The Prophet's Daughter (Black Army Sequel)

Chapter 35- An Unhappy Homecoming

Chapter 35- An Unhappy Homecoming

Abbie shot awake to the sound of screaming. It took her a moment to realize that the blood curdling sounds had come out of her own mouth. She turned over to see Ricky’s concerned face looking back at her. Abbie was able to see him more closely now than she had been in the front of the bus. His soft black hair protruded out of his black woven beanie at just the right angle, framing his face perfectly. His blue-green eyes reminded Abbie of Jinxx’s, and the black make up he wore around them made his ivory skin look as flawless as a blank sheet of paper. The two stared at one another for what felt like forever, until he finally spoke.

“Are you ok?” he asked. Abbie tucked her own silky black hair behind her ears and nodded.

“Yeah, just a nightmare,” she whispered. He nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked quietly. She shook her head.

“I just want to forget it.” Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. She hated feeling so weak and helpless. She wanted to go back to before, when everything was normal. Before she had went on Warped Tour, before Andy had adopted her, before she even stepped foot on the Black Army’s campsite. She wanted to go back to when she was mistaken for a wild horse regularly, and when she’d go months without shape shifting into a human. Ricky held his arms out. Abbie fell into them, pulling herself out of the bunk in the process.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” he whispered. She pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes. They were sincere and honest, something she hadn’t seen in a long time. “I promise.”

Chris walked into the bunk area, causing both of them to look up at him.

“We’re here,” he said, looking at Abbie. She nodded and walked past him and into the lounge. She looked at the rest of the band, all of them smiling at her, except Ghost. He knew. She kept her eyes locked on his until she made it off the bus. Before she could even get her barrings, she felt someone run up to her and wrap their arms around her. The smell was familiar, but she didn’t feel safe. Her entire body quivered, and she stood completely still.

“I missed you so, so much,” he whispered, sending chills down Abbie’s neck. He pulled away and looked at the girl’s fear-filled eyes. His hair was different, blond now, but his face still looked the same. Her stomach ached, her back was raw, she fell to her knees.

“Abbie!” figures rushed towards her. Abbie went to the only person that comforted her. She berried her face in his chest. She could tell it took him by surprise. She looked up at Jinxx with big eyes. He looked from Andy to her, unsure of what to do.

“Why don’t you go head inside with your dad?” he asked, smiling down at her.

“He’s not my dad,” she whispered. Jinxx’s eyes widened and he glanced at Andy, biting his lip, “he’s my brother.” Jinxx furrowed his brow and looked back down at her.

“What?” he asked. She nodded and stood up, keeping her eyes on Jinxx.

“Why don’t we head inside and get some pancakes?” Ashley asked, putting his hand on Abbie’s shoulder. Abbie jerked back and looked at him, wide eyed. She felt red hot pain in her ribs and legs. She backed away from him.

“What’s wrong, Abbie?” CC asked, his big brown eyes sincere. Abbie’s scalp burned and her eyes ached. She hid behind Jinxx. Andy stood there motionless. Juliet wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Give her time, I’m sure she’s just a little out of it,” Ella suggested. Andy sighed and ripped out of Juliet’s grip. He stormed into the building, followed by Juliet, Ashley, CC, Jake, and everyone else.  Jinxx turned around and bent down to Abbie’s height.

“Do you want to come inside with me?” he asked. Abbie nodded and followed him into the building. Abbie stopped when she came to the elevator. “What’s wrong? It’s an elevator, you’ve been in it before,” he smiled. Abbie shook her head and walked over to the stairs. Jinxx sighed and followed her up the many flights of stairs and onto the correct floor. Abbie ran to the familiar apartment, but stopped dead when she saw everyone else look up at her. Andy was sitting on the couch, hands on his head, and everyone else was standing around him. She stared back at them not sure what to do.

“Abbie, do you want to talk?” It was Jake. He started to come closer to her, but she darted into her room and closed the door behind her. Her room looked exactly the same. She smiled and walked around her bed, allowing her hands to run over the fabric. Someone sitting in one of the chairs stood up.

“You’re back,” she whispered in a shaky voice, smiling. Abbie ran into Sammi’s arms.

“Please don’t cry,” Abbie whispered, even though her own tears streaked down her cheeks. Sammi pulled away from Abbie and looked her over.

“You’re worse than when you first joined the Army,” she whispered. It was true. All of Abbie’s muscle mass, as well as any body fat that she had had before, was gone. She was a walking skeleton, and her eyes were red and sunken in from sleep deprivation, but Sammi didn’t look as good as she had before Abbie left, either. She looked like she had lost a considerable amount of weight, and the circles under her eyes were more than noticeable.

“At least I have an excuse,” Abbie replied, sitting down on her bed. Sammi sat down next to her.

“Jinxx and I, uh,” she started, looking down at her lap. Abbie studied her face, hoping she wasn’t going to say what she thought she was going to. “We broke up.” Tears trickled down her face. Abbie nodded and closed her eyes.

“Sammi?”

“Yes?”

“Can we still talk?” Sammi looked at Abbie.

“Of course,” she whispered. Both of them looked at the door as it opened. Andy stood in the door way. “But I should go,” she added, walking out. Abbie stared at Andy, eyes wide in fear. Her stomach started to bleed, the skin on her back was shredded, her feet ached. She backed into a corner and hugged her knees to her chest.

“Found your cell phone,” he said hoarsely, placing it on her bed. She didn’t take her eyes off him. “You’re clothes are put away, if you want to change,” he added, nodding towards her dresser, “but they might not fit you now. You look like you haven’t eaten in weeks. You must be hungry.” Abbie closed her eyes. His voice hurt her head. She covered her ears with her hands and rocked back in forth, pushing herself deep in the corner.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He looked her over once more, then sighed and left the room.

After a few hours, Abbie slowly stood up and walked over to the dresser. She opened one of the drawers and pulled out plain black skinny jeans. She slowly took off the shorts she’d worn for over two months and slipped the jeans on. Andy was right. They used to fit her perfectly, but now were baggy. She pulled out a black shirt with a horse head on it and smiled slightly. She slipped it easily over her head. Just like her pants, the shirt, even though it was an extra small, could’ve easily fit two of her in it. She stopped in front of her mirror and looked at herself. She really did look different. Her blue eyes were duller, her hair was thinner, and she was so skinny she didn’t look human, not that she was human anyway. She lifted her shirt up so she could see her stomach, if it could even be called that. She was so skinny that if it wasn’t for her ribs she’d be as flat as a piece of paper. She turned away from the mirror and ran her hands through her hair and screamed. In an instant Jinxx, Sammi, and Andy were at her side. She ran into Sammi’s arms.

“I don’t look like me,” she whispered, tears rolling down her sunken in cheeks.

“It’s ok,” Sammi said, bending down to her height and smiling, “we’ve all talked, and you’re going to come stay with me, if that’s ok with you.” Abbie whipped away her tears and nodded. “Great,” she smiled, standing up. “You go ahead and pack. We’ll leave in a few minutes.”