Chapter 10
Abby's face went through various contortions, and Carter wondered if she was about to throw up. Was it really that hard of a question to answer? Did she even know?
When Abby finally spoke, he realized that she was trying not to cry. "You shouldn't have to ask, Carter. You know, there are some of us that try and restrain ourselves to sleeping with one person at a time, so that when we get pregnant we know who the father is." Well, that didn't come out the way she had intended. But at least she made her point. She looked up to see how Carter was taking the news.
Carter was stunned. Abby had gotten her dig in, but she had told him: they were his. Jill and Riley were his daughter and son. He had been a father for almost four years, but he hadn't even known it. He wished they were here now. He would look at them differently, now that he knew that they were Carters.
No, they weren't. They were Wyczenskis. Even if they were biologically his children, they barely knew him. Abby was their mother, and that was all they knew. Abby might take them and leave as soon as she got out of the hospital, and they would be none the wiser. She was still mad at him, and he had no idea what her plans for the future were.
"So...where do we go from here?" he asked.
"I guess you go back to the Carter mansion and we go back to Atlanta," Abby said, even though she knew that wasn't an option.
Carter bit his lip. He kind of thought she was going to say that. "Well, where are you going to live? You don't even have a job!" He realized that he had come off sounding much more hostile than he had intended to.
"That's not really any of your business, is it?" Abby snapped back.
"Yes it is if you're taking my children with you," Carter said, realizing that this conversation had gone in entirely the wrong direction. He wasn't supposed to attack Abby, he was supposed to help her.
Abby folded her arms. "They've been doing just fine without you, Carter, and they can continue doing just fine."
Carter nodded. He had to get this discussion back on the right track. "I'm sorry, Abby; I didn't mean to attack you like that. But you've been working yourself way too hard, taking care of Jill and Riley. But you have to take care of yourself too. Why don't you come and stay with me when you get out of the hospital, just to give yourself a little break? Then you could-"
But Abby was already shaking her head. "No, Carter, no. I don't want to stay with you, and I'm doing just fine."
"Then why did you come here?" Carter asked desperately.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Well, it was, and it still is. You can't take care of them by yourself, Abby; you'll burn out."
"I've been doing it for four years now," Abby pointed out.
"Yes, you have," Carter conceded, "But look at you. You're exhausted. You need a break. You can't work 24 hours a day. Why don't you let me help?"
"I don't need your help. Me and MY kids are just fine without you."
"But where are you going to live, Abby?" he asked, this time much more gently. "How are you going to support them? I know you don't want to live with me forever, but why don't you just stay with me until you find a new job?"
Abby pondered his offer. She didn't want to live with him, but it wasn't like she had any other options. "Let me think about it, okay?" she said. Hopefully, she could come up with some other living arrangement before she got out of the hospital.
Carter nodded. "Okay. But I have plenty of space, Abby. It would be really nice to have someone else in the house." He was almost begging at this point, and Abby felt bad for him. They were his kids too; didn't he deserve to see them? She wasn't sure what to do.
She had been holding a grudge against him for almost four years. Maybe it was time to let go. But he had cheated on her! How could she forget that? How could they go back to being friends, when he had betrayed her trust? She couldn't allow herself to be fooled by Carter's charm.
She had to come up with somewhere else to stay. Until then, she would be relying on Carter's good will.
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Susan plopped down next to Carter on the bench. "So how are things going with you and Abby?" she asked.
"I think I convinced her to stay with me," Carter said.
Susan raised her eyebrows. "How did you manage that?" she asked incredulously.
"She doesn't have anywhere else to go. She lost her job and got kicked out of her apartment, and she spent her last dime coming here."
"Why'd she come here?"
"Evidently, Eric said she could come and live with him, but when she got here, he was gone."
Susan shook her head. "That stinks," she said. "So she decided to come to County?" she asked, fishing for details.
"Jill and Riley are my kids. She came to tell me," Carter admitted.
Susan's jaw dropped. "Wow. And you didn't know about them or anything?"
"Of course I didn't know about them. Do you think I would have just written Abby off if I knew she was raising my children?"
"So what are you two gonna do now?"
Carter looked down. "I don't know. She's still pretty mad at me."
"She has every right to be," Susan pointed out.
"But I can't take it back. If I could, I would. Abby's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I lost her because I was an idiot. I just wish we could start over. I wish she knew how much I regret what I did. It was so stupid, you know? I didn't even like that woman, but she kept following me around, and then she followed me into that supply closet, and before I knew it things got carried away. But I never meant to hurt Abby. I loved her; I still do. I just- I wish she would forgive me," Carter said, his head bowed with sadness.
"Then tell her, Carter. Maybe if you tell her that, she'll be willing to give you another chance."
Carter nodded. "You're right," he said. He stood up from the bench. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Can you take Jill and Riley to the park or something?"
Susan grinned and saluted him. "Susan Lewis, babysitter. That's what I'm here for."