Wild Ride - The Alternative Version (Book 2)

Chapter 22~I Get The Strangest Feeling That You've Gone Away

When I woke up in the morning, I showered and dressed before quietly going across the hall to check on Abbie. She had still been asleep, and I went downstairs and got something to eat before going into the living room to watch TV.

Abbie finally came downstairs around ten, when I'd gone back into the kitchen to get something to drink. I heard her quiet but not quiet enough footsteps and turned around and looked at her as I took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. I noticed that her eyes were red, like she'd been crying, and I just kind of studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she had been crying before I asked,

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Abbie snapped, and I just let it go. I didn't think she'd tell me anyway, but I wanted to ask to show that I cared. Obviously that didn't really ever go in my favor when I tried to show her things like that, but it never stopped me.

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

I arched an eyebrow at her. "You didn't eat at all last night, and now it's past ten and you're telling me you're not hungry? You used to never be able to go more than a few hours without some kind of snack."

Abbie frowned and muttered, "Fine. I'm hungry. Happy?"

"Yes, thanks for asking." I remarked, and she gave me a dirty look. "What do you want to eat?"

"Cereal, I guess."

I went over to the cupboard and got the box of Coco Puffs, knowing that was one of her favorites. I got a bowl and filled it up with them before getting the milk and pouring it in. Once that was done, I got a spoon and set it on the bar with the bowl of cereal. Abbie slowly got up onto one of the stools and started to eat as I put the milk away, and then I poured some Coco Puffs into the palm of my hand and ate them dry as I watched Abbie carefully. If she was trying to hide how hungry she really was, she wasn't doing very good with it because she was digging in and eating as much as she could get on the spoon.

Abbie looked up at me as she swallowed down a mouthful, catching me watching her. "What?" She demanded.

I shrugged. "Nothing." She just stared at me for a moment and then eventually went back to eating the rest of her cereal. When she finished eating, she looked like she was still hungry so I said, "You want more?"

Abbie hesitated but shook her head and pushed the bowl over to me. I took it and set it in the sink gently. She was getting down from the stool as I turned around getting ready to retreat back usptairs again. I still had the feeling she wouldn't tell me, but I couldn't help asking again.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

Abbie shot me a sharp look over her shoulder and hissed, "Did I stutter the first time? I'm fine!"

"Ok, it was just a question, calm down." I said, trying to be careful. She was like a mine, step in the wrong place and she explodes.

"You don't get to tell me to calm down." Abbie pretty much growled the words at me.

"And you don't get to talk to me that way, Abigail. Don't forget who has the authority here." I told her with a firm tone of voice. "I'll tell you to calm down when I feel like it, and you're just going to have to live with it."

"Well if I don't have the authority, then nobody in this house does. You definitely don't, since you just decided you didn't want me anymore for the last two years." She replied, her tone ice cold.

"That's not true, Abigail. That's not what happened." I said.

"Oh, right, you just got really busy and forgot about me. Guess I'm not really as important to you as I was led to believe, am I? You're probably not even really proud of me for performing in the talent show, you're probably even lying about actually being there and Mom just told you what happened so you could cover it up. But don't worry Dad, it's all ok, it's not like I'm upset about it or anything." Abbie spat, and my eyebrows raised in surprise. I think I just watched her transform into a teenager there for a moment.