Birthday Girl
"It is not a coincidence, Dr. Hoffman, and the fact that you are trying to make me believe that is truly insulting." Barnabas' had Julia up against the wall, his hand wrapped like a coil around her neck. "The boy has been getting worse with each treatment."
"Barnabas, I…"
"Tell me the truth Dr. Hoffman!"
Julia blinked her watering eyes several times, and then choked out the words. "The two of you…you're connected." Julia pulled at Barnabas' hand. "I think that the life force you require to walk during the day comes directly from Willie. He is fueling your strength with his own."
"This wasn't part of the plan." Barnabas was infuriated, and felt as though he had been tricked. "Did you know this would happen? DID YOU?!"
"Y-yes… well I – I wasn't positive, but I thought it was a possibility."
Barnabas let go of the doctor and stomped into the kitchen, finding Willie slumped in the chair, his head resting on his folded arms at the table.
"Well, it is nighttime now, tell me doctor, why is he like this?"
"The energy you require from him to walk during the day...well...you're drawing more than he has to give. His body can't keep up. The longer you stay awake when the sun is up, the longer it takes Willie to recover. Soon he won't be able to recover at all, and you will drain him completely."
"What does that mean? He'll die?" Barnabas stared at the young man, who was out cold.
"If the treatments are not complete, you'll die too. You need his energy."
"These are all details that I would have expected to be informed of up front! Let me ask you doctor, is there a plan B? Despite the fact that I find Willie to be a most disappointing servant, I don't want him dead. If I did, I would kill him myself."
"Well, there is one other option, however the subject is not willing to participate in the experiment."
They exchanged looks, and Barnabas knew it was Abigail that she was speaking of.
"Find a way to persuade the subject. It is not an option." Barnabas kicked the chair, causing Willie to flinch and wake. "Willie, if you are going to sleep, please have the decency to do it in your room."
The days began to turn to weeks, and master and servant were very aware of their connection by now, but it was too late, and one of the participants was starting to get comfortable with the idea of death.
"Are we almost done?" Willie's voice was weak, and he was tired of sitting up in the chair, he wanted to lie down.
"Nearly. Willie, we have several more treatments to go, I need you to find some strength. I'm trying to find something that will allow you both to exist during the day, but I need more time."
Willie turned away from her and began to fidget with the tube that was siphoning the blood from his arm.
"When was the last time you saw her, saw Abigail?" Julia touched his hand, gently moving it away from the needle, and then took note of the heart monitor, and watched the beats increase at the mention of her name.
"It doesn't matter. She's gone."
"Tell me about her…" Julia kept pressing him, and continued to watch the spikes tick faster across the green screen.
"What do you want from me, Julia? She's gone…" Willie's voice was strained and his heart constricted talking about her. "She was my everything, and she loved me and I loved her… and she could make me smile - and now I'm alone and she's dead. No happy endings. Can you please take this thing out of me now?"
"We're almost done. Hold still." Julia pulled the large needle from his arm and pressed his hand over the small puncture. "Put some pressure on it for a few minutes." Julia took the bag of warm crimson liquid and placed it in a small cooler. "You know I don't think I have ever seen you smile, Willie."
"I don't know if you've noticed Dr. Hoffman, but I really don't have much to smile about these days. Can I go now? I'm tired and want to lie down."
"Just one more question."
"No, no more questions. I'm all done answering questions." Willie reached over and ripped the heart monitor off of him, tossing the connectors onto the floor.
"Ah! Our resident pin cushion." Angelique strolled through the room, pausing to look at Willie. She lifted his chin up gently and looked into his eyes. "You look like hell, your getting worse. Dr. Hoffman, if I didn't know any better I would think you are killing him. Oh… wait… you are killing him…very, very slowly."
Willie waved Angelique away from him, and on unsteady legs he began to make his way towards the stairs. He pulled all his strength together and climbed up them, and about half way up Angelique joined him, and positioned herself so that she could help him the rest of the way.
"Why are you helping me? What do you want."
"Honestly Willie, I think I may like you. I have pity for you."
"I don't need your pity."
"Let me help you to your room."
"Can you help me to the attic?"
"Are you planning to do a little star gazing tonight? It's supposed to storm, I don't think you'll see much in the way of stars." Angelique was well aware of the sanctuary that he had in the stiffing heat of the attic.
