This story is not going to be a happy, fluffy story about two people falling in love. It's about the heartbreak that comes along with telling someone that we love goodbye. It's about watching them suffer and wishing you could take their place. It's about understanding that life is unpredictable and realizing that medicine can't cure everything. The story will focus on Addison, in Los Angeles, so it will most likely include a Pete/Addie pairing later on. Feedback/constructive criticism is always appreciated. I'm just going to continue writing until I am completely happy with what I do if that ever happens, lol. Practice makes perfect right? Now, on with the story…
One Last Goodbye
Chapter 1
They had just finished decorating the Christmas tree. The multicolored lights cast a soft glow throughout the large room. The two sisters gazed up at the tree, both proud of their beautiful creation. Their mom walked into the room smoothing down her formal gown, and paused to look at their work of art. "Did you two do this?" The girls nodded their heads proudly in anticipation of their mother's approval. "Well it looks great but you know you could have left it up to the staff to decorate." They watched as she grabbed her purse and headed toward the door, "Adam, we are going to be late!" Their father rushed down the staircase moments later, adjusting his tie. Addison rushed over to her father, "Father, come and look at the Christmas tree. Abigail and I just finished decorating it." Her father looked past her, admiring the tree and then bent down to hug her. He motioned Abigail over to him, "You two are very talented. It is honestly the prettiest Christmas tree I have ever seen in my life and I am over five hundred years old." He winked and the girls giggled, "Now listen, Mom and I are going to be at a benefit tonight so you guys behave yourselves." The girls wrapped their arms around their father, smothering him with kisses. "We'll be back around 11 so we can all have hot cocoa when we return." The girls waved goodbye to their parents from behind the cold glass window that overlooked their front lawn. They had to keep wiping away the frost that blocked their view as they watched the tail lights of the limo head towards the front gates. Little did they know, this was going to be the last time they had ever seen their parents alive. If they had only known…
Addison choked back tears as she pushed the last memory she had of her parents aside. She looked down at her watch. Her sister would be here any minute. The sound of every passing car caused her to look up in anticipation. It had been 20 years since she had seen her sister. Hearing from her again after all this time brought back a flood of memories that Addison spent her entire life trying to forget. The last memory Addison had of her little sister had been watching her angrily get into Greg's car and speed off into night.
The sound of another car approaching shook her from her thoughts. She watched as the taxi turned into the driveway and came to a stop right in front of the porch. She walked down the steps to greet them, trying her best to stay in control of her emotions. Abigail opened the door and stepped out of the car, nervously smiling at Addison. She wiped away a tear and hesitantly walked right into her sister's waiting arms. The both of them held on to each other for a minute before the sound of a small voice broke the silence.
"Mommy, can I come out now?" Addison looked down to see a young girl with curly red hair push her way out of the backseat of the car.
Abigail laughed and wiped her face, "Did I forget to mention that I'm a mommy?"
Addison stared down in awe of the beautiful little girl who was apparently her niece. Inquisitive green eyes stared back at her, "Are you my Aunt?"
Addison nodded, "Yes I am; I'm Addison, what is your name?"
She held out her hand to shake Addison's, "My name's Molly and this is Moaning Myrtle."
She held up a raggedy doll that was missing an eye. Moaning Myrtle? She smiled; she must be a Harry Potter fan.
Addison shook hands with Molly and her doll, "Well it's a pleasure to meet the both of you."
Abigail walked around to the trunk of the cab and pulled out two suitcases. She paid the cabbie and looked up at Addison's house. "If it's this beautiful on the outside, I can imagine the inside is just as gorgeous."
Addison grabbed Molly's hand and the three of them headed up the porch steps into the house. She was still not quite sure what her sister's motives were for appearing back into her life all of a sudden. She watched her kiss Molly on the forehead and shook the thought from her mind. It didn't matter why she was here, what really mattered was that she and her sister were going to have the rest of their lives to make up for everything they had missed.
Chapter 2
She carefully closed the door to the guest room, trying not to make any noise. Molly had finally fallen asleep after a list of "before bedtime rituals" that Addison was sure just used as a way of stalling the gullible adult from forcing her into dreamland. She walked into the dining room, looking for her sister. She found her staring out the glass door to the patio, lost in thought. Addison noticed how tiny her sister was. She was never a big girl to begin with but she had always had curves to her than what she was now. Now she was just coat hanger for her clothing that hung loosely over her petite frame. She cleared her throat, "That daughter of yours is quite the little con artist."
