Compassion and Oblivion

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Secret

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Secret

TW-Mention of Alcohol

The answer is, yes. You were content to just be friends.

Sebastian started sending his usual texts again. You made plans to meet at the saloon on Friday night with Sam and Abigail, as usual. For the most part, things were back to the way they used to be...just without the flirty texts and longing glances. You thought you would be more upset about it than you actually were. The fact of the matter is, despite the fact that you wanted more, you were just happy to have Sebastian back in your life. You were glad that he wasn't isolating himself anymore.

You confirmed with him that he was the one who had made the donations to the community center. He had...borrowed...the building materials from Robin's massive artillery of wood and stone. He purchased the fish from Willy's shop. You tried to reimburse him for the fish, but he adamantly declined.

"If what they say is true, it's for the good of the valley," he insisted. "I'm not worried about the price, as long as they hold up their end of the deal. As for my mom's stuff, that didn't even make a dent in her stockpile. She won't even know it's gone."

Sebastian had pretty much gone back to normal over the next few days. He was more active in the group chat, he hung out with Sam and practiced their music, and updated you on all of the programming projects he had been working on.

The one you were mostly concerned about is Abigail.

Come Friday night, when you headed to the bar to meet up with the trio for pool, Abby was nowhere to be found.

You walked into the bar, giving Shane a hug and a hello before making your way toward the billiard room. As you entered the room, humming along with the theme to the Journey of the Prairie King machine, you couldn't help but notice Abigail's missing presence.

"Hey, boys!" you chimed, earning smiles from Sam and Sebastian both. "Is Abby in the restroom?"

"She actually hasn't shown up yet," Sam muttered as he bent over the pool table, lining up his shot. "I expect she will get here soon."

But she didn't.

After spending a few hours with Sam and Seb, you decided to cut out early so you can find Abigail. Thankfully, you didn't have to look very far.

Taking a few steps out of the bar, you noticed a faint light coming from the small cemetery just ahead of you. You approached the faint glow, despite your internal defense mechanism warning you about the possibility of it being a ghost. A random light, emanating from an otherwise pitch-black cemetery, long after the sun has set? Suspicious as hell.

As you peered over the bushes that separate the cemetery from the town square, you found Abigail facing away from you as she leaned against one of the old, faded headstones, scrolling through her phone. Sitting beside her was a small LED lantern, and she had music playing softly. She was bundled up in a thick jacket, with a small blanket over her lap.

"Abby?" you called quietly.

She lurched into the air with a yelp. She whipped around to face you. "(Y/N)! You scared the shit out of me!"

You raised your hands up in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you...but what the hell are you doing out here? It's February."

She turned her gaze away from you and rolled her eyes. "I'm an adult. I can do what I want."

"Fair enough..." you replied quietly. Abigail can be harsh sometimes. She isn't someone I really want on my bad side.