Chapter 12
Abigail fumbled with her keys outside her front door in the pitch dark. It was almost 2 a.m. and not a single light shone in the windows of the Horton house. Relieved, she hoped that she could sneak into the foyer and up the stairs without waking her mother or JJ.
EJ had tried to persuade her to stay the night, but Abigail wasn't sure how she would explain her absence to her mother.
I'm 25-years-old. Why am I sneaking around like a teenager?
She finally found the key and opened the door, peaking around the corner to make sure that her mother hadn't fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for her.
She tip toed to the stairs.
"Did you have a nice evening, Abigail?"
She froze at the bottom step.
Chad?
The lamp beside her grandmother's favorite chair clicked on, revealing Chad Dimera leaning casually against the wall.
Abigail tensed.
"Chad, what the hell are you doing in my house at 2 a.m.?"
Chad smirked and took in her disheveled appearance. She'd left EJ's in a hurry, her shower-damp hair into a messy bun. Her make-up free face flushed with anger.
"Why are you here, Chad? My mother..."
"Reconciled with Dr. Jonas tonight...I'm guessing she's been doing the same thing you've been doing. JJ is staying with friends. We are quite alone, Abigail. No need to worry about waking anyone."
Abigail shook her head and walked back to the door, holding it open for him. She took out her cell phone and flashed him EJ's number on the call screen.
"I'm calling EJ, Chad. You shouldn't be here. How did you get in?"
He walked toward her and placed his hand over hers on the door.
"Tsk, tsk. Are you calling your big, bad boyfriend over to throw out his kid brother? That isn't very nice, sweetheart."
The feel of his hand on hers brought back memories of his touch on her body. She shivered. No. She wouldn't think about that. She was in love with EJ. Chad was in her past. He had no place in her future.
"What the hell are you doing in my house, Chad? I don't have to call EJ. I can just call Aunt Hope and report a break in."
Chad had always admired Abigail's spirit. He'd had a few drinks at the Brady Pub and decided it was time to make Abigail see him. He loved her. He was the man she was supposed to love...not his overly sexed, ego maniac of a brother who would tire of her in a month and crawl begging back to his disgusting ex.
Even knowing that she'd just dragged herself from his brother's bed didn't deter him from wanting to throw her over his shoulder and take her upstairs. He'd erase EJs touch from her body. The memory of the way her body had molded to his was painfully arousing.
It had always been so good between them. Couldn't Abigail remember that?
"You are astonishingly predictable, Abigail. I knew you wouldn't have moved your spare key from its hiding place," he said, pulling her key from his back pocket and holding it up for her inspection.
He stumbled a bit and reached for her shoulders. The smell of alcohol on his breath made Abigail raise her brows.
"You've been drinking? Really? You got drunk and snuck into my house?"
Abigail shook her head, looking at him closely. His eyes were bloodshot. Clearly, he'd been drinking.
"I had a few drinks and came to wait for you to finish up with Big Brother. You were at my house. I couldn't sit in my room knowing you were in my home having sex with my brother," he said. "You should be with me. We love each other. Everything I did, I did for you. You have to forgive me."
Abigail took the key from his hand and dropped it in her purse. She had no intentions of having this conversation with Chad...drunk or sober. Their relationship was over. She'd moved on. He needed to move on, too.
She shook his hand off of hers and pointed to her car parked in the driveway.
"Either I'm calling a cab, or I'm taking you home. You decide. You need to leave and you can't drive in this condition," she said.
He laughed and snaked his arm around her back, pulling her up against his chest.
"I'm a Dimera, Abigail. You like Dimeras, don't you Abby? Why is that?"
She dropped her purse and tried to free herself from his hold. He was so large and strong. Her mind was racing. She was afraid of him. She never thought she could be afraid of Chad. They'd been friends for so long.
But this wasn't her Chad. This was a different man than the one that had left Salem this to recover from his gunshot wound.
He reached up and loosened her hair from its bun, running his fingers through the long, damp tresses. He brought a handful of her hair to his face and inhaled her scent.
"You don't smell like EJ," he said.
Icy fear ran through her veins as she stared up into his dark eyes. She had to get away from him. She was just inside the door. If she could just maneuver him over, she could shut him out and lock the door.
"Please, Chad, stop," she whispered. "I know you don't want to hurt me. This isn't like you."
Chad dropped her hair and ran his knuckles over her cheek bone before tracing her full, lower lip with his thumb.
"This isn't like me?" he asked. "You don't want 'me.' You want EJ. This is exactly what EJ would do, isn't it?"
His lips crashed down onto hers with punishing force. His tongue swept inside and warred with hers, daring her, taunting her. He pushed her against the wall and ground the hard evidence of his arousal against her core.
Abigail pushed against him, pounding her fists into his chest. He wouldn't budge.
She tried to turn her head away, but his hands moved to hold her firmly in place and at the mercy of his desire.
Chad had never touched her like this. He'd never been anything but kind and gentle with her.
He grabbed her hands and held them over her head against the wall. He pulled back and gazed into her eyes.
"You know I'm not going to hurt you, Abigail," he whispered. "No matter what has happened between us, and despite the fact that I despise that you let EJ touch you, I would never hurt you."
Abigail's breath caught at the hurt in his voice. She hadn't cared about hurting Chad with her actions. He had chosen to lie to her. He had to have realized that his choice would force her to end things.
