Chapter Five
"Hewo?" Abbey said scrabbling for the phone in her room.
"Hi…uh Abbey?" Julie's voice was on the other end.
Abbey spat out her retainer in her hand and carefully put it back into its container. She had forgotten she had put in while she did her homework that night. "Uh yeah Julie, what's up?"
Abbey glanced at the clock sitting on her desk; it was ten o'clock, a little late for Julie Taylor to be calling her.
"Yeah, the Riggins boys just left." Abbey sighed and rested her chin on her hand.
"Oh, and you felt the need to tell me this why…?" Abbey prompted.
"Well, I dunno, but you sorta hang out with Tim don't cha?" Julia said elusively.
"Uh, I suppose, yeah why?" Abbey didn't like where this was going.
"Well I dunno but when they left they seemed kinda…morose, well Tim was morose, Billy just looked pissed."
"Julie," Abbey interrupted her.
"Yeah?"
"What do you want me to do exactly?" Abbey asked getting up and going to lie down on her bed.
"Well, I dunno go and make sure he is okay…or what ever a guy like Tim Riggins is normally like."
Abbey shook her head not saying anything, "Yeah, sure I will go and see him after school tomorrow."
"Okay great, now has your brother said anything about me lately?"
Abbey walked up the path to the Riggins house. She had never actually been to the Riggins house before and hadn't really thought about going. She wasn't even sure why she was there now. Abbey stopped in front of the door to their house and lifted her hand to knock but something stopped her.
She turned to leave; she had no right to be here. It wasn't any of her business what happened to Tim and his brother. If she were in her right mind she would march right over to Julie Taylor's house and give the girl a good talking to about minding her own damn business.
Just as she was about to do that she heard a crash and yelling from through the door. Abbey turned and stared at it her confusion of what to do deepening. The door had glass in it but you couldn't see through it. Abbey looked around as if hoping to see someone who knew what to do but she was on her own on the apparently deserted street.
There was another yell and another thud. Abbey had to do something so she knocked lightly on the door.
"Tim?" She called through it. There was no response but she could see two figures through the glass. "Tim you in there?" She called again but there was still no response. She tried to door knob and it opened. "Tim?"
She walked through the doorway just in time to see Tim shove his brother off of himself and into the TV and hit the ground.
Abbey screamed but muffled the noise with her hands that sprang up to cover her mouth. Neither of the two boys seemed to notice her presence. Tim turned and looked at her, she looked from Billy to him; his expression was unreadable.
Tim started to walk towards the door. "Fine, leave be just like dad!" Billy yelled from his position on the ground. Tim just kept walking.
Abbey lowered her hands from her mouth and let them hang limply from her sides as Tim walked by her he grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the house behind him slamming the door once they were both outside.
He kept walking towards his truck. "Get in," He told her finally letting go of her wrist.
Apparently Abbey had lost all of her own free will because without saying anything she got in the passenger side of the truck and let Tim drive off with her in the truck.
They didn't say a thing to each other until Tim parked the car on the bluff. They both sat for a while staring out the window before Abbey couldn't take it anymore.
She looked at him, "What the hell happened back there?" She said looking at him with wide eyes. He glanced at her and smiled sardonically.
"What are you doing here Abbey?"
"I came to check on you ya big idiot!" Abbey suddenly found herself yelling at him.
"Check on me...why?" He asked looking at her with a quizzical look.
Abbey shook her head and could feel the ponytail she had put her hair in flick from side to side. "I got a call from Julie Taylor; she said you and your brother hadn't left in the best of moods."
"And it was her business…how?"
Abbey shrugged. "I dunno Tim; she has got this whole humanitarian thing going on. She is in grade ten; she thinks everything is fair in life still." Abbey looked at Tim. He looked her up and down before looking out the windshield again his hand covering his mouth. It made Abbey ridiculously self conscious. She hadn't exactly been careful picking out what she had worn to school that day after waking up late. She had thrown on her old skinny jeans, a pair of pumps and an off the shoulder pink t-shirt. She looked at him; he was covered in cheese puff crumbs. "What the hell happened?" She asked again only this time it was with a softer tone.
He looked at her and shrugged and then looked back at the dashboard. Abbey nodded and looked out her window. They fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"So you drive me out here for any particular reason?" She said turning to look at him only this time when she turned he was way closer to her. They were about a centimetre away from each other.
Abbey's heart was instantly in her throat and in the millisecond before either of them did anything she wondered how he could move and close the gap between them in such silence. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her towards him closing the gap between them and kissing her full on the lips.
Abbey had gone completely numb for a second not really sure what was happening. Tim Riggins, the guy she had liked since she had arrived back in Dillon, was actually kissing her in the front seat of his truck. She tried to decide whether this was a good thing but the Riggins that was latched on to her mouth kept clouding her judgment. Eventually she gave up.
She put her hand gingerly on his chest and moved so she was facing him a little more. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her so she was practically on his lap. She ran the hand of hers that had been resting on his chest up and over his shoulder placing the other arm around his neck as well. The kiss kept getting more and more intense; eventually they were completely and utterly oblivious to everything else around them. Tim was running his hand slowly up the back of her shirt and Abbey had one of her hands down the back of the neck of his shirt. Tim went to lean back on the seat but his elbow hit the horn and they both flew apart from the loud sudden noise.
