"Hello? Abs? You there?" a distinct, deep, Scottish accent caused Abaigeal Farrelly to come back down to earth, remembering that she still held the cordless phone in her right hand.
"Sorry," she apologised, smiling sheepishly, "I was caught off guard. I didn't expect you to call." Her smile looked to be permanently plastered onto her face.
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to, either... I just wanted to know... Can we bring an extra person tonight?"
"Of course you can bring an extra person!" Abbie said excitedly, "The more the merrier! I can't wait to have everyone back together again!"
"Yeah," Drew laughed at her enthusiasm, "It'll be great fun. I'll see you tonight, love."
"Can't wait! Bye!" she smiled as she hung up the phone, grateful that she'd finally be able to see Drew again.
Drew was Abbie's ex-boyfriend – 'ex' only because he was asked to sign a contract with the American company and her job was firmly and only based in Dublin, Ireland. They both still had feelings for each other and got together whenever he was in the area.
The Irish girl had been running around all day like a headless chicken because of the expected dinner guests. Her house was never a huge mess but Abbie had gone to the extra effort to make sure it was that it was spotless.
Abbie Farrelly lived in a Victorian style home that was larger than she really needed considering she lived by herself. Her house was filled with many unnecessary trinkets causing most of her visitors to assume that she had a hoarding problem – this she did not deny. She had souvenirs from all over the world and even from Dublin. Abbie Farrelly's obsession was with Disney merchandise, as was evident from just about everything in her house.
The Disney plush toys, the couch cushions, the movie posters and the blankets were a dead give away that the twenty seven year old was definitely living as a child. Abbie wasn't bothered, though, because everyone who knew her knew that she was actually quite intellectual and mature.
The redhead rushed into the kitchen and peeked into the slow cooker, checking on the Beef Stroganoff she was cooking. A huge smile graced her feminine features as she realised that it was cooking perfectly and it would be ready just in time for everyone's arrival. Cooking was the one thing Abbie would admit to being good at. Abbie grew up as top of her class in school but she would downplay her achievements in everything but cooking; it was her true passion. That and Disney.
Abbie flew to the door as soon as she heard a loud knock. Abbie's brother, Stephen, and his girlfriend, Tilly, were the first to arrive and Abbie threw her arms around her brother's neck. In fluent Gaelic, she told him that she had missed him and was happy to see him again.
She did the same to Tilly, causing the brunette to squirm under the tightness of the hug. "You saw me just the other day!" Tilly said with her British accent and Abbie smiled fondly.
"I'm allowed to miss my family!" She commented, her Irish accent becoming much clearer with the presence of her friend's British one. "Now, come in and find a place to sit down! Stu said he was running a bit late and I think Peggie's bringing her boyfriend!" Abbie said excitedly.
"Peggie 'as a boyfriend, does she?" Stephen asked with interest, his eyebrow raising.
"I suppose so," Abbie shot her brother a warning look; "Drew called and asked if they could bring along an extra person, I assume Peggie has a boyfriend."
"Or a girlfriend," Tilly said calmly, nothing at all seeming out of the ordinary to her, "We always guessed that she might play for the other team. I've never even heard her talk about a potential boyfriend before."
"Boy or girl, whoever it may be... We will be nice and accepting!" Abbie wasn't kidding and both her guests were well aware that no shenanigans would go down if they wanted Abbie to remain happy throughout the evening.
Tilly moved some of the Disney paraphernalia off of the bigger couch and onto a table behind it, being careful not to damage anything that might have been hanging off of the 'collectibles'. Stephen sat down beside her and put his arm over the back of the couch, his fingers gently playing with the material on her shoulder.
"Aren't you two just adorable?" Abbie pretended to gag at the sight of her brother actually being in a relationship with such a sweet girl.
The redhead couldn't help but squeal as yet another person knocked at her door. Stu had called and said he would be running late, meaning that Drew was at the door. She slid on her socks to the front door and smiled with pure excitement at the man standing there. Her blue eyes travelled over his body, taking in just how perfectly fitted his dress shirt was as well as the flawless tailoring of his pants. And his Italian leather shoes.
Just as she had with Stephen; Abbie through her arms around Drew's neck and – in Gaelic – told him how much she missed him. It was only when she pulled away did she notice that Drew's sister, Peggie, was discretely pointing at the blonde that had accompanied them to dinner.
"You are... Tiffany?" Abbie used the woman's stage name, "Peggie's..." Peggie's eyes shot to Abbie and she incredulously shook her head with a disgusted face.
"For the last time, Abs. I do like guys." Peggie pushed past the three people to get into the house so she could tell Tilly the exact same thing.
"I'm Drew's wife, you can call me Taryn." Taryn put her hand out in front of her and Abbie took it out of pure politeness.
"Wife?" the redhead turned to her ex-boyfriend, "I wasn't aware that you had gotten married, Drew."
"I thought, maybe, the girls may have said something." He said quietly, noticing the crestfallen expression that had replaced Abbie's smile. "I thought you knew."
"Neither of them said anything. I suppose I should start reading those stupid dirt sheets." Her voice was muffled by her turning her back on the man and his wife. "Both of you can come in, we'll just wait for Stu and then we can start eating."
"I think you need to calm down, love. You're going to break something." Abbie's grip tightened on the mug she was holding, making it collapse under the pressure. Stu sighed, "Like I said."
