Page 21 of Love in Pieces

“Logan, go get the car. Or stay here with her and I will,” I insist.

“I’ll get the car, but I’m not leaving. I’m heading to the hotel later.” He storms off toward the car, disappearing down the sidewalk.

I take a deep breath, letting my head fall back and stare at the clear starry sky.Whatam I doing? When I return to Abby, she’s passed out, breathing deeply. She grips her core as if she’s still frightened. When Logan gets back, he helps me get her into the passenger seat. She wakes up enough to do most of the work but with how much she’s staggering, there’s no way she’d be able to get herself home.

“I don’t like this, Dal,” Logan says, leaning through the passenger side window. I start the car up anyway. “That guy did not seem like good news, and I really don’t want you to get stuck in the middle of whatever this mess is.” He waves his arms wildly around him.

I sigh. “I’ve made up my mind. I’ll see you on Sunday.”

He shakes his head, pushes away from the car, and walks back to the party. The entire drive home is surreal. My thoughts race faster than I can keep up with. My family drama, baseball, college graduation right around the corner, and now Abby. I think I might implode.

“Abby?” I say, rubbing her shoulder a little. She moans softly but doesn’t wake up. “Abby? Let’s get you upstairs so you can sleep.”

Still, she doesn’t move. She’s out. I guess I carry her? I move to her side of the car and carefully lift her bridal style. She shifts a little in my arms and nuzzles her head into my neck. She doesn’t weigh much. I didn’t expect her to. With a small frame, she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and thirty pounds.

I get up the flight of stairs and slightly struggle to open my door with her in my arms, but I can’t fathom waking her up at this point. When I place her down on my bed, she barely moves. I cover her with a soft blanket, hoping she won’t get cold from not being under the comforter. Her hair is nearly dry at this point. My best guess is she went swimming. I shouldn’t let her sleep in damp clothes, but I am not going to be the one to get her out of them.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I watch the rise and fall of her chest. I finish tying the black strings by her pierced belly button that holds the corset top together. I move the strand of hair that has fallen across her face and tuck it lightly behind her ear, revealing several silver hoops trailing their way up the curve of her cartilage. The dark eye makeup runs down her cheeks in heavy dark streaks. If I’ve learned anything from my sister, it’s to never go to bed with makeup on.

Instinctively, I get up to wet a washcloth before sitting by her on the bed again. “Abby?” She doesn’t stir. “Abby, I’m going to get some of that makeup off.” Nothing again.

I hope this washcloth is warm enough not to startle her. I lightly run it down the side of her cheek, opposite the side she was hit. She doesn’t stir, so I wipe carefully under her eye. With the right side clean enough, I wipe the other side even lighter. I can’t imagine getting hit by the one I love though, at that point, they didn’t seem like they loved each other. The handprint has disappeared, but a pink hue still lingers.

A calm washes over me as I watch her sleep. She looks drained like she hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep in ages. I can’t help but wonder if the abuse is a regular occurrence. Does she need help? Do I report this? Should I have called the cops? A million questions run through my head as I listen to her paced breathing.

I’m not sure how much time goes by before I finally pull myself from my thoughts. I don’t want to be the creep that watches her sleep all night. One thing I know for sure, I am not sleeping in here. I’ll sleep on the couch with Rose.

I’m half asleep when I hear the click of the lock, my arm splayed over my brows. Rose walks in, followed by Logan. They’re laughing at something, but Logan stops the second he sees me.

“Look who I found wandering the streets.” He eyes me curiously, raising an eyebrow, waiting for me to divulge whether I brought her home or not. I nod toward my room. He shakes his head before disappearing into his room and reemerging. “I just forgot my wallet. I’m heading out now.” He doesn’t say goodbye as he leaves the apartment.

Rose shoots me a confused look. I sit up on the couch to make room for her to join me. She takes a seat and leans back against the cushion. “What’s that all about? He seems upset with you.”

“He is,” I sigh. “It’s been an interesting evening ...” I trail off, my gaze on the floor to figure out how to explain the night's events to her.

“Okay?” She stands up, grabs her duffle bag, and starts making her way toward my bedroom.

“I ... wouldn’t go in there,” I warn.

She stops in her tracks, looks at the door, then back at me. “Um, why?” When I don’t answer right away, she fully turns to me and drops her bag on the floor at her feet. She’s learned a thing or two from Mom. That glare could kill, the way she tilts her head, her arms crossed over her chest. Her voice stern, she asks, “Dallas, what did you do?”

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