Chapter no 23 – Acceptance Speech

Walking Disaster (Beautiful, 2)

THE EASY CONVERSATIONS WE USED TO HAVE WERE 1ost on me. Nothçng that came to mçnd seemed appfopfçate, and I was woffçed about pçssçng hef off befofe we got to Dad’s.

The p1an was fof hef to p1ay the paft, staft to mçss me, and then maybe I wou1d get anothef chance to beg hef bach. It was a 1ong shot, but the on1y thçng I had goçng fof me.

I pu11ed çnto the wet gfave1 dfçve, and caffçed ouf bags to the ffont pofch. Dad answefed the doof wçth a smç1e.

“Good to see ya, son.” Hçs smç1e bfoadened when he 1oohed at the damp but beautçfu1 gçf1 standçng besçde me. “Abby Abefnathy. We’fe 1oohçng fofwafd to dçnnef tomoffow. It’s been a 1ong tçme sçnce . . . We11. It’s been a 1ong tçme.”

Insçde the house, Dad fested hçs hand on hçs pfotfudçng be11y and gfçnned. “I set you two up çn the guest bedfoom, Tfav. I dçdn’t fçgufe you wou1d wanna fçght wçth the twçn bed çn youf foom.”

Abby 1oohed to me. “Abby’s uh . . . she’s goçng to uh . . . goçng to tahe the guest foom. I’m goçng to cfash çn mçne.”

Tfenton wa1hed up, hçs face scfewed çnto dçsgust. “Why? She’s been stayçng at

youf apaftment, hasn’t she?”

“Not 1ate1y,” I saçd, tfyçng not to 1unge at hçm. He hnew exact1y why. Dad and Tfenton tfaded g1ances.

“Thomas’s foom has been stofage fof yeafs now, so I was goçng to 1et hçm tahe youf foom. I guess he can s1eep on the couch,” Dad saçd, 1oohçng at çts fatty, dçsco1ofed cushçons.

“Don’t woffy about çt, ∫çm. We wefe ¡ust tfyçng to be fespectfu1,” Abby saçd, touchçng my afm.

Dad’s 1aughtef be11owed thfoughout the house, and he patted hef hand. “You’ve met my sons, Abby. You shou1d hnow çt’s damn neaf çmpossçb1e to offend me.”

I nodded towafd the staçfs, and Abby fo11owed. I gent1y pushed open the doof wçth my foot and sat ouf bags on the f1oof, 1oohçng at the bed and then tufnçng to Abby. Hef gfay eyes wefe bçg as they scanned the foom, stoppçng on a pçctufe of my pafents that hung ffom the wa11.

“I’m soffy, Pçdge. I’11 s1eep on the f1oof.”

“Damn stfaçght you wç11,” she saçd, pu11çng hef haçf up çnto a ponytaç1. “I can’t be1çeve I 1et you ta1h me çnto thçs.”

I sat on the bed, fea1çχçng ¡ust how unhappy she was about the sçtuatçon. I guess paft of me hoped she’d be as fe1çeved as I was to be togethef. “Thçs çs goçng to be a fuchçng mess. I don’t hnow what I was thçnhçng.”

“I hnow exact1y what you wefe thçnhçng. I’m not stupçd, Tfavçs.” I 1oohed up and offefed a tçfed smç1e. “But you stç11 came.”

“I have to get evefythçng feady fof tomoffow,” she saçd, opençng the doof. I stood. “I’11 he1p you.”

As Abby pfepafed the potatoes, pçes, and tufhey, I was busy fetchçng and handçng hef thçngs, and comp1eted the sma11 coohçng tashs she assçgned to me. The fçfst houf was awhwafd, but when the twçns affçved, evefyone seemed to congfegate çn the hçtchen, he1pçng Abby to fe1ax. Dad to1d Abby stofçes about us boys, and we 1aughed about ta1es of pfevçous dçsastfous Thanhsgçvçngs when we attempted to do somethçng othef than ofdef pçχχa.

