FROM DEATH TO BIRTH
Age of Innocence
"Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi!"A high pitched voice singing in French wrenched Abby out of her pleasant sleep. The volume hurt her ears and for a moment she was disoriented and mortified.
Her body tensed when she realized where the blaring music emanated from. She jerked the earphones out before they could do any further damage to her ears and opened her eyes. Her hands shook slightly as she turned off her MP3.
"Abbs, are you okay?"
It was common for Abby to fall asleep listening to her songs on shuffle. It was even more common for her to forget to turn down the sound and wake up to ear-piercing opera or deafening screamo.
"Yeah, fine." she replied, waving her hand passively. "Carmen woke me up."
Connor raised his eyebrows and gave Abby a questioning gaze.
"Carmen." clarified Abby. "She sang Habanera?"
His expression remained.
"God, you Neanderthal." she sighed and gave him a playful punch.
"What?" he whined, feigning annoyance. "I don't like ancient music."
"It wouldn't hurt you if you tried being a bit more cultivated. Maybe some Rossini... or Beethoven." muttered Abby, tapping her lip in contemplation. "Heck, even something as mainstream as Mozart would help!"
"Uh, how about no? I'll stick with Iggy and Gene Simmons." laughed Connor leaning back in his seat and scratching his mop of blonde hair. "Simpler."
"Much more simple." corrected Abby under her breath.
"Grammar Nazi."
"Infidel."
"Anal-girl."
"Your exchange of words is magical, but could we please revert to the silence we were previously so content with?" interrupted Richard, who, it seemed, had been peacefully napping next to Connor up until now.
"I second that notion." added Vincent from the drivers seat, his eyes remaining glued onto the road. "You guys know how focused I need to be when I drive. So let's not make this Abby's last birthday party, please?"
There was an unanimous murmur of agreement in which Connor and Abby subtly grinned at each other.
"We'll be there in about 3 hours anyway."
Groans of disdain erupted.
Abby shook her head, a giddy smile plastered on her face, and then turned to look out of the window at the objects whizzing by.
She observed the scenery for a while before letting her eyes wander to the front rear-view mirror. In it she could clearly see Lindsay, who was dead-asleep in the front seat of the car, and (she laughed to herself) drooling slightly.
The five friends were on their way to a lake house that Lindsay's parents had generously lent them for the weekend, in honor of Abby's 21st birthday. Lindsay had rented paintball guns and armor (a mutual interest among the five friends) and Vincent had somehow managed to acquire a cheap car. Abby was extremely grateful for having the chance to escape her stressful sophomore year in college. And extremely flattered that her friends had taken such initiative.
The only thing that Abby hoped was that this weekend would go by smoothly. She was well aware that having Lindsay and Vincent together for a long period of time never ended nicely. They were boyfriend and girlfriend, and they truly loved each other dearly, but it seemed as if they swerved onto completely different wavelengths at random times. What baffled Abby was how they had remained together for so many years. But in the end, they always restated their love for each other, and there was peace on Earth once more.
While observing the buildings that were flying by, Abby felt Connor's hand beginning to gently stroking her hair. She hesitated for a while before finally deciding to lean into him; to simply enjoy the warmth of his arm.
The two remained that way for a while; Connor steadily caressing her head and Abby happily awaiting his next touch. Soon she memorized his pace, even noticing whenever one of his strokes was too slow.
Abby closed her eyes, knowing that what she was doing was wrong. Too many times had she acted tactlessly around Connor, constantly doing things that mislead him into thinking that she wanted more from him. More than once she had to tell him that she didn't love him in a romantic way; it was more brotherly than anything. And every time he took it maturely and continued to love her unconditionally.
Whenever Abby thought about Connor, her emotions became unreadable, bending and twisting within each other, confusing her even more. She knew she loved him, but didn't want to get serious. What scared her most was that she couldn't be faithful unless she tried incredibly hard. It was difficult for her not to flirt with guys she liked, and she simply couldn't imagine living with Connor for the rest of her life. At her age, she thought, she didn't want such a tie. A career and her freedom came first.
And Abby had always imagined herself with another man; some faceless figure whose personality seemed to match every dream he was in. Some bodiless thing that didn't exist; outgoing and shy, romantic and realistic, serious and playful, loving and hateful, profound and superficial, spontaneous and secure. Everything humans couldn't be at once.
