A Long Time Coming (11 page)

“It happened a little over two
months ago. I’d called to check up on him…you know, since I knew he’d just
gotten his prosthetic and all. I just wanted to see how he was doing, so I took
the chance and asked him if he wanted to hang out, and he actually said yes.
Like, didn’t even think twice about it, yes. So I drove us to the North Lake. I
had my dad’s prized vodka with us, and we um…celebrated…?”

“You celebrated…his new
leg…with vodka and sex at me and Mason’s park?” Harley giggled.

God, she made it sound so
nasty. “Um, yeah, I guess we did. And you and Mason didn’t sexually mark that
park by the way, your brother and I did.” Abigail sat up straight, sitting
Indian style, picking at the fuzzy stuff on the rug beneath her. Harley didn’t
move from behind her, nor did she speak. “Besides, it was a complete accident.
I um…sort of coerced him, and we didn’t have any, um…”

“Protection.”

“Yeah that…protection.”
Abigail always had protection. It was a given. But that night she’d forgone her
purse and taken just her wallet instead. And the protection was in her purse.
Hence the lack thereof.

“So…um…was it good then at
least?”

Abigail’s eyes widened in
shock. Christ…was it good? Seriously? That’s what she wanted to know after
discovering that she was carrying her brother’s offspring in her stomach? “Uh,
I, uh…don’t remember much,” she lied, licking her dry lips.

She may have been a little on
the tipsy side that night, but she remembered everything. Hell, it was tattooed…burned…freaking
engraved into her head. His rough hands against every inch of her skin, the way
he fit so perfectly inside her. How he’d groaned into her ear, melted into her
mouth like chocolate. And the next morning? When she’d awakened in his warm arms
with her head pressed against his chest as the beat of his heart mesmerized her
into a warped state of complete comfort and safety…? Yeah, now
that
had
been the best part of it all, until he’d denied her, once again.

She jumped as Harley pressed
her hand against her shoulder and stood. “Come on. No point in rehashing the
past. We’ll deal with whatever comes your way,” she reached for Abigail’s
hands, encouraging her to stand. Abigail sighed, grabbing hold of her best
friend’s fingers feeling both physically and emotionally run down. “But honey…I
can promise you this, David’s not going to be jumping for joy over this
revelation, so be prepared, okay?” Harley pulled her into a hug, resting her
chin on Abigail’s drooping shoulders.

“I know it’s not going to go
over well, that’s why I needed this weekend to just relax. But now that he’s
here…”

“Hey,” Harley leaned backwards
wiping the tears from Abigail’s wet cheeks with her thumbs—damn tears, didn’t
they ever stop? “You can still make the most of the weekend. But if you want to
tell him when you’re here, with me, then I’d be okay with that too. I want to
be there for you in whatever way I can.” Her smile was sad as she lowered her
forehead flush against Abigail’s. “I love you Abigail. I
will
be there
for you, no matter what.
”
She reached down, and pressed a flat palm
against Abigail’s stomach. “And I’ll be there for my niece or nephew too. So
will my mom and dad, and eventually David will get his ass in gear and do
what’s right as well. And even if he doesn’t, there is no way you’re going to
go through this alone.”

Feeling her throat swell up as
she tried to hide her need to cry harder, Abigail nodded as she spoke. “But I
want him to
want
to be with me because he can…not because he feels he
has to.” God, she was being needy. She shook her head, and backed out of
Harley’s hold.

The girl was right. She just
needed to take this one day at a time. Whatever happened…happened. She’d live
her life, be the mom she was obviously intended to be, and then go from there.
David or not, she
would
survive this. But still, she was going to try
and do everything in her power to make him see, finally, that his happiness was
hers too. And the two of them together—bambino or not—would always be meant to
be.

“Okay, let’s go eat. It’s more
than obvious we’re not going back to sleep anytime soon. But I’m gonna need a
nap if we’re going anywhere tonight.” Abigail grimaced, hooking her hand
through Harley’s arm.

