An Exceptional Twist (19 page)

Stefen stumbled into the kitchen after the
aroma of sizzling bacon beckoned him from his restless sleep. Abby,
the vegetarian in the family, was standing at the stove in a fuzzy
pink bathrobe, cooking, and Stefen couldn’t help but wonder what
kind of meat she had in the pan.

With any luck, it wasn’t some sort of
bacon-flavored tofu. Leah had told him that she teased Abby,
calling her imposter bacon, ‘fakon’. He had no interest in eating
fake-anything.

“Good morning.” Grabbing a mug, Abby poured
him some coffee, half-smiling as she handed it to him.

Something was off, then he realized she was
on the phone.

“I'm so sorry, Leah. Sounds like you’ve had
a rough couple of days. I'm gonna miss you. This will be the first
Fourth of July that we won’t spend together.” She pointed to where
the vanilla creamer and sugar sat.

Giving her the thumbs up, he sipped it right
away. Coffee was meant to be drank black, and this mugful needed to
get rid of his raging headache. He held his breath as he listened
in, wondering what Leah had told her.

He desperately hoped Leah would keep it to
herself until he was safely back in Chicago. He didn't feel like
dealing with Caleb’s rage. His cousin had already given him the
third degree about the time he’d spent with her, and their day with
Madison and the shopping.

“Please let me know if you need anything,”
Abby said softly. “Love you too, sweetie. Bye.”

As Abby got off the phone, a pajama pant,
t-shirt-clad Caleb came out of nowhere, stepped up behind her, and
kissed the side of her neck. Audibly hearing her breath catch
before she moaned, Stefen wondered if they both forgot he was
there.

“Good morning, love,” Caleb growled into her
messy hair.

Yeah, I don’t need to watch this.

As he got up to leave, Caleb asked his
bride, “You okay?”

Spinning around to face
him, Abby wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head
against his chest. “Yeah, but I’m worried about Leah. She doesn’t
sound good. It's so weird. She
never
gets sick. I feel like she’s
hiding something.”

She hasn’t told her yet. Thank god!

Stefen stayed put, pretending to be a fly on
the wall as he drank his strong coffee.

Caleb smoothed her hair down, wrapping his
arms around her shoulders. “What did she say?” He glanced at Stefen
and nodded, finally acknowledging he was in the room.

Pursing her lips, she looked up endearingly
at her husband. “It's not so much what she said. It’s more like I
can tell she’s been crying. She seems upset about something.”
Curiously, she turned to Stefen, tilting her head to the side as
she frowned. “Did anything happen while we were gone?”

Caleb snapped his head in Stefen’s direct so
fast that he got a mouthful of Abby’s hair. Blowing the stands out
of his mouth, he narrowed his eyes at Stefen.

Stefen’s mouth went dry as
a lump formed in his throat.
Time to put
on a show. I do this in court all the time.

Shaking his head, he denied knowing
anything. “Not that I’m aware of. She showed me around town, we
hung out a couple of times, and we took Madison to the aquarium.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “That was about it. She’s been working,
maybe something happened there.” He leaned back into the bar stool,
clasping his hands behind his head as if he was completely
innocent.

Normally, he was pretty proud of himself
when he delivered such a believable tale. But this lie made him
feel like shit. The hollow feeling in his stomach was proof of
that.

Caleb's face softened, addressing Abby
again. “Maybe you should go visit her. Take her something to eat.”
Moving a few stray stands away from her face, he placed a gentle
kiss on her lips.

Abby frowned. “She keeps trying to blow me
off, but I think I will anyway. She's got to be hungry by now. Why
don't you go wake my Maddie girl? We'll eat breakfast, then I'll go
drop off some food for Leah.”

“Sounds good,” Caleb said, again gazing
adoringly into Abby’s eyes, then kissed her on the tip of her nose.
They shared another affectionate moment as Stefen looked on.

Feeling a giant pit of jealousy rising up
inside of him, he spun around on the chair, turning his back on the
happy couple. The sudden feeling stunned him. He’d never wanted
this before, why now?

As Caleb headed for the stairs to wake up
Madison, Abby went back to cooking, and Stefen sat there in a mood.
He wondered if he would ever have what they had.

Then it pissed him off
that he was even thinking like this.
Nope.
Don’t go there. I refuse to end up miserable like my
parents.

There was just too much to lose.

Finally able to peel herself out of bed,
Leah decided it was time for a shower. It had been a couple of
days, and she couldn't stand the icky feeling any longer.

She spoke to Abby on the phone earlier. It
broke her heart to lie. They always spent the Fourth of July
together, and it was killing her that she couldn't this year. It
was for the best, though.

She could never be around Stefen again
without losing it. All the pretense would be thrown out the window.
She didn’t have to hide for too long. He was scheduled to leave
tomorrow night, and she was confident that once he was out of the
picture, she could pull herself together.

Balls of tissue covered
the floor around her feet when she stepped out of her bed.
“Eww,
que osco
.”
I'll pick those up after I get
out of the shower
.

Before she could even turn the water on, she
heard a light knock at the front door. “Oh no.” Leah ran over and
peeked through the peep hole. “No, no, no, no, no...” She shook her
hands up and down, pacing in the tiny square of her entryway.
Closing her eyes, she forced a cough and opened the door just wide
enough to poke her head out.