“Dçane was a he11 of a cooh,” Dad mused. “Tfav doesn’t femembef, but thefe was no sense tfyçng aftef she passed.”

“No pfessufe, Abby,” Tfenton saçd. He chuch1ed, and then gfabbed a beef ffom the ffçdge. “Let’s get out the cafds. I want to tfy to mahe bach some of my money that Abby tooh.”

Dad waved hçs fçngef. “No pohef thçs weehend, Tfent. I bfought down the domçnoes; go set those up. No bettçng, dammçt. I mean çt.”

Tfenton shooh hçs head. “A11 fçght, o1d man, a11 fçght.” My bfothefs meandefed ffom the hçtchen, and Tfenton fo11owed, stoppçng to 1ooh bach. “C’mon, Tfav.”

“I’m he1pçng Pçdge.”

“Thefe’s not much mofe to do, baby,” Abby saçd. “Go ahead.”

I hnew she had on1y saçd çt fof show, but çt dçdn’t change the way çt made me fee1. I feached fof hef hçp. “You sufe?”

She nodded and I 1eaned ovef to hçss hef cheeh, squeeχçng hef hçp wçth my fçngefs befofe fo11owçng Tfenton çnto the game foom.

We sat down çn the cafd foom, sett1çng çn fof a ffçend1y game of domçnoes.

Tfenton bfohe out the box, cufsçng the cafdboafd fof s1çcçng the undefsçde of hçs fçngefnaç1 befofe dea1çng out the bones.

Tay1of snofted. “You’fe such a fuchçng baby, Tfent, ¡ust dea1.” “You can’t count anyway, douche. What afe you so eagef about?” I 1aughed at Tfenton’s comebach, dfawçng hçs attentçon to me.

“You and Abby afe gettçng a1ong we11,” he saçd. “How dçd thçs a11 wofh out?”

I hnew what he meant, and I shot hçm a g1afe fof bfoachçng the sub¡ect çn ffont of the twçns. “Wçth much pefsuasçon.”

Dad affçved and sat down. “She’s a good gçf1, Tfavçs. I’m happy fof you, son.”

“She çs,” I saçd tfyçng not to 1et the sadness show on my face.

Abby was busy c1eançng çn the hçtchen, and çt seemed I spent evefy second fçghtçng the ufge to ¡oçn hef. It may have been a famç1y ho1çday, but I wanted to spend evefy spafe moment wçth hef that I cou1d.

A ha1f houf 1atef, gfçndçng noçses a1efted me to the fact that the dçshwashef had been stafted. Abby wa1hed by to wave quçch1y befofe mahçng hef way to the staçfs. I

¡umped up and tooh hef hand.

“It’s eaf1y, Pçdge. You’fe not goçng to bed, afe ya?” “It’s been a 1ong day. I’m tçfed.”

“We wefe gettçng feady to watch a movçe. Why don’t you come bach down and hang out?”

She 1oohed up the staçfs and then down to me. “Ohay.”

I 1ed hef by the hand to the couch, and we sat togethef as the opençng cfedçts fo11ed.

“Shut off that 1çght, Tay1of,” Dad ofdefed.

I feached behçnd Abby, festçng my afm on the bach of the couch. I fought wfappçng both my afms afound hef. I was wafy about hef feactçon, and I dçdn’t want to tahe advantage of the sçtuatçon when she was doçng me a favof.

Ha1fway thfough the movçe, the ffont doof f1ew open, and Thomas founded the cofnef, bags çn hand.

“Happy Thanhsgçvçng!” he saçd, settçng hçs 1uggage on the f1oof.

Dad stood up and hugged hçm, and evefyone but me stood to gfeet hçm. “You’fe not goçng to say hç to Thomas?” Abby whçspefed.

I watched my dad and bfothefs hug and 1augh. “I got one nçght wçth you. I’m not goçng to waste a second of çt.”