Abby began to feel uncomfortable with these thoughts, sitting so close to Connor. A childish fear that he could read her mind made her shift guiltily.
His strokes ceased, and he switched to tugging at her hair randomly. Abby nudged him with her shoulder, and she flinched as he plucked out pieces of her hair. Her eyes opened as she felt something tickling her nose, and focused on a few wispy brown strands dangling in front of her face. She blew at them.
Lindsay had finally stirred, now stretching her arms awkwardly and arching her back. Little sighs emanated from her mouth, followed by groans, common to those who waking up from sleeping in strange positions.
It seemed that Lindsay's awakening had triggered that of Richard's, who sat up straight, rolling his neck and scratching his dark face. He looked at Abby and grinned, waving "good morning". She smiled and waved back with her fingers.
Connor turned and quickly twisted his fingers into one of Richard's dreadlocks.
"Mornin' Dick." he laughed, tugging lightly.
"I swear on all things holy, I will bite your finger off." growled Richard, raising a bushy eyebrow intimidatingly.
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Abby flung open the door and slid out of the car. She sighed, stretching skywards, and immediately took off running laps around the car, enjoying the feeling of her blood pumping easily through her veins.
The air smelled amazing, enriched by the lake and the myriad fertile plants that thrived there. She stopped and stared at the house, while everyone else clambered out of the car behind her. It was magnificently built, with a strong structural integrity and a white stucco exterior. From an architectural point of view it was a masterpiece, well worth its price.
"Hey Abby! Don't be useless!" shouted Richard, already lugging bags full of paintball attire.
"Shut up! It's her birthday!" scolded Lindsay, tying her hair up in a ponytail. "She's supposed to be in bliss. It's not everyday you turn 21."
"Technically..." he started to argue, but changed his wording mid-sentence. "Actually, not technically. Her birthday's tomorrow, not today." He dropped off his cargo with a grunt.
"It's doesn't matter!" Abby intervened quickly, not wanting another heated debate between her friends. "Besides, birthdays aren't much different from any other day of the year."
Lindsay raised her eyebrows at Abby, then turned to Richard and punched him lightly in the arm.
"Hey, I'm just messing with you." she laughed, but the tiniest hint of annoyance was still to be heard in her voice.
"I pity the foo'..." snorted Richard shaking his head.
Abby sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes.
'This might not be as relaxing as I hoped it would be.'
Taking a deep breath she walked back to the car where Connor handed her her bags. She smiled at him and he gave her a mock salute, winking one of his delightfully blue eyes.
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
"Permission granted." Abby replied in a gruff voice, playing along.
"I'm going to kick your ass in paintball tomorrow."
She looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
"Too bold, Private." she stated, smirking. "I guess I'll have to demoralize you more than usual when we battle."
Connor simply grinned, slung a duffel bag over his shoulder, and walked past her towards the house. Abby shook her head, still smiling, when she suddenly felt a few drops of rain hit her face. She blinked and looked up at the sky, which was visibly grayer than before, with clouds accumulating quickly. Abby ran to follow Connor into the house.
She caught up to him, where he was standing in front of the house, his head down, standing rigid.
"What's wrong?"
The expression on his face worried her.
"Just listen." Connor murmured, looking like he wanted to punch something. His brow was furrowed, and his fist clenched tightly around the strap of the bag.
Abby's mouth opened slightly, but she heard what Connor was referring to. From inside the house emanated sounds of shouting, and she could distinctly recognize Lindsay's screeching voice versus Vincent's deep one. They were fighting once again.
Immediate fury cursed through Abby and she looked at Connor incredulously, trying hard not to look like she was about to cry. Which she made sure she wouldn't.
"Really?" she barely got out, slamming down her things and running her hands through her hair.
Connor stepped over to her, put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head with evident empathy. Abby pushed him away lightly, claiming she was fine, but he persistently grabbed her hand. She put her other one to her forehead, and sighed.
"What is it with them?" she moaned. "She can't control her temper! Not even for me! She's such a hypocrite sometimes!"
Abby looked up as the door opened and Richard exited the house, the same murderous expression on his face that Connor had previously worn.