"I just want to feel the rain. Are ya gonna help me or not?"
"For someone that is asking for help, you sure are short tempered."
Willie shook her off of him, irritated with the witch, and she quickly repositioned herself to support him once again.
"I'm sorry Willie, come on, I'll help you. You left your tea here and some of those awful candies. Do you want them?" Angelique pointed to the table in the great room, picking up the tea and crinkling her nose as she smelled it.
"No. Just leave it."
The two made it up to the attic, and Angelique helped Willie get positioned in his spot beneath the hole in the roof. She then decided to lie down beside him.
"You are aware that the good doctor's experiment is killing you?"
"Yes."
"If you die before the treatments are complete, he'll die with you."
"Good." Willie smiled as he stared at the sky. "I hate you, ya know."
"I assumed as much."
"We were happy before you showed up." Willie sighed heavily.
"Seems like such a long time ago now."
"It's only been five months."
"Ah, yes, you jumped forward when you came back."
"It's her birthday today. I was going to take her to California, I had a house boat rented. We were going to stay there for a week. It was going to be a surprise."
"Well, this isn't quite the same, is it."
Willie squeaked out a sad chuckle. "We were there ya know?"
"Where?"
"When you gave birth, we were there." Willie turned and looked at Angelique, and the sea blue of his eyes stared into the steel blue of hers. "As much as I hate you, I'm sorry you had to lose your child, no one should ever have to go through that. Not even you. I think that's what made you go completely bat shit crazy."
Angelique smiled and nodded. Neither one of them said another word, and they both lay there, prisoners of the old house, without a single thing in the world to call their own.
"Is Calem going to meet us?" Alex opened the flimsy screen door for Abigail, and she froze on the landing at the top of the small stairwell.
"I don't feel like doing this, Alex. I'm just not in the mood, can't ya just take me home?" Abigail turned around to face him, and tried to sneak past him and back outside. Alex put his arms around her shoulders and turned her back and gently nudged her forward, into the bar.
"Abbs, ya need ta get out of that little cottage and see people. Ya can't just sit in there all the time. Ya need to start getting that blood pumpin' again. Come on, I'll buy ya a beer."
The two walked down the stairs and approached the bar, and Abigail would have had to be blind not to notice the pity filled looks directed at her.
"Hey Stranger!" Before Abigail turned around she rolled her eyes, she knew right away whose voice was behind her.
"Carolyn, hi." Abigail smiled politely, but the smile never reached her eyes.
"Oh, it's so great to see you! I see Alex finally dragged you out?"
"Yes." Abigail took the beer from Alex and he held up his mug to clink against hers.
"Happy Birthday cuz." Abigail's face flushed pink and she took a quick gulp of the ice cold beer.
"It's your birthday?! Oh, happy birthday!" Carolyn pulled Abigail into a giant hug, and Abigail tried not to spill her beer down the girl's designer blue dress.
"Th-thanks." Abigail painted on a half-smile.
"A birthday shot for the birthday girl! Tequila! One for me and one for Alex too!"
The bartender poured the shots while Abigail protested.
"Abby, when was the last time you just let go and had a little fun?" Carolyn had her hand on Abigail's arm and was looking wide eyed and sincere into Abigail's eyes. "You deserve a little fun, you've been through so much. Willie wouldn't want you so sad all the time."
A twinge of hurt gripped her heart when she heard Willie's name, and she smiled and nodded, and downed the first shot of what would turn out to be the first of many for the evening.
"Another!" Abigail placed her beer mug on the bar and swiveled onto a bar stool, accidentally bumping into a man beside her. "Oh…sorry."
"Having a party I see?"
"Y-yup… s'my Birthday!" Abigail's curly auburn hair was spilling all around her face, her cheeks were flush from the alcohol, and the bottom of her sundress was caught on the seat of the bar stool, exposing her leg and thigh.
"You're quite the dancer too, I see."
Abigail turned even redder and slammed her newly poured beer. The man then pointed at her leg. "You're dress looks like it is stuck." Abigail quickly pulled it down and sat inebriated and embarrassed beside the man. "If I wasn't a stand up kind of guy, I'd try to hit on you, but I see you're married, too bad."
