I've really enjoyed writing this so far and I'm excited to see where the story goes. Thank you for the encouragement, I'm relatively new to FanFic and I'm loving it!
...
"Morning Abigail." Cassie chimed cheerily as she prepped two mugs with loose leaf tea.
"Morning," Abigail forced a smile and went to the fridge for orange juice.
Cassie eyed Abigail suspiciously, "I haven't seen much of you the last few days, what have you been up to?"
"Just busy with the flower shop. Everyone always needs flowers for something." Abigail quickly downed half the juice in her glass, "But all the work at the shop has really drained me so I'm probably going to stay home today." Abigail cleared her throat, "I may even be coming down with something".
The tea kettle whistled, "Would you like some tea, that may help you settle whatever seems to be bothering you." Cassie removed the kettle from the stove and filled two mugs for herself and Abigail.
"Thanks." Abigail finished her orange juice, put her glass in the sink, and took her mug from Cassie. "I'll take one of those muffins too, they smell great."
"They should be done any minute and you can help yourself." Cassie inhaled the aroma of her hot tea just as the timer for the muffins rang throughout the kitchen. Cassie went to the oven and removed the muffins. The smell of apples and cinnamon filled the room.
Abigail took in the perfect scent and quickly transferred a hot muffin to a plate and disappeared upstairs.
...
Cassie had just put the final touches on her window display when Stephanie pushed through the door, "Cassie, have you seen Abigail? I need to talk to her about the delivery she never dropped off. I went to her shop, but she isn't there."
"Abigail stayed home today, she isn't feeling like herself," Cassie replied with concern in her voice.
"Oh, well now I feel terrible for being so frustrated with her." Stephanie released an exasperated sigh, "Maybe I'll bring her some of my chicken noodle soup this afternoon, and if she's feeling up to it, we can finally talk about what we're going to do about that mystery room between our shops."
"I think that's a great idea. " Cassie smiled, "I think you might be exactly what Abigail needs today."
Stephanie's face twisted, "I don't know about that, Abigail and I haven't exactly been on the same page lately. She's either avoiding me, blowing me off, or she wants nothing to do with me. She's being totally immature about that room that Martha found for the book release."
"Are you sure she's upset about the room?" Cassie questioned.
"Well, what else could it be? I'm sure she was also upset about the noise coming from the catering business, but she knows there wasn't anything I could do about that. Maybe, the problem is just me." Stephanie's face fell.
"Sometimes the answer to life's difficult questions is just below the surface, you just have to unearth it." Cassie gave Stephanie a warm smile.
"What do you mean by that?" Stephanie felt more confused than before. Cassie was supposed to have answers, not more questions.
Cassie thought for a moment, "I think I might have just what you need." Moving gracefully towards the back of her shop, Cassie found her jewelry display and picked up a blue beaded bracelet and held it out to Stephanie.
"A bracelet?" Stephanie questioned, "For me, or for Abigail? And how exactly is a bracelet supposed to help this situation?"
Cassie smiled knowingly, "The bracelet is made of apatite, it will help you clear your mind of confusion and help you more clearly see what may be right in front of you."
Stephanie wasn't so sure how a bracelet could solve her problem with Abigail, but she did come to Cassie and Cassie hardly ever offered conventional suggestions. "I guess I'll give it a try."
Cassie gently clasped the bracelet on Stephanie's wrist, "I think you'll find exactly what you're looking for."
Stephanie gave the blue-green beads a look over on her wrist. The rounded beads varied slightly in color, and she felt determined to get through to Abigail. Their friendship, however odd it may be, was important and it needed to be fixed. "I'm going to go get that soup and find Abigail."
"Good luck." Cassie smiled as Stephanie left the shop. Sometimes fate needed a gentle nudge and hopefully, this would be enough.
...
Stephanie knocked gently on the Grey House doors and waited patiently for a response. When she didn't get one, she slowly opened the doors and went inside. The house was quiet and Stephanie didn't want to disturb any guests that might be staying there so she went towards the kitchen to put the soup away before searching for Abigail.
