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Chapter 14: Abbi's Untold Past
Faith smiled vaguely at the pirates as they came by. There were no jokes of marriage this day; everyone was subdued by the very noticeable absence that had been plaguing them for three days. Faith tried not to focus the way the cut on her hand was stinging badly (the mishaps that occur in the kitchen), the way Thomas had slipped out without even glancing at her, or the absence that was hanging over the ship.
She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and left the room, seeking freedom. The afternoon sun blazed brightly and Faith let its warmth soak through her as she debated about what to do. She came to a decision and headed toward Jack's cabin. She walked in and surveyed the room. Aside from the usual clutter, the room was empty. Faith looked around one last time, then exited, very confused.
She brought the corner of her dress to her chest and held it there for a moment. Then she moved to the mast, determined to find the piratess and tell her it was time to rejoin the crew. She began to climb with resolve, but about halfway, she looked up to see Abbi looking down at her. She nearly fell in surprise.
She continued to climb, now with more vigor, and was soon joining the piratess in the crow's nest in a matter of seconds. "You!" she said breathlessly.
"Me. What of it?" Abbi asked, flashing a brilliant smile.
Faith eyes swept over her friend, searching for any signs of disability. Her eyes widened as they fell upon the freshly formed scar on her leg. "Whoa," Faith breathed, slightly overwhelmed.
"Beastly scar! Gonna have it the rest o' me life, you know. Nasty, ugly thing – as if I need a reminder."
Faith looked at Abbi's face, which was clouded with anger. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" Abbi asked absently.
"If I hadn't pressured you, you never would've gone after Jack or been treated like you were or anything! I just feel like it's my fault!"
"Well, don't, Faith," Abbi ordered firmly. "The truth is that you're probably right. I never would've gone, and I never would've been hurt the way I was." Faith looked as though she were about to say something, but Abbi silenced her by holding up her hand. "But... if you hadn't sent me, I wouldn't have realized that you were right. Well, partly, anyway."
"About what?"
"About me and Jack. I didn't think it was possible, and you're the only one who knows, but it's true. I mean, it's kind of true. I mean..." There was a deafening silence. Suddenly, Abbi turned on Faith. "If you tell anyone about what I just said..."
"Whoa! When did I become the betrayer?"
"I don't even know if I really love him," Abbi continued, choosing to ignore Faith's last remark. "I know I care, and I know I feel safe when I'm with him. But I really don't think I love him. I honestly don't believe I am capable of love. I've never known love, so I can't possibly know what it is, right? It's just not possible, is it?"
Faith merely raised an eyebrow, sighed, and looked out to sea. Abbi took her cue from Faith and remained silent after that. "We miss you at meal times," Faith said softly after a while.
"It's only because I'm messing up the routine by not being there," Abbi said bitterly.
Faith felt a stab of hurt at the statement and for a moment just breathed deeply. "No, Abbi- we really do miss you." Abbi looked incredulously at Faith, not believing her ears. She grabbed a rope and swung down onto the deck, Faith close on her heels. She was still talking. "It isn't the same without you!" she insisted. "We really do care..."
Abbi cut her off. "Caring implies a type of love. I've never been loved, and I don't expect my fortunes to change anytime soon!" Abbi walked off toward the helm, thinking she had closed the argument. She thought wrong.
"That's impossible!" Faith retorted. "No one can go their whole life without ever experiencing love!"
Abbi turned to face Faith, who now had her arms crossed and a frustrated expression on her face. "I mean, somebody at sometime had to show you some kindness. On the merchant ship, somebody must have treated you with respect!"
Abbi shut her eyes tightly. "Faith," she said softly. Faith obviously had not heard her.
"And certainly at Port Cecilia would have been there for you!"
"Faith," she said louder, shutting her eyes tighter.
"And what about your mother?" Abbi eyes shot opened and her muscles tensed. She was now very upset that Faith was still pursuing this matter. "She gave up her job to have you- to take care of you!"
"Not like her job was somethin' to be proud of," Abbi said loudly, her voice showing the anger building inside her.
"That's not the point! She gave up the only way she knew of supporting herself to devote her life to you!"
"Don't you give me that!" Abbi yelled.
"And why not?" Faith yelled back.
"Because how on earth could my mother love me if she abused me?" Abbi yelled back at the top of her lungs. Faith stood there, her mouth slightly agape, finally at a loss for words. Abbi continued to rant. "She went out every day and got herself so drunk that she never really knew who I was! She would just come home every day and unleash all of her wrath on me. Do you call that love?"
"Abbi, I..."
And on that merchant ship- did you know that if I did not do the job they assigned me to well enough, they would beat me until I got it right? Sometimes they would just beat for the heck of it!"
"Abbi..."