Abigail looked down at her wedding ring and then back up at the man, and a melancholy feeling started to replace her alcohol induced smile.
"She's not married! She's a widow…" Carolyn shouted over the horrible music to the good looking gentleman.
It was as though a fuse was ignited inside Abigail, and she hopped down from the stool and shouted back at Carolyn. "Don't say that! Never say that! We don't know he's dead!"
The gentleman put his hand on Abigail's shoulder, accurately assessing that Abigail was a woman whose husband had gone missing. "Hey…I'm sorry. I'm sure he'll turn up." The man turned to the bartender, "One more for the birthday girl," he pushed the money pile in front of him towards the bartender. "Have a good night." The man left before the next drink arrived in front of Abigail, and she sat and stared at it.
"That's the same seat that Willie sat in every night when he would come in here." The bartender's words were meant to be comforting to Abigail, but it just made the sadness swell. She twisted her wedding ring and looked up at him.
"Can I get another shot, a double?"
"Mrs. Loomis, are ya sure that's such a good idea?"
"It will be my last one. Then I'm going to go, I promise."
The bartender looked at her sorrowful eyes and poured her a double. "I'm real sorry about Willie."
Abigail slammed the drink, now numb to the burning feeling that the alcohol gave her at the beginning of the night. "Can I use the phone?"
She made a quick phone call, and while the dancing and partying continued, she slipped Alex's keys from the bar, and made a quiet and unnoticed exit.
"Calem! Glad you could make it! A little late though! It's nearly two am!"
"Alex, where's Abby?" Calem had to yell above the noise of the jukebox and the loud crowd.
"She was just over at the bar… where'd she go?"
"Alex, I got a strange call from her, we need to find her."
"Hey handsome!" Carolyn strolled around Calem and planted an unwanted kiss on his lips, he pulled her off instantly.
"Jesus, not now Carolyn, where's Abigail?"
"Don't know, she got all pissed off at me. I haven't seen her since that guy hit on her."
"What time was that?" The three were now standing at the bar.
"No idea, Buzz! Hey!" Carolyn disappeared across the floor and fell into the arms of her so called boy toy.
"He Calem, she left here hours ago. Around eight or nine, I guess."
"Shit. Alex, you were supposed to keep an eye on her! She called my mom looking for me, and left me a message that said she couldn't wait anymore, that she needed to find him. She said she was sorry and then just hung up. My mom said that she was clearly drunk." Calem's anger was obvious. "Where did she go?!"
"What on earth does that mean? I swear, she's so dramatic with this whole widow thing." Carolyn had made her way back to the bar, Buzz draped around her.
"Shut up Carolyn." Calem looked in the woman's bathroom, and then the men's.
"Calem…shit. Calem I can't find my keys."
"The two men ran out of the bar and searched the parking lot.
"Car's gone. She musta taken it."
"How could you let her drink so much!?"
"We just wanted her to have a good time!" Carolyn was standing behind the men, feeling guilty. "We wanted her to loosen up and enjoy her birthday."
"Oh God…" Calem paced the parking lot, running his hands through his hair. "She wouldn't… Shit… SHIT! I-I gotta go. If you see her, keep her with you. Tie her down if you have to, but don't let her out of your site."
Calem jumped into his car and sped out of town towards Collinwood.
Abigail gripped the steering wheel, fighting with her drunkin' vision and violent tears, and struggled to focus on the road. She turned on the radio, and blasted Neil Diamond. Although Willie hated his music, she thought of him every time she heard it. She crossed from one lane to the next, and then back again, her foot getting heavier and heavier on the gas. She was headed to the bridge, and once there, she was going to jump and hopefully find her husband safe in an alternate time. But, as she sped down the road, an intoxicated impulse took over, and she made a split decision, turning the wheel as sharp as she could, never taking her foot off the gas, and went careening into the driveway of the old house. She pulled the steering wheel left, and then pulled it right, causing the car to fishtail and lose control, slamming into a tree that lined the long entrance way.
She pulled herself up, placing her hand on her forehead and pulling it back to find it covered in blood. Thanks to her alcohol induced state of mind, she didn't let it faze her. Abigail opened the car door and fell out onto the ground, her white sundress getting covered in mud from the puddles that were formed in the early afternoon storms. It looked like it was a heartbeat away from storming again, and the rain was just starting to fall again.
