Back to You (24 page)

“
That makes me feel
better.” I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

“
Just talk to him about it
if it bothers you. He can’t read your mind.” Then he stops and
thinks about it for a minute before asking,

“
Have you and Lucas?” I
did not come here to talk about my sex life to a man, whom I’m
beginning to get to know as a father, after all these years. Hell
no, not going there.

“
I plead the
fifth.”

“
Hmm, okay well I can take
a hint. Too soon was it?” He smirks and I stick my tongue out at
him.

“
Very mature Abby.” Yeah,
that was kind of immature I’ll admit, but not to him.

“
Dinner is ready honey.”
We hear Jaclyn yell from downstairs.

“
Are you hungry?” Eating
dinner with his family is a little awkward, but then again, I
wouldn’t mind getting to know Christopher. The idea of sitting at a
table with a family that could become mine puts a smile on my face.
“Uh, yeah that would be great.” We go downstairs and meet Jaclyn in
the kitchen. “I’ve invited Abby to stay for dinner. Is that okay?”
He asks his wife, like he needs permission.

“
Of course. I made enough,
just in case.” She winks at me then walks into the dining room
where the table is set up with food. The dining room is painted a
dark green and is very inviting.

“
Hey are you eating with
us?” Christopher walks into the dining room and sits down where his
small plastic plate is set.

“
Yes, she is Christopher.”
My dad answers him.

“
Yay! I really like you.”
The little girl who I hadn’t met yet comes in and tousles
Christopher’s hair playfully. “You like everyone.” Then she kisses
his cheek and sits down at the table across from me. “What’s your
name?” She asks me.

“
I’m Abby. And your
name?”

“
Madison but everyone
calls me Maddy.”

“
It’s nice to meet you
Maddy.” She smiles and takes a sip of her lemonade.

“
Kids, I’d like you to
finally meet your half sister.” My dad says taking his place at the
head of the table. They wave to me, a little surprised.

“
So, Abby what do you plan
on doing after graduation? You only have a month left.” Jaclyn asks
me as she passes the mashed potatoes to my father. She made fried
chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rice and rolls. It smells
and looks delicious. My stomach growls in hunger. I grab a roll and
smother butter on it then serve some green beans on my plate.
“Well, I wanted to possibly move to New York and be in theatre,
actually Broadway musicals.” She gives an impressed
look.

“
That’s nice. I’ve always
loved musicals. Have you been to New York?”

“
No, I have not had the
opportunity to leave this state unless we were on family vacations.
But that was very rare and I was young.”

“
It’s a very busy place. I
couldn’t live there, but I love to visit.” The rest of dinner is
pleasant and we discuss interests, movies, books, music and even
sports. I am not really on the up and up with all sports unless
it’s high school. Madison is 8 years old and very smart. She seems
like a good big sister to Christopher and they get along really
well. For once, it feels like I have a real family and there’s no
arguing or yelling or anyone getting into trouble like at my
house.

“
So are you seeing anyone
Abby?” Jaclyn asks me.

“
Yes, his name is Lucas.
He’s coming to the family function thing going on this
weekend.”

After dinner, I help Jaclyn clear the table
and wash the dishes. She washes, I dry and put away. “You’re a
great helper. I appreciate it.” Jaclyn says gratefully.

“
It’s what I was raised to
do. It’s no problem.” I answer.

“
I’m really sorry how
things turned out for you. I can’t imagine what you went through as
a kid.” I stop drying for a minute and look at her.

“
I don’t want to talk
about this now. The pain I’ve felt all these years isn’t going to
magically go away after one meal.” Her eyes widen in shock and she
looks embarrassed.

“
I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t
have said that. I just want to be friends. Forgive my bluntness.” I
ignore her and continue drying the dishes. Once we’re done I find
my father and tell him I have to leave. I’m getting tired and need
to get home. He saunters out of the living room and walks me to the
door.