“Abby,” she said, faking surprised. Lucky
for her, her voice was still hoarse from crying. “What are you
doing here? I don't want to get you sick.” She coughed again for
good measure, wincing because her throat was also soar.

Abby was studying her. “You look like crap.”
She pushed through the door and walked past her into the kitchen,
dropping a bag on the island. “I know you said not to come, but I'm
worried.” She fisted her hips, a slightly accusatory look on her
face. “You’re never sick, and you certainly never ask me to stay
away.” She reached to give her a hug, then quickly pulled away.
“Uh, when was the last time you showered?”

“I was about to when you knocked.” Leah ran
her hand through her tangled hair.

“Why don't you go get cleaned up, and I'll
set some food out for you? I’m sure you’re starving by now.”

The loud growl that came from her stomach
confirmed Abby’s suspicions. It was the first time Leah realized
that she hadn’t eaten anything since she and Stefen had dinner.

Without answering, Leah concentrated on
getting into the bathroom before Abby could speculate. Once the
door closed behind her, she slid to the ground. Burying her head
between her bent knees, she wondered how to get Abby to leave. Abby
had shown up just to make sure she was okay, which made Leah feel
like crap for deceiving her.

She stepped into the
shower and turned the hot water on. Steam filled the room, clearing
her congestion.
Oh my gosh, this feels so
good.
How could her muscles feel so sore
when all she did the last couple of days was lie in bed and
cry?

Finishing up, she wrapped herself in a
fluffy towel, twisting one around her head. She felt much better
and suddenly realized she’d need to work even harder pretending to
be sick. Strolling into her bedroom to get some clothes, Leah
noticed all of tissues previously on the floor were no longer
there. She also saw that her bed was made and the sheets were a
different color. She sagged with relief against her dresser. Abby
was the best, always knowing what she truly needed. If Leah doubted
her decision before, remembering how special Abby was to her,
solidified her determination. She refused to put her in the middle
of Stefen's bullshit.

After getting dressed, she grabbed a throw
blanket off of her bed and crawled onto the couch. “Thanks for
picking up my snot rags and making my bed, chica. I hope you washed
your hands really good after.” Leah scrunched her nose, thinking
about how gross they must have been.

Waving her off, Abby raised her eyebrows, as
she came over to the couch with a tray full of food and set it on
the coffee table. “I did, don't worry about me.”

Disappearing into the kitchen again, Abby
returned with an ice cold glass of Leah’s favorite cola. There were
certain times in a girl’s life when soda was the cure all, and this
was one of those occasions.

Reaching for the soda in
Abby’s hand, Leah smiled from ear to ear. “I would ask you to marry
me if you didn't just marry Caleb. I
love
you.”

Abby sat back on the
couch, her beautiful blue eyes peering suspiciously at Leah. “Okay,
so cut the crap. I’m here to give you a
skita
.”

Flustered, Leah almost shot cola out of her
nose. They’d started calling each other on their shit years ago,
agreeing to always be honest and offer ‘Swift Kicks in the Ass’ or
S.K.I.T.A.S. as they called them.

Abby tipped her head, eyes serious. “Level
with me. I know there’s more to this than you being sick. Not only
do I feel it, but I saw mascara all over your pillows when I
changed the sheets.”

Trying not to look guilty, she shoved some
food in her mouth, avoiding eye contact. After swallowing, she
finally answered, “I was feeling miserable and cried myself to
sleep last night. I was achy, and I couldn't get out of bed to take
something for it.” She placed the back of her hand on her forehead,
then her palms on her cheeks. “I think I had a fever, too. I'm not
used to being sick. I’m kind of a big baby.” She took a huge bite
of her Kung Poa noodles, relieved that her vegetarian friend added
chicken.

Abby peered into her puffy eyes. “I don't
buy it. But for whatever reason, you don't want to tell me, so I'll
wait until you’re ready. Oh, and by the way,” she flicked an open
condom wrapper onto Leah’s lap, “I found this tangled up with some
panties in your sheets.”

Leah nearly choked on her
mouthful of food. The sobs started up again.
How do I even have any more tears left?
Sucking in some air, she started to cough, then grabbed a
paper towel from the tray to spit the food in.

Abby patted her back. “Oh, honey, that isn't
pretty. Come here.” She pulled her into a hug and held tight. “Why
won’t you tell me?”

“I’m sorry,” Leah wept, “I just feel like
crap. I wanna finish eating and go back to bed. My body is so sore,
and I can't think right now.” Inhaling a real sniff this time, Leah
pulled away to grab some tissue. “It’s not what you think. I swear
we’ll talk about it soon. I’m not ready yet.”

Abby’s sagging shoulders broke Leah’s heart.
“I'm going to miss you at the party today, but I'm glad I got to
see you for a little bit, at least.” She patted Leah’s arm and got
up to leave. “I love you. You know that, right? I’d do anything for
you. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

Trying her damndest to control her quivering
bottom lip, Leah replied, “Thanks. Love you too.”

Abby opened the door, turned the lock, then
closed it behind her.

“I'm the worst
friend
ever
,
ugh!” Leah shouted into her pillow and shed a few more tears before
falling asleep on the couch.