She remembered having a conversation with EJ before their affair when he'd basically told her that she was a fool for not wanting someone to love her enough to do anything to have her. Hadn't she volunteered to carry on an affair with EJ knowing he was sworn to Sami and their children? Who had Chad really hurt? If Cameron had really loved her, he would have fought for her. Abigail had helped destroy a family. Chad had made a mistake, but she was far from perfect herself.
"Chad, I'm sorry that I hurt you," she said honestly. "But you really need to let me go. Please. I've made so many mistakes. I have done so many things I regret. I've hurt a lot of people. I understand that you can get caught up in a situation and it can get out of control and you lose sight of yourself. I get it, Chad. I do."
Chad leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes. He'd wanted her to understand. He'd dreamt about it. He'd known there would be a time she'd look at him and tell him that she had forgiven him and that she realized that she still loved him.
"God, Abigail. You have no idea what that means to me," he whispered against her skin. He slowly claimed her lips again. "I love you so much."
Abigail turned her head away from him.
He pulled back.
"What? You said you understood? I made a mistake. You made a mistake. We can work through this."
Abigail's eyes filled with tears.
"Chad, we can't. I'm so sorry. I can't do this with you. I love EJ. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's the truth. I tried not to love him. I can't help it."
Chad's face hardened with anger. He dropped her hands as if they'd scalded him.
He turned away from her and slammed the door shut.
"You CAN'T be serious, Abigail!"
Abigail rushed to the living room to put some distance between them. His anger frightened her. She could tell he was barely holding on to his self control.
She wished her brother was home. She didn't want to be alone with Chad. She wanted him out of her house. She looked down at her phone and realized it was still on EJ's contact screen. She hit the dial button and dropped the phone in her pocket, praying EJ would pick up and realize that she needed help. She didn't want to risk Chad seeing her on the phone. She honestly did not know what he would do right now.
"You cannot love, EJ, Abigail. That's got to be some kind of sick joke," he said, turning back to her.
"Chad, can we have this conversation tomorrow? I really need you to leave now. Please," she said, raising her voice, hoping EJ had picked up the phone and could hear her. "You really need to leave now."
Chad laughed and raked a hand through his hair. He shook his head.
"This is ridiculous, Abigail. Unbelievable. Are you telling me that you want to try to have a life with my brother? EJ Dimera? The EJ Dimera that has broken every law on the books? You dumped me because I lied to a man who wasn't strong enough to fight for you, but you are going to pursue a man that was sleeping with Sami Brady and you at the same time? You are going to try to be with a man who has NEVER been faithful to anyone?"
Abigail knew it sounded crazy. Chad was right. She had no reason to believe that EJ would be any different with her than he'd been with anyone else. He wasn't asking her any questions that wouldn't be asked of her all over Salem once word of their involvement got out?
She sighed and threw up her hands in frustration.
"You're right, Chad. You're right. I should forgive you for what you did to me. You're right. I may be a fool for trying to start something with EJ. I know only a fraction of his past and it's enough to send most people running away," she cried. "But the truth is this...I may be a fool, but I honestly believe that I'd be a bigger fool to not try to see where my feelings for him can lead. I feel more alive with EJ than I ever have before. I love the way he makes me feel."
Chad smirked. He walked back over to her grandmother's chair and grabbed his cell phone from the seat. He thumbed across the screen and crossed the room to reach her. He held up the phone for her to see the screen.
It was a picture of the two of them. It was a beautiful picture of them lounging by the lake taken the previous summer. Abigail's face was glowing with happiness. Her arms were wrapped around his back and she was sitting in his lap. Chad's face was buried in the curve of her neck and he was wearing a lopsided grin.
She remembered the day clearly. They'd wanted to have a romantic picnic, just the two of them. Their afternoon had been crashed by Will and Sonny, but it had turned into a great double date. They'd enjoyed the lake all day and spent all night making love. It had been perfect.
"Are you going to tell me that you weren't 'alive' that day, Abigail? I know you were 'alive' that night," Chad insisted. "You were so happy. You were carefree with me. There was no worrying about Sami Brady or EJ and Sami's kids. Are you ever carefree with EJ? How could you ever just relax and enjoy each other? How 'alive' can you be if you have to spend every waking moment waiting for Sami's revenge when she finds out?"
A loud banging on the door interrupted their conversation. Abigail jumped, running to the door before Chad could get in her way.
EJ wasted no time before walking over to his brother and getting in his face.
"What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night, Chad? I believe that Abigail has made it perfectly clear that she wants you to leave?"
EJ nodded to the front door.
"I think you need to leave, Chad."
Chad smiled cockily. He looked over EJ's shoulder to Abigail.
"I'll leave, EJ," he said. "I said what I wanted to say to Abigail. You'll remember that day at the lake, won't you Abigail? Think about what your life used to be like...how easy it once was. No baggage. Think about it."
He walked around EJ and cupped Abigail's cheek in his hand. She stiffened, but didn't pull away.
"You remember, don't you?"
Abigail closed her eyes and bit her lower lip.
"Please go, Chad. I can't do this anymore. Not tonight."
He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He looked back at EJ.
"I love her, EJ. I've always loved her. That isn't going to change just because you've decided that she's worth taking a chance on."