Abby did not go back to work the next day. She called in sick to give herself some time to think but there was no way that she would ever go back. Not with Rick still out there. Not with him having a key. Just no.
Lydia made her coffee that morning and she was the one who brought Haley to school and when she left, Lydia placed a gentle kiss on the crown of Abby's head.
They had woken up in the same bed, both still stark naked because neither of them had had the energy to put on some clothes. Abby barely had the energy to wash the stickiness off her face before she'd crawled back under the covers where Lydia had been waiting for her with open arms.
Abby could get used to that. She could get used to falling asleep with Lydia right next to her. And she could get used to the sex. It had been different and Abby was pretty sure that there was way more to explore than what they'd done last night. She wanted more. She still missed Marvin but she was sick of being alone. She wanted somebody to hold her. She wanted somebody to hold in return.
Abby sat at the kitchen table, slowly sipping her coffee. The apartment, Lydia's apartment, was empty but she didn't feel alone here. She didn't feel like a stranger. Abby hummed into her coffee with that realization.
She had until the afternoon when she would have to pick up Haley and she intended to make the best out of it. For a while, she didn't want to think.
So after she'd finished her coffee, Abby ran herself a bath. Lydia had lots of bathing stuff on the shelf, some Abby didn't even know what they were and how to use them, but she found a bubble bath with a nice smell and something that made the water all soft and creamy and when she sank into the hot tub she let out a content sigh.
When they had come to Lydia's place Abby had brought her toiletries but today, she was using Lydia's. Today she wanted the smell she associated with Lydia surrounding her.
After her bath, which she drew out to a little over an hour, Abby got dressed in comfy clothes, she just wanted to relax so no jeans or anything that would tie her in, and got comfortable on the couch. For a while, she just lay there and let her mind drift.
Naturally, it circled back to her current situation. She wasn't sure if Karen's report would be enough to get her fired or if she would get away with a write-up but at this point, she didn't think that it would make a difference.
"Tomorrow I'm going to report Karen," Abby said out loud. "And I'm going to hand in my two weeks' notice." Voicing it like this made it more real. She would have to find somebody to come in with her, though. No way was she going back to the office alone. While she was in the office she should use the chance to get her stuff so she wouldn't have to come in again.
Anyway, she wouldn't have a job any longer. That used to be the thing she was most scared of. She had bills to pay and most months she was just getting by, she needed this job. But not any longer.
The money Rick was so determined to get his hands on should be in her account any day now and once the properties were sold there would be even more coming in. It wasn't enough to retire, not that she had any intention to do that, Abby wanted to work, but now she had time to think. She could live off that money for quite a while and would still have more than enough to send Haley to a decent college.
They could pick up therapy again. Haley had liked her last therapist even if she had seen her only twice. And it would be nice to get out of debt once and for all.
Abby worried her lip, thinking. With Rick still out there, she didn't want to get an office just for him to stalk again but just as Stiles had said, she didn't need a physical place for her business. At least not in the beginning. And Rick wouldn't be out there forever. There was a warrant out for him so it wasn't like so many cases of stalking where the police couldn't, wouldn't, do anything. When they caught him, they would keep him.
"I need to check my contract." Abby wasn't sure what exactly was in there about taking clients with her. That passage hadn't been relevant when she'd signed it but now she wondered. However, her contract along with most of her stuff was still in her apartment. So she made a mental note to stop by there on her way back from the office tomorrow. Thinking of it, she should get rid of the apartment as well. She had the money to find a better place for herself and Haley. But there was no pressure for that, Lydia had said that they could stay as long as she wanted and after last night Abby had the feeling that Lydia wouldn't mind, making their arrangement permanent.
Abby thought about that idea. It was tempting, she could pay her share of the rent and just move in officially but she didn't want that. She wanted to date Lydia, she wanted to get to know her but she was not ready to move in with her for real.
First, she wanted a place for herself. A place where she and Haley could recover. A home. Lydia would be welcomed there and maybe they would find a place together eventually but for now, Abby needed some distance. She just hoped that Lydia would understand.
Lydia did understand.
Over dinner, Abby told Haley and Lydia what she'd been thinking about and then she was holding her breath for their response.
Are you and Lydia dating now? was what Haley wanted to know the most. Lydia had only come up as a remark on the side, Abby had focused on quitting her job and her plans with her own business, but that was what Haley had picked up on.
Abby shared a glance with Lydia. Were they dating? They had slept together last night and Lydia had hinted that she wouldn't mind if Abby slept in her bed from now on. It would give Haley the guest room for herself and wasn't that generous and totally self-less of Lydia? Abby had snorted at that but she hadn't said no either.