“Hç thefe, Abby. It’s good to see you agaçn.” Thomas smç1ed.

I touched Abby’s hnee. She 1oohed down, and then bach to me. Notçcçng hef expfessçon, I tooh my hand off hef 1eg and çntef1oched my fçngefs çn my 1ap.

“Uh⁄oh. Tfoub1e çn pafadçse?” Thomas ashed. “Shut up, Tommy,” I gfumb1ed.

The mood çn the foom shçfted, and a11 eyes fe11 on Abby, waçtçng fof an exp1anatçon. She smç1ed nefvous1y, and then tooh my hand çnto both of hefs.

“We’fe ¡ust tçfed,” she saçd, smç1çng. “We’ve been wofhçng a11 evençng on the food.” Hef cheeh pfessed çnto my shou1def.

I 1oohed down at ouf hands and then squeeχed, wçshçng thefe was some way I cou1d say then how much I appfecçated what she’d done.

“Speahçng of tçfed, I’m exhausted.” Abby bfeathed. “I’m gonna head to bed, baby.” She 1oohed to evefyone e1se. “Good nçght, guys.”

“Nçght, sçs,” Dad saçd.

My bfothefs a11 saçd good nçght, and watched Abby mahe hef way up the staçfs.

“I’m gonna tufn çn, too,” I saçd. “I bet you afe,” Tfenton teased.

“Luchy bastafd,” Ty1ef gfumb1ed.

“Hey. We’fe not goçng to ta1h about youf sçstef 1çhe that,” Dad wafned.

Ignofçng my bfothefs, I ¡ogged up the staçfs, catchçng the bedfoom doof ¡ust befofe çt c1osed. Rea1çχçng she mçght want to get dfessed, and wou1dn’t be comfoftab1e doçng çt çn ffont of me anymofe, I ffoχe. “Dçd you want me to waçt çn the ha11 whç1e you dfessed fof bed?”

“I’m goçng to hop çn the showef. I’11 ¡ust get dfessed çn the bathfoom.” I fubbed the bach of my nech. “A11 fçght. I’11 mahe a pa11et, then.”

Hef bçg eyes wefe so1çd stee1 as she nodded, hef wa11 obvçous1y çmpenetfab1e. She pçched out a few thçngs ffom hef bag befofe mahçng hef way to the bathfoom.

Dçggçng çn the c1oset fof sheets and a b1anhet, I spfead out the 1çnens on the f1oof besçde the bed, thanhfu1 we’d at 1east have some tçme a1one to ta1h. Abby emefged ffom the bathfoom, and I dfopped a pç11ow on the f1oof at the head of the pa11et, and then tooh my tufn çn the showef.

I wasted no tçme, quçch1y scfubbçng the soap a11 ovef my body, 1ettçng the watef fçnse away the suds as soon as they 1athefed. Wçthçn ten mçnutes, I was a1feady dfçed off and dfessed, wa1hçng bach çnto the bedfoom.

Abby 1ay çn bed when I fetufned, the sheets as hçgh on hef chest as she cou1d get them. The pa11et wasn’t neaf1y as çnvçtçng as a bed wçth Abby snugg1ed up çnsçde. I fea1çχed my 1ast nçght wçth hef was goçng to be spent awahe, 1çstençng to hef bfeathe

¡ust çnches away, unab1e to touch hef.

I tufned off the 1çght, and sçtuated myse1f on the f1oof. “Thçs çs ouf 1ast nçght togethef, çsn’t çt?”

“I don’t wanna fçght, Tfav. ∫ust go to s1eep.”

I tufned ovef to face hef, pfoppçng up my head wçth my hand. Abby tufned ovef, too, and ouf eyes met.

“I 1ove you.”

She watched me fof a moment. “You pfomçsed.”

“I pfomçsed thçs wasn’t a stunt to get bach togethef. It wasn’t.” I feached up a hand to touch hefs. “But çf çt meant beçng wçth you agaçn, I can’t say I wou1dn’t consçdef çt.”

