(a/n: sorry this took so long, had to rewrite it a couple times, hope it turned out good)
Abigail felt like she was going crazy. What she and Sam had was so great, she had thought. They were inseparable. He had said that. They wouldn't let anything tear them apart. He had said that.
She lay on her bed, the covers and pillows of which matched her purple hair. She had made a recent custom of giving herself time like this to think about her life. Increasingly these sessions had diverted from what they used to be to times where she could think about her past Sam. As she thought about it more, it made less and less sense. Sure, they fought. Sure, it was pretty big. But this had happened before. He had always come crawl, er, tried to make up. But it had been almost a week and he still hadn't talked to her. Were they done for good? No, of course not. He needed her. She knew Sam needed someone to be emotionally open to. He couldn't talk to Sebastian about his feelings, he needed her to stay sane. He must be going crazy without someone to talk to. It just didn't make any sense.
"Abigail, sweetie, could you please come help me?" Abigail rolled her eyes at her mother's nickname as she heard the voice from the store.
"Coming!" Abigail refrained from telling her mother not to call her that and got up from her bed.
In the store, Caroline needed help stocking shelves. When she walked in, Abigail noticed the farmer standing at the counter, probably looking to buy seeds or something. She overheard their conversation.
"What do you mean you don't sell red cabbage seeds yet?" He seemed pretty agitated.
"Well, the manufacturers' union had a strike, and it just got too expensive..." her Dad was trying to explain.
"How am I supposed to appease the little apple spirits now?"
"Wh-What do...I'm not...What?" Pierre's confusion was mutual with Abigail's.
"Sorry, those are just, uh, what I, uh, call my friends...?" The farmer smiled and kept talking like a normal person. What a weirdo, Abigail thought. Well, at least he was funny, even if he wasn't trying to be. Her mind still stuck on him, a thought struck her. The thought that this farmer was exactly the sort of person Sam would like.
And Abigail suddenly stopped thinking. Of course. That kid had stayed there after she left. That had to be it. Sam didn't need Abigail anymore not because he had learned to cope with his emotions by himself, but because he had found someone else who would listen to him. And Abigail very quickly felt something come over her, something she didn't recognize. A mix of anger, relief, and confusion, too much for her to comprehend. She had figured it out. After having paused to think, she whipped her head around faster than she meant to, seeing the farmer just as he was leaving. And she just stared at the door after.
"A-Abigail, sweetie, are you okay?"
"Huh?" Abigail just stared at her disconcerted mother.
"You were staring off into space...you seem upset, do you need to lie down?"
Abigail brought herself back to her senses. "No, I'm totally fine. Are you all set her? I wanna go for a walk."
"Oh, uh, yes, I think so. Go ahead. Be home before dark!"
"Thanks, Mom!" Abigail smiled cheerily as she walked out of her family's store, but her face certainly did not reflect the mix of emotions she was truly feeling. She turned and walked in the direction of the farm, seeing the farmer walking a bit ahead of her.
No red cabbage, I couldn't believe it! How could Pierre call that establishment of his a store if he didn't even sell the staple crop that is red cabbage?!
My internal furor was interrupted by a very short but distinct rustling of leaves. Myself not one particularly fond of being stalked, I turned my head toward where I had heard the noise and took a step to look around. I didn't see anything, so I assumed I was just unnecessarily paranoid and kept walking. Besides, I would have certainly noticed anyone considering every single person in this town has hair either the color or the shape of a tropical fruit.
I continued walking, now confident in my obliviousness. In the walks to and from my farm, I had made a habit of giving myself time to think about my life. I wasn't entirely focused on my farm at this point. No, my focus was much more dedicated to him.
"I wonder if he's waiting for me?" I had also made a habit of talking to myself on my walks. Good thing there was no one around to hear. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, there was in fact someone eavesdropping on every word I would have to say.
"He's been full of surprises, I was hoping to see him today. But he did say he was busy with..." I lost my train of thought. Abigail was fully captivated.
"Something with Vincent, I think...I know he wants to see me." At the mention of his brother's name, the unknown Abigail gasped audibly. I turned around, knowing I had heard something this time.
Trying to convince myself I wasn't crazy, I spoke out, "Hello? Is, uh, is anyone there?" Naturally, no response followed, and I decided it would be smartest to make my way home rather quickly.
And Abigail was met with a dilemma. Does she follow the farmer home, increasing her already prominent creepiness in order to find out more about the friendship between the farmer and Sam she had confirmed, or does she return home now knowing only what he had said. After watching him go, Abigail couldn't help but give in to her curiosity, electing to attempt to discover more about this meddling farmer.
As I stepped onto my land, I looked around, hoping to see my beloved blonde on the porch or riding his skateboard. To my disappointment, however, he was nowhere to be found.
I refrained from speaking to myself for fear of the mysterious noises which had seemed to be following me as I walked over to the bin. For the first time now I questioned how this wooden box magically turned the useless garbage I found lying around into money, but I decided not to think about it too hard and opened it up.
"Boo!" Sam shouted as he jumped out of the shipping bin.
I jumped back and screamed, "Christ, Sam! Did you," I panted, having been genuinely spooked, "really have to do that?"
"Ha ha! How could I resist?"
"Ugh, I'm already on edge, you know I don't like being scared..." I groaned, albeit I thought the idea of hiding in the shipping bin was pretty clever.
"Hey, I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, your face was hilarious."
"I'm glad it was worth it." I couldn't stay mad at him.
"Oh, it was...what had you on edge?"
"Well, you're gonna think it's stupid, but I felt, like," for some reason, I was kind of nervous to tell Sam something that now seemed childish. "Like, it felt like I was being followed. Like, I heard some noises, it's really dumb." I was already blushing, turning away.
"Oh, well, are you okay?" Sam sounded authentic.
"Oh, I'm totally fine."
"Who would wanna follow you?"
"I have no clue." With this acknowledgement, I realized how foolish my fear really was.
"Well, hey, if you have any trouble with anyone, you let me know, okay?"
I smiled at Sam with genuine gratefulness, "Of course."
I hadn't realized it, but it was already 6 p.m. No chance I was about to start work now, so I invited Sam inside. He happily obliged and as we walked through the door he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
And Abigail had caught herself on her breath as she saw this. Guys don't just do that if they're friends, right? Why were they smiling at each other like that? Why was Sam getting so close to him? Abigail kept asking herself questions to distract herself from what she assumed was the answer. The idea that Sam and the farmer were...a thing...she didn't, she couldn't think about it. It couldn't be true, could it? Maybe they had just gotten to be good friends. She knew Sam was willing to swing both ways, but that didn't mean he would just get with anyone. Sam was picky. And he had just met this farmer! There was no way. She was just being paranoid.
Suddenly, as Abigail was lost in her thoughts staring at the farmer's house, the curtains blocking the view of the window opened. Abigail, shaken by this, paid shrewd attention to make sure the farmer, who had opened them, was no longer in the window. Once she had confirmed this, she darted out from behind the tree she had been hiding behind and quickly started back toward her house. She didn't know what to think. Even if they weren't (and she hated thinking it) in a relationship, Sam had still found someone else whom he could rely on to talk and be emotionally open with. And at this, Abigail realized her jealousy. She wanted Sam back. If that farmer wanted to stand between her and the boy she was meant to be with, then so be it. But if she had anything to say about it, he wouldn't be standing for long.