Abalone's Story.

The truth.

Abalone’s P.O.V

      “Aw, you’re nervous,” Dawn said as my fingers trembled over the buttons of my shirt.

      I rolled my eyes, “I’m perfectly fine.” But I knew I wasn’t. Even if having dinner with Avery wasn’t an official date, I was still having dinner with a girl who I was attracted to. It had nearly been a year since the incident and I was feeling on edge.

      “I can get you a sedative if you’d like,” Jess teased.

      I scowled at her. “You two can leave, you know.” I said bitterly.

      They smiled, but left me alone. I exhaled heavily. This was going to be fine as long as Jackson didn’t show up to make a scene. I took another calming breath before grabbing my keys and phone. “I’ll see you guys later,” I called over my shoulder as I left the apartment. I got into my car. The only thing I could do was hope for the best.

      As I arrived to the restaurant I spotted Avery getting out of her car. There was a space available next to hers so I parked there. “Hey,” I smiled as I exited my car.

      She smiled at me as she locked her doors. She was wearing a tight black dress that hugged every curve. Shit. Just breathe. We walked together into the building through the back, avoiding the paparazzi. “Table for two,” I told the hostess as we reached the restaurant. Once we sat down Avery studied me as I took a sip of water. “What?” I laughed.

      She smiled, “this is the nicest and calmest I’ve ever seen you.”

      I shrugged, “I’m just an anxious person.”

      She glanced down when I spoke. “Jackson told me about his sister and you. . .”

      I clenched my jaw tight, looking at the menu. Of course Jackson couldn’t resist running his mouth. “What did he say exactly,” I asked after a beat.

      She hadn’t spoken so I glared at her. She frowned, almost like she was afraid to mention it, but then why had she brought it up? “He told me that you two were in an accident and she passed . . . and that it was your fault.” She bit her lip.

      I nodded, “I’m sure he used worse words, but for the most part yes.”

      She leaned forward. “Can you tell me what happened?”

      I scowled. “I’m sure Jackson enlightened you enough.” I looked away as the waitress returned with our food. We were silent as she laid the plates down and retreated.  

      “I want to hear your side of the story,” she encouraged.

      I tried to calm my breathing as it escalated. “I don’t speak about it.”

      She gave me a sad smile, “try.” I shook my head. “I think that’s why you’re so frigid. You won’t allow anyone to get to you or let go of the things that happened in the past. Stop being so tense.”

      “I just can’t,” I grumbled.

      “How long ago did this happen?”

      I took a bite from my steak. I needed to ease the anxiety. “It’ll be three years very soon.”

      She nodded in understanding. “Is that why you started partying so much?”

      “Yes, but I stopped.”

      She placed her hand over mines, “please, talk to me.”

      I sighed, “not here.”

----“----

      I took Avery to the beach to talk. “Jackson and I use to be best friends while we were in school. I met his little sister, Michelle, when I was in eighth grade and she was in seventh. I didn’t much mind to her at first, she was just as annoying as any little kid, but once high school started things started to change. I was a freshman and Michelle was in eighth grade, she was growing and I spent a lot of time with her since Jackson joined football and I didn’t like sports so I was in theater, but I had time and Jackson needed someone to stay with her. . .anyway, there was one day after school where Michelle was crying because she’d been teased by her crush so I comforted her as best I could and then she kissed me.

      “I was confused at first, but I kissed her back. She told me that she’d like me for months. But I couldn’t date her. I mean, she was Jackson’s little sister, so I told her that it could never happen again. However, the more I tried to pull away from her, the more she became harder to resist. I remember one day I went over to Jackson’s place when he had practice to check on Michelle because I hadn’t heard from her for months and when I walked in she was with some douche, and I was upset, but I didn’t know why. So I fought with him. I kicked him out and Michelle yelled at me.

      “That’s when I told her I wanted to be with her.” Avery squeezed my hand and nodded for me to continue.  

      “We were together for a little bit over two year, and the amazing thing was Jackson was okay with us being together because he trusted me enough to take care of his sister. One night there was a party for the football team. Jackson invited me so I brought Michelle over with me. We had been fighting on the way over because she was a singer and had been offered a chance to go on tour, but that meant leaving me here for a year. I should’ve never told her not to go, but I couldn’t handle her leaving for a year.

      “I had been drinking at the party, trying to cope with her absence. She tried to drive us home, but I told her I didn’t need her to take care of me, she’d be gone soon enough. I drove us home and we kept fighting and there was a car and I wasn’t paying attention—“ I choked.

      Avery wrapped her arm in mine, “you don’t have to continue,” she whispered.

      I nodded and wiped the tears away with the back of my hand. “I’ve never been able to tell anyone about it,” I looked down at her.

      Surprisingly she brought me into a tight hug. “I’m sorry, Abalone.” She said softly.

      I allowed myself to bury my face into her and inhaled deeply. Here I was confiding in Jackson’s girlfriend thinking about his dead sister and secretly hoping that Avery was interested in me. What kind of a sick person was I? I pushed away from her. “Thank you for listening, but I need to go.”

      She frowned, “okay, but can we talk later?”

      I shook my head, “I think it’s for best if we just continue to keep things personal. I don’t need Jackson giving me more shit about how I ruined his life.”

Avery’s P.O.V

He shook his head, “I think it’s for best if we just continue to keep things personal. I don’t need Jackson giving me more shit about how I ruined his life.” He gave me a sad smile and I felt my heart sink.

“I can talk to him. Maybe you guys can fix things,” I suggested. I wasn’t sure why I felt so desperate to keep Abalone around, but he was hurting and I couldn’t watch him suffer.

      “I killed his sister. I can’t just fix that.” He sounded defeated. I didn’t know what else to say to him so I nodded and watched him walk off.

“You didn’t kill her,” I said to him as he got into his car. He acknowledged me but didn’t answer than he drove off.

I got into my car and headed home thinking that there was much more to Abalone than anyone had ever known.

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