“
Thank you for coming over
Abby. I’m glad we got to talk. I really hope you see that I want
you and Sarah in my life. I’m just sorry it took so many years to
get there.”

I stand in the doorway. “Yeah, I guess
perhaps there was a reason for that. But we’ll see you this
weekend. Have a good night.” I walk out to my car as my dad waves
from the still open door before shutting it. I drive home.

I lie in my bed and watch some TV before
going to sleep. I hear a knock at my door. “Come in.” Sarah opens
the door and walks in leaving it open a crack. “Hey, where ya been
all night?”

“
Honestly, I was at dad’s
house.”

“
Shut up.” Sarah says as
she sits down on my bed. “Where were you really?”

“
I was eating dinner at
dad’s house. I went there after school. We talked, about
everything. Got some answers and then it was dinner time and he
invited me to stay. So I did.”

“
Wow,
unbelievable.”
Sarah's mouth was hanging open. She is
obviously shocked.

“
I think you’re going to
enjoy it there Sarah.”

“
Really? You think
so?”

I hit her in the arm and
then drop my head on her shoulder.
It's
true though. By what I witnessed tonight, it looks like a place
that Sarah will love living. I know that I'm going to miss her,
even though she annoys the hell out of me, but I think there is a
reason for everything.
So
, I hope our
father can finally make it up to her, and me. “Yeah, I really think
so. I was eating dinner with them and I felt at home. It felt like
a real family dinner. It was nice. We have a half brother and
sister and they are so cute.”

“
What do they look
like?”

“
Christopher, who is six,
has light blonde hair and blue eyes. Madison, she goes by Maddy and
she’s eight. She has brown hair and green eyes.”

“
Wow, total opposites.
That’s so cool. I’m really glad you met them and talked to dad.
Thank you Abby. It means a lot that you did this.”

“
I did it for you, at
first. But then when I was there, talking to him I realized that I
needed it too. His wife is pretty hot I have to admit.” We both
laugh. She kisses my head and leaves the room, not without pausing
by the door.

“
I love you Abby. You’re
the best sister.”
“I love you. Goodnight Sarah.” She leaves my room, closing my door.
I sink under the covers and pass out.

Chapter 23

I walk into the cafeteria at lunch, looking
for Lucas or Brooke. I hear my name being called and walk over to
where the crew is sitting, Brooke, Brady, Lucas and even Sarah. I
realize that things might work out after all. I smile and head for
the table.

“
Well, look at this.
Everyone is sitting together.” I observe in awe.

“
Yeah, it’s a Kodak
moment. Quick, take a picture.” Sarah scoffs. I stick my tongue out
at her.

“
Hey, I got you some lunch
babe.” Lucas says, gesturing to a tray of delicious food. What does
he think, I’m gonna eat all of this? I sit down, licking my lips.
“Thanks, but I doubt I could eat it all. I will have to take some
home. But it was very thoughtful of you.” I kiss him on the cheek
and start with the Caesar salad then pizza.

“
Tell us Abby, how was it
at your dad’s last night?” Brooke asks while she takes a sip of her
coke. She and Brady are sitting so close, snuggly. They look happy,
like they were made for each other. I smile to myself. I don’t
remember ever looking stupidly happy with him and if I did, it was
for show. It’s sad but it’s true. He was just my
I-need-to-get-over-and-move-on-from-Lucas boyfriend. Selfish, I
know. And it’s not like it really worked. But I’m happy for him
now, and Brooke. They both deserve to be happy. I pick up my
cheeseburger, observing its contents and sink my teeth into it.
Grease drips onto the table but I don’t wipe it up. I just keep
eating.

“
Looks like you’re
enjoying your food a little too much there Abby.” Sarah says with a
disgusted look on her face. I nod my head excitedly, not daring to
say a word, or rather spray a word.

Sharing is caring, but I doubt anyone would
appreciate me sharing my chewed cheeseburger.