"Oh, and then being used as eye candy to please men and get them drunk is much better? You want to call any of that love?" Abbi made no effort to lower her voice until she had finished her tirade. She took a deep breath to desperately calm herself, but instead felt tears stinging her eyes. She had never told anybody the whole story of her life, and now that she had, she was overwhelmed with emotions. "Don't speak of what you don't know. I know no love, and no one has the right to tell me otherwise." With that said, Abbi turned and ran toward the direction of her cabin, not willing herself to cry the angry tears in her eyes until she got there.
Faith's mouth was still agape. She had had no idea what Abbi meant when she said she couldn't love, but now she knew where she was coming from. Faith sat on the railing of the ship and looked distantly out to sea. "I never knew..." Faith trailed off, her voice full of remorse.
"Neither did I, love," a familiar voice said behind her.
Faith turned sharply around to see Jack staring after Abbi, a solemn expression on his face and a sober look in his eyes. "Neither did I."
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Good chappy? Please let us know ASAP!
JOEY: Since Ary (which, by the way Pirate'sRedWinter, stands for Aryanna) is grounded, I shall be reviewing for both of us tonight.
margo: *blushes at compliment* thanks much! We only try to do our best, and would you believe we came up with this story at 2 o'clock in the morning on Valentine's Day?!? THANK YOU for telling your friends about us! We hope to hear from them soon!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Pirate'sRedWinter: Glad you liked the last chappy! And as far as the Ary- Aragorn thing goes, I find it rather amusing how similar those two names are alike... j/k! She picked that for her pen name long before Hidalgo, which was when she really started liking Viggo. Well, hope you enjoyed!
fadingimage: I AM SO GLAD THAT JACK AND ABBI ARE YOUR FAVS! They are my characters- I had SO much fun writing them. Ary had a lot of fun with Faith and Thomas too... in fact, in the next chapter, Faith shows EVERYBODY that she's not just a weak little Mary-Sue. I think all will enjoy the next chap. It's one on Faith, but it's a really good one.
*
Like I said in the above review, the next chap is on Faith. Ary said to me one day, "What should chap. 15 be?" So I said, "It's your chapter, do with it what you want." So she told me she was just going to let the characters "have their own way and go with it", and the next chapter was what she came up with. I should be updating on Wed, providing I don't have too much homework. Please check it out again soon!
Keep R&R!
~Ary & Joey~
Chapter 14: Abbi's Untold Past
Faith smiled vaguely at the pirates as they came by. There were no jokes of marriage this day; everyone was subdued by the very noticeable absence that had been plaguing them for three days. Faith tried not to focus the way the cut on her hand was stinging badly (the mishaps that occur in the kitchen), the way Thomas had slipped out without even glancing at her, or the absence that was hanging over the ship.
She wiped her hands on a dishcloth and left the room, seeking freedom. The afternoon sun blazed brightly and Faith let its warmth soak through her as she debated about what to do. She came to a decision and headed toward Jack's cabin. She walked in and surveyed the room. Aside from the usual clutter, the room was empty. Faith looked around one last time, then exited, very confused.
She brought the corner of her dress to her chest and held it there for a moment. Then she moved to the mast, determined to find the piratess and tell her it was time to rejoin the crew. She began to climb with resolve, but about halfway, she looked up to see Abbi looking down at her. She nearly fell in surprise.
She continued to climb, now with more vigor, and was soon joining the piratess in the crow's nest in a matter of seconds. "You!" she said breathlessly.
"Me. What of it?" Abbi asked, flashing a brilliant smile.
Faith eyes swept over her friend, searching for any signs of disability. Her eyes widened as they fell upon the freshly formed scar on her leg. "Whoa," Faith breathed, slightly overwhelmed.
"Beastly scar! Gonna have it the rest o' me life, you know. Nasty, ugly thing – as if I need a reminder."
Faith looked at Abbi's face, which was clouded with anger. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?" Abbi asked absently.
"If I hadn't pressured you, you never would've gone after Jack or been treated like you were or anything! I just feel like it's my fault!"
"Well, don't, Faith," Abbi ordered firmly. "The truth is that you're probably right. I never would've gone, and I never would've been hurt the way I was." Faith looked as though she were about to say something, but Abbi silenced her by holding up her hand. "But... if you hadn't sent me, I wouldn't have realized that you were right. Well, partly, anyway."
"About what?"
"About me and Jack. I didn't think it was possible, and you're the only one who knows, but it's true. I mean, it's kind of true. I mean..." There was a deafening silence. Suddenly, Abbi turned on Faith. "If you tell anyone about what I just said..."
"Whoa! When did I become the betrayer?"
