Chapter 8

Abby and Lynn trudged into the dorm at the end of the day thoroughly wiped out. Abby had kept her promise and got them burgers from a roadside food truck in the end. It had been serving a load of construction workers that were working nearby, but they parked up and ten minutes of queueing later were in possession of double cheeseburgers with bacon and ketchup. It had only been after eating that they'd checked the time and realised Lynn was almost late for her next lesson. After a couple of broken speed limits, they'd arrived back there and Lynn had run into her lesson as fast as possible. She'd made it with thirty seconds left.

"Okay..." Abby gasped as she collapsed onto the bed and rolled over so that Lynn could lie down with her. She did so, straddling the blonde girl before resting her head on her chest and nuzzling in, letting out a tired grunt. "I know we're beat, but let's use the last of our strength to talk about this offer you've had. We kind of forgot after the situation with Joyce."

"Do we have to?" Lynn murmured, her head feeling considerably heavy on Abby's ribcage.

"Yes." Abby said, gripping Lynn under the arms and hauling her further up so that her head was sitting more comfortably. "Look, I don't know any of the details yet. What's he asking you to do?"

"I'm modelling a clothing line that's similar to what I already wear." Lynn shrugged. "They've asked him to shoot it and said he can use his own model so he wants to use a student to help them get started in photography. It's a day-only thing so we'll be out for two days in a row and I'll be back at night."

"Well that sounds amazing!" Abby wrapped her arms around Lynn and held her close. "What is there to think about? Go for it, girl!"

"You'll be okay without me around?" Abby sat up a bit straighter at that. She understood Lynn's worry. She'd clung onto her and refused to let go after her mother got arrested, resulting in her staying over for about three days to make sure she was okay. Even before that, they basically never left each others' side. But their lives together were progressing and Abby had known for a while that for that to happen they both had to get stronger as individuals. She couldn't demand that Lynn be there for her every second of every day.

"I think I can manage two days." Abby said as Lynn unzipped her hoodie and nuzzled in closer. "Text Mark. Tell him you're in. It'll get your career started and I'm sure there's probably some extra credit on offer. This literally can't be anything but good for you. You know we have to get our careers set up so we can have a proper future together. That was my answer, and your answer, remember?"

"I guess you're right." Lynn shrugged. Abby knew she was too tired to do anything more than that. Using the last of her energy, she pulled out her phone and a slip of paper with a contact number on it. She fired off a text before putting the phone away and resting her head back down on Abby's chest. The two of them laid back down together and let themselves relax. They were just about to drift off to sleep when a sharp yet frantic knock at the door jolted them back.

"I swear to fucking god..." Abby muttered under her breath before turning to the door. "It's open!" The door burst open as Rachel stormed into the room with a face like thunder. Sensing that something was definitely wrong, Abby sat up a bit and turned to face her. Lynn also sat up too, but it was clear to Abby that she was running in critical survival mode by this point.

"Did you go to the Two Whales today?" Rachel asked, an agitated note to her voice.

"We tried to." Lynn nodded.

"It wasn't exactly service with a smile." Abby added as she sat herself up properly.

"Listen, Rachel..." Lynn dragged herself to her feet and Abby quickly helped her stabilise herself because she almost went over sideways from exhaustion. "As much fun as you are to be around and as much help as you've been since you got here, we're absolutely beat right now. If this is something that can wait until morning..."

"No, it can't." Rachel said, closing the door behind her. Clearly whatever this was she wanted it to be kept private. "I just got a text from Chloe to say that her mom came home in floods of tears after today!" In that moment, Abby heard the penny drop. When it did, it hit with a horrible clang.

"Is this Chloe as in your girlfriend Chloe?" she asked. Rachel only nodded in response. "That wouldn't be Chloe Price, would it?"

"Well who did you think it was?" Rachel snapped.

"Jeez, I don't know, Rachel!" Abby countered. "How many Chloes are there in Arcadia Bay? No seriously, this is actually me asking because I refuse to believe she's the only one! What the hell are the chances that the specific one you're talking about is the one I can't go near? You never mentioned her last name! And had I known Joyce worked in the Two Whales, I'd never have tried to go there on our date! I didn't do this just to start shit! Believe me." She felt he voice drop to a mutter. "I hate starting shit." For Abby, the whole event had been an unavoidable train wreck. It had happened and now she knew better. She knew where to stay away from and planned to make good use of that information in the future. The last thing she wanted to do was get more stuff thrown at her. Unfortunately, Rachel wasn't so easy to placate.

"Maybe so, Abby; but you have to understand this puts me in a hella impossible position." Abby felt a cold stabbing sensation in her gut. It sounded oddly like she was building up to some sort of dismissal.

"No, I don't understand." Abby said as she stood up. She felt Lynn wrap an arm around her and hold her tight. In that moment, the support was welcome. It gave her just the courage she needed to pose the challenge head-on. "What are you saying, Rachel?"

"Your mom killed Chloe's dad, Abby. Chloe was crushed by that. Ever since he died, her life has been dipped in shit. How am I supposed to overlook that?" It was like a slap to the face to Abby. But it was the kind of slap that, instead of hurting her, only managed to leave her insulted.

"I thought you said you met Chloe last year?" Lynn challenged, stepping closer to Rachel as a note of danger crept into her tone. That was something Abby hadn't considered, but as soon as it entered her head the pieces put themselves together just as Lynn drove the stake home. "The collision happened in 2008. You couldn't have even met her dad!"

"You're right." Rachel held up her hands in mock surrender. "It's not her dad I care about, it's her. She is the one hurting over this. She's the one who found my mom for me and saved her from a thug my dad hired to go after her. It's the reason I'm living here now. No way in hell I could go home after that. I guess what I'm really trying to say is... I feel like I have to make a choice with this. She's my girlfriend. I can't be associated with you if there's a restraining order. I'm sorry."

"Then it sounds like you've made your choice." Abby's expression hardened into a glare. "I thought you were better than that. Now I think you'd better leave." Rachel nodded. Abby could feel the regret coming off her. She knew this was hurting Rachel too, but in that moment she didn't care. Rachel had made this decision and so the consequences of it were hers to shoulder. She turned and left the room as Lynn moved over and locked it behind her.

"Just to make sure we don't get disturbed again..." Lynn muttered, shoving the key into a drawer of their bedside table. But Abby's mind was racing now and the raw anger flowing through her was almost too much.

"Ah, Fuck!" she screamed as she grabbed the thing nearest to her- which turned out to be her reading light- and hurled it at the wall where it smashed. She noticed Lynn flinch and instantly forced herself to suppress it. Instead, she sat down heavily on the bed, buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, babe. I've really messed up now, haven't I?"

"Abby, that wasn't your fault!" Lynn said, crouching down next to her and pulling her close. "That was entirely on Rachel! She started this and she ended it." Abby knew she was right, but still it was hard to accept. The fact that it would never have started in the first place if she hadn't tried to take Lynn to the Two Whales. Just as she was about to try and debate it further, Lynn's phone lit up with a text. She quickly checked it and then showed it to Abby.

'Excellent. We leave in two days.'

Author's Note: Okay, so this is going to be the last update until at least Thursday as I'm back at work from tomorrow, so I thought I'd post this quickly to tide you guys over. Hope you all enjoyed it. Also to MaxandChloe4Ever: technically the restraining order is against Abby's whole family. None of Abby's immediate family can go near any of Joyce's or vice versa. Of course, Abby didn't know that Joyce worked at the Two Whales and so just walked right in. That's why she flipped like she did. Hope that clears up your confusion.