"How long, Stu? How long has he been married?"
"He proposed in July of '09 and they married in January of 2010." Stu's answer was quick and to the point, knowing that beating around the bush with Abbie was not smart.
Abbie – who had bent down to pick up the broken glass – rose to her feet, clutched her bleeding right hand and scoffed. "He cheated on her. With me. Numerous times." Stu nodded knowingly and went to pick up the remaining glass.
"I, uh, heard the glass break. Is everything okay?" Abbie looked at Drew who had just entered the kitchen and was staring wide eyed at her hand, "What did you do?"
"You got married," Abbie barked, "And no one thought to tell me. You slept with me while you were married."
"Lower your voice, Abs." Drew requested quietly, looking around to make sure Taryn wasn't coming into the room.
"No, she deserves to know that she married a cheating pig!" Abbie swung her bloody fist at the Scot and missed. She did, however, manage to get a few specks of blood on his face and clothes, "I love you, Drew. And last time you were here you told me that you loved me. Why the fuck did you go marry Barbie?"
"Would you really have said 'yes' if I proposed to you, Abbie? Because I thought about it years ago, I really did."
"Then why the fuck didn't you do it?" Abbie was on the verge of tears, "Of course I would have said 'yes'!" Abbie screamed at the top of her lungs, drawing the attention of the four people who were still in the dining room, "I would have fucking married you before we even started dating, okay? But it doesn't matter now, does it? Because you married Barbie."
Silence consumed the dining room. Stephen, Tilly, Peggie and Taryn all sat in their seats, stunned at what they were hearing. Stephen was ready to snap Drew's neck – Tilly was trying her hardest to calm him down. Peggie was trying to make sense of the fact that her brother was in two relationships at the same time while she couldn't even get into one. Taryn was having a hard time wrapping her head around her husband being in love with another woman and talking about the possibility of marriage with her.
"So," Stu Bennett walked into the tense room, "Abbie suggested that we should all go for a quick stroll." The blatant lie was agreed to by three of the four people at the table – Taryn being the only one to refuse.
"I think I should talk to him." The blonde stood from her seat and walked over to Stu, "Excuse me, please."
"You don't want to go in there, Taryn."
"I'd like to go get my husband back, Stuart." Taryn stood her ground, but Stu wasn't going to budge. He looked at her and told her,
"You lost this battle the moment he stepped through that door." Peggie, Tilly and Ste all looked at the British wrestler and took a deep breath. Taryn turned around to face them and knew that he was speaking the truth. "I'm sorry, Taryn. I really am. But the history that is there can't be erased."
"Why didn't anyone tell her that he had gotten married?" she asked quietly, "This could have been avoided."
"Would you really want to be the one to break someone's heart into a million little pieces? It's better that she found out this way, maybe she'll get over him." Peggie spoke up, "Drew's my brother but he's not a smart guy. Don't get me wrong, he loves you. I know he does. He just never stopped loving Abbie."
"Well, he's never going to have to love again." Stephen's Irish accent broke through the softness of everyone else's voices, "When I see him next, he's not going to be breathing for very long. He slept with me sister while he was married. Yeah, Drew's a dead man." Tilly quickly pulled the angry man from the room and out the front door, afraid that he would actually end Drew's life with his bare hands.
The front door opened then closed, telling the two quarrelling adults that someone had left the house.
"Ste and Tilly." Abbie mumbled quietly, wincing as Drew wrapped up her hand. "He's going to hurt you."
"I know," Drew managed to laugh despite his focus being purely on Abbie's cut up hand. The red haired woman watched with soft eyes as the Scotsman carefully cleaned her wound. She couldn't stay mad at him for long; she never could. He looked up at her and met her gaze, "You should probably avoid using this for a couple of days or you might open up the wound."
"I'm right handed, Drew." She reminded him, "I do everything with this hand." She raised it in front of her face, pulling it away as she noticed the blood coming through the bandage. "Fix it." He rolled his eyes and kissed the back of her hand.
"Just keep it above your heart and it'll stop bleeding." He put her hand on her left shoulder, keeping it above the vital organ.
"You got married." She reminded him quietly as he moved his face closer to hers, "She's in the next room." Drew hung his head, "In another time and maybe we could have been together."
He stood from his seat and walked over to her medicine cupboard. He pulled out a Minnie Mouse bandaid, sticking it over the top of the skin toned bandage. "I am sorry," Abbie apologised, "If she doesn't want to see you again, that's obviously my fault."
"You heard Stu." Drew spoke directly into her ear, "She lost the battle as soon as I walked through your door."
"But you're going to go back to her, so it doesn't even matter."
He went to leave the room, smiling meekly at her as he did so. She smiled back, furiously wiping away the tear that was falling down her cheek.
a/n so, like, I have a head cold. And it was my birthday yesterday. And I'm supposed to be studying for exams. But I wrote this for you guys. Check out Tilly's story (Somebody Special) and Peggie's story(For Everyone's Sanity), too! I'll probably write a chaptered story featuring all three stories in one, as well, if you're interested =] Of course, no idea when it'll be put up... But I can't imagine it'll be incredibly long, maybe 5-10 chapters per girl, if I manage to write them out, I'll put them all up when I'm done! Please review, you might make me feel better! And it'd be a pretty cool 17th birthday present =P (Shamelessly trying to get reviews, me? Never!)