Chapter 56

Kiss and Tell

I couldn't believe that I was running again. Running away from my problems. My problem was, I felt like I couldn't even breathe. Every pent up emotion, every thought, every insignificant thing. They were breaking loose and tearing me apart from the inside out, sending me straight into a whirlwind of disaster, making it feel like my heart would beat right out of my chest as the tears fell.

"I…I can't breathe," I choked out in panic, finally reaching the vacant lot and collapsing onto my hands and knees in the grass.

I was having a panic attack, my chest constricting and tightening painfully, each breath coming out quicker and shorter. I could hear every breath, the pure sound of my heartbeat pounding, pulsing inside my ears. My eardrums were being beaten to a pulp with every gasp for breath. I simply couldn't breathe, every breath I took coming out before it could be used.

"Winters?" I heard someone call, the sound of footsteps running toward me as I closed my eyes, shoulders shaking. "Abigail, you okay?"

It was Tim Shepard, his dirty blond hair falling in front of his eyes as he knelt down in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Winters, you okay?" he asked again, trying to get my attention.

I just wasn't able to get a reply out though as I set there, trying to calm down enough so that I could actually breathe. That's the problem with emotions, sometimes they could just be too overwhelming, each one pounding into you like a sharpened nail to drywall. The remains would crack a bit every time if you weren't careful, until eventually, they crumbled into nothingness.

"Hey, man, she got asthma or somethin'?" one of Tim's buddies asked.

"Nah, she don't got no asthma," Tim replied, gripping my shoulders lightly. "I've seen Angela do this once before," he told him, before turning his attention straight back toward me.

"Hey, Abby, ya gotta calm down," Shepard told me, giving me a small squeeze. "Abs, you gotta calm down or else you're gonna give yourself a heart attack," he said firmly, giving me a small shake this time.

It was hard though, so hard. So many things running through my head at once that I felt myself becoming dizzy, colors and sounds melding together, the sun pounding on my back. I could hear the faint sound of birds around me as my mind began to fog over, the breeze on the grass as it swayed between my fingers. Every touch, thought, and sound melted together into one.

"Abs? Abs? Can you hear me?"

I just can't handle this, this shame, this fear.

T

Darry stood there, staring blankly at the wall. He'd heard everything, all because he'd decided to follow her up the stairs, his need to watch over her now pulling him down into a black pit. He'd heard Dally's every word, his hands curling tightly at his sides as they echoed through his mind. He wasn't sure what to believe. After all, should he believe Abigail to be that type of person, what then? After all, he'd just proposed to her and then something like this happens. She couldn't have, so why were these things being said? All because they'd come back for a tiny golden band.

It wasn't until Dally went to run out of the room though that Darry pushed himself off of the wall, blue meeting brown in a deadly stare of thundering rage.

"Darrel," Dally nearly choked out, pausing in his movements as he stood there.

"Why?" Darry asked, his eyes holding a certain sadness to them. "Why would you even think of doing such a thing like that?" Darry asked, taking a step forward, his weight pressing painfully into the floor boards.

"Darrel, man, it's not what you think," Dally tried, but it did the guy little good as Darry took another step forward, hand curling into a fist at his side.

He was so close to going off, taking it out on Dally. So close. After all, it was because of Dally that she'd run and because of Dally that he'd have to go looking for her now.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" Darry asked, shoving him harshly against the wall of the hallway, his arm now pressing against the guy's throat in anger.

"The hell are you talkin' about man?" Dally asked, trying to shove him off.

"They told us no stress!" Darry hissed. "That too much stress could cause complications!" he pushed, before moving back. "You don't even realize what you've done!"

At this point, Darry had completely forgotten what had taken place, his main concern now placed on Abigail.

"If anything, and I mean anything has happened to her, you're dead," Darry told him, before making his way down the stairs, the front door slamming behind him.

He had to find her.

T

"Hey, ya gave me quite the scare," I heard someone say, slowly opening my eyes to find Tim there.

At this point, his jacket was off, revealing a tight, sleeveless white shirt. I couldn't help, but to notice a few sweat stains on it, most likely from when he'd been working out. His hair wasn't slicked back any longer either, leaving it laying in strands on his head. This was truly the first time that I'd ever seen Tim Shepard like this.

"Where am I?" I asked shakily, slowly pulling myself into a sitting position.

"My place," he said simply, walking over to the couch that I was laying on.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, my chest aching terribly.

"Just cuz I'm a guy, doesn't mean I'm stupid," he told me, taking a seat beside me. "You were having a panic attack, so obviously, something was wrong."

