Chapter Sixteen #2
She blinks rapidly before she uses the heel of her hand to wipe at her eye, shaking her head. “He used a different number—I didn’t—”
“Your dad,” I finish for her. “That was him?”
She nods sullenly. “In all his glory.”
“I’m so sorry,” I tell her.
She shakes her head again. “It’s not your fault. I should have been paying more attention. I definitely shouldn’t have been answering calls when I didn’t know who they were from.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” I huff. “You’re not the bastard that keeps harassing people.”
I hear footsteps behind me, and then Dee’s voice.
“Hey, we’re going to head out. Are you two good to…” She notices Abby’s wet eyes, moving in closer. “What’s wrong?”
Abby looks at me with wide eyes, and I can see there that she has no desire to talk about this. I flounder for only a second before stepping in.
“She’s just a little choked up about you and Ian,” I say, holding her gaze for a moment before flashing a smile at my sister. “Turns out she’s a bit of a marshmallow. Who knew?”
“Oh, Abby,” Dee says with a soft smile.
Abby’s mouth opens and then closes, and then finally, she gives me a light punch on the arm, going along with it. “I’m not a marshmallow. It’s just…a lot of changes.”
“Good changes,” Dee points out.
Abby nods. “Good changes.”
“Ian is telling Kyle goodbye,” Dee tells us. “Don’t let him see you crying or he might start in.”
“He would not,” Abby says thickly.
“He’s kind of a marshmallow, too, sometimes,” Dee says with a laugh. She moves in close, pulling Abby in for a hug. “I hope you’ll be my maid of honor.”
Abby looks startled. “What? But—But your friends—”
“Will understand,” Dee says. “You’re a part of my family now, Abby. I want you standing next to me when we make it official.”
Abby looks close to bursting out into full-on tears, and I clear my throat, trying to save her from it.
“Thankfully, you’ll have a very good-looking partner to walk you down the aisle,” I cut in.
Dee rolls her eyes. “Who says you’ll be the best man?”
“Who else is he going to ask? Sanchez?”
“Jankowski looks really good in a suit…” Dee teases.
I give her a light shove. “Yeah, yeah. Go home to your fiancé.”
“I think I will,” Dee says, beaming.
She reaches out to give me a hug as well, squeezing me tight. “Love you.”
“Love you more,” I murmur into her hair.
We watch her go together. We shared a ride here, so they both know I’m taking Abby home, but I suddenly have plans that would keep her here a little longer. I wait until Dee is far enough away before I lean in closer to Abby, asking, “Do you want to see something?”
“See what?” she asks, still looking a little worn down.
“It’s a surprise,” I tell her.
Her eyes narrow. “I don’t love surprises.”
“You know, that checks out,” I chuckle. “Still. I promise it’ll be quick.”
She heaves a sigh, but in doing so, she looks a little more like herself, thankfully.
“All right,” she concedes. “But it better not be something weird.”
“Weird is my middle name,” I say.
She looks wary as she says, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The little park behind St. Michael’s is smaller than I remember it being, hidden behind a small coppice of trees on the grounds behind the main building.
I can remember many days sitting out here, playing with a much smaller Dee, and just being back brings a whole slew of memories that are bittersweet.
“A playground?” Abby asks.
“Mhm,” I answer. “Wanna try the swings?”
“I don’t know if I’ll fit,” she says, eyeing the small seats.
“Your ass is perfect,” I tell her. “You’ll fit.”
I watch her flush deliciously, grinning as she smacks me on the arm. “Shut up.”
Still, she dutifully walks over to the swings to drop down into one of the rubber seats, and I waste no time moving behind her, giving her a gentle push.
Her feet drag along the ground beneath her, but still she lets me sway her back and forth, her hands coming to grip the chains that hold up the seat.
“How did you know this was back here?” she asks.
“I used to come back here a lot with Dee when we stayed here.”
“Oh, I see.” She shifts a little in the seat. “Wait. Isn’t this where those paps caught Ian and Lila?”
“Yep.” I shoot her a grin when she turns her head to look back at me. “You could say it’s a spot for lovers.”
“You could say literally anything else,” she quips.
I chuckle at that, giving her another push. “I used to push Dee just like this,” I explain. “She’d always yell at me to go higher.”
“Was it hard? Being here?”
I consider that. “I guess we were lucky in a lot of ways. We had someone trying to fight for custody of us. Not everyone here could say the same.”
“I’m not asking if you were lucky,” she says. “I’m asking how it felt being here.”
I almost smile. There’s my little shrink.
“It was hard,” I admit. “Dee was so small when it happened, and neither of us knew what was going to happen to us. I never knew what I was doing half the time. I just knew I had to make sure that Dee didn’t feel too sad.”
“You took care of her,” she comments, not like a question, but like a fact.
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “I did. Or at least, the best that I could as a twelve-year-old.”
“Do you still feel like you should be taking care of her?”
“What do you mean?”