“You goddamn bitch! Stop crying! Stop fucking crying! I told you if you signed those fucking papers you’d never see the light of day. Baby isn’t even mine, is it? Is it! You’re nothing but a fat slut! Was he good? Bet he loved fucking my pussy. My pussy, Abigail! It’s mine! It’ll always be mine!”
“Please, Justin, please…please. Just let me go. There’s no one else! I swear! Please don’t hurt me! For God’s sake, don’t hurt us!”
“Get in there, bitch! Now! Don’t make me kick you again. What? Don’t look at me like that. You’ve got this coming.”
“You okay in there?” Sean asked from behind the closed door.
Abigail jumped and slipped on the wet porcelain, catching herself before she hit the tub. “I’m fine! Be out in…in a minute!”
“Steaks are almost done.”
“Okay!”
“Abigail?” His voice wasn’t muffled anymore.
Panic rose with the bile in her stomach. “Pl-Please don’t come in here.” She heard the door open farther.
“I want you to know I didn’t mean what you thought.” The imprint of a large palm pressed against the plastic curtain.
“I don’t think anything. I’m fine. Sorry I got upset. It’s not you. It’s…it’s me.”
Her palm fit perfectly against his. He pressed, and she pressed back. “Friends can be more than friends, you know?”
“They can?” She smeared water across her forehead.
“Yes, they can. I’ve never needed anyone in my life, Abigail. But I think I need you.”
She needed him too. “We can be friends if that’s what you want. I just thought you wanted something different.”
“I do. I’m tired of the same old thing. You’re different. I know you think I’m just a musclehead—that I’ve got only half a brain—but I’m smarter than you think. I’m smart enough to know a good thing when I see it. Why are you laughing in there?”
The fact that she was crushing like a fifteen-year-old wasn’t the answer she wanted to give him. It was true, but the vision she’d had startled her too. The laugh was part relief and part delirium. Thoughts of that night stabbed her brain every now and then. Like when she stood in line at Eddie’s, her favorite hamburger joint. Or when she sat in Cassie’s chair getting her highlights touched up. They were like tiny, malignant creatures that struck with no prior notice, paralyzing her with fear.
The time for her to live had finally come; time for the visions to be buried like the small ivory casket in Peaceful Haven Cemetery. She had to summon the bravery to live.
“Sean?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you like kids?”
“I haven’t really thought about it,” he said. “I guess so. Hey, I found a key chain by the counter. Is it yours?”
Abigail felt bile rise from her trembling stomach. “Sort of. Sometimes I get things in the mail from fans. No big deal.”
“Are you sure? There’s some crazy people out there, Abigail. If someone’s harassing you, let me know. I’ll take care of it.”
“It’s…it’s okay.” It felt good to have someone offer to take care of Justin, even if the intentions were only in her mind. Sean was brave. She was banking and hoping on that very fact.
The hot water beat down on the tension in her neck. “When are the steaks going to be done?”
“Get your ass out here and find out.” Thank God he didn’t push her further. She just wanted to know if he liked kids. That was all. She knew he understood how it felt to be pressed for answers he didn’t want to give. She appreciated that about him. “You’ve been in there forever. Your poor dog’s going to turn into a prune from the steam. You’ve got five minutes, or I’m carrying you out of there myself. Come on, girl.”
Penelope’s claws padded on the tile, followed by the sound of the door clicking shut.
Abigail scrubbed the poof across her armpit. “If he can be a fighter, so can I.”
Chapter Nine
“See, right here, he’s taken the ledger balances and just put the numbers in the wrong sequences. It was an honest mistake. The newer business models don’t recommend doing this all by hand. I have a few computer programs that would be better for your business and make it easier to understand. It’ll be easier during tax time too, when you have to find the credits and debits. I hope you’re keeping all of the receipts. We, I mean you, need to go through those too. It looks like he’s not kept an accurate record of all the things going out.” Sean scribbled a few notes on a legal pad. “These numbers are all wrong. My God, Abigail, do you realize how much you’re worth?” He looked up just in time to watch her sneak a piece of steak down to Penelope.