Two Can Keep a Secret

5.

Buck

I'm frozen. I can't breathe, can't think, can't speak. I thought it was the disbelief of seeing Abby again. It's the first time I've seen her since the train crash six years ago. The day she told me that she had moved on, so much so that she was engaged and had a new stepdaughter. Doing a quick scan of the area her stepdaughter and husband are nowhere to be found. It's just her and...her daughter?

Her daughter with a birthmark identical to mine.

But...it can't be...can it?

...Six Years Ago...

I still can't believe it. Abby went to Europe and came back with a new life; a new family. She left me behind. I thought I was okay with that. I thought I was over her; that I had let her go. But seeing her again, every feeling I thought I had let go came flooding back like a tsunami.

The last thing she told me before she went to be with her new family was, "Take care of yourself, Buck." I have no idea how I'm going to do that, Not when I feel like I have to relearn every motor skill I've ever developed.

My head hurts. My heart feels like it could stop any minute. Why am I feeling like this if I'm over her? I try to shake my brain of this feeling. I'm home now; alone. Right now, my thoughts are my own worst enemy. I don't know whether to take a scolding hot shower or an ice cold one. Before I can make that decision, I hear a knock on my door. I jog over to answer it, expecting Eddie or Chimney or even Maddie. I never expected to see her standing there.

"Abby."

"Hi Buck," she smiled shyly. She had changed clothes from when I last saw her. Now she was in a plain red tank top and white shorts, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, her skin clean of all dirt, blood, and debris from the train crash.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" I stammer.

"To be honest, I'm not really sure," she blushed.

"How do you know where I live?"

"You can find anything on the internet these days," she chuckles. I raise an eyebrow at her. "Buck, I'm kidding. I asked Athena for it at the hospital."

"Right," I laugh nervously. We stand there awkwardly for a few seconds, although it feels like a lifetime. She subtly gestures to my apartment behind me. "Oh right! Come in," I stand back and open the door wider, closing it behind her once she's in. "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"No I'm fine. Thank you."

I grab myself a beer from the fridge, grabbing an extra one and setting it on the counter in case she changes her mind. I take a quick sip before asking, "How's Sam?"

She looks startled at first. I guess she wasn't expecting me to ask about him. Or maybe she forgot that she was supposed to be with him and not here with me. "He's stable. Grateful to you for saving him. We all are." Her eyes meet mine and she holds my gaze.

I look down quickly, realizing that I can't do this anymore. Pretend that everything is fine, that we're such good friends when she hurt me the way she did. "Why are you here Abby?"

"I told you, I don't know."

"Oh you know. You didn't just stumble upon my doorstep by accident. You asked for my address. There's a reason you're here, so why don't you just tell me what that reason is so we can move on with our lives?"

"Buck-"

"Oh that's right! You've already moved on! It's me that has the work to do right?" My voice is raised.