Thanks A LOT for the reviews!!
Here's the new chapter (I seriously need to update slower, cause can't keep up with the writing of them :P)
Kinda boring I guess... But ENJOY!!
Chapter 9 – It's Hard To Keep Secrets
"So you guys are gonna have to come watch me play at the regionals!" It was Sunday evening and they were eating dinner. Eric had been dropped off after a soccer match not long before, and was now rambling excited about having won. Abby wasn't really paying attention though. She was just slightly playing with her potatoes, taking a little bite every now and then.
"Of course we will honey. You know how much we love watching you play! Isn't that right, Abby?" She looked up as she got pulled out of her thoughts.
"Oh, sure." She wasn't even sure what they had been talking about. Or well, she knew it revolved around soccer, it always did if Eric was rambling, but she had no idea what Maggie had asked her about.
"You alright, sis? You're very quiet." Abby bit her lip and nodded. Eric actually looked concerned.
"I'm fine." It was like that phrase had become her baseline. She used it so often that you'd think it would be printed on her forehead.
"Are you sure, honey? Eric is right, and you do look pretty out of it." Abby looked down at her food, not really sure what to do or what to say. But she could feel Richard's eyes on her, waiting for an explanation, so she knew she had to come up with something.
"I said I'm fine. I'm just very tired." She mentally started beating herself up over that comment. She had been trained in lying, so why did she make up such a stupid reply? Couldn't she have come up with something a little better? Something that didn't sound like such a bad excuse?
"I don't know, babe, you look more sad to me." Abby opened her mouth, about to defend herself, but before she could, Eric interrupted her.
"She just needs a big hug." He threw his arms around her, but Abby just winced and pushed herself away. The wounds were still pretty much open and sore as hell. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath, trying to compose herself again. When she opened her eyes she saw everyone looking confused at her, including Richard, but that was just acting.
"I ehm… I bruised my shoulder at work yesterday." The second the words left her mouth she bit her tongue. That definitely beat the other comment in stupidity. She could probably win some kind of prize for telling the worst lies.
"Oh honey, let me see…"
"No!" She practically screamed, earning weird stares from everyone around the table. "I mean, Richard looked at it yesterday when I came home. It's no big deal." Abby looked hopeful at her mom, silently praying that she'd believe her and let go of the subject. Maggie looked at Richard for reassurance, and he nodded.
"Yeah, there's barely even a bruise there. I guess she's just very sensitive." Abby sighed, relieved that Richard hadn't decided to make this harder on her. She wanted to say that she wasn't as sensible as he said though, but knew it was better not to. It was actually better if Maggie thought she was as fragile as Richard made her sound, that way she'd get away with having bruises more easily. But at the same time it killed her. She wasn't very sensitive or fragile, and she knew that he knew that. She bit her lip, hating the awkward silence.
"I'm not really hungry. Can I be excused? I need to go do my homework." Maggie looked at her for a little while before nodding. "Thanks." She poured the rest of her food into the trash can and put her plate in the sink, before walking into her room.
She had just gotten her algebra book out of her bag when Richard came into her room, carefully closing the door after him.
"What do you want?" She opened up her book, finding the page she needed. She didn't even look up till she felt him right next to her. "They're right outside the door, they'll hear it if you try to do something. Eric could walk in any second."
"Don't worry, I wont. I just have to look like I care, you know. And oh yeah, nice job with hiding it out there." Abby just bit her lip and looked away. "Turn around and lift up your shirt." She took a deep breath, hating the way he looked at her. "Let me see it!" She did as he told her to without hesitation, knowing it wouldn't do anything good. "That's nothing!" Abby didn't reply. She was too busy biting her lip in pain as he traced his fingers down the wounds, reopening the ones that had already closed up.
"Anyways, get back to your homework. And don't forget work tomorrow!" She nodded and pulled her shirt back down as Richard left the room. Pretending like everything was absolutely normal, she found her pencil and started solving exponential equations by using synthetic division.
It didn't take her long to finish her homework. As she put away her books she could still hear the others eating and having a good time. She wished she could go out there and join them, have fun around the dinner table like any other normal family. But she couldn't. They weren't. They weren't normal at all. She wasn't normal.
"Hey Abby!" She looked up as her brother burst into her room. "We're going out for ice cream. Wanna join us?" She bit her lip. It all depended on whether or not Richard was going.
"Is it just you and Maggie?"
"Nope, Richard is coming as well." Abby sighed in relief and shook her head. This way she could get a little time for herself, not having to worry about Richard or Maggie.
"Nah, I think I'll skip it this time. Have a lot of homework to catch up on." He gave her a pouting face, one she usually couldn't resist. "I'm positive, Eric. But go, have fun. Enjoy your ice cream." This time he shrugged.
"Okay. See you, Abby!" She gave him a smile as he put on his baseball cap the wrong way, trying to be cool, and left their room.
It only took a couple of minutes before she heard the front door slam. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and fell back onto her bed. She winced slightly, having forgotten all about the fork wounds for a few seconds. She did that sometimes, forgot about her wounds. Or maybe it was just her brain's very own way of getting through the day, to voluntarily be in denial about the pain.
She stayed in that position for a couple of minutes, but she knew she didn't have very much time till they returned, so she got up to go clean the kitchen. It wasn't that she wanted to clean it, but knowing her family she could be pretty sure that it would be one big mess.
And exactly as she had expected, no one ad even removed their plates. Sighing, she carried everything to the kitchen, wiped off the table and did the dishes. But as she was about to put the last silverware in the drawer, she accidentally knocked the big knife off the counter with her elbow. Putting the towel she'd used to dry the things with next to the sink, she bend down and picked it up. She stopped halfway on the way back up though. The light from above the counter reflected itself on the knife, making the sharp blade shine in a very hypnotizing way. It looked so inviting. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of thoughts were going through her head, but she knew they weren't very good, and desperately needed to get rid of them.
She shook her head, placing the knife on the table. She needed to snap out of whatever was going through her head.
