Mike walks toward us carrying several bags, a prospect trailing behind him with even more.
“These are for you guys,” Mike says.
“You already gave us gifts,” Riley frowns.
“Yeah,” Mike replies sharply. “These aren’t from me. They’re from Abby.”
Abby.
Her name alone widens the hole in my chest.
I miss that fucking woman with every breath I take. I hated that she didn’t come tonight. I know it’s because she didn’t want to be near me anymore.
And I get it.
She loves me. I’ve pushed her away every chance I got. Being near me was tearing her apart, even if it gave me peace knowing she was safe and close.
It’s been months since I last saw her, and my heart can’t fucking take it.
I need her near me as much as I need to breathe.
I check the shop’s security footage sometimes just to make sure she’s okay. But I’ve stayed away. I gave her space to move on… even though I can’t.
“Why didn’t she come in?” Spike asks.
“She asked me why you were all celebrating today when she was told it wasn’t until tomorrow,” Mike says. “She only stopped by to drop these off so she’d have room for food tomorrow.”
“Oh no,” Riley whispers. “Please tell me someone told her.”
A sick feeling slams into my gut as I look around.
“Shit,” Eli says, pulling out his phone. “I didn’t even think to tell her.”
“Me either,” Sunny says, tears already spilling. “Everything was so last-minute.”
Spike’s face drains of color as it hits him.
“I thought she stayed away because she didn’t want to be near me,” I say hoarsely. “Are you telling me that not a single person here thought to tell her to get her ass over here?”
No one says a word. They just stand there looking guilty as fuck.
“She wasn’t on a single one of your minds?” I ask slowly. “Because she’s fuckingalwayson mine. I didn’t reach out because she doesn’t want to hear from me. I don’t go over there because she doesn’t want to fucking see me. But please…tell me that at least one of you calls, texts, or visits her every single day. Just one person. Every day. Tell me that.”
“We talk to her,” Sunny says, crying against Bones’ cut. “In our group chat. Maybe not every day, but we do.”
“And we visit,” Eli adds, clearly on the edge of a panic attack. “Of course, we’ve all been busy lately, so the visits are short. But I just saw her last night… for about five minutes.”
“She always seems fine at work,” Lila says quietly. “I mean, I did take these past two weeks off. But she never stops smiling. It’s the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her.”
“It’s fake,” I say, nausea rolling through me. “The bigger the smile, the bigger the lie. She’s fooling all of you, and not a single one of you saw it.”
Yeah. I’m fucking pissed.
“So what I’m hearing,” I continue, voice shaking with rage, “is that for the past month or so, Abigail…who was kidnapped and left alone in a fucking hole for three months…has beenalone.”
My chest tightens.
“Did anyone even ask if she wanted to help with this fucking fundraiser? She would’ve loved this shit.”
