Chasing Abby(55)

“No!” Caleb and I shout at the same time.
“He was just kidding!” I shriek, smacking his arm. “You jerk.”
Ryder jumps out of his chair and points at Chris. “You were only twenty-one when you married Mom.”
Junior laughs so hard at this, he’s clutching his belly when he points at Claire. “And you were knocked up with Jimi when you got married.”
“Junior! Go to your room.”
“What?” Junior howls, pointing his thumb at Ryder. “Why doesn’t he have to go to his room?”
“Both of you go to your room!” Claire shouts.
“Oh, come now, honey. You can’t fault the boys for stating the facts,” Jackie says, barely hiding her smile.
Caleb leans over and whispers in my ear, “Best family reunion ever.”
His lips on my ear give me the chills and I wish I could just take him in my arms and make out with him. We haven’t made out in a week and I’m starting to get antsy. I miss his kiss. And his touch. I don’t know how much longer I can hold out here before this summer begins to suck.
But Caleb is right. This bonfire has definitely been the highlight of this evening, and possibly the whole summer. And now I have another brother or sister on the way. One who will know me from the day he or she is born.
Best. Reunion. Ever.

Chapter 22 - Caleb


ABBY IS SITTING on the edge of her rollaway bed in Jimi’s bedroom in her blue and white pajamas, frantically digging through her purse. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but when I see her pull out all her meds, two amber bottles and one box of Nitrostat, I know something is wrong. One of the bottles looks empty.
Jackie and Joel left to stay at an inn down the road and Jimi is sleeping downstairs with Sydney again until Sydney leaves tomorrow. Chris and Claire and the boys are in their rooms getting ready for bed, but I’m sure Chris or Claire—probably Chris—will be checking in on us shortly to make sure I don’t try to sleep in here with Abby.
“I don’t know what happened to my extra bottle of Xarelto. I thought I packed it,” Abby says, upending her purse so all its contents fall out into a pile on the bed. She continues sifting through the six different lip balms and three different makeup compacts, but there are no more medicine bottles.
Abby has to take Xarelto, a blood thinner, to keep blood clots from forming in her heart. Because of her heart valve disease, blood can sometimes pool inside her heart. If she doesn’t take the Xarelto, clots can form, travel through her blood vessels and into her brain, and cause a stroke. With this new form of Xarelto, she only has to take it twice a week. But taking the pills less often means there’s less room for error if she forgets to take one or if she runs out of her meds in the evening. Which is why all her prescriptions are filled at 24-hour pharmacies.
“Give me that bottle. I’ll call the pharmacy in Raleigh and tell them to transfer the prescription to another 24-hour pharmacy over here.”
“But they won’t fill the prescription twice in one month. It’s a ninety-day supply.”
“They will if you tell them you’re out of town and you left your meds at home. Then, when you go home and find the bottle you were supposed to pack, you’ll have a 180-day supply. Less trips to the pharmacy and problem solved.”
She hands me the empty Xarelto bottle and I quickly dial the number for the CVS pharmacy listed on the label. I’m on the phone with the pharmacy technician for no more than five minutes before they have the prescription transferred to a 24-hour CVS in Wilmington.
“See? All fixed. Now we just have to tell your parents we’re leaving at ten o’clock at night.”
Abby starts dumping everything back into her purse. “They’ll understand. Go wait outside. I have to change.”