"I don't even know if I really love him," Abbi continued, choosing to ignore Faith's last remark. "I know I care, and I know I feel safe when I'm with him. But I really don't think I love him. I honestly don't believe I am capable of love. I've never known love, so I can't possibly know what it is, right? It's just not possible, is it?"
Faith merely raised an eyebrow, sighed, and looked out to sea. Abbi took her cue from Faith and remained silent after that. "We miss you at meal times," Faith said softly after a while.
"It's only because I'm messing up the routine by not being there," Abbi said bitterly.
Faith felt a stab of hurt at the statement and for a moment just breathed deeply. "No, Abbi- we really do miss you." Abbi looked incredulously at Faith, not believing her ears. She grabbed a rope and swung down onto the deck, Faith close on her heels. She was still talking. "It isn't the same without you!" she insisted. "We really do care..."
Abbi cut her off. "Caring implies a type of love. I've never been loved, and I don't expect my fortunes to change anytime soon!" Abbi walked off toward the helm, thinking she had closed the argument. She thought wrong.
"That's impossible!" Faith retorted. "No one can go their whole life without ever experiencing love!"
Abbi turned to face Faith, who now had her arms crossed and a frustrated expression on her face. "I mean, somebody at sometime had to show you some kindness. On the merchant ship, somebody must have treated you with respect!"
Abbi shut her eyes tightly. "Faith," she said softly. Faith obviously had not heard her.
"And certainly at Port Cecilia would have been there for you!"
"Faith," she said louder, shutting her eyes tighter.
"And what about your mother?" Abbi eyes shot opened and her muscles tensed. She was now very upset that Faith was still pursuing this matter. "She gave up her job to have you- to take care of you!"
"Not like her job was somethin' to be proud of," Abbi said loudly, her voice showing the anger building inside her.
"That's not the point! She gave up the only way she knew of supporting herself to devote her life to you!"
"Don't you give me that!" Abbi yelled.
"And why not?" Faith yelled back.
"Because how on earth could my mother love me if she abused me?" Abbi yelled back at the top of her lungs. Faith stood there, her mouth slightly agape, finally at a loss for words. Abbi continued to rant. "She went out every day and got herself so drunk that she never really knew who I was! She would just come home every day and unleash all of her wrath on me. Do you call that love?"
"Abbi, I..."
And on that merchant ship- did you know that if I did not do the job they assigned me to well enough, they would beat me until I got it right? Sometimes they would just beat for the heck of it!"
"Abbi..."
"Oh, and then being used as eye candy to please men and get them drunk is much better? You want to call any of that love?" Abbi made no effort to lower her voice until she had finished her tirade. She took a deep breath to desperately calm herself, but instead felt tears stinging her eyes. She had never told anybody the whole story of her life, and now that she had, she was overwhelmed with emotions. "Don't speak of what you don't know. I know no love, and no one has the right to tell me otherwise." With that said, Abbi turned and ran toward the direction of her cabin, not willing herself to cry the angry tears in her eyes until she got there.
Faith's mouth was still agape. She had had no idea what Abbi meant when she said she couldn't love, but now she knew where she was coming from. Faith sat on the railing of the ship and looked distantly out to sea. "I never knew..." Faith trailed off, her voice full of remorse.
"Neither did I, love," a familiar voice said behind her.
Faith turned sharply around to see Jack staring after Abbi, a solemn expression on his face and a sober look in his eyes. "Neither did I."
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Good chappy? Please let us know ASAP!
JOEY: Since Ary (which, by the way Pirate'sRedWinter, stands for Aryanna) is grounded, I shall be reviewing for both of us tonight.
margo: *blushes at compliment* thanks much! We only try to do our best, and would you believe we came up with this story at 2 o'clock in the morning on Valentine's Day?!? THANK YOU for telling your friends about us! We hope to hear from them soon!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Pirate'sRedWinter: Glad you liked the last chappy! And as far as the Ary- Aragorn thing goes, I find it rather amusing how similar those two names are alike... j/k! She picked that for her pen name long before Hidalgo, which was when she really started liking Viggo. Well, hope you enjoyed!
fadingimage: I AM SO GLAD THAT JACK AND ABBI ARE YOUR FAVS! They are my characters- I had SO much fun writing them. Ary had a lot of fun with Faith and Thomas too... in fact, in the next chapter, Faith shows EVERYBODY that she's not just a weak little Mary-Sue. I think all will enjoy the next chap. It's one on Faith, but it's a really good one.
*
Like I said in the above review, the next chap is on Faith. Ary said to me one day, "What should chap. 15 be?" So I said, "It's your chapter, do with it what you want." So she told me she was just going to let the characters "have their own way and go with it", and the next chapter was what she came up with. I should be updating on Wed, providing I don't have too much homework. Please check it out again soon!
Keep R&R!
~Ary & Joey~