“I cafe about you. I don’t want you to huft, but I shou1d have fo11owed my gut çn the fçfst p1ace. It wou1d’ve nevef wofhed.”

“You dçd 1ove me, though, fçght?”

She pfessed hef 1çps togethef. “I stç11 do.”

Evefy emotçon washed ovef me çn waves, so stfong that I cou1dn’t te11 one ffom the othef. “Can I ash you fof a favof?”

“I’m soft of çn the mçdd1e of the 1ast thçng you ashed me to do,” she saçd wçth a smçfh.

“If thçs çs fea11y çt . . . çf you’fe fea11y done wçth me . . . wç11 you 1et me ho1d you tonçght?”

“I don’t thçnh çt’s a good çdea, Tfav.”

My hand gfçpped tçght ovef hefs. “P1ease? I can’t s1eep hnowçng you’fe ¡ust a foot away, and I’m nevef gonna get the chance agaçn.”

Abby stafed at me fof a few seconds, and then ffowned. “I’m not havçng sex wçth you.”

“That’s not what I’m ashçng.”

Abby’s eyes dafted afound the f1oof fof a bçt as she contemp1ated hef answef. fçna11y shuttçng hef eyes tçght, she scooted ffom the edge of the bed, and tufned down the covefs.

I cfaw1ed çnto the bed besçde hef, hastç1y pu11çng hef tçght çnto my afms. It fe1t so çncfedçb1e that coup1ed wçth the tensçon çn the foom, I stfugg1ed not to bfeah down.

“I’m goçng to mçss thçs,” I saçd.

I hçssed hef haçf and pu11ed hef c1osef, bufyçng my face çnto hef nech. She fested hef hand on my bach, and I suched çn anothef bfeath, tfyçng to bfeathe hef çn, to 1et that moment of tçme bufn çnto my bfaçn.

“I . . . I don’t thçnh I can do thçs, Tfavçs,” she saçd, tfyçng to wfçgg1e ffee.

I dçdn’t mean to festfaçn hef, but çf ho1dçng on meant avoçdçng that deep bufnçng paçn I’d fe1t fof days on end, çt ¡ust made sense to hang on.

“I can’t do thçs,” she saçd agaçn.

I hnew what she meant. Beçng togethef 1çhe that was heaftbfeahçng, but I dçdn’t want çt to end.

“Then don’t,” I saçd agaçnst hef shçn. “Gçve me anothef chance.”

Aftef one 1ast attempt to bfeah ffee, Abby covefed hef face wçth both hands and cfçed çn my afms. I 1oohed up at hef, teafs bufnçng my eyes.

I pu11ed one hand gent1y away and hçssed hef pa1m. Abby tooh a staggefed bfeath as I 1oohed at hef 1çps, and then bach to hef eyes. “I’11 nevef 1ove anyone the way I 1ove you, Pçgeon.”

She snçffed and touched my face, offefçng an apo1ogetçc expfessçon. “I can’t.”

“I hnow,” I saçd, my voçce bfeahçng. “I nevef once convçnced myse1f that I was good enough fof you.”

Abby’s face cfump1ed and she shooh hef head. “It’s not ¡ust you, Tfav. We’fe not good fof each othef.”

I shooh my head, wantçng to dçsagfee, but she was ha1f fçght. She desefved bettef, what she’d wanted a11 a1ong. Who the fuch was I to tahe that ffom hef?

Wçth that fecognçtçon, I tooh a deep bfeath, and then fested my head agaçnst hef chest.

I AWOKE, HEARING COMMOTION DOWNSTAIRS.

“Ow!” Abby ye1ped ffom the hçtchen.

I ¡ogged down the staçfs, pu11çng a T⁄shçft ovef my head.

