“Have you heard from your dad recently?”I ask her carefully.
“No, and that’s for the best.He doesn’t have my new number, and I don’t plan on reaching out to him.He was dead to me the second he sold me.Heck, he should’ve been dead to me the second he started drinking and gambled away all our rent money.”
“It’s hard to let go,” I whisper.“You want to be loved by your parents.That’s a normal expectation.”
“Yeah.It sucks that we both got the short end of the stick in that department.”She sighs.
“At least we have each other.”
I grin as she sits up and leans over, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.We sit quietly for a while, letting the past few weeks settle into something we can live with.Something we can move forward from.
“I wonder when Abe is going to come and get yo?—”
Fern is cut off by a knock on the front door.She grins, laughing to herself as she stands to answer it.
I feel him before I see him—his steady warmth, his grounding presence.When Fern opens the door, Abe fills the frame, relaxed but alert, eyes soft when they land on me.
“Hey,” he says, greeting me with a warm smile.
His whole face softens as he looks at me, and my heart kicks hard against my ribcage as I realize I must have the same expression when I look at him.
It hits me then.I love Abe.I don’t know when that happened, but it did.
“Hey,” I choke out as emotion threatens to overwhelm me.
“Are you okay?”Abe asks, crossing the room in an instant.His face is filled with concern as he kneels at my side.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, pushing to my feet.
Fern hugs me goodbye.“Text me when you get home.”
I nod against her shoulder.“I will.”
Abe takes my hand, and I wave as we head outside.The air is crisp and sweet as evening settles over Night Grove Falls like a blanket.
Abe opens the truck door for me, always gentle, always careful.
“Ready to go home?”he asks me as I settle into my seat.“Or did you need anything from in town first?”
Home.
The word doesn’t scare me anymore or fill me with dread like it used to.
“Yeah.I’m ready to go home.”
He smiles, leaning in and kissing me softly.
Abe holds my hand for the short ride home, and I yawn as we pull up out front.
“I’ll get your door,” he says, already hurrying out of his seat.
I smile as I watch him jog around to my side.Then his hands are on my hips, and he sets me on my feet.He holds my hand as we go inside, and I freeze when I see all the boxes stacked neatly in the entryway.
“What’s all this?”I ask.
He smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Uh, it’s stuff for you.”