Can't Let Go(6)

It had only been the start. He’d insisted on a traditional church ceremony, though neither was exactly the religious sort, with an elegant reception afterward. Everyone was to be invited—everyone within their social circle, even if they weren’t more than acquaintances. It was the way things were done.

Eric Thompson came from the same background as both Hayley and Abigail. He was someone Abby had met during graduate school—an attractive man, with his future laid out in front of him. He knew where he was going—he had it all planned out.

His goal was to some day become a partner at a well-to-do law firm, and he was well on his way. As soon as he’d finished law school, he was swept up by one of the biggest firms in L.A, mostly due to his family connections. They had been together for just over four years.

He absolutely loathed the fact that Abby worked for a gossip magazine and had been insisting since she’d started that she quit. Perhaps that was part of the reason she’d hung on so long. It was one of the few ways she could prove to herself that she still had a say in her own life.

Because there were times when she just wasn’t sure. Sometimes, it felt like all she did was take orders—all she did was whatever everyone else wanted her to.

She longed for the days when she felt free.

Her eyes skimmed over the photo in the frame once more.

But those days were long gone.



~*~



Abby was one of the last people to leave, as usual. She said her goodbyes to the cleaning crew, trying not to laugh as they purposely left messes for Ingrid to find. She was abhorred even among the staff provided by the building owners.

It was late—the sun was already going down. She walked to her car, trying to ignore the slight chill in the air. At least by now, traffic would have calmed down and she should have a fairly clear drive home.

Eric would probably just be arriving himself.

She decided she would stop and grab some take-out, so as to make things easy on the both of them. As she made the drive back, she checked her cell phone, remembering that Hayley had promised to call. She frowned slightly when she saw that she had no missed calls, wondering what could have taken her so long. She was sure the two had gone out to celebrate, but it was getting pretty late in Kentucky. She’d assumed Hayley would have called by now.

As she got closer to her neighborhood, she stopped at a small Chinese restaurant and placed her order. It didn’t take long to prepare, but while she waited, her mind wandered once again to her friend.

The two had remained close throughout the years, despite living in different states. They talked nearly every day. After Hayley had married Blake, her parents had, as expected, cut her off and out of their lives. She no longer existed to them, even though the pair had done well for themselves.

Hayley had become a teacher while Blake finished med school. He came out of school relatively debt free, and the two had quickly been able to settle into their life. It was nothing like the life Hayley had led before marrying him, but it was comfortable. And they were happy, which really was all that mattered.

Hayley had often brought Logan up in the years that had passed since she’d last seen him. Abby knew that he was doing well, which made her happy. She’d never wanted anything bad to happen to him—she loved him too much for that. She’d only wished that things had turned out differently for them.

It wasn’t something she allowed herself to consider often though, because more often than not, it only led her down a path she couldn’t afford.

No, she had a life now. A life without Logan Sheppard. And she was better off. If he hadn’t said it himself, he’d certainly made it clear. She’d woken up the morning after Hayley’s wedding expecting to find Logan—but instead, all she’d found was a note.

It was still painful to think about, and so she pushed it away, concentrating on the now short drive home. She and Eric lived in a luxurious apartment in Beverly Hills, not all that far from where she grew up. It was definitely a nice neighborhood, but she hardly noticed as she drove along. As she pulled up, she noticed Eric wasn’t yet home and she sighed, turning off the ignition and making her way inside.

Abby set about to eating her Chinese, kicking her shoes off at the door and spreading the items out on the kitchen counter. She thought about going to change into something a little more comfortable than her business suit, but as her stomach grumbled, she decided against it and settled in to eat a few bites.

She’d just gotten the idea to check the voicemail to see if maybe Hayley had called their apartment rather than her cell phone by accident when she heard the door open. “Abigail?” he called.

“In the kitchen—I brought home Chinese.” Eric entered the kitchen a moment later, dressed impeccably in a perfectly tailored suit. He offered a smile as he passed by her, grabbing up his carton of Chinese and diving in. “How was work?” She asked, deciding to hold off on checking the voicemail for a moment.

“This Jacobs case is killing me.” He said in between bites. “Today’s deposition didn’t even finish—we’ve got to call the guy back in tomorrow.”

“Sounds rough,” Abby said, leaning back against the table as she continued to eat.

“But the partners are really taking notice of my work—so we’ll see what comes of it.” Abby nodded, waiting for him to question her about her day. After a few minutes had passed, he still hadn’t said anything more. She sighed.

“I talked to Hayley today.”

“Don’t you talk to Hayley every day?” Eric was not Hayley’s biggest fan, if only because the rest of their circle thought poorly of her.

“Today was a special day.” She said, remembering the flood of happiness she’d felt when she received the news. “She’s pregnant.”

“Well, congratulations to Hayley.” The two of them had spoken about children many times throughout their relationship. It was something Eric wanted to put off for a few years, while Abby was ready to start a family right away.

“She was really happy, Eric.” Eric sighed, setting his carton on the counter and wiping at his mouth with a napkin.

“I’ve never said I don’t want to have children, Abigail.”

“Sometimes it seems that way.” No matter how many times Eric told her that he wanted to have a family, she found it impossible to believe him. He was always so focused on his career—sometimes she wasn’t even sure he wanted her.

“I just don’t think having them right away is a wise choice.” He relaxed against the counter. “Even Hayley and Blake waited.”

“They waited until they were financially stable. We don’t have that to worry about.” With both of them working steady jobs, she had a point. She could even stop working and they would still be able to live a very comfortable life.

“I want to concentrate on my career. I have goals, Abigail. You would understand that if you were actually working at a respectable company.” Abby sighed then, rolling her eyes and pushing herself off the table. She walked passed him and threw her carton into the garbage, no longer hungry, before turning to the sink and washing her hands.

“Ever stop to think that maybe my goals don’t include my profession?” She snapped before turning her back and exiting the kitchen. He always had a way of doing this—of making her feel badly about her hopes and dreams for the future, whether because she prioritized family above her career, or because her career was nothing more than a joke to him. Her future was never quite as bright as his.

Abby’s mind turned to her earlier thought of checking their voicemail and she settled into the plush couch cushions before reaching over and grabbing the phone from it’s cradle. She dialed the number to enter their answering service and skipped over a few messages. She was about to skip over the last when she heard a name she recognized.

“Hello, this is Sheriff Winslow of Scotts County in Kentucky. I’m calling in an attempt to reach a Miss Abigail Lewis. Please call as soon as you receive this message.” She scribbled down the number he gave before quickly hanging up the phone, her heart beginning to hammer loudly in her chest.

Blake and Hayley lived in Scotts County.

Why would the Sheriff be calling her?

A range of possibilities raced through her mind—she was, after all, listed as Hayley’s next of kin outside of Blake. She wondered what kind of trouble they’d gotten themselves into—they’d probably broken some silly law and had been taken into custody and needed bailing out or something.

She imagined that conversation with Eric and almost smiled, knowing what a kick Hayley would get out of it.

But as she dialed the number, something told her it was nothing quite so simple as that. A woman answered the phone and Abby introduced herself. “Hi, this is Abby Lewis—I got a call from the Sheriff—”

“Oh, just one moment, I’ll patch you right through.” A moment later, the phone was ringing again and she waited for several moments before someone answered. It was the same voice she’d heard in the message—the voice of an older man, with that slight southern accent. She introduced herself again. “Miss Lewis, I just have a few questions. What is your relation to Hayley Walker?”