Chapter 9: The Letters

Abby hands Susan two letters before she leaves. "This one's for my mom and this one's for Carter," she instructs her.

"Does it say anything about you being pregnant?"

"Only in my mom's. Just … please don't tell him Suz. I guess you can tell Deb and Lizzie, but just make sure they won't tell anyone. Okay?" she says before giving her friend one last hug before saying good-bye. She watches as Susan gets into the car and the car slowly fades in the distance. When she is sure she can no longer see it, she walks back inside and up to the apartment.

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Susan finally arrives back to Evergrove the next day at around eight at night. The first place she goes is to Abby's to give Maggie the letter. Susan rings the doorbell, and a few seconds later, Maggie opens the door. "Susan?" she asks. "Do you know where Abby is? I'm getting really worried."

"Um, Mrs. Wyczenski, I think this letter will explain everything. It's from Abby," Susan says, handing her the letter.

"Oh dear is she okay?"

"Yeah, I can assure you she's in safe hands," Susan says leaving to give Maggie some privacy when she reads Abby's letter which contained quite a big surprise. Next was Carter's… It could wait while I catch up with some sleep, Susan decides.

Susan wakes up for school. School, which she hadn't been in for about four days because of the little road trip with Abby. She goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready. A little while later, she is walking out the front door and to her car.

She pulls into the parking space and is greeted by Deb and Elizabeth, who are full of questions. "Where were you?" they ask.

"On a little road trip," she says, walking with them to the entrance of the school.

"Where's Abby?" Deb asks. "Carter has been wondering where she was."

"She's in …" Susan hesitates whether to tell them or not. "She's in Chicago."

"What? Why?" Elizabeth asks.

"Umm… she's just gonna be staying there for a while," Susan answers her question without giving too much information away.

"But why?"

"She has her reasons," is all Susan tells them, at least for now. She opens the door to her homeroom and walks in. While taking attendance, the teacher calls out Abby's name, unaware that she wasn't in Evergrove anymore.

Susan finally manages to find Carter at lunch. "Hey!" she motions for him to come over. Carter walks over.

"Where's Abby?" is the first thing he asks.

"Um, I think it will probably say in this letter she told me to give you," Susan says. She takes out the letter and hands it to Carter. He flips the envelope the letter was in around a little, deciding whether or not to read it.

"Um, thanks," he tells her, not knowing what else to say. He walks away, carefully starting to open up the envelope.

Later that night, he finally pulls the envelope out of his back pocket. He hadn't opened it yet, afraid of what it may contain. After fiddling around with it for a while, he finally takes out a piece of lined paper with Abby's handwriting on it.

Carter-

I don't know what to say. I'm in Chicago now. I don't think I'll be coming back, and I don't think I will ever see you again- but don't think that means that I don't love you, because I do, more than anything. I'm sitting here writing this letter and I look at the clock and it's three in the morning. I would have never imagined me in Chicago writing a letter back home at three in the morning. I guess we can't all stay in Evergrove forever. I can't think of anything else to write, and my eyes are getting teary, so I'm gonna just end this letter. I love you Carter.

Always, Abby

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Back in Chicago, Abby was okay. She felt right at home in the big city, but something was missing; or rather someone was missing. Everyday she couldn't stop thinking about him, and to top it off she was carrying his baby, so thoughts of him were even more than what they were usually.

There's a piece of you that's here with me
It's everywhere I go, it's everything I see
When I sleep, I dream and it gets me by
I can make believe that you're here tonight

That you're here tonight…