She stumbled towards the house, pulled her off her high heeled shoes, and tossed them into the trees. Her bare feet sloshed through the mud, and she made it up the steps, and then banged as hard as she could against the door.
"Mr. Collins!" She was pounding with both fists. "Mr. Collins let me in!" She reached for the door handle, and as she started to turn it and push, it was opened and Abigail slopped onto the floor. She pulled herself up and pushed past Barnabas.
"Where is she…where is the bitch?!"
Barnabas turned and looked at Angelique, who was standing on the stairwell, wearing a beautiful blue velvet night coat, every hair in perfect position.
Abigail looked at her and then looked back at Barnabas. "Not her, the doctor. Julia."
"Well, what a nice change of pace, for once I'm not the bitch." Angelique left the staircase and walked past Abigail, stopping to lean against the wall and locking eyes with Barnabas. "Well, this should be interesting." She grinned and stared at Abigail again.
"Where is she? Is she up here?!" Abigail crookedly ascended the staircase, and just before she got to the top, she heard the doctor's voice from the foyer.
"Abigail! What on earth are you doing here?!" Abigail turned around instantly, rotating too quickly for her fuzzy head, and stopping to grip the banister. She awkwardly made it down the stairs and followed the doctor through the foyer and into the great room.
There was only one thought going through tow of the houses inhabitants, Where on earth is Willie? Angelique knew exactly where he was. He was in the attic, enjoying a little alone time.
Abigail looked around the room and then grabbed the brandy decanter and took a large swig, wiping her mouth with her arm in a most unladylike fashion.
"You…" Abigail stumbled towards Julia, "…you came to my house. You want my blood. Calem told me all 'bout it. Well, no- n – no way!" Abigail took another swig and headed towards Barnabas.
"Well this is fun." Angelique continued to watch.
"You, the bitch seems to think you nee- need my bloo – hic – blood!"
"I think you should sit down, dear." Julia tried to get Abigail to relax in the chair.
"Don't touch m-me." Abigail pointed her finger towards Barnabas, her hand shaking, and started again. "You n- need it? That's what the doctor says. So you can walk during the day."
"Abigail, please, sit down. Your bleeding."
Abigail wiped the blood from her forehead and then dragged her hand down the side of her dress, pressing a crimson stain into the white fibers. She never noticed that Barnabas' eyes had turned to black holes. He smelled her, and he was using everything within himself to fight the urge to sink his teeth into her soft, pink neck.
"Y-you know what I'm gonna do?" Abigail staggered sideways and then gripped onto the bookshelf to steady herself. "I'm gonna go back…I'm..I'm gonna find him." Tears started falling from Abigail's cheeks. "I'm gonna jump from the bridge and go back to find out what happened to him…and if my Willie is dead…I'm going to kill you." Abigail released herself from the bookshelf, and unsteadily approached Barnabas. She reached out and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, standing on her toes to look him directly in the face. "I'm going to stake you right in the heart, and none of this will have ever happened."
Barnabas stared at the young women, and even in her drunkin' state he admired her ferocity, she was, after all, one of his decedents, and he found it within himself to take credit for the personality trait. He reached his hands out, and his long fingers wrapped around her wrists. He pried them from his jacket and walked her to one of the chairs, forcing her to sit in it.
"Abigail, I think you need to take a moment and calm down, you are most upset and are not thinking clearly." Barnabas released her into the chair and she sank into the cushions.
She quietly looked around the room for a moment, most of it was spinning, and she had an overwhelming urge to vomit. So she did. When she lifted her head her eyes were drawn to the table. "What is this?" Abigail picked up one of the butterscotch candies from the table. She saw the mug beside it and picked it up, drawing its aroma into her nostrils. "Orange spice…" Abigail set the mug down and looked at the threesome staring back at her. "These were his favorite things...Why do you have this?"
Silence was returned, and Angelique's smile grew even larger.
"Why is this here?!" Barnabas and Julia shifted nervously "Is he here? Do you have him? Where is he?! Willie! … WILLIE! Willie, are you here?! Where are you?!" Abigail made a dash towards the staircase, screaming his name, she made it nearly to the top before a sharp pain was felt in her shoulder, and her vision shattered like a mirror into a thousand pieces before she passed out into darkness.
