Page 68 of Love in Pieces

?CHAPTER 26

Dallas

So much for no cops. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. Meredith had already given the operator the address and a quick rundown of the situation. I’m glad she came and got me, though. I was ready to maul Sam’s ass the second I saw him sitting so confidently on the hood of his car, one knee up, resting an arm on it as if he had no care in the world. But the second he saw me, he remembered he had something to fear. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Abby locked herself in her room the second she got home. And now, as I shut the front door after a rough night at work, it seems she’s still in there.

“Has she come out at all?” I ask Logan, who’s watching a game on TV.

“She went to the bathroom not long ago, and grabbed a snack at one point, but she hasn’t stayed out for longer than absolutely necessary.” He gives me a sympathetic look, sitting up straight on the couch.

“Did she eat dinner?”

Logan shakes his head, looking towards Abby’s closed bedroom door. “I tried knocking and offered to make her something, but she wouldn’t respond.”

I sigh, setting my things on the counter and dropping my bag in my room. I notice her favorite purple blanket is no longer scattered across my bed. When I knock on her door, I don’t get a response, just as Logan didn’t.

“Abby?” I ask quietly, placing an ear close to the white-painted wood. Nothing. “Abby?” I ask, a little louder this time. Logan watches also hopeful she’ll respond to me. Still nothing. I chance one more knock, but when silence meets my knuckles, I take a deep breath and move to dig through the junk drawer. Once I find a pad of paper and an old pen, I sit on the floor outside her room. I scribble a note onto the paper, and slide it under the door, leaving just the corner sticking out so I can see if she grabs it. A minute or two passes before I breathe a sigh of relief as the paper disappears under the door. It slides back a few seconds later with bright red ink contrasting the dark blue I wrote in.

Taco Bellor McDonalds? You have to pick one.

Taco Bell. A girl after my own heart.

I’ll be right back (:

The drive home has me laughing at the size of the bag our order came in. I got a little of everything as I didn’t take anyone’s order, but I know for a fact that Logan will eat anything I put in front of him. Abby can have first dibs.

I slide another note under her door.

Foods here

What are my options?

I write them down and slide the note back. Another minute later she slides the paper back with a few things circled and more red pen.

I’m not coming out. Just put it next to the door and I’ll grab it.

She barely opens the door, just enough to grab the food bag as I’m sitting on the couch, devouring my meal with Logan.

“I had no idea I needed this,” he mumbles through a mouth full of food.

“You and me both.”

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