After being abandoned by his mother at a young age, left to deal with his abusive father, JJ Maybank feels like he was stranded out at sea during a terrible storm, fighting to make it through each day. Even though he meets the Pogues at a young age...
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"Um...tell your boy that we know what he did."
- Rafe Cameron
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[July 2019]
Abigail wiped the tears from her face, cleaned up the mess Aaron left, applied makeup to her face to hide the bruises, and then she headed to work. Her back was sore from being shoved into her dresser, but she ignored it.
She didn't say much during her shift, and she was grateful Gram and MJ were too preoccupied to notice. She stayed at the front counter, checking out customers and answering phones. As soon as her shift ended, she left.
But, she didn't go home. She went to Angel Oak.
She had tears blurring her vision as she pedaled, but she didn't stop until she reached the large, familiar clearing. And, as soon as she was alone, she cried, sobbing loudly in the grass.
She felt her phone going off in her pocket, but she didn't bother checking it, afraid it was Aaron again. She was impressed the phone was still working after he tossed it at a wall this morning.
She laid back in the grass, her body shaking as she continued to cry. She's never felt this lost before. Not when her dad was arrested. Not even when her mom left.
She's lost, and scared, and desperate, and those are all things she wants to change, but she doesn't know how.
She's tried so many times to get out of this relationship and away from Aaron, but nothing works. She tried breaking up with him the other day, that's how she got the bruise JJ questioned her about last night. She told him she wanted to break up, Aaron just hit her and told her never to say that again.
Maybe she should've let Aaron believe she hooked up with JJ. Sure, he would've beat the shit out of her, but, maybe that would've been the final straw for him.
She takes a deep breath, feeling herself slowly calm down. The breeze and the peaceful sounds from the woods help ease her anxiety. So, she sits up, wiping her tear-stained cheeks, before standing up altogether.
