Not Alone
Chapter 5
The next morning…
Carter's alarm clock went off. He looked at the time and saw that it
said 8:00 am.
"We should get ready for work, or we are going to be late, Abby," he
said, turning over to her side of the bed. That's when he saw that she wasn't
there.
He climbed out of bed, and walked towards the kitchen. "Are you making
breakfast?" Carter called to her. But she wasn't there either.
I guess she went to work early, thought Carter to himself. That was
when he saw a letter with his name on it. He opened it and read it.
Dear John,
I'm really sorry to do it like this, but this was the only way. I wish
I could have told you this to your face, but I know that if I did, I wouldn't
have been able to leave.
Don't go looking for me, I just need some time to figure some things
out that I couldn't do there in Chicago, but this has nothing to do with you…
you are the only thing in my life that make sense right now.
Love,
Abby
Carter put the letter down on the desk, but he couldn't stop thinking
about it. Why did Abby have to leave, what were some of the important things
that she needed to figure out? There were many unanswered questions he wanted
to know, but he didn't know when or if he would ever find out the answers to any
of them.
He walked into the bathroom and went to take his shower.
***
Later that day, Carter was in the lounge when Kerry entered.
"Where is Abby?" Kerry questioned. Carter looked up at Kerry. "She has
some family problems that she needs to deal with"
"Tell her to call me and tell me how long she is going to be, or she
isn't going to have a job to come back to!" she barked.
Carter smiled. "Will do," he said as he got up from the chair, walked
to his locker, and put his lab coat on.
If only I knew where she is, thought Carter. He didn't realize how much
he missed her. He missed everything about her, her smile and the way that she
laughs.
If only she had told me that she was feeling this way, that she needed
to get out of town, I would have been able to help her. What if she never
returns back to Chicago,
and I have lost her forever? he thought to himself as
he walked out of the lounge.
***
Meanwhile,
Abby walked into the hotel, and put her bag on the floor. "Hi, one room
please."
"We just have one room left."
"I'll take that," Abby said, as she handed the receptionist her credit
card.
"How many days will you be staying here?" Abby sighed. She didn't even
think that far, all she knew that she needed to get out of town. Carter deserve
much better than her, she was going to help Carter understand that. She didn't
want to leave him, but it was for the best.
"Miss…how many days?" the receptionist asked, snapping Abby out of her
thoughts.
"2 days for now."
"Okay," said the receptionist as she handed Abby her keys. "Thanks,"
said Abby as she headed to her hotel room.
Abby put her bags on the bed and laid down.
She sighed. She couldn't believe that she just left Chicago like that. Her
life was there, her job, and Carter. She smiled as she thought about Carter,
and everything that he did for her, but one day he was going to get sick and
tired of dealing with her family. She knew that she needed to talk to Carter.
She missed him so much.
She picked up her phone, and dialed his number.
"Hello," he said. Abby was so happy to hear his voice.
"It's me. Abby."
"Where are you?" was the first thing that Carter asked. She wanted to
tell him, but she knew if she did, he would come here, and she didn't want
that. She needed some time to think about what she wanted to do with their
relationship and her life. "John, I can't tell you. I just wanted to hear your
voice. I miss you."
"Then come home." He wanted to tell her that he missed her too, but
decided against it.
"I can't come home yet; I need time to sort something out. I will be
home as soon as I can." She paused for a moment. "I love you, John."
"Abby, do you really need to be away from Chicago to sort these
things out? Why can't you do it here?"
"I can't, please understand. I should let you go now," Abby said,
clearly upset.
"I love you too, Abby. Is there anything I can do for you?" Carter
asked. Abby couldn't believe how kind and understanding he was being.
"No, just remember I love you, no matter what happens
later on."
"Abby, what are you talking about? You're only going to be away for a
few days right?"
"I don't know," was Abby's only response. "Bye," she said as she hung
up the phone.
Abby sighed as she sat down. Do I really know why I left? she thought to herself. She smiled as she thought about
Carter again. But how long will he wait for me, how long will I stay away? So many questions, but no answers to them. Abby got up from
her seat and started to get ready for bed.
Maybe a good night's sleep will make everything okay, she thought to
herself as she slowly began to drift asleep.
***
The next day at the ER,
Carter walked out of the lounge when he saw Kerry come towards him.
"John, this is our new nurse."
"What?" he said confused. "You fired Abby?!"
snapped Carter. Kerry took Carter to the side. "John, I didn't fire Abby, she
is away for two weeks. She has gone on her vacation; I thought you would know
that. So we needed a temporary nurse."
"I did," Carter said, as he walked away from Kerry. He couldn't believe
that Abby phoned County. That must mean she will be back soon; she just needs
to be away for a while, he thought to himself as he was walking into the room.
"Morning, John," Susan said. Carter smiled. "Hi," he said as he opened
up his locker. A picture fell out of his locker of him and Abby. Susan picked
up the picture.
"I heard about Abby taking some time off, is there trouble with her
family again?" Susan asked concerned. Carter went silent and didn't say
anything.
"This has nothing to do with her family, Abby left town a couple of
days ago. She left me a note that she needed some time to sort some things out,
but I don't know if she is coming back or not."
"I'm sorry, John," Susan said. She could see that Carter was missing
Abby. "I'm sure that she will come back as soon as she can. She loves you too
much to walk away from you forever."
Carter smiled. I hope you are right, he mumbled under his breath.
Suddenly Susan's pager went off. "I have to go now, but if you need someone to
talk to, you can call me," Susan said, walking out of the lounge.
A few days later,
Carter was working on a trauma when Jerry entered the exam room.
"Carter, Abby's mom is on the phone. She wants to talk to you. She's on line
one." Carter turned around. "Maggie wants to talk to me?"
"I guess so," Jerry said. " She wants to know
if you know where Abby is."
"Tell her that I don't know," Carter replied, as she went back to his
patient.
"She seemed really upset," Jerry said. Susan looked at Carter, "Go talk
to her, I can finish up here.
Abby isn't even here, and I'm still dealing with her family, he thought
to himself as he walked out of the exam room and picked up the phone.
"Hello," Carter said softly, not sure if Maggie was manic or just upset
about Abby.
"John, I'm sorry to disrupt at work, but I have been calling Abby for a
few days, and she won't pick up. I called her apartment, she isn't there, and
then I called to speak to her here at the hospital, but they said that she
wasn't there… so I thought you would know where she is," Maggie said, clearly
upset.
"Maggie, Abby is fine, just calm down." Carter said "I'm not sure where
she is, but I know that she is fine."
Maggie started to calm down and he could tell that she was okay now.
"I have to get back to work."
"Did Abby leave town?" questioned Maggie. Carter didn't say anything,
so Maggie took that as a yes.
"I got to go. Bye," he said as he hung up the phone.
**
Abby had just got back from shopping, and she turned on her cell phone
to see if there were any messages. There was 1 message from Susan, and 5
messages from Maggie.
She listened to Susan's message, which asked her to call her back. I
guess she found out I left town, Abby thought to herself. Suddenly the phone
rang. "Hello," Abby said.
"Why did you leave Chicago?"
To be continued!!!
