2.

"Abigail can you take this to the back?"

Whipping her head around, Abigail saw her boss holding a box full of packages that hadn't been picked up from customers.

"Of course," She said before getting up from her stool behind the counter, taking the box; her boss's hands caressing her upper arms to make sure she was steady before she headed to the back. Tom, her boss was a creep and she hated working with him, she nearly called out today, but she needed the cash.

Dropping the box down on one of the two cluttered tables in the back, Abigail laid them out next to the computer for processing. Why someone would order something like jewelry online and then not pick it up when it was available boggled her brain.

"I'm going to close up early, you mind processing those? I have some paperwork to go over," Tom said as he walked into the backroom with her, making her skin crawl a bit by the way he eyed her from behind before announcing his presence.

"Sure, yeah, no problem," She mentioned before dropping herself in front of the old computer, signing in with her employee ID and started to scan and process the fifteen plus orders, sending the customers an extra email saying their packages would be available to pick up for another seven days.

When she was finally done, she clocked out and knocked on the wooden threshold of Toms office door. "I'm going to head out," Abigail told him as he looked up at her from his messy desk.

"Alright here's your check," Tom said as he held it up, making Abigail walk into his office and she leaned over his desk, taking the other end of the envelope but he held onto the other end tighter making Abigail raise her eyebrow. "You've been doing better with the customers, I put a little more in there for commission, keep up the amazing work," He said, giving her, a compliment and she nodded as he let go of the white envelope.

"Thanks, I really appreciate that…" Abigail told him before heading out of the room, shutting off the backroom lights as she left out the backdoor and headed to her red buggy car.

Tom was in his forties, recently divorced because he was caught cheating on his wife with their babysitter. Abigail tried not to judge him too hard, but as soon as the longing stares directed at her chest, and the times he would touch her arm or hand… she changed her mind about him. Luckily, she didn't have to deal with him too much, she got to choose her own schedule and she always tried to pick the days she knew Tom had his five-year-old son so she could open and close the store by herself without the worry about putting on her guard.

Abigail took off her sweater that was on over her black tank top and leaned back in her seat, letting out a scream before starting her car, having to wiggle the keys a few times before the engine would start like usual. She plugged in her aux cord and turned on some loud music before pulling out of her spot behind the shop and soon she was on the highway, heading to her apartment a few towns over.

"You're still not answering me?" Abigail texted Meghan after calling her for what felt like the fifteenth time that week. It had been five days since the night out at the club, Meghan had texted her that next morning thanking her sarcastically for leaving her behind. What was she supposed to do? Interrupt her lousy sex? Fuck that. Meghan was a grown adult; she could take care of herself.

"Alr, whatever lose my number," Abigail texted before deleting Meghan's number from her own phone.

Abigail could count the number of so-called friends on both hands that she had lost because of shit like this. It was petty, she wanted it to change. Just as she was about to turn her computer on, her phone started to ring in her lap.

Steven is calling…

Abigail smiled a little from the corner of her heart shaped lips, then answered it on speaker. He always knew when to call when she was feeling like this.

"Hey loser," Abigail answered jokingly.

"Hey Jerk, what are you up to?" Steven said chuckling making Abigail smile a little more as she leaned back in her black computer desk chair.

"Ya know, same shit just a different day, you?"

"What else is new," He said sarcastically as he continued, "I got that place, moving in on Saturday."

"You did? Oh whoa, that's awesome I'm really proud of you for finally moving out of your parent's basement," Abigail said as she clicked open her email on her computer.

"You're adorable but your sarcasm is lackluster," Steven said making her grin as she took a long sip from her water canister, "Why don't you quit your dumb job and come move in with me, California misses you."

"California doesn't miss me, you do and its alright to say you do,"

"I do miss you, even when you're being a brat," He quipped back as Abigail clicked open a response email from another one of her posts from the anonymous website. "Are you still there?" He asked when she didn't respond because she was reading the comment from the mysterious CH.

