Chasing Abby(22)

“I have a sister,” she whispers.
“And a couple of brothers,” I say. “The youngest one looks like you, doesn’t he?”
She looks up, her brow furrowed. “You think so?”
Her fair skin is glistening with tears. How could her parents keep this from her for so long? She could have used a sister and brother with everything she’s been through. Then a slightly selfish thought crosses my mind. If she’d had siblings, would Abby and I still be this close?
I reach for the photos in her lap and she watches as I take them. It takes me a second to find the family portrait in the bottom of the stack and I hold it up between us so we can both look at it.
“Look. He has the same blonde hair and brown eyes as you.”
She stares at the picture for a while before she takes it in her hand to examine it up close. “He does.” Her silent tears turn into a soft whimpering cry. “These are my parents… This is the family I never knew I had.”
I quickly sift through the photos, searching for the one of the little girl holding Abby’s picture. “But it looks like they knew about you,” I say, holding it up for her, “and you never left their thoughts.” Her shoulders tremble as they curl inward, and she clutches her fist to her chest. “Abby, are you okay?”


Chapter 11 - Abby


I CLAW AT THE HEAVINESS in my chest and wiggle my left shoulder a little to try to alleviate the sharp twinge in my heart. My vision goes dark for a split second and I blink furiously to hold on.
“Abby, what’s wrong?”
Drawing in a large gulp of air, I massage my chest until I can speak. “I’m fine. It’s just a spasm.”
“Don’t downplay it, Abby.”
Caleb reaches for my purse, lifting it off the floor where it rests at my feet. Then, he opens the glove compartment to get his emergency bottle of water, and moves right to my purse to retrieve the bottle of Nitrostat.
He hands both the water and the pills to me, but I shake my head adamantly. “I don’t need the water,” I say, gritting my teeth against the pain.
I place a sublingual tab of Nitrostat under my tongue, grimacing at the heavy peppermint flavor that seeps into my mouth as the pill dissolves. Now, we wait.
Caleb pulls me into his arms and strokes my hair because he knows it calms me. I close my eyes and take slow, deep breaths as I wait for the pill to take effect. About three minutes later, the pain in my chest is gone and my cheeks begin to flush. I push Caleb away so I can fan my face.
“Thank you,” I whisper, staring down at the stack of photos, which is now facedown on my lap again.
“Drink this.” He hands me the bottle of water and I take a small sip. “How are you feeling?”
“Exhausted.”
“Want to go back to the apartment and take a nap?”
I chuckle as I set the bottle of water down on the seat and lightly massage my chest. The pain is gone, but it’s relaxing.
“I’m like a senior citizen with my heart medication and frequent napping.”
“A senior citizen without the benefit of the early bird special.”
I turn to him and my smile vanishes. “What am I going to do if we ever break up? I don’t want to live with my parents the rest of my life, with my mom fussing over me while I lie back and wait… wait for the time to come when my only option is a transplant. What kind of life is that?”
“If it’s not your mom fussing over you, then it’s me. Sunshine, you just have to accept that we love you the way you are, broken heart and all. So I promise never to break up with you, if you promise me you’ll take good care of your heart. I might need it one of these days.”
I’m burning up, and it must be showing on my cheeks because Caleb grabs a few photos off the stack and uses them to fan my face. I lean back in my seat and close my eyes for a moment while Caleb pampers me. With my eyes closed, my mind wanders to thoughts of heart transplants. I’m pretty close to the bottom of the transplant list right now. I just don’t have an urgent need for a new heart. But we all know that the time will come soon when I’m moved up to the top. It could be in ten years, five years, or tomorrow. This heart is a ticking time bomb inside my chest.