Susan stood at the edge of the clearing in the woods behind Abby's house, silent. Watching. Abby was just sitting there, her back up against a tree, quietly puffing away at one cigarette after another. She was concerned. It wasn't Abby's demeanor that worried her--it was the fact that she was alone. It was a Friday night, and John Carter was nowhere in sight. Susan couldn't really remember a Friday night, before or after John and Abby had started dating, that John wasn't around for. Granted, in recent history, Susan hadn't seen much of the couple on Friday nights, but still...something about this just seemed wrong.
Susan had been bored, so she'd called John's cell phone, figuring that if she could locate him, Abby wouldn't be too far behind. But John hadn't answered his cell phone--it hadn't even rung, it'd just gone directly to his voicemail. She'd assumed that his phone either wasn't getting reception, or the pair was at a movie. So, she'd called his house, still determined to track them down. But a housekeeper had told her that John was up in his room, alone, and had asked to not be disturbed for the rest of the night. She nearly became panicked, but called Abby's house before letting her fears get the best of her. Abby's mom had told her that Abby was at home, but sitting outside.
Without further ado, Susan had walked the few hundred yards between their houses, eager to find out exactly what was going on, though she was pretty sure it was nothing, that her imagination was working on overdrive. A quick glance had told her Abby wasn't sitting out front, so she'd changed her course, heading to the backyard. Not spotting her there, either, she'd wandered a little ways into the woods, finding her friend a few minutes later in the clearing that the trio had frequented in the warmer months.
Carefully, she stepped forward, trying to make a little noise so Abby would know someone was coming, but not so much noise that it would freak her out.
"Hey."
"Hey," Abby answered, not looking up.
Susan cautiously sat down on the cold ground, wrapping her arms around her curled-up legs for warmth. "What's up?"
Abby took a drag on her cigarette before answering. "Nothin'."
It was clearly a lie. Susan studied Abby's profile, searching for answers. "Everything all right?"
Another drag. "Yep."
Silence ensued for a few minutes; Susan wasn't quite sure what to say, and Abby didn't seem willing to giving anything longer than one-word answers. "I haven't seen you smoke in a while."
This statement earned two drags before Abby decided to answer. "I haven't had a reason to."
"And you have a reason to now?"
"Oh, indeed I do," Abby said, letting out a short, mirthless laugh.
Susan's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "And what would that reason be?"
Abby remained silent, flicking her finished cigarette away and immediately lighting up a new one.
Susan sighed, partially out frustration and partially out of concern. "Abby, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."
"I never said I needed help."
"Okay, fine, let me put it this way. You're one of my best friends, and if something has happened, I want to be able to help."
"I really don't think there's anything you can do to help at this point."
"Will you let me try?"
Abby was quiet, mentally debating whether or not to tell Susan. At long last, she spoke in a whisper, "John broke up with me."
Susan was floored. She didn't think there was anything in the world that could shock her more. Never in a million years would she have imagined that this could be the reason that Abby was so upset. "What?"
"You're not going to make me say it again, are you?"
"He...he broke up with you?"
Abby nodded ever so slightly, trying not wince at the sound of those words.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"He must have had some reason."
"That's the thing; he didn't. He didn't have any reason at all."
"Well, what did he say?"
"Just that we need to cool off a little and that we're putting too much pressure on ourselves, and that maybe it'd be better if we saw other people."
"He said what? That's complete bullshit."
"I know."
"'See other people?' Are you kidding me? He's wanted to be your boyfriend since he met you, and now he wants to see other people?"
For the first time since Susan had arrived, Abby turned to look at her friend, and Susan was shocked to see a tear trickling down Abby's cheek. In the entire time they'd known each other, she'd never seen Abby cry. Not once. Not even during a sappy movie. Her face had crumbled from its stony facade into a look of unmitigated pain. Susan felt her heart break for the other girl, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.
"Oh, Abby. I'm so sorry. I really can't believe it. I thought...I don't know, once you two got together, you'd be together forever."
"I know. I kinda thought that, too."
"Did you two have a fight or something?"
"No. Nothing happened. He's been acting funny all week, though, and I still don't know why. He said nothing happened at home, I didn't do anything wrong...he just broke up with me. Everything was fine last week, and now this. I don't know where it came from. Oh, but you want to know the worst part?"
Susan was almost afraid to hear it. "What?"
"Know how he said he wants us to see other people? Well, he said he still wants to see me, too. He wants to see me and other girls. There's got to be some other girl he's interested in. That's all I can think of." She looked up at Susan, tears still spilling from her eyes at a fast pace. "You'd tell me if he'd mentioned something about another girl, right? I wouldn't be happy with it, but I'd feel better if I knew that there was some sort of reason behind this."
"To the best of my knowlegde, there's no one but you." She was surprised when that comment made Abby cry harder. "What I'd say?"
"No, it's just...that's what John said, too. He said there was no one but me. If there's no one but me, why did he break up with me? It doesn't make any sense."
"You're right. It doesn't make sense. I can't understand this at all. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to go talk to him about all this."
"No! Susan, no. I don't want you in the middle of all this. It was bad enough that you had to be stuck in the middle of us last time around, I don't want you to have to go through it again."
"This is for my own peace of mind. I need to get to the bottom of this. I need to figure out why he's being such a...a...tool."
Abby shook her head, sniffling. "It's not fair to you to be in the middle of all of this."
"Not fair to me? Screw that, Abby. He's the one who's being unfair. You're not asking me to be in the middle or keep a secret for you. I'm putting myself in the middle. I need to know what's going on."
"I don't want to cause a rift between you and John. And I don't want you to ever feel like you have to pick sides."
"Why would I have to pick sides?"
"Well, things are going to be different. I can't hang out with him. At least not for a while. But I still want to be your friend. But you've known him most of your life. I'll understand if--"
"Don't say it. Don't even think it. I'm not going to ditch you just because of this. I don't blame you at all for not wanting to be around him right now. He's hurt you. You need space. But you're still my friend. The two of you not being a couple isn't going to change that."
"But..."
"I'll manage my time. If I want to hang out with you, I'll give you a call. If I want to hang out with him, I'll let him know. But honestly, right now, I don't really want to be around him. Not if he's going to treat you like this."
Abby sighed, trying, in vain, to stop her tears. "Susan..."
"I'm serious. And I'd be reacting the same way toward you if you'd treated him like this. Unless you had a damn good reason. From the sound of it, he doesn't have any reason, good or bad. Look, don't worry about me and my part in this right now. You've got a lot on your mind and you don't need something else to worry about. I'm here for you."
With that, Abby buried her face in Susan's shoulder, sobbing what felt like an endless stream of tears. Susan just held her friend closer, trying her best to comfort her.