Abigail laughed, "Let me guess. Did she ask for a night light, a bedtime story, a glass of water, another bedtime story, another glass of water and then on and on?"
Addison grinned, "I finally figured it out after the third glass of water." She walked into the kitchen and pulled out two wine glasses. "Don't worry; I got her to go to the bathroom after each glass of water. I think she was getting tired of washing her hands." She poured them each a glass of red wine and walked back into the dining room.
Abigail took the glass and walked out onto the back deck. The evening air had a bit of a chill to it but the wine more than made up for it. The two of them sat there in silence, sipping their drink. "So tell me about the last 20 years of your life. What did I miss?"
Addison giggled, "20 years is a long time little sis. It would take more than just one evening to fill you in but I guess I could give you a briefing." She sipped her wine and paused for a moment, "Okay so you obviously know that I went to med school and got married." Abigail nodded her head, "Well, Derek and I were married for 11 years. We started having problems, his best friend was giving me the time and attention that Derek wasn't and in a moment of weakness I slept with him. Derek caught us and left me. I followed him to Seattle to try and work on our marriage but he had already fallen in love with someone else. I felt smothered there so I left and here I am. Nothing major has happened since then. I am happy here, less stressed and I have good friends to help me stay sane."
Abigail shook her head, "Wow that almost sounds like a soap opera with a somewhat happy ending." She drained the rest of her glass and set it aside. "You are way too gorgeous to be alone Addison. You need to get out there and live it up a little."
Addison smiled at her sister, "So what about you? What have you been doing these last 20 years Abby?"
Abigail sighed and looked away, "Well, I believe the last time you saw me I was driving off into the sunset with Greg." She paused for a moment and sat back, looking up at the stars, "Well, we ran off to Dallas and lived with his uncle for a few years. As soon as I turned 18 we got married and I started working at a diner as a waitress." She shivered, "He started working really late and staying out all night not long after we moved into our first apartment. He had a job delivering auto parts and so he was always gone. So when I finally complained to him that I missed him, he hit me."
Addison gasped, and narrowed her eyes. "Why didn't you call me?"
"It was the first time that he had ever laid a hand on me and I was in shock. I was scared but he promised it would never happen again and he even quit his job." She rubbed her forehead, "He ended up getting a job as a manager of a local grocery store and things were okay for a little while." She sighed, "After a few years of constant arguing, I ended pregnant with Molly and the abuse started again. He was always yelling at her and I was afraid he would hurt her so I left him. I went to stay with some friends in Louisiana but he followed me there when he finally found out where I was staying. He waited for me to get off of work one night while Molly was with a sitter and he attacked me. This happened a few weeks ago and now he's in jail. Apparently he was dealing drugs on the side so he'll be in prison for the next 10 years."
Addison shook her head, "Abigail, I still wish you would have called me. Why didn't you call me?"
She grabbed the tissue Addison handed her and dabbed her eyes, "I guess I was just too stubborn. Apart of me felt like you were going to end up saying I told you so even though I knew you would never do that. Another part of me hoped that when I finally did contact you again, I would be successful and independent so I would make you proud. How silly does that sound that I am 36 years old and I want to make my sister proud?"
Addison scooted closer to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I am proud of you Abby. You have this beautiful little girl who is obviously well taken care of and you got yourself out of a potentially fatal situation."
Abigail closed her eyes and shook her head, "You don't understand Addison. I'm not here just because I missed you. When I ended up in the hospital after Greg beat me, I found out I have cervical cancer. They found it too late Addie, I'm dying."
Addison felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Although the words hadn't quite registered in her brain, her body automatically reacted to the news. She shook her head and pulled her sister closer, "No. No no no no, this is not happening. You are not going to die Abigail. I don't care what those other doctors told you, I am not going to lose you. I.. am … not… going to loo… loose you again." She tried her best to catch her breath but the tears wouldn't allow it. She stood up and pushed away the hurt she was feeling. She had to be strong for her sister. Lots of people are told they have terminal cancer and some of them survive. Her sister was going to survive. There was no way that, after all these years, she was going to just watch her sister fade away again without putting up the biggest fight of her life. She wrapped a blanket around Abigail and led her into the house. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day for the both of them. Tomorrow, they were going to find out just how serious Abigail's condition truly was…..