Abbey leaned against the door of the truck panting she had been staring at the steering wheel but then she looked at Tim. He had been looking at the wheel as well but ran a hand through his hair, exhaled heavily and then looked at her. He went to lean towards her again but she put her hand up and stopped him from moving any closer.
"What?" He asked shrugging.
Abbey looked at him and then opened her mouth but found she had nothing to say. She looked at him and shook her head. "Sorry," She said shrugging childishly. She fumbled with the door handle and got out of the truck. She hadn't realised how warm it had actually been in the truck until she had gotten out of it.
She closed the door and headed back to town.
"Hey Matt?"
"Yeah?" Was the response on the other end. Abbey was sitting on the empty bleachers looking at the empty football field.
"Sorry I didn't come home," She said quietly into her cell.
"Eh, well I figured you would eventually call."
"Yeah well, it has been a stressful afternoon." She said looking up into the sky. After getting out of Tim's truck Abbey hadn't gone back home. She had walked around town like a lost dog until she found herself at the field.
"Oh yeah well, can I expect you home in the near future."
"Uh yeah, I just have something to deal with right now and then I will be home,"
"Kay." Matt hung up and Abbey got up.
She walked down the bleachers and headed into town. She wound her way through town until she was in a civilian area.
She walked up the path to the Riggins, house for the second time in twenty four hours. Abbey didn't know why she was doing this to herself but she was to far gone to turn back now.
She knocked on the door and Tim answered it.
"Uh Abbey?" He said looking a little confused as to why she was there.
"Hi Tim I…oh my god what happened to your eye!?" She couldn't help but blurt out. She was instantly in the door and had turned his chin so she could see the currently yellowy bruise.
"That would be the work of Jason Street," Billy said walked by the two and out the door, "Be back later Tim,"
"Kay," Tim yelled out the door pushing Abbey's hand from his chin. He looked at her.
"Sorry," She said blushing. She looked around the house and it looked like a hurricane had recently run through it. "Love what you have done with the place." She said looking at him.
"What's up Abbey," He said putting his hand behind his neck and looking at her.
"I uh just wanted to talk, if that is okay, and from the looks of things you could use a sounding bored." She said smiling sweetly at him.
He shrugged. "Come on, we'll go out back." Abbey nodded and followed him around to the back of the house. There was an old picnic table out there. He sat on top of it casually and Abbey followed suit.
"So what happened?" She asked looking at him.
Tim shrugged "It was after the scrimmage. I went with Lyla and I was talking to Jay and he hit me." He looked at Abbey as if they were discussing the weather.
"So he found out…" She added.
Tim nodded not saying much.
"Ah…" Abbey said looking at the Riggins house. "Well uh what happened after that?" She asked.
"I left." Abbey nodded and they fell into silence but this time Abbey was fairly sure it was going to turn into a freak make out session.
She turned to him and opened her mouth to talk but he spoke first. "Abbey…" He looked at her and she closed her mouth trying to avoid looking like she was going to speak. "I am sorry, it was messed up what I did and I hope I didn't like offend you or anything." Abbey was looking at him as he spoke.
Abbey nodded slamming a false smile on her face. "'Course Tim, I know….I mean you didn't offend me," She shrugged, "I guess you need a friend right now rather then more girl trouble."
Tim gave one of his brief and elusive smiles.
Abbey sat down on her front porch and watched Tim pull away from her driveway and drive home. She sat there numb and watched the grass as if hoping the earth would open up and swallow her whole.
The screen door opened and Matt came out and sat down beside her. "Hey long time no see." She looked at him and his expression changed. "What's up?" He asked suddenly becoming very brotherly.
Abbey shook her head, "I don't really know,"
"Wait, wait, wait, just start from the beginning." He said looking at her.
"I went over to the Riggins place to see Tim and I walked in and he and Billy were in the middle of this huge fight and Tim left and I went with him and we were his truck and we were talking and then we were…making….out." She stopped to take a breath and looked at Matt. His eyebrows were raised and he was staring at her.
"Uh wait, what?" He asked.
"Yeah I know right?" She said shrugging, "Anyway I went over there again, I am not totally sure why, but we were talking-
"If you had sex I don't want to know!" Matt yelled closing his eyes. Abbey smacked the back of his head.
"No we didn't have sex; Jason found out about him and Lyla and punched Tim." Matt looked shocked by the news but Abbey continued. "And then he started to apologize for kissing me and hoping he hadn't offended me," She looked at Matt, "He just wants to be friends with me, because god only knows Tim Riggins wouldn't dare go out with any girl who wasn't a) a slut or b) his best, crippled friend's girlfriend."
She looked at her brother. "So?" He said shrugging.
"SO! Matt try and pay attention for more then two seconds please."
He shrugged, "Don't get pissed at me I didn't do anything." Abbey shook her head and looked out over the lawn and could feel tears build up in her eyes. She looked at her little brother and shrugged.
"I really like him Matt, and he just wants to be friends with me." She looked at her hands. "I mean I don't get it, I am trying my best, I mean am I not good enough or something?" She looked at Matt. He just shrugged.
"I dunno Abbe's." Abbey shook her head. That didn't help her; it didn't even make her feel the slightest bit better.
"So what's new with you?" She asked looking at her brother. He smiled coyly. "What?" Abbey persisted.
"Julie Taylor said she would go out with me." Abbey smiled.
"You two will be cute together."