23. Dash
DASH
“Dash?”
I sag against the kitchen counter when Abby answers the phone, relief coursing through me.
We haven’t seen her since we all arrived at the arena together yesterday for the Stick It To Cancer event. She also hasn’t picked up our calls, though she did group text us to tell us about the little boy who died of cancer and to tell us that she just needs some time to deal with that.
Obviously, we have all been worried sick.
We’re trying to respect her need for space, but it’s slowly killing us.
“Abby girl,” I say, struggling to keep my tone light.
Kane straightens from where he was hunched over the kitchen island, and Benjamin stops mid-stride in his pacing and whirls to face me.
We’ve all been climbing the walls and snapping at one another in our worry.
I nearly took Kane’s head off this morning when he took the last sausage link, and I thought Benjamin was going to send a chair through the wall when he bumped into it on his way to the pantry.
I literally had to restrain Kane from going to Abby's last night, but it was incredibly difficult, not because Kane can overpower me, but because I wanted to go just as badly.
Kane had to take Benjamin’s keys from him and hide them.
Benjamin had to threaten to call and warn Abby if I stepped outside of the house before she agreed to see us.
As usual, we’re keeping each other in check, and when one of us is losing his mind, at least one of the others is keeping his shit together.
So far.
I don’t know how much longer that can last.
“I know you’re worried,” she says before I can say anything else.
“Of course we are, but we understand you needed some time. I’m calling to invite you over for lunch,” I tell her, keeping my tone even.
It’s early afternoon, and we have a game tonight, but we need to see her in private before then.
“You’re sweet,” she says.
I can hear a heaviness in her tone. Fatigue, sadness—things I want and need to fix.
“Let us come get you,” I say.
“I’m at my parents’,” she says.
I swear inwardly and shake my head at the guys.
They both scowl.
“You won’t be at the game tonight?” I ask.
“I will be here for a few days. I called and took a couple of days off from work,” she says.
I don’t like this at all. “We’re not trying to pressure you, sweetheart,” I say, finally letting my voice get gruff with emotion. “We know you’re really hurting. We want to be there for you.”
She takes a shaky breath. “I am. And I needed to be with people who know how this feels.”
I shove a hand through my hair. “Explain it to us Abby. We want to understand.”
“I can’t do that to you,” she says, her voice shaky. “I don’t want to do that to you. You guys make me so happy.”
“We love you,” I say.
“I know.”
At least there’s that.
“Loving someone means being there even when they’re sad, baby,” I say, my throat feeling tight. “It’s not just happy and light all the time.”
Kane and Benjamin are staring at me. I know it’s killing them a little not to be able to hear her, see her, or say anything.
I would give anything to have this conversation in person. With them helping.
But there is a very good chance she ran to her parents in part because she knew she couldn’t resist us and that we would eventually show up on her doorstep.
“We’re just so new,” she finally says. “I don’t think we’re to the point of in sickness and in health.”
I frown. “Don’t forget that Benjamin and Kane have been through this with Angie,” I say.
She’s quiet for a moment. “Oh God. Right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I just…” She takes a breath. “I don’t know how to feel.”
“However you’re feeling is the right way to feel,” I say.
She gives a soft laugh and my chest squeezes.
“That’s what my mom said,” she tells me softly.
Well, that makes me feel good. “Abby,” I say firmly, but gently. “We are to the point of in sickness and in health. We can handle anything. Together.”
She doesn’t say anything. But she also doesn’t hang up.
“No matter what happens, we are four strong. Yeah, things might be hard sometimes, and shit is going to happen, but I can tell you from experience that if one of us is having a hard time handling something, there is at least one other who will be able to step up and be perfect. You’ve got three of us to lean on. ”
She’s quiet for another long moment, then says, “And three of you to disappoint and hurt.”
I feel like she just punched me in the gut.
“Abby—”
“I have to go,” she says quickly. “I’ll let you know when I’m back in Willow Bay.”
“This is not goodbye,” I tell her firmly. “This is not over.”
She hesitates and I grip my phone tightly.
Finally, she says, “I love you.”
“We love you too. And—”
She disconnects.
“Dammit!” I swear, barely resisting hurling my phone across the room.
“What the fuck?” Kane asks.
“She’s scared. I’m guessing this kid reminded her that people get sick and die and that it could be her. She doesn’t think we’re ready for that,” I say.
“Bullshit,” Kane says, vaulting off his stool. “I’m going over there. We’re definitely ready. It doesn’t matter what happens.”
“She’s not there. She’s at her parents’.”
“She’s hiding from us,” Benjamin says.
I meet his gaze and nod. “Yeah. At least she knows us well enough to know that we weren’t going to give her space forever.”
“We can find their house,” Kane says.
“Yes. And we will do that if we need to,” Benjamin says. “But we need to show her, not just tell her, that we’re going to be there for her through everything.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “How? Obviously, if she gets sick, we’ll be there for her, and we’ll show her that nothing can make us leave. But as long as she’s healthy and happy, it’s a hard thing to prove.”
Benjamin shoves a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. We just keep showing up.”
“Yeah, like show up at her parents’ house and we don’t let her push us away,” Kane says.
“You have a game tonight,” Benjamin tells him with a frown. “We can’t do anything right now. Let’s give her a day or two with her parents. Maybe they’ll make her feel better.”
“Maybe,” I agree. “She has a point when she says that we don’t really know what this is like.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kane insists. “Nothing could happen that would change how I feel about her or that would make me leave her.”
“Of course,” I say. “And somehow, we’ll prove that to her.” I look from Kane to Benjamin and, despite the way my heart is hurting over Abby, I know the three of us can figure this out. “Together,” I say.
Benjamin gives me a single nod. “Together.”