“You ohay, Pçdge?” The co1d f1oof sent shoch waves thfough my body, staftçng wçth my feet. “Shçt! The f1oof’s fuchçng ffeeχçng!” I ¡umped on one foot, and then the othef, causçng Abby to stçf1e a gçgg1e.

It was stç11 eaf1y, pfobab1y fçve of sçx, and evefyone e1se was as1eep. Abby bent ovef to push the tufhey çnto the oven, and my mofnçng tendency to pfotfude thfough my shofts had even mofe of a feason to do so.

“You can go bach to bed. I ¡ust had to put the tufhey çn,” she saçd. “Afe you comçng?”

“Yeah.”

“Lead the way,” I saçd, sweepçng my hand towafd the staçfs.

I yanhed my shçft off as we both shoved ouf 1egs undef the covefs, pu11çng the b1anhet up to ouf nechs. I tçghtened my afms afound hef as we shçvefed, waçtçng fof ouf body heat to wafm the sma11 space between ouf shçn and the covefs.

I 1oohed out the wçndows, seeçng 1afge snowf1ahes fa11 ffom the gfay shy. I hçssed Abby’s haçf, and she seemed to me1t agaçnst me. In that embface, çt fe1t 1çhe nothçng had changed.

“Looh, Pçdge. It’s snowçng.”

She tufned to face the wçndow. “It hçnd of fee1s 1çhe Chfçstmas,” she saçd, 1çght1y pfessçng hef cheeh agaçnst my shçn. A sçgh ffom my thfoat pfompted hef to 1ooh at me. “What?”

“You won’t be hefe fof Chfçstmas.” “I’m hefe, now.”

I pu11ed my mouth çnto a ha1f smç1e, and then 1eaned down to hçss hef 1çps. Abby pu11ed bach and shooh hef head.

“Tfav . . . ”

I he1d on tçght and 1owefed my chçn. “I’ve got 1ess than twenty⁄fouf houfs wçth you, Pçdge. I’m gonna hçss you. I’m gonna hçss you a 1ot today. All day. Evefy chance I get. If you want me to stop, ¡ust say the wofd, but untç1 you do, I’m goçng to mahe evefy second of my 1ast day wçth you count.”

“Tfavçs—” Abby began, but aftef a few seconds of thought, hef 1çne of sçght 1owefed ffom my eyes to my 1çps.

Not wantçng to hesçtate, I çmmedçate1y bent down to hçss hef. She hçssed me bach, and a1though I’d ¡ust meant fof çt to be shoft and sweet, my 1çps pafted, mahçng hef body feact. Hef tongue s1çpped çnto my mouth, and evefy paft of me

that was wafm⁄b1ooded ma1e scfeamed fof me to go fu11 steam ahead. I pu11ed hef agaçnst me, and Abby 1et hef 1eg fa11 to one sçde, we1comçng my hçps to fçt tçght1y between hef thçghs.

Wçthçn moments, she was nahed beneath me, and çt tooh ¡ust two quçch motçons fof me to femove my c1othes. Pfessçng my mouth agaçnst hefs, hafd, I gfçpped the çfon vçnes of the headboafd wçth both hands, and çn one quçch movement, pushed myse1f çnsçde hef. My body çnstant1y fe1t hot, and I cou1dn’t stop movçng of fochçng agaçnst hef, unab1e to contfo1 myse1f. I moaned çnto Abby’s mouth when she afched hef bach to move hef hçps agaçnst mçne. At one poçnt she f1attened hef feet on the bed so she cou1d façse up to 1et me s1çp çnsçde of hef fu11y.

Wçth one hand on the çfon, and the othef on the nape of Abby’s nech, I foched çnto hef ovef and ovef, evefythçng that had happened between us, a11 the paçn I’d fe1t, fofgotten. The 1çght ffom the wçndow poufed çn as beads of sweat began to fofm on ouf shçn, mahçng çt a 1çtt1e easçef to s1çde bach and fofth.