"What's it about this time?" questioned Connor, quickly stepping away from Abby.
"Some battle of the sexes." Richard griped, rolling his eyes. "He tried helping her with her luggage, saying she couldn't do it on her own." The emphasis on the last part was strong.
They all looked at each other knowing exactly what that meant. Vincent had crossed the line; Lindsay would be furious for hours on end. She had strong feminist beliefs and took offense in anything that demoted her and the female species. Telling her she couldn't do something was one of them. It seemed that her tolerance had been incredibly short this time, and Vincent hadn't been able to sense that.
Abby exhaled quickly, swinging both her her arms downward in one motion.
"Okay, let's make the best of this..."
She opened the door and strode into the house.
"Who's up for a game of Monopoly?"
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"M'kay..." contemplated Richard, staring at his cards. "I'll give you my Boardwalk for... all the green properties you own!"
Everybody was situated inside the antique living room, sheltered by socks, cushions, and the heater from the freezing and pouring rain outside. The Monopoly board lay on the coffee table; the dog had been placed in jail, and the car was on its side.
Lindsay sat cross-legged on the floor next to the table, leaning against the couch and repeatedly counting her money. Vincent was adjacent to her and the coffee table on an extremely cushioned sofa, running his hands up and down the brown fabric. Matters hadn't improved much between the two.
Richard was slouched comfortably on the couch behind Lindsay, eying Vincent and impatiently awaiting his decision. Connor had been leaning back, seemingly relaxed, into the pillows next to Vincent. He had earned himself jail-time by rolling three doubles. Abby knelt next to Lindsay on the floor, frowning at the few dollars she had left in her possession.
"Come on, man. Ten seconds left on the offer..." urged Richard, waving his cards provocatively into Vinny's periphery.
Vinny tsked and smiled, finally exchanging his three green properties with Richard's two blue ones.
"Yessss!" cheered Richard as he slapped down the cards, and began to flip through his money. "I'm putting three houses on green!"
Everyone groaned, making random gestures of disappointment.
As Abby laughed and grabbed the dice to roll them, the doorbell echoed throughout the house, making everyone stop and look at each other.
For a moment there was a confused silence.
"Who - " Connor began, but Abby interrupted him.
"I'll get it!" She placed the dice on the table and jumped up. Weaving around Lindsay and an armchair, she skipped outside into the hallway, letting out a relieved sigh as she did so. The tension in the living room was almost palpable, and she was exhilarated to finally have a few moments to herself.
Abby walked past the kitchen to the oak wood front door as the doorbell rang again.
"Coming!" she cried, a bit put off by the random visitor's lack in patience.
Flipping open the cap of the peephole, she balanced on her tip-toes and looked through it.
In a fish-eye view Abby saw a round face with delicate yet masculine features, framed by wet, dirty blond hair and centered with blue eyes much like Connor's. The eyes shifted around, and the man outside of the door looked at his gloved hands. He then raised his gaze to the peephole.
For a moment, Abby felt like he was able to see her. She reassured herself that that wasn't possible.
Not wanting to annoy the visitor, she unlocked the door and gave her best welcome, though she was wary of the stranger standing in front of her. Abby now noticed his obnoxiously white clothes which were completely soaked.
"Uh..." she stuttered, suddenly drained of her confidence. "Hi... How can I help you?"
The man's reddish lips stretched into a queer half-smile on his face, and he began to speak with a soft and strange voice.
"Sorry to disturb you..." he began. "I'm living next door with Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. Anna - " he lowered his eyes for a moment and laughed lightly. "I mean, Mrs. Thompson was wondering if you had four eggs to spare."
Abby had no idea who Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were. Nor had she ever actually heard of people borrowing groceries from each other in real life. Who didn't have enough groceries?
She was debating whether or not to get Lindsay when a clap of thunder that sounded extremely close caused her to jump slightly. The stranger raised his eyebrows and looked up at the rain, which had increased noticeably. A few stray raindrops hit his face and Abby realized how horrible she was being at that moment, having this man waiting outside.
"You know what..." she said decisively, opening the door further and smiling warmly. "Please, come in. I'm sure we can live without a few eggs."
9:00 PM
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First chapter up, to see how this might turn out. :)
Harsh criticism is appreciated and loved!