"Really, Julia, do you just carry syringes full of knockout juice as a precaution?" Angelique took hold of Abigail and dragged her into the great room, putting a pillow beneath her head and a blanket over her. "Welcome back Abby."
Willie lay on his back, focusing on the disappearing moon through his homemade skylight. He stared at the sky and his thoughts sank deep into his heart, painting it black. He was hoping that he was near the end. He closed his eyes as the first few raindrops hit his face, and he heard a crash, thunder, he thought. Willie let each raindrop hit his face and blend in with the tears that were slowly escaping down his cheeks.
As he lay there, his thoughts drifted to Abigail, and he pictured her face; if he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that he could hear her calling him, shouting his name, yelling out to him from the darkness.
"Happy Birthday, baby…I love you...I'm so sorry…" Willie lay still, and listened to her call out to him in the distance. She's on the other side, calling me, waiting.
Barnabas looked down at the young girl, but it wasn't her presence that was giving him concern. He suddenly felt as though he weighed a thousand pounds.
"Julia, I need to sit down."
"This is the fourth time this has happened tonight, Barnabas, he's fading quickly." Julia reached down and took Barnabas' wrist in hers and started to count the beats.
"How many more treatments are left do you suppose?"
"Barnabas, I don't know. We were fortunate to have the girl show up here, I'll pull some blood samples from her, but it will take a few days, a week possibly, to integrate her untainted DNA into the serum."
"So what is it that you are saying, doctor." Barnabas took a deep breath, and struggled to stay upright in the chair.
"Well…earlier today…his heart rate went up when I asked him about Abigail. His adrenalin spiked, giving him more energy. Barnabas…if he knew that she was still alive, he would have a new purpose for living. I believe he is making a conscious effort to give up."
"So, what is it you would have me do?"
"Barnabas, really are you that dense that you can't see what the good doctor is getting at? She wants permission to get Willie, and let him see the girl. See that she is still alive."
Barnabas sat straight up in the chair and his face turned whiter than it already was, and his eyes turned to stone. "Absolutely not!"
"You have no other choice. You let him see her, or you die, and so does he." Julia stood before Barnabas and her eyes narrowed to slits. "and we had a deal, if the experiment works, he goes free. He goes free, or I release my notes along with your father's diary."
Barnabas tried to stand up and confront Julia face to face, but his strength was gone. He knew she was right, he needed to decide right then and there the fate of himself, of the boy upstairs, and of the young girl before him. After a torturous pause, he answered.
"So be it. Get the boy. Do it now, before she wakes."
Julia didn't need to be told twice and she turned and ran up the stairs and headed to the attic. She flung the door open and found Willie lying on the ground, soaked from the pouring rain coming in through the roof. She knelt down by his side and softly rocked him until he opened his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Willie, the treatments are almost done. We're so close. You need to stay strong so that we can complete them. Can you do that? You need to find strength, Willie. I need you to come downstairs. "
Willie rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
"I just wanted to belong to someone, ya know? I liked pretending to be somebody's better half, even though she was better. She will always be better. But…I - I'm okay, I got to feel what it's like to have someone love me, really love me, and for a brief time I got to feel what it was like to not wake up lonely." Willie choked down a heavy sob and then turned and put his hand on Julia's. "You know what my mother told me? She told me that everyone needs beauty in their life to make it worth living, and that I was hers. I have no beauty, Julia. My beauty is gone. There is only darkness for me now. I'm not afraid to die, I pray for it, if I'm lucky I'll get to be with her again. I don't know why you're so sad… It's what I want."
Julia grabbed Willie's hand and held it tight. "Willie…you must come downstairs." The guilt she felt was deep and painful. She knew that she was part of a very twisted and dark game. "Come on. Let's go."
Willie managed to get to his feet, and with Julia's aid he descended the stair case to the second floor, and then down to the first. They both paused when he saw a girl lying on the floor in the foyer. He looked up and saw Barnabas slumped in the chair and Angelique standing near the window, all of them waiting for him to react.
He looked back down at the girl, and then saw her face.
He felt like he had been punched in the stomach, and all of the air had been sucked from his lungs.
"Abigail?" He whispered her name in a disbelieving voice and the sour knot rushed up into his chest, causing it to tighten.