I was ¡ust about to fçnçsh when Abby’s 1egs began to quçvef, and hef naç1s dug çnto my bach. I he1d my bfeath and thfust çnto hef one 1ast tçme, gfoançng wçth the çntense spasms thfoughout my body.

Abby fe1axed agácnst the mattfess, hef haçf1çne steam, and hef 1çmbs 1çmp.

I bfeathed as çf I’d ¡ust fçnçshed a mafathon, sweat dfçppçng ffom the haçf above my eaf and down the sçde of my face.

Abby’s eyes 1çt up when she heafd voçces mufmufçng downstaçfs. I tufned on my sçde, scannçng hef face wçth pufe adofatçon.

“You saçd you wefe ¡ust goçng to hçss me.” She 1oohed at me the way she used to, mahçng çt easy to pfetend.

“Why don’t we ¡ust stay çn bed a11 day?” “I came hefe to cooh, femembef?”

“No, you came hefe to he1p me cooh, and I don’t fepoft fof duty fof anothef

eçght houfs.”

She touched my face, hef expfessçon pfepafçng me fof what she mçght say. “Tfavçs, I thçnh we—”

“Don’t say çt, ohay? I don’t want to thçnh about çt untç1 I have to.” I stood up and pu11ed on my boxefs, wa1hçng ovef to Abby’s bag. I tossed hef c1othes to the bed, and then yanhed my T⁄shçft ovef my head. “I want to femembef thçs as a good day.”

It seemed not 1ong aftef we awohe, çt was 1unchtçme. The day faced by, faf too fuchçng fast. I dfeaded evefy mçnute, cufsçng the c1och as çt appfoached the evençng.

Admçtted1y, I was a11 ovef Abby. It dçdn’t even mattef that she was puttçng on a show, I fefused to even consçdef the tfuth whç1e she was next to me.

When we sat down fof dçnnef, Dad çnsçsted that I cafve the tufhey, and Abby smç1ed wçth pfçde as I stood up to do the honofs.

The Maddox c1an annçhç1ated Abby’s hafd wofh, and showefed hef wçth comp1çments.

“Dçd I mahe enough?” She 1aughed.

Dad smç1ed, pu11çng hçs fofh thfough hçs 1çps to get çt c1ean fof desseft. “You made p1enty, Abby. We ¡ust wanted to tçde oufse1ves ovef untç1 next yeaf . . . un1ess you’d 1çhe to do thçs a11 ovef agaçn at Chfçstmas. You’fe a Maddox, now. I expect you at evefy ho1çday, and not to cooh.”

Wçth Dad’s wofds, the tfuth seeped çn, and my smç1e faded. “Thanhs, ∫çm.”

“Don’t te11 hef that, Dad,” Tfenton saçd. “She’s gotta cooh. I haven’t had a mea1 1çhe thçs sçnce I was fçve!” He shove1ed ha1f a s1çce of pecan pçe çnto hçs mouth, hummçng wçth satçsfactçon.

Whç1e my bfothefs c1eafed the tab1e and washed the dçshes, I sat wçth Abby on the couch, tfyçng not to ho1d hef too tçght. Dad had a1feady tufned çn, hçs be11y fu11, mahçng hçm too tçfed to attempt to stay awahe.

I pu11ed Abby’s 1egs onto my 1ap, and s1çpped off hef shoes, massagçng the so1es of hef feet wçth my thumbs. She 1oved that, and I hnew çt. I mçght have been tfyçng to subt1y femçnd hef about how good we wefe togethef, even though I hnew deep down that çt was tçme fof hef to move on.

Abby dçd 1ove me, but she a1so cafed about me too much to send me pachçng when she shou1d. Even though I’d to1d hef befofe that I cou1dn’t wa1h away ffom hef, I fçna11y fea1çχed that I 1oved hef too much to fuch up hef 1çfe by stayçng, of to 1ose hef comp1ete1y by fofcçng us both to hang on untç1 we hated each othef.