Harley grinned, “Hecks yeah
we’re going out. I haven’t been to a club in like…well, ever. I’m ready to show
you my awesome dance moves. It will probably be the first and last time.”

Abigail snorted as they made
their way down the hall. “Awesome dance moves that outshine my booty shake? I
don’t think so!”

Harley giggled, nudging her in
the ribs, “Oh girl, it’s on like Donkey Kong then, you hear me?” Harley grinned
as they entered the kitchen.

God it was good to be with her
best friend again. It made everything feel right, like life wasn’t actually
going to shit on her every day now—just every other day instead. She’d easily
deal with every other day, as long as she could have moments like these to live
off.

“This car kicks some serious
ass, Mason!” Smirking as he ran his hands down the side of the leather seats
and across the leather plated dash, David mused, wondering if he would ever get
the courage to drive again. If he did, then this was the exact type of car he’d
run out and buy. All black, all leather…plenty of room in the backseat. David
froze and curled his lip in disgust at the thought, staring back at the
said
backseat…of his
sister’s boyfriend’s car
.

Scratch that, this car sucked
ass, especially if he and Harley had christened that back seat themselves. He
shuddered. No…hell no… Harley was still a virgin. She had to have been.
Crap…she really,
really
had to have been. He stared over at Mason, who
was waggling his eyebrows as he stared at the backseat himself.

Fuck…his sister was definitely
not a virgin anymore.

Mason leaned back into his
seat and started the engine, taking the time to pet the leather–coated steering
wheel as he did. Who the hell smiled as they
petted
a damn steering
wheel? Jesus, was the freaky long–haired douche feeling it up or something?

“Dude, don’t laugh at me
here,” Mason chuckled, staring at him from the corner of his eye. “I know what
you’re thinking, but this car? Jesus, it’s the second most important female in
my life!”

Smirking, David shook his
head. Okay, so the guy loved Harley more than his car. That was a good sign.
He’d take a strike off for that one. Too bad he had a billion more strikes to
remove before he got off David’s shit list once and for all.

Already regretting their
upcoming afternoon of bonding time, David cleared his throat, cursing the girls
in his head. Why in the hell did they have to go shopping in the first place?
For one, he couldn’t keep his eye on either of them if they weren’t there with
them. And another thing…? He didn’t like this guy sitting so nonchalantly next
to him, acting all cool and shit. But for Harley, he’d try to deal with it, at
least for the afternoon.

But try was the optimal word
here.

“So, uh, how are things going
with my sister anyways?”

All that cockiness slipped
from Mason’s hot–shit bravado. His shoulders fell, and something close to
defeat morphed onto his face. Crap…that was
not
the reaction he was
looking for
or
expecting here. “What’s up? Are you two having issues or
something?” Damn, he shouldn’t be getting his hopes up at that possibility. It
was just plain wrong. He wanted Harley to be happy more than anything, but he
also selfishly wouldn’t mind if she just so happened to move back home either.

“It’s nothing, really. I just
umm…asked her to marry me last week, that’s all.”

His throat tightened at the
unexpected announcement. No. No fucking way. What. The. Hell? “Uh…
what did
you just say
?” David sat up straight in his seat, cracking his knuckles as
he angled his evil glare towards the ass–hat next to him. He was ready to kick
some Mason ass…again.

Mason shifted his head from
side to side, obviously nervous as he waited for David’s response. He should be
nervous…hell, the freak should be fucking terrified! The dude asked his
nineteen–year–old twin sister to marry him… Who the hell got freaking married
at nineteen? “Can you at least just wait to hear me out, preferably when we get
to the beach, before you kill me?” David searched his brain for the right
words. What the hell
could
he say here?

“Well…what did she say in
response?” Okay, so that was a start.

“She said no.”

David blew out a long breath,
feeling his entire body relax into the warm leather of the seats. His palms
still sweated as he gripped the arm rests, but at least he wasn’t going to be
having a stroke or a heart attack today,
or
committing murder. His lips
did curl into a smile though. He couldn’t help it, sue him!

“She really said no, huh?” He
nodded to himself, grinning harder, damn proud of his sister for making the
right choice.