He staggered around her body and stood behind the unoccupied chair, gripping the back of it as though it were a life raft in the middle of the ocean. His crystal blue eyes grew dark and wild with fear.
"What…what is this?" Willie's voice was broken and strained with confusion. He searched the trio's eyes for an answer.
"She's alive, Willie." Angelique spoke quietly and put her hand on his shoulder, she could feel his body trembling.
"No…" Willie shook his head in disbelieve as he stared at her. "No…no…It's … It's a trick! You're sick! All of you!"
"It's her, Willie. She is very much alive, although at the moment she is passed out drunk, and a little sedated. She showed up here most unexpectedly this evening." Barnabas could feel his strength return as Willie's adrenaline surged.
"But… I – I saw her grave! Y-you showed me it! You…you told me how she died!"
"I'm sorry, Willie. That was the trick."
Willie came out from the back of the chair and dropped down to the ground on his knees and stared at her for a moment, his hands shaking above her, and then he involuntarily let out a cry and he scooped her up and pulled her close to him. "Abby…Oh my God…my Abby…" He pulled her into his chest, and he could feel her inhale and exhale against his body, and he could feel her heartbeat against his. The vacant space in his chest filled and it made him feel whole. He sobbed as he held her tight, "Abby, oh I've missed you so much. Abby, baby, please wake up. It's me. It's Willie, I'm here." He rocked her in his arms and everything disappeared around him, and the aching loneliness and grief began to wash from his heart.
Barnabas allowed Willie to cradle the girl for several minutes, and then with his newly fueled strength, he stood up. "That's enough. Take him to his room." Barnabas motioned to Angelique, and she hesitated, a conflict was raging within her between who she was so long ago, before Barnabas, and what she had become, and for the first time in what felt like a hundred lifetimes, she felt sympathy.
"Angelique, I said that's enough. Take him now!"
Angelique didn't move. "Barnabas…just let him be with her. Why separate them now. It's done. Over."
"Fine, I'll take him off her myself."
Barnabas walked over and tried to pull Willie away, but he pushed the vampire off of him, "No! NO! I won't leave her again!" Barnabas reached down and pulled Willie's leg and began to drag him away from her.
"No…NO! Oh please, please don't make me leave her. Please…please let me stay!" Barnabas ripped Willie from her as he pleaded through his sobs. "PLEASE! Abby! Wake up Abby!"
"Willie, if you make a sound that lets her know you are here, I will not hesitate to kill her. You thought you lost her once, this time it will be definite. Angelique, take the boy upstairs." Barnabas tossed Willie at Angelique, and she grabbed onto him as he thrashed to get back to Abigail. "NO! Abby! No! Angelique please, don't make me leave her. I'm begging you…don't make me go upstairs." Angelique knew that she had no choice in the matter, and she grabbed him and dragged the screaming young man up the staircase, pulling his hands away as he desperately tried to grip onto the banister.
Julia was standing by, watching the entire time, tears swelling in her eyes. "Barnabas, Angelique is right. It's over."
"It's over when I can walk freely during the day without being dependent on another person's life force. Until then, they boy stays here where he can be watched and controlled."
"Very well, but he goes free when the serum works. What about her?"
"She will wake up with a terrible hangover, I suspect, and a very bad recollection of the evenings activities."
"He will kill her, you know this. Isn't it enough to know she is alive?"
Willie had paced the room for what seemed like hours, and with his strength drained he sat down on the edge of the bed, both of his hands woven into his hair. "Don't you understand? She is my entire world, there is only her…" Willie spoke quietly, and then looked up at the witch. "Please, Angelique, please, I'm begging you… let me just see her again. She's still here, isn't she? I know she is." Willie stood, emotionally exposed to the Witch, his blue eyes raw with pain, and for some reason, the way he looked at her, made her buckle. She reached out her hand, and gestured for him to take it, and he did. She then walked him out of his room and headed down the stairs.
"She can't see us, Willie. She can't hear us either, none of them can. You are invisible. It is the only way I can allow you to see her. You forget, I too am under Barnabas' control. He said to keep you quiet and out of site, and so that is what I am doing." Angelique stopped just before they hit the bottom of the stairs and she turned to him. "Willie, are you sure you want to do this? You can't be with her, he won't allow it, therefore I can't either, no matter how much you beg."