"Ok," Abigail said before she knew what she was saying, her mouth trailing off without really thinking about it. "I'll move in."

"Seriously? Wait are you joking? I don't hear the sarcasm," He said, "Because like I have that extra room that's empty, you don't have to worry about rent as long as you don't make the place a mess with all of your gaming and writing stuff."

"I'll get a job and pay rent, I'm not just going to be a freeloader, you must not know me at all Stevo… but yea you said Saturday? I'll be there Sunday."

"Wow, what changed your mind? I've been trying to get you back home for years now,"

"I don't know…" Abigail said as she looked at the comment from CH again. "I fucking hate it here, Boston is cold and its full of a lot of people who make me really unhappy, at least in California I'll have you and places I'm familiar with."

"Wow, the truth. Do you need money for a ticket or like to move your stuff?" He asked.

"No, I can figure that out I think…" Abigail said as she looked around at her apartment, she had been living here for two years and still didn't have a couch or a tv. Just a computer, a bed and closet, then some pots and pans in the kitchen with a lot of mugs for the days she needed coffee which was every day.

"Cool, this is awesome. Call me tomorrow and I'll give you the address you can send your shit to. I can't wait to finally be roommates."

"Me too Stevo, I'll call you tomorrow and… thanks, seriously I needed this," Abigail said sincerely.

"Don't mention it," He said before hanging up as Abigail turned the screen off on her phone then looked back at the screen on her computer.

"How do you always know how I'm feeling. It's fucking eerie, man. I didn't get out of bed today, my body wouldn't physically let me cause of some health issues going on and I was so close to giving up then here you are with one of your posts and shit, it gets me right to the fucking core. I'm too chicken shit to post my own stuff because I think someone on the internet will find it and trace it back to me. So anytime you post something, it makes me feel some-what OK in a weird, fucked up way. Not saying your posts about how you're genuinely feeling are making me feel better, but they are, I'm sorry that's so fucked. I'm fucked. But I get it. You said something about not being able to look at yourself in mirrors without feeling ashamed or anxious, I feel the same way. All the fucking time. But I'm trying you know? Trying to live every day like its my last because it could be, we don't know. -CH"

Live everyday like it could be their last, that's what they said that got Abigail to say ok to moving in with Steve. Because she wasn't living every day like it was her last here, she was stuck in this constant depressive state where she was doing the same thing every single god-damn day and it was making her hate life more. It was making her contemplate suicide at least once a week. This wasn't her; this wasn't how she was in California. Boston had changed her for the worse and she needed to get out before it swallowed her.

"What do I have to do first?" Abigail asked herself as she searched on google a moving company and how to move her things across country. Once she figured it out, she booked a time for her boxes to her picked up… boxes, shit that's the one thing she didn't have, she'd have to pick some up at a store tomorrow.

Once she had everything together, she emailed her landlord, saying she would be moving at the end of the month and she'd leave her keys in her mailbox. Then she emailed Tom, all too excited she really told him what she thought of him before pressing send. If she wasn't quitting, she would have definitely been fired.

Abigail made a checklist of everything she needed to do before Sunday, leaving it on her kitchen counter then she sat back down at her computer desk.

"Thank you. You just pushed me to do something I never thought I could do and that's quit my dumb job and move back home. I haven't been living everyday to the fullest, I've been just staring with wide open eyes as my life flashed before me… I haven't been in control of my own life for what seems like forever but you, Mr. anonymous CH have pushed me to take it back in some way. So, thank you. -AS"

Abigail looked at the message before sending it to her anonymous responder and then added onto it.

"I'm sorry to hear about your health issues that have rendered you bedridden. Some days I can't get out of bed because the anxiety and depression are too heavy. If you ever need someone to pm with, I'll open those for you… they're still anonymous, but more private so we can message freely if you're ever having an anxiety attack, I'm pretty good at distracting. Be safe – AS"

She pressed send again and exited out of the browser, closing all of the tabs about moving and packing before heading off to her bed for the night.