“Dude, don’t fucking smile.
I’m dying here…” Mason’s face paled, as he turned down the main drag that led
them to the beach. David narrowed his eyes, watching as the guy swallowed hard
while running his hands through his long hair.

“Listen, I don’t mean to be a
jerk, Mason, it’s just that my sister doesn’t strike me as the type to tell you
no. And I know she’s anti–early age marriage too. You just kind of caught me
off guard here.” He slugged Mason’s shoulder, probably a little harder than
just ‘messing around’
.
It made him feel better in the end.
“But I
gotta be honest here…Harley is way too young to get married. And you kind of
don’t deserve her, especially after all that crap you put her through last
fall.”

David sighed, closing his
eyes, immediately envisioning the pain in his sister’s eyes as she lay
recovering in that hospital bed, learning that the guy who had caused the whole
issue in the first place, had up and taken off, leaving her after her accident.
Mason was a runner, took off when shit got too tough. He’d never change, no guy
who ran
could
change. Hell, David was the living, breathing, poster boy
for that very idea, so he knew how their minds worked. Mason
would
hurt
her again, it was inevitable. So in the end, the guy deserved the pain of
rejection for once.

“Hey, I know I screwed up, and
I’ll probably regret leaving her for the rest of my life. But Jesus Christ,
David, I freaking love that girl…so much! I don’t think anybody understands
what she means to me. She’s everything to me, and all I want to do is marry
her, make her my wife; grow old with her. There is
no way
I could ever
be without her. She’s my…everything.”

Groaning under his breath,
David reopened his eyes, but didn’t respond. Yeah, okay, the dude
had
changed
a little apparently. Harley told him that, a shit ton of times actually. But
did David trust him entirely? No…not at all. In fact, he probably never would.
Because once you screwed with his family, you would never again be good enough,
or trustworthy enough. Acceptable maybe, but that was pushing it.

Too though, David knew exactly
what it was like to love like that. He experienced it, daily, loving Abigail
with every ounce of his being. But he couldn’t compare his feelings to Mason’s.
He and Abigail were…different.

     “Okay, let’s just say
that she
did
agree to marry you? Then what would you do?” What would
Mason Daniel’s take on marriage be? He didn’t approve of the idea of his sister
getting married so young, but his opinions wouldn’t matter in the end anyways
if she decided to take that plunge. Harley was stubborn as shit, and not a
single person would ever be able to tell his twin how to live her life.

Clearing his throat, Mason
rubbed a hand over his forehead. Sweat formed on his temples beneath that hair
of his, proving that his nerves were rattled. A tiny part of David almost felt
bad for messing with the guy, but with Harley, he couldn’t be too careful,
especially when it had to do with her future.            

“Well, we wouldn’t have to get
married right away. I mean, we could have a long engagement while she finishes
up school. I want to save up enough money to open the surf shop on the pier.
Maybe in like, two years or something we could go to Vegas, and make it
official, or if she wanted, we could have that whole shindig of a wedding back
home,” he shrugged, as they finally pulled into the small parking lot right off
the edge of the beach. “I don’t know, man, I mean it’s all screwed up now
though anyways. She’s been acting really weird ever since I asked her, quiet
all the time, jumpy even, especially since you guys got into town. It’s like
she’s walking on eggshells around me, worried that she’s gonna crack, or crack
me instead. We’ve never had this issue before; I hate it, and have no clue how
to handle it.” His gaze burned into the blue waters ahead with both
determination and fear. The guy looked tortured and maybe even a little
confused, too.

“Hell David, I feel like I
am
going to crack every time I’m around her.”

     “Oh yeah? What the hell
do you mean by that?” David leaned over the back seat to grab his crutch,
pulling it into his lap. He settled his hands over the top of the cushion as
Mason leaned further down into his seat.

Silence emanated through the
car and David squirmed, suddenly uncomfortable with having such a serious
conversation with a guy he didn’t even really like in the first place. The last
thing he wanted was to develop a sense of friendship with a pansy who wore his
hair like a girl.