"I'm sure, please, before she's gone."
They turned and came down the staircase and walked into the great room, no one noticed there entrance, just as the witch promised.
"Abigail, let me help you up." Barnabas reached down and helped to get her sitting comfortably in the chair.
"Wh-what time is it?" Abigail looked around the room trying to piece together what had happened.
"Two in the morning."
"Two am…" Abigail reached up to her aching head, it was pounding a drum line of pain through her temples. She could only remember fragments of the evening. She ran her hand down over her sundress, over the red stain, and then she looked at the doctor and Barnabas, who were both staring back at her. "Can I get some Aspirin?"
"Of course." Julia walked to the kitchen and returned within a minute, leaving Abigail sitting in the chair, remembering more shattered pieces, and getting more and more embarrassed. She noticed her bare feet, and wondered briefly where her shoes went.
"Here you go…"
"Thank you." She took the two pills dry, and then looked at the pair again. "I-I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"Can you remember anything?"
"Not much." Abigail's voice was a hoarse whisper. "Calem must be worried sick."
Willie whipped his head around to Angelique and she shook her head. "He's alive as well, Abigail lives with him." Willie's eyes were like saucers as he stood there. The entire world was shifting on its axis and he was struggling to keep his balance.
All eyes turned towards the door as a series of panicked knocks beat against it.
"Abby? Mr. Collins is Abby there?! It's Calem…" Before anyone could answer the door, he burst through it. "Abby? … Oh shit, Abby, thank God."
Abigail jumped to her feet and raced to Calem, nearly running through Willie.
"Oh, Calem! I - I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't want to go out at all, but Alex insisted. Once I got there, people started talking about Willie, I started drinking, and the more I drank the less it hurt." Abigail started crying, gripping onto Calem, and Willie started to fall apart. "I think I crashed Alex's car… I didn't mean too…Calem, it just hurts so bad all the time, I miss him so much."
Willie looked at Angelique as she stared at the two, his eyes brimming with tears that were ready to fall. "Angelique, you could end all this suffering right here…right now, please."
"You know I can't." Angelique looked down at the floor and muttered under her breath, "I told you this would be difficult."
"Abby...shhh, it's okay…" Calem held her gently and spoke softly to her. "You have to move on Abby, you can't keep on like this." He gently moved her so that he was looking into her eyes. "Shit, you're hurt." He reached up and brushed the hair away from the spot that she hit when she crashed. "Come on, I'll take you home. Mr. Collins, I'm sorry for the intrusion. Is it okay if I pick up the car tomorrow?"
"Angelique! Please, you can't just let them go!" Willie was starting to panic.
"Of course. Can I have a moment with you before you leave?"
"Abby, go on honey, go out to the car, I'll be right there. Okay?" Calem gestured for Abigail to go outside.
Abigail wiped the tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands and nodded.
"Abby…Abby I'm here! I'm right here! Abby, I'll find a way to get to you, I swear !" As she walked out the door Willie ran to the window and pressed his face up against the glass, pounding his fist against the panes as she climbed into the car. "Abby! I'll find a way!"
"Calem, she came here extremely inebriated. Although she may not remember, she spoke of jumping back into the waters, to find him."
Calem shook his head in acknowledgement. It wasn't the first time she spoke of that plan.
"You mustn't allow her to do that. It would be a grave mistake for her. She won't find what she is looking for." Barnabas started to guide Calem out the door.
"I know. Again, I'm sorry. I have been speaking with her parents, we are going to be taking her back to Chicago. She needs to leave this place. If all goes well, we will be gone within the month."
"I see. I think that is all for the best."
Willie walked up to Calem and stood directly in front of him. "Calem… no, you can't leave! I'm here! I just need some time! I'll find a way, you can't leave!"
"Willie, we need to return to your room, before they join us there." Angelique was moving towards the foyer and nearing the stairs.
"Good night." Calem turned and left, closing the door gently behind him.
Willie sat in the window until the car disappeared down the driveway.
"Willie, let's go. I don't want to have to force you."
Defeated, and filling with anger, Willie followed her and headed up the stairs. He entered his room, clenched his jaw and fists, and sat trembling in his chair.