Chapter Eight

Abbey lay on Dave's back as he did push up's on the floor of her room. She was resting her chin on her folded hand and reading a magazine over his shoulder.

"Do I have to stay on?" She asked blinking and rubbing her eyes.

"Yes," Was Dave clipped response.

"Can I ask why?"

"No,"

"Okay, I am going to anyway, why?"

"If you get off," Dave paused as he pushed them both up again. "I have to do more."

They started again going down before going up again. Abbey shook her head.

"But I am getting motion sickness,"

"Well stop reading then," He snapped.

She rubbed a hand over his bald head. "Oh what and rely on your stimulating conversation."

"It isn't easy to concentrate on small talk when you are trying to lift some two hundred some pounds of the ground."

"WHAT!?" Abbey pushed herself up letting her hands rest on his shoulder blades. "I am NOT two hundred some pounds!"

"Abbey lie down or I could break a wrist!"

"Fine break your damn wrist!" Abbey said in mock offence; rolling off of Dave and on to her bed. She shimmied her way down the bed and got up and opened the door only to close it some more when she found her father outside of it and about to knock. "Hi dad," Abbey said smiling innocently.

Her dad's rules for Dave staying in the house were that he was to stay out of her room and sleep on the coach. Abbey didn't exactly want her father to see Dave doing push up's shirtless in her room. Not that they had been doing anything of interest but fathers had a way of jumping to conclusions.

"Hi, where is your friend?"

"Oh David, I think he went out on a jog." Abbey said smiling innocently. There was a thud of Dave falling out of his push up rhythm and her Dad tried to crane his head in through her door. "What's up?"

"What was that?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh uh," Abbey glanced over her shoulder and glared at Dave. "A text book fell off my desk, I was studying."

He father looked at her before nodding his head eventually. "Right well, someone here to see you."

"Oh yeah, and who might that be?" Abbey hoped that is wasn't Jacks wanting to know if she was gonna join his band because she really didn't want to but didn't have the heart to tell him to his face.

"One of the Riggins boys, Tim I think."

"Tim? Here? Now?" Abbey stuttered thoroughly shocked that he wasn't in bed right now with Tyra enjoying make up sex that surely followed their little reunion at the fair.

"Yes, look Abbey I don't think you fully know what you are getting into with this boy. Now I knew his father and…"

"Not now dad," Abbey dodged around her father and slammed her bedroom door closed and headed outside.

"Aren't you going to cover up a little?" Her dad asked in a strangled tone. Abbey looked down at her self. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of boy's boxers.

"Oh right," It was getting cold outside. She grabbed a hoody off the coat rack and threw it on and headed out side.

"Hey you," She said coming to stand on the porch and face Tim. He was standing in the yard leaning on their fence facing the road. He turned and looked at her and Abbey for no apparent reason started to feel guilty for being so close with Dave only seconds before. 'Stop being ridiculous girl, he had got back his little Tyra, T&T back together again.'

"Hey Abbey," He said in that ridiculously deep voice of his as he looked at the ground.

Abbey crossed her arms and walked down the steps to stand in front of him. "So, how things been?"

He looked at her. "What things?"

"Yeah know getting back together with Tyra, big reconciliation." Abbey asked putting a false smile all over her face.

Tim looked at her and furrowed his brow. "Reconciliation?"

"Yeah, you know you and her, T&T…" Abbey trailed away and punched him on the shoulder in what was supposed to be a teasing way but unfortunately Tim's arms were crossed making his chest like a brick wall. "Oww," Abbey whispered to herself shaking her hand.

Tim ignored her touch, "T&T?"

"Oh come on Tim it isn't trigonometry, Tim and Tyra. You're...so combustible. Never mind."

"We didn't get back together." Tim said bluntly. Abbey looked up at him quickly.

"What…but I thought…"

"Yeah well seems Tyra's turned over a new leaf," Abbey stared at him.

"Oh well uh…"

"Don't,"

"Don't what?" Abbey asked looking at Tim; he was giving her a hard look.

"Don't pretend like you are sorry for us…me…I mean you didn't even like her."

"I…She's…" Tim stared at her, "Yeah well, anyway."

"So how are things with the bald bombshell?"

Abbey looked at Tim confused. "Who?"

"That guy, he showed up at the rodeo."

'Who? Oh God David!' Abbey had completely forgotten about David after hearing that Tim wasn't back wrapped around Tyra's finger. "Oh Dave, yeah he's uh…" Tim shrugged waiting for her response. She glared at him. "He's a friend."

"Not from what you last said." Tim and Abbey jumped and Matt's sudden words. He walked up the path towards them with Julie in toe. Abbey stared at Matt trying to communicate psychically with him, trying to get him to shut up. "You said he was your soul mate."

Tim looked at her. "I…well…Did I?" Abbey asked remembering the words very well.

"Yes you certainly did and we practically had to ply you two off of each other last night." Julie said smiling as they went into the house to watch some tape.