Stephanie wasn't sure which room was Abigail's so she couldn't go upstairs. She wasn't even sure Abigail was at Grey House, she had just assumed. Determined to find Abigail and hopeful she wasn't hiding away in her room, Stephanie walked out to the patio. She glanced around the chairs, the trees, and the path towards the Middleton Gardens. In the distance, below a cherry blossom just on the outskirts of the Middleton Garden, was the unmistakable red glimmering hair of Abigail.
Smiling, Stephanie carefully walked down the sloping hill towards Abigail.
Abigail felt her presence just as she'd stepped out onto the patio, but she couldn't hide from her now. She had forgotten about her flower order, but would she really come to Grey House for that, they could settle up later?
Taking in a deep breath, Abigail released her breath and spoke confidently, "Hi, Stephanie, what brings you to Grey House."
Stephanie closed the distance between them and sat next to Abigail in the grass, "Well, you forgot my flower order, so I went to Cassie to ask about you and she said you weren't feeling well and stayed home." Stephanie paused for a moment and looked Abigail over, "I brought you chicken noodle soup, but you don't really look all that sick."
I'm lovesick, Abigail thought to herself. "I just wasn't feeling like myself and decided it was better I stayed home." Abigail got to her feet. "I think I'm actually starting to get a headache, so I think I might go inside and take a nap."
Stephanie grabbed for Abigail's wrist and caught her as she turned to leave, "Wait, Abigail, sit and talk to me. You can't avoid me any longer."
Abigail debated pulling away for a moment, but decided to sit again, she couldn't run away forever.
"If this is about the extra room, you can have it. I just want to be friends again, I think you're avoiding me and I hate it. I also think it's immature, for you to be so upset about a room, I mean we're both adults." Stephanie explained quickly.
Abigail listened to her words, studying her blue eyes, pointed nose, and her delicate lips. "It isn't about the room," Abigail admitted nibbling on her lip.
"Then what is it about?" Stephanie asked, feeling even more confused.
Their eyes were locked, focused on one another, Abigail didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to start. Stephanie was with Ben, they were friends. "Stephanie, I just have some personal things I need to work out." Abigail looked away from Stephanie and stared out towards the garden.
Stephanie moved closer to Abigail, careful to avoid grass stains, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Abigail, you can talk to me, about whatever it is that's bothering you."
Turning towards Stephanie, Abigail leaned forward till her breath tickled across Stephanie's lips, "That's just it, I can't."
After studying the chestnut eyes in front of her, Stephanie closed the distance between them and felt warmth explode around her as their lips locked. Stephanie's cheeks ripened in color, their arms found each other and they tightened their embrace.
Stephanie leaned into the kiss, feeling as though she was in a dream, and she never wanted it to end. The taste of Abigail awoke her senses, and she found herself asking for further invitation with her tongue.
Abigail knew they should stop. She knew she should pull away, Stephanie was still with Ben, she shouldn't be doing this. But then again, everything felt so right. She gripped Stephanie's white t-shirt and pulled her closer, her tongue flicked with Stephanie's as they deepened their kiss, the electricity was hot between them, and it took all of Abigail's self-control to finally pull away.
They were both breathless, Stephanie's delicate mouth hung open slightly, Abigail bit her lip, wanting to capture Stephanie's lips again, but thought better of it. Scooting away slightly, trying to put some distance between them, Abigail finally spoke, "It's hard to be around you when I want to kiss you."
Stephanie's cheeks flushed and she bit her lip, she couldn't find words. The kiss had awoken senses in her she didn't know she had. Never had a kiss with Ben felt like that. Ben. How could she do this to him? Why did she kiss Abigail? This was bad, but it felt so good. Guilt consumed her, and the fluttering warmth throughout her body was quickly dissipating.
After a long silence between them, Abigail finally spoke, "We should probably take some space. Clear our heads."
Abigail quickly got to her feet. She wanted to say more, but she didn't know where to start. Stephanie was with Ben. Stephanie was her friend. And she just kissed her. Or did Stephanie kiss her? It didn't matter. Everything was ruined. Abigail walked quickly towards Grey House leaving Stephanie sitting alone, staring out at the Middleton Gardens with more questions in her heart than ever before.