"We're trying it out," Lydia answered when Abby failed to say anything. "We'll see how it works out. If that's okay with you?"
For that question alone Abby could kiss her. Lydia got that they were a package deal. There would be no Abby in her life without Haley and Lydia understood that.
Haley nodded and then she showed Abby her phone.
I like her. I want you to be happy
"And I want you to be happy." Abby slung her arm around Haley's shoulders, drawing her close. "So if you're not happy you gotta tell me."
Haley nodded again but that was not enough for Abby, not with this.
"Promise?" She asked and expected a written answer but to her surprise, Haley said: "Promise."
The rest of their dinner they were talking about how to tackle what Abby had come up with. She wrote in their group chat that she would need somebody to come with her to the office tomorrow and only a second later Boyd answered that he had the morning off. Things were getting in motion.
After Haley had gone to bed, Abby and Lydia were discussing it even more. It quickly turned into daydreaming of all the possibilities, getting sillier the later the evening. It didn't help that Lydia insisted that they had to finish the bottle of wine they had opened yesterday.
Abby had fun. They had gotten comfortable on the couch again, their glasses of wine in hand and were just having silly fun. They did put together a to-do list, though. Mainly the things Abby wanted to do tomorrow, at the office and with her place, but they were thinking long term already.
"Don't rush into things." Lydia sobered up, finger tracing the rim of her glass. "Get rid of loose ends now but give yourself a moment to breathe. When was the last time you had a vacation?"
Abby couldn't even remember when she'd had a few days off. Not counting that trip to Rick which had started the whole mess.
They set Stiles' and Derek's wedding as the turning point. Abby would take care of all the small stuff before that but she wouldn't stress herself over it and would use the days mostly to rest and recharge. Lydia still had to work and Haley had to go to school but they could do stuff on the weekends. It sounded nice. The only thing dampening the mood was Rick. Abby would be stuck at Lydia's place most of the time because neither of them felt comfortable with her going out alone.
Abby did use the next two weeks to relax and to collect herself. She had the business thing simmer on the back of her mind but she wasn't actively thinking about it, she would get to that after the wedding. For now, she just took care of herself.
One Saturday she and Haley went on a shopping trip with Lydia and Erica to get outfits for the big event. It was a long and exhausting day and they came home with aching feet but smiling and with bags of pretty things. Haley even had enough energy left for a little runway show to show off her new outfit.
Aside from that Abby help Derek to get the studio ready. He wanted a new coat of paint before they hung the large pictures and there were small things to repair or to replace and he was grateful for a helping hand. Stiles wanted to help as well but he was quickly banned from touching anything after he'd somehow manage to leave a dent in the wall when he'd tried to assemble a shelf. Besides, Stiles had more than enough on his plate even without helping Derek in the studio. According to Derek, he had four commissions in the pipe and it was exam time for his online course.
"I have to wrestle him to bed every night," Derek admitted with an exhausted expression on his face. Abby did remember the bad day Haley had witnessed and she couldn't help but wonder if Stiles had them more frequently these days. Derek assured her that everything would be better after the wedding which wasn't helping.
To help them out, everybody was putting in some work to get everything ready for the wedding. Abby and Lydia had taken care of the catering, however, Lydia made the final decision so Abby gladly gave her the credit for that. Abby took care of the flowers, she picked some lovely arrangements in white and a light shade of violet.
No pink or rainbow? Boyd had joked when she'd shared the pictures with the others in the group chat.
I expected something with black, Erica added her two cents. And leather. Do they make leather flowers?
Abby was pretty sure that there where leather flowers out there but she was not going to google that.
She did see Rick outside Lydia's place a few times and she called the police on him twice but for now, he kept his distance. But he did make sure to keep her aware that he was there. It was unnerving but that was the point, she guessed.
A few days before the wedding Stiles' family arrived. Derek's would fly in the following day. The others had seen their families shortly at Derek's opening night at the gallery but nobody could say much about them aside from that they seemed to be nice people. There were rumors about his mother, Talia, though. And of course the story of how she'd thrown a flower pot at Stiles when they had first met. Stiles never grew tired of telling that one.
"Stiles' parents liked the pictures. And Derek's uncle Peter had way too much fun with how much Derek's mom didn't like them," Lydia was able to add but otherwise, nobody knew them.
Abby still sometimes felt like an outsider, in those moments she wondered why she was even invited, but now, this shortly before the event, she was curious to meet Stiles' and Derek's family.
