Chasing Abby(72)

“Lynette, I think there’s been a grave misunderstanding here,” Chris continues. “We’ve done everything you asked of us seventeen and a half years ago. We stayed away. We didn’t tie you guys up in an expensive legal battle. We did it all for Abby’s sake. Which is why I have to set my foot down here. I truly believe what you’re doing is not in her best interests. I think it’s time for you all to step aside and let Abby make some decisions for herself. She’s an adult and a very intelligent soul. She deserves for all of us to put some faith in her.”
My mom shakes her head. “You don’t know the first thing about my daughter. You’ve spent eight weeks with her. I’ve spent eighteen years with her.” She grabs my hand and I yank it back. “Don’t be difficult, Abby. Just come home and we can get your stuff later.”
I look around the room and realize that Ryder and Junior have joined Jimi. They’re all three standing in the hallway and my stomach drops when I see Ryder crying. Caleb lets go of my shoulders as I walk toward them. Ryder leans against the wall, his face turned toward the wallpaper to hide his tears.
I lean down and whisper in his ear, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Then I turn to Jimi and look her in the eye as I mouth the word “keys.” She slowly slides her hand into the pocket of her shorts and discreetly hands me the key to her Mercedes. Junior smiles when he sees this exchange.
I slip the key into my pocket, then I turn on my heel and head right past my parents toward the back door.
“Where are you going?” my mom calls out to me.
I keep going, my feet flying down the back steps. I pull the keys out of my pocket and hit the button on the key fob to deactivate the alarm.
“Abby, come back here!” she shrieks as I slide into the driver’s seat of Jimi’s black Mercedes.
My hand is shaking as I jam the key into the ignition. The smell of leather is making me even more nervous. I’ve never driven a car this expensive. Actually, I’ve hardly driven any car of any value. I’m not sure I can safely drive Jimi’s Mercedes. If I crash today, I guess I can thank my fabulous parents and their need to protect my fragile heart.
I turn the key and the engine hums. I shift into reverse and punch the gas pedal, then I nearly pass out when the car jumps backward into the driveway, almost crashing into the block wall separating the beach house from the neighbor’s house. My mom comes bounding out of the front door. I quickly switch gears and peel out of the driveway onto Sandpiper Street, then I head toward Lumina Avenue.
I don’t know if anyone will follow me. I hope they don’t. I just need to get away.
For eighteen years, I was the sickly, fragile daughter of Brian and Lynette Jensen. Now… I don’t know who I am. When I’m with my biological parents, I don’t feel like the frail girl I was eight weeks ago. I’m different. I’m the girl who got away. The girl who was strong enough to capture my parents’ hearts in a single twenty-minute meeting and hold them captive for eighteen years.
That’s the girl I want to be. I don’t want to be fragile anymore.
I turn left on Lumina and the Mercedes grips the slick asphalt beautifully. Racing forward, I turn right onto Highway 74 and draw in a deep breath. I don’t know where I’m going. All I know is that I can’t be there right now. I need to think without my mom’s pitiful gaze penetrating me. Or the look of disappointment and hope in Chris and Claire’s eyes.
I touch the power button on the touchscreen and Jimi’s favorite playlist begins to play. I listen to the beachy, acoustic melodies and think of the past few weeks. Flashes of my parents’ hopeful faces flicker in my mind. Caleb’s face materializes, and memories of that day on the beach come rushing back to me. My body relaxes and my hands stop trembling as a smile curls my lips. Caleb is my constant.