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Chapter 1: Return to Me
Abby Lockhart sat on the steps outside her apartment building staring aimlessly into the night, thinking as she had done so many times before. She was thinking about her mother, who she had not seen in a year, her brother, who was AWOL, and Carter. Carter who was somewhere else, when promised he was not going anywhere. He lied, just like every other man in her life. Even when she was certain he was the one--someone to have and to hold, someone who would actually follow through--he lied. He bailed when it got too tough. John Carter had run away, but he ran to an unusual place, Africa. 'Who runs away to Africa?' she thought. Most men go out and buy themselves a sports car when they have a mid-life crisis, not run away to the jungle.
While Tarzan was swinging around in the jungle, Jane was off rebuilding her life. She went back to med school. Maybe for Carter, or maybe for herself, she was not sure, but she seemed determined to make it work this time. When Carter came back, she was going to be a new person.
Well Carter came back, alright. He came back with another women. Makemba, Kem for short. 'Man she must have had cruel parents,' Abby thought harshly. This was a slap on the face to her. 'And Kem's so ugly! She's not even pretty. She's too thin for him.' She almost considered asking John to admit her for anorexia. But Kem was not the biggest set back. What was inside her was.
She was pregnant. The Jungle African was pregnant with Carter's child. This upset Abby more than she ever thought it would have. She wanted to be the one carrying his child. So she watched from a distance. She knew it was not going to last. "Kem and Carter". It did not sound right. It did not sound as smooth and natural as "Carter and Abby".
Until the tragedy happened. The baby died. Abby hated it. She hated that she would have to watch him cry again. And she knew that if his child were inside of her it would be safe. She would protect it. Even though it was not Kem's fault the baby died, and it was not preventable, Abby felt that she could have prevented it if it was her kid. But it was not. So she watched Carter. He fell apart, just as she had so many times before. It was clear that the "Carter and Kem" relationship was heading into turmoil. It was a surprise it lasted this long. Without the baby, Kem had nothing on him.
"Carter?" Abby said called out to the figure stopped at her gate.
"Hey," he responded as he opened the gate to let himself inside.
Abby could tell by the look on his face that something bad happened. Carter walked up the steps and sat down beside Abby. He put his hand to his head and his elbows on his knees, looking down so she could not see his face. "John, what's wrong?" she asked putting her hand to his back.
Carter lifted his head to speak, "Kem…Kem left."
Abby looked at him, shocked. She did not know the right thing to say. "Oh, John, I'm sorry", Abby said as she brought her arms around him and into a hug. She felt him begin to cry on her shoulder, and she pressed her lips against his soft brown hair as she gently rocked him back and forth. "Shh, it's okay", she said trying to comfort him.
Carter wrapped his arms around her as if he never wanted to let go. As they parted, she cupped her hand on the sides of his face, her fingers stopping a tear on its way down. She wanted to kiss him, and she could tell he wanted to be kissed. In fact, he needed to be kissed. Not by Kem, but by her. She closed her eyes as she tried to calm her inappropriate thoughts. Unsure of what to do, she lowered her head, leaning her forehead against his. He was still trembling with tears. "Let's go inside," she suggested. They both got up and walked into her apartment...
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If you continue to read into the next Chapter which is chapter 20, there is a summery explaining what happened to the rest of it and with the characters.