Second Chances

Truth In Reality

I woke up, my stomach instantly in knots. Abby did not take that well and I couldn't help but wonder how Abigail would take it. I rolled over onto my side and thought about her.

When we were younger, Abigail was pretty quiet. Our friendship started with her parents welcoming my parents to the neighborhood. I still remember how shy she was.

~•~

"Zac?" My mom called for me. I ran down the stairs, jumping down the last few steps. I looked up, nervously biting my lip when I saw the little girl my age, looking at me from behind her mom.

"Zac, this is Abigail. She lives next door," my dad introduced us.

"Hi," I waved. I smiled when she tucked behind her mom's legs. "Do you want to see my LEGO collection?"

She glanced up at her mom as she chewed on her braid. Her mom nodded and Abigail slowly pulled away from her.

"I'm Zac," I introduced myself like my mom taught me. I smiled, slightly giggling when she spit her braid out.

"I'm Abby," she said barely loud enough for me to hear her.

"Come with me, Abby. I have the coolest LEGO collection, like in the world!"

She giggled as I grabbed her hand and we ran upstairs, our parents laughing behind us.

When we got to my room, I immediately grabbed my LEGOs. I turned around and froze when I saw her standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked, still holding my LEGO box.

"I'm scared."

"Why?"

"Because. . . All my friends are back in California, but I'm here in State Island."

"It's Staten Island, actually," I giggled.

I felt bad when her tears finally started streaming down her cheeks. I put down my LEGOs and walked over to her. I pulled her into my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"It's gonna be okay," I said quietly like it was a secret.

"But my friends. . ." She said between tears. She pulled out of the hug and looked up at me with red eyes.

"You have me!" She giggled when I did a spin for her. "I'll always be here for you."

"Really?"

"Really. I'll sit with you at lunch. I'll play with you at recess. I'll even protect you from bad guys. You'll be safe with me."

"Pinky promise?" She asked, her voice cracking. I put my pinky out for her. She giggled before wrapping her pinky around mine.

"I pinky promise."

~•~

I jumped out of bed, grabbed a shirt and a pair of shoes. I grabbed my keys and headed to Abigail's apartment. On the way, I glanced at the clock on the dashboard to see it was past midnight. I didn't care. I had to see Abigail.

I parked in front of her apartment and without hesitating,  jumped out and jogged up the steps. I knocked on her door, eagerly waiting for her to open up.

"Zac? I mean Mr. Efron?" Abigail stuttered when she opened the door. She reached down and wrapped her arms around herself. "What are you doing here? It's almost one in the morning. Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry," I gasped out.

"What?"

"I stopped talking to you when we were kids, even though I pinky promised I'd always be there for you."

"You remember that?" She stuttered.

"I do," I nodded. "I promised that I'd sit with you at lunch, play with you at recess, and protect you from bad guys. I know I didn't do a good job of that and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was a jerk to you in high school. I shouldn't have acted like I didn't know you. And I'm sorry I didn't remember you when you started working for me. But I remember now and I want to fix it."

"Fix what?" She asked with a little hesitation.

"Us."

"Us?" She repeated. "Zac. . . Mr. Efron, there is no 'us' that we need to fix. . ."

I cut her off by grabbing her face and pressing my lips to hers. I felt her suck in a breath when our lips touched. She slowly started to kiss me back but then suddenly and abruptly pulled away.

"Zac," she said under her breath. "We can't. . ."

"What?" I asked under my breath when she didn't continue.

She reached up and gently grabbed my wrists, slowly pulling my hands off of her face. She cleared her throat as she took a step back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.

"Go home, Zac," she said, not looking at me. "You're drunk. You should sleep it off."

"I'm not drunk, Abby," I tried to explain.

"Yes, you are," she said, an unreadable expression on her face. "You never call me Abby."

"Please," I said desperately. "Let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain," she sighed. "You had too much to drink and your drunk mind brought you here. I don't know how you knew where I lived but. . ."

"I'm not drunk," I said quickly. "Look, I really need to talk to you. Please."

"You should go home," she said, clearing her throat. "Sleep it off and I will see you Monday."

My heart dropped into my stomach as she shut the door on my face. I stood on her doorstep, frozen. I didn't move until Abigail's lights turned off. My heart dropped even more when I heard her lock the door.

"I'm sorry, Abby," I whispered.