Abbey had her mouth open and couldn't seemed to move or look at Tim. "I…uh…well…"

"Yes, well," Abbey looked at Tim and he was smiling at her but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Good for you." He punched her in the same manner she had punched him in earlier but it had a different effect. Whether he was just being careless or there was some pent up hostility Abbey didn't know but when his fist hit her shoulder it was way harder then a friendly tap. He knocked her over in fact.

"OWW-

"Oh God-

Tim was instantly by her side on the ground. Abbey was biting her lower lip and holding her upper arm. She looked at him. He was pale and kneeling at her side.

"Smooth," She gritted out.

"Sorry…uh…I gotta go and…do something…bye." He actually got up and drove off in a hurry; leaving Abbey sitting there in the yard.

"Well sorry I gotta leave babe." Abbey stood outside her house and stood beside Dave in the front yard. There was a taxi at the curb waiting to take him to the bus station. "I mean we hardly got into any high jinx. No misunderstanding with you dad, no confrontation with Riggins, hardly anything interesting happened." He said looking at her.

"Yeah, well, it might not have been explosive but it was really what I needed, thanks for coming out Dave."

"No problem. I would ask you to come a visit but I don't think you will."

"Well what with my grandmother and dad going back and Matt in football…" She was making excuses and they both knew it.

"Yeah, well, I gotta be going." He hugged her and Abbey found herself hard pressed to let go. She rested her head on his shoulder and wanted him to stay. They pulled apart slowly. He looked down at her and smiled. "I guess this isn't like when you left to come here."

Abbey shook her head tears filling her eyes. She knew what he meant, when she had left California. There had been so much left unsaid, like they didn't have to break up because she was moving, like they could still be together even though they knew e-mails and phone calls wouldn't be enough for either of them. No this time, when he left he would be taking their old relationship with him. Abbey gave him a watery smile.

"I am gonna miss you," She whispered.

"Yeah, well, I am gonna miss you too." He gave her one last smile and then headed to the cab. Abbey stood there watching him go.

"Dave," She called as he was getting in. He turned, "I love you," She said quietly over the yard.

He smiled at her in his way, "Love you too." He waved, she waved back and then he closed the door and drove off.

When Abbey turned to go back into the house she wiped away her tears and saw her father standing in the doorway watching her.

"Hey princess,"

"Hey daddy,"

"You okay,"

"Yeah, it just seems like he is going and your leaving too, it's just a lot to deal with in a week."

Abbey walked past her father and into the house.

Abbey stood in a doorway of Buddy Garrity's car salesroom and watched her brother dance with Julie. They had finally made it into the playoffs. It had been a ridiculously stressful game. She never thought she would be the kinda person to cry out of anything at the end of a football game, but low and behold there were defiantly tears of joy in her eyes when the game finished.

Even though everyone around her was exceedingly happy she couldn't help but let her thoughts drift back to her dad's goodbye to her, 'Bye princess, I'll be fine and you look out for yourself and matt and grandma, I'll be home soon,' Abbey wondered that if he came home next time would he stay? Would he be happy?

Someone came to a halt beside her. She looked and saw Tim standing beside her.

"Hey you," She said smiling at him, "Mr. I am going to the playoffs." He stared at her and they both laughed. "Yeah wasn't my best title for you."

"Ya think?"

"Well, anyway congrats on getting into the playoffs. You played really well tonight." He shook his head making his hair fall in his eyes.

"Thanks,"

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Tim broke the silence. "I heard about your dad going back."

Abbey looked at him and nodded. She wished he hadn't brought it up; she really didn't want to break down into tears on their night. "Yeah, well…I mean I didn't expect him to stay forever…just wanted him to see Matt play."

She looked at her feet and didn't say anything as she blinked away the tears that were burning the back of her eyes. "You wanna go outside?" Tim asked sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yeah actually," She looked up and smiled at him. "You stay here and have fun." She said only after she said it did she realised that he hadn't offered to join her. She braced herself for the awkward silence but it didn't come.

"No come on," He put his hand on the low of her back and led her through the crowd and outside. Abbey took a breath of the cold crisp air, it helped take away her tears and forget the shooting sensation that had gone up her back when Tim had touched her.

When his hand fell away finally she shivered. Tim was watching her and mistook the movement as a genuine shiver.

"You cold?" Abbey looked at him.

"Oh no I am fine just…."

"You look cold." He argued. Abbey was going to insult his water tight argument but before she could he had shrugged off his letterman jacket and thrown it around her shoulders. Abbey stared up at him and realised just how green his eyes actually were. "That better?" He asked. He didn't move his hands from her shoulders resting on top of the jacket.

Abbey felt helpless, "You have really green eyes," She found herself saying as if losing all control over her mouth and body. She soon regained control, "Oh uh…" She quickly looked down and went to step backwards out of his hold.

"You have really light brown eyes," He said putting a hand on her cheek and making her looked back at him.

She didn't like being this close to him. It made the fact that they weren't together even more difficult. She smiled at him trying to put on a brave face, "Ya like 'em? My mother gave them to me,"

He smiled at her but not in a that-was-a-really-witty-thing-to-say kind of a way, no this smile meant something else. He nodded slowly, "Ya I do like 'em," And with that Tim Riggins slowly came down and kissed Abbey Saracen.