     “Well, it’s kind of
cheesy, I know, but I feel like my
heart
cracks every time she comes
near me, but in this explosive, awesome good sort of way, you know?”

Swallowing hard, without
responding to that all too familiar sounding feeling, David opened his door and
slipped out onto the gravel parking lot. What the hell did he say to him
exactly? Especially when he knew how it felt to live like that? Every time
Abigail was even in the same house as him he could practically feel her
presence, like it consumed him. His insides threatened to burst with this insatiable
love that he couldn’t deny whenever her blue gaze tore through her black lashes
and settled on him. When Abigail looked at him, he felt like he could
do
anything.
Be
anyone.

     “No, it’s not cheesy,
Mason.” He shifted his weight on the crutch as he slammed the door shut with
his elbow. Mason edged out too, settling his elbows on the roof. His sorry eyes
bore across the roof at David. “It’s love, dammit. That’s what the shit does to
you. It’s the best fucking feeling in the world, and also the worst torment you
will ever feel.”

Damn. This really was a crappy
idea wasn’t it? Yeah, he knew it wasn’t the time or the place to discuss his
deep emotions, but to hold it back any longer was like the worst sort of pain.
He had to tell someone how he felt before he cracked and withered away into the
sand only a few feet ahead of him. He stared down at the ground, seeing his
prosthetic peeking out from under his shorts, reminding him again that he could
never again act on his feelings.

“I feel it every single day
when I think of, or even see Abigail,” he finally sighed, unwilling to see
Mason’s reaction.

The waves crashed off to their
right onto the beach, piercing through his thoughts. The two of them were
nothing alike; Mason the surfer boy who all the girls got giddy over, and
himself…the one legged wannabe who looked like he had a mop on his head instead
of real hair. But standing there in the late afternoon sun, along the beaches
of this beautiful city, David was terrified to admit to himself the two sets of
truths that didn’t seem to want to escape from his head.

Number one: Mason was the
closest thing he had to a buddy in over two years, even if he didn’t really
like him; and number two: His feelings for Abigail would never go away, and
he’d forever be in a state of torturous limbo if this life didn’t deal him a
better hand of cards soon.

I’m totally turning into a
pussy…

A white t–shirt fell across
the hood of the car, shaking David from his morbid thoughts. And then Mason was
gone—his board strap attached to his ankle, his longboard thrown over his
shoulder. Silently, Mason took his thoughts towards the water, leaving David
there with the need to reflect on every single emotion racing through his mind.

A row of white chairs caught
his attention a few feet away from the lot. With crutch in hand, David hobbled
towards the stretch of comfort awaiting him, sinking into the hot sand the
entire way. All the while a sense of longing built in his gut as he watched
Mason kick and paddle his way out towards the waves. Damn…if only he’d get to
experience that, just once in his life.

He settled into a chair
instead, staring down at his leg, reminding himself that the possibility was a
lot further off than what he’d hoped it would be. Sure he could get in the
ocean, feel the warm salty air run over his heated skin. All he had to do was
unfasten his leg, slip off his shirt and shoes, and dive right in. But he
wouldn’t embarrass himself. Not today—or most likely not ever.

Masses of people surrounded
him. Parents building sandcastles with their little ones. Kids burying each
other in the sand. One father in particular caught his gaze, holding a toddler,
no older than two. The boy was thrown into the air, around and around in a
circle, over and over. The giggles emanating from his tiny mouth were
infectious, and David smiled, just staring at the scene, envisioning himself in
the man’s shoes for the shortest of seconds.

His son or daughter would have
Abigail’s blue eyes…his own black hair. They’d be on vacation together, as a
family, visiting their Aunt Harley and Uncle Mason every summer. The thoughts
of picnics and late night bonfires infiltrated his mind, just as an
unmistakable ache of sadness rubbed raw against his ribs and stomach. God, to
have that kind of life, to truly envision that sort of happiness with the girl
he loved both scared him and excited him at the same time. But his fears were
constant reminders as well, telling him that he’d never get the chance to
obtain that sort of pleasure in life, no matter how much he wished it.