“
Ugh. This food is nasty.
How can you people eat this shit?” I swallow the last of my bite
and take a sip of my coke to wash down every last bit of food
before speaking. “Sarah, you eat like a bird. Try putting some meat
on your bones.” She snickers. “I eat healthy, thank you very much.
I don’t call this garbage healthy.”

Truth is, Sarah eats
pretty healthy. She used to be really skinny-sick skinny. We
thought she was anorexic. The doctor told us it was due to stress.
After our father left us, she didn’t eat or sleep. She would sneak
food into her room and
pretend to eat it.
I caught her stashing her food in a trash bag, which she placed in
her closet. I would spy on her and when I thought it was getting
out of hand, I confronted her.
She begged
me not to tell our mom. She was good at getting rid of the evidence
before her room started to smell of old food. My mother never
suspected a thing. “This is becoming a problem Sarah. You need
help, you’re too skinny.” I had said.

“I know. But all the girls my age are
skinny. Go nag them about eating.” Sarah shot back.

“I don’t care about all the girls your age.
I care about you and you have a problem. You need to see a doctor.”
She was getting angry at this point.

“Leave me alone. Quit butting into my life.”
She was raising her voice and my mother burst into the room.
“What’s going on girls? What’s the shouting for?” She had her hands
on her hips.

“Tell her Sarah.” I encouraged. She glared
at me. “Piss off Abby.” So I took it upon myself to address the
issue. Even if I was a snitch, it was only because I was worried.
She looked bad and her eyes had no life in them. They were normally
bright and beautiful. Instead they became dull and dead. I hated
seeing her so sick. I think she was too embarrassed to admit she
had a problem. “Sarah has a problem, mom. She needs to go to the
doctor and get help. She doesn’t eat or sleep much.” My mom looked
at Sarah, puzzled. “Is this true?” Sarah looked away and sat on her
bed. “No and I hate you Abby. Get out of my room.” I walked up to
her and stared her down, angry. “No, you need to admit you have an
illness. Family helps each other out in hard times. I’m sorry I
told your secret but its better than saying goodbye at your
funeral. And if it makes me a bad sister then so be it.” She
started to cry and my mom sat down next to her rubbing her back.
“Honey, please talk to me.” After informing our mother of sneaking
food to her room and throwing it away and spending many nights
crying herself to sleep, she got help. She was put on all you can
eat diet. She eventually gained weight and muscle, and she learned
to eat healthy.

“
Abby, come back to us
Abby.” I hear Brooke’s voice. I look around at the staring faces. I
look at my food and slowly pick at my fruit.
How long was I out of it?
I
wonder.

“
So watcha thinking about?
You were totally spaced out.” Sarah teases.

“
I was just remembering
something.”

“
What?” Sarah presses. I
think about telling her the memory but figure it would probably
open old wounds, better not to go there.

“
Nothing.”

“
How about the fact that
you never answered how it went with your dad last night.” Brooke
chimes in.

“
Oh that’s right. Yeah, it
went really well. Better than I expected. We have a half brother
and sister and our dad,” I say to Sarah “works part time as a
psychiatrist.”

“
Hell yeah, I get shrink
advice for free. Sweet.” Sarah beams. Lucas rubs my shoulders for a
minute and I forget what we are talking about. I close my eyes and
memorize his touch.

“
I can’t eat anymore.” I
say, as I set my utensils down and push my tray away.

“
What’s your step mom
like?” Brooke asks excitedly.

“
She’s cool. I had dinner
with them but spent most of the time in my dad’s office.” Lucas
gets up, “Are you finished?” I nod my head. He dumps our trays then
sits back down. He places his hand on my leg.

“
There’s this big reunion
gathering with the family this weekend.”

“
Oh we were going to ask
what you and Lucas were doing this weekend. We thought maybe we
could go out, the four of us.”

“
Maybe next weekend, but
yeah sounds fun.”

“
Awe, how cute! You guys
are going to double date. It’s like a dream come true.” Sarah says
sarcastically. Then she sticks her finger in her mouth, in a
gagging motion.