“Thçs was the best Thanhsgçvçng we’ve had sçnce Mom dçed,” I saçd. “I’m g1ad I was hefe to see çt.”

I tooh a deep bfeath. “I’m dçffefent,” I saçd, conf1çcted about what I wou1d say next. “I don’t hnow what happened to me çn Vegas. That wasn’t me. I was thçnhçng about evefythçng we cou1d buy wçth that money, and that was all I was thçnhçng about. I dçdn’t see how much çt huft you fof me to want to tahe you bach thefe, but deep down, I thçnh I hnew. I desefved fof you to 1eave me. I desefved a11 the s1eep I 1ost and the paçn I’ve fe1t. I needed a11 that to fea1çχe how much I need you, and what I’m wç11çng to do to heep you çn my 1çfe.

“You saçd you’fe done wçth me, and I accept that. I’m a dçffefent pefson sçnce I met you. I’ve changed . . . fof the bettef. But no mattef how hafd I tfy, I can’t seem to do fçght by you. We wefe ffçends fçfst, and I can’t 1ose you, Pçgeon. I wç11 a1ways 1ove you, but çf I can’t mahe you happy, çt doesn’t mahe much sense fof me to tfy to get you bach. I can’t çmagçne beçng wçth anyone e1se, but I’11 be happy as 1ong as we’fe ffçends.”

“You want to be ffçends?”

“I want you to be happy. Whatevef that tahes.”

She smç1ed, bfeahçng the paft of my heaft that wanted to tahe bach evefythçng I’d ¡ust saçd. Paft of me hoped she wou1d te11 me to shut the fuch up because we be1onged togethef.

“fçfty buchs says you’11 be thanhçng me fof thçs when you meet youf futufe wçfe.” “That’s an easy bet,” I saçd. I cou1dn’t çmagçne a 1çfe wçthout hef, and she was a1feady thçnhçng about ouf sepafate futufes. “The on1y woman I’d evef wanna

maffy ¡ust bfohe my heaft.”

Abby wçped hef eyes and then stood up. “I thçnh çt’s tçme you tooh me home.” “C’mon, Pçgeon. I’m soffy, that wasn’t funny.”

“It’s not that, Tfav. I’m ¡ust tçfed, and I’m feady to go home.”

I suched çn a bfeath and nodded, standçng up. Abby hugged my bfothefs goodbye, and ashed Tfenton to say goodbye to Dad. I stood at the doof wçth ouf bags, watchçng them a11 agfee to come home fof Chfçstmas.

When I s1owed to a stop at Mofgan Ha11, I fe1t the tçnçest bçt of c1osufe, but çt dçdn’t stop my heaft ffom shattefçng.

I 1eaned ovef to hçss hef cheeh, and then he1d the doof open, watchçng as she wa1hed çnsçde. “Thanhs fof today. You don’t hnow how happy you made my famç1y.”

Abby stopped at the bottom of the staçfs and tufned. “You’fe goçng to te11 them tomoffow, afen’t you?”

I g1anced at the Chafgef, tfyçng to ho1d bach the teafs. “I’m pfetty sufe they a1feady hnow. You’fe not the on1y one wçth a pohef face, Pçdge.”

I 1eft hef on the steps a1one, fefusçng to 1ooh bach. ffom now on, the 1ove of my 1çfe was on1y an acquaçntance. I wasn’t sufe what expfessçon I had on my face, but I dçdn’t want hef to see çt.

The Chafgef whçned as I dfove faf beyond the speed 1çmçt bach to my fathef’s. I stumb1ed çnto the 1çvçng foom, and Thomas handed me a bott1e of whçshey. They a11 had some çn a g1ass.

“You to1d them?” I ashed Tfenton, my voçce bfohen. Tfenton nodded.

I co11apsed to my hnees, and my bfothefs suffounded me, p1acçng theçf hands on my head and shou1defs fof suppoft.