"How do you know?" I asked quickly, eyeing him for a moment.

"Ang has had one before," he told me, pointing toward the stairs casually.

"Your sister?" I asked, brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Yeah. She was a real mess when it happened too. So, I'm guessin' you can't be too far off either," he pointed out.

I shut my mouth as a result, sitting there, my hands in my lap.

"I screwed up," I whispered after a moment, feeling my eyes water.

"What do ya mean, you screwed up?" he asked.

"Darry asked me to marry him a few days ago," I told him, playing with the finger where my ring should have been.

"Bout time," he chuckled, swiping at the spot just below his nose. "Heard somethin' from Two-Bit bout it, but wasn't sure it was true or not."

"I did something stupid last night," I nearly whimpered, catching him by surprise.

"And what's that?" he asked skeptically, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"I…I kissed Dally," I wished, finally speaking the words I'd been dreading to set free.

Then, just as I did, it felt like it actually started to sink in. The true depths of my mistake were now knocking on the door, finally busting their way through. This meant that I'd likely destroyed anything that I'd had with Darry, my heart clenching tightly causing me to wince in pain, causing me to grip at my chest.

"Hey, hey," he started, quickly moving to take my shoulders into his hands. "We're not doin' this again," he told me, staring me down. "Just breathe," he told me.

"But…" I whispered, pinching my eyes shut.

"Calm down," he said firmly.

"I…I can't," I choked out, tears slowly falling.

"C-come on now," he said, obviously feeling uncomfortable. "There's no need to cry over it."

I just shook my head.

"Besides, I wouldn't doubt it was Winston's fault to begin with," he scoffed. "Probably kissed you first, didn't he?" he asked.

It was then that my eyes widened slightly. He was right, Dally did kiss me first, but I still kissed back last night. That was on me and nothing could change what I'd done. I'd have to take responsibility for my actions. Unfortunately though, I feared that doing that would lead me away from the man I loved, dragging me straight through the muddy waters of despair. Sadly, it already was, blood staining the bandages on my arm as my lungs continued to heave painfully.

T

He was livid as he drove back to the house, hands gripping tightly at the wheel. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel at the moment, but regardless of how utterly hurt he was, he still felt that he had to find her. He had to find Abigail and make sure that she was okay. What's more, he needed to know what was going on.

"Abigail…" he sighed.

T

I let out a shaky sigh as I laid there on the couch, my eyes closed as Tim worked on fixing my arm up. It hurt, that was no lie, but I'd deal with it. I just couldn't believe that I was actually here, laying on Shepard's couch. Even if Dally had kissed me first, I was still at fault for kissing back. I'd betrayed my vow to Darry after barely even accepting his proposal. Why did I even do it to begin with?

"How am I gonna face him?" I whispered, feeling my eyes water.

"Hey, now, none of that," Tim told me, pressing a bit more alcohol to the wound.

I bit my tongue as he did this, my fingers curling at my side.

"My chest hurts," I breathed, groaning as a wave of pain washed over me.

"Just calm down and you should be fine," he told me, slowly starting on re-stitching.

"Shouldn't that be done at a hospital?" I asked warily, watching as he threaded the needle.

"If ya wanna bleed out maybe," he grunted, before turning his head. "Hey, Ang!" Tim called.

"What!" Angela shouted from upstairs.

"Get me another towel!" he called.

With a groan, I heard Angela come downstairs. I didn't bother looking though as she went into the bathroom, before coming back out and tossing the towel to Tim.

"One more thing, Ang," he called.

"What now?" she sighed, flipping her hair out of her face.

It was the same dirty blond hair that Tim had, save for longer and slightly curly, bright blue eyes staring at me.

"Up in my room, in the bottom drawer, there should be a bottle of pills. Bring 'em down for me," he told her, glancing back over at me for a moment. "Hurry up cuz I need ta get this done."

I watched as she ran off back upstairs, glancing back over at Tim.

"They're pain pills," he explained. "They're strong, but they shouldn't mess with your head none," he told me.

"Mess with my head?"

"Yeah, certain pain killers can mess with your head if you're not careful," he told me. "You probably weigh about the same as Ang, so you should be fine."

I truly apologize for the long wait everyone, I really do. I've been rather stuck and lacking inspiration. I REALLY need help to continue properly, but I'm not giving up. If ANYONE has ANY ideas, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. You do NOT have to have an account to review. So PLEASE REVIEW. I really need that bit of help. Anyway, sorry if it's a bit short, but I thought that leaving it at the end of this one was a good point. I plan to start work on the next chapter, so please REVIEW or MESSAGE me.