the back of Mike's car, I really am glad we went.

I keep forgetting how lucky I am to have so many people who want to regularly spend time with me and the realization that I keep taking them for granted sends guilt soaring through me.

When we pull up to the house, I catch Mike's eyes in the rear-view mirror and he looks relived to be taking us home instead of staying with the wild drunks who are off to a nightclub of some sorts, I don't envy the security guard who is going to have to keep an eye on them.

"Thanks for the lift, Mike have a good night" he simply nods in response.

We practically crawl up to bed both completely exhausted but before Abi falls asleep, she murmurs "we can do whatever you like to do for fun tomorrow, even if it's weird I promise I won't even complain."

I have been staring at the ceiling for hours my head refusing to shut the fuck up. What do I like to do for fun? I lived in a fog for a while and for years I have just worked then slept or failed to sleep and spent the night at the twenty-four-hour gym. When did I last do anything for "fun"

I hadn't realised how vacant my life had become until now. How long have I actually lived in this empty shell. When did it get this bad. How did I let it get this bad. Who was I before. What did I do?

Trying to scour my sluggish brain, while I attempt to recall what used to bring me joy, but it keeps coming up blank. Anxiety blooms in me. Who am I?

Abigail's wide eyes fill my vision, blinking hard a few times trying to get my eyes to focus on her. "Are you ok Alex?" concern laces her voice.

"Yeah" is all I can manage while attempting to detangle myself from my spiral.

"Did you have an.."

"No... I'm fine... I have only been awake..." fuck it, lying to her won't solve anything. "I haven't been to sleep yet, I have been trying to decide what to do today." I run my thumb across her cheek "I don't do anything for fun." Her worry is too much to take, so I close my eyes releasing a sigh.

"Well good job we have still got over a week here before we have to go back to the real world so let's find you something you enjoy" she sounds more optimistic than I feel.

Abi's lips lightly push to my neck when she drops her body weight on me, wrapping her arms around my ribs. Mirroring her as her comforting warmth spreads through me, "you feel like home" I whisper into her hair before the exhaustion finally takes me under.