Use Somebody

More than anything, after being raped- Abigail hated herself. She could barely even look in the mirror without getting angry. She hated herself for putting herself in the situation to be raped, she hated herself for not being more careful, for not listening to Marc, for not getting away fast enough or fighting back hard enough, but mostly she hated herself because she knew deep in her heart she would never be the same.

Even though getting over it seemed like a far off dream, she knew if it ever happened there would still be a piece of her missing, something that could never be filled. Because even if she got over it, she still would have been a rape victim. That's something you just can't take away.

Abigail didn't even let anyone in her room for the next few days. Linda still made her meals, but left them outside her door. She always brought inside and picked at until she felt sick again. She would then place the more than half full plate back outside in the hallway, and lock her door behind her.

Her eyes burned from the tears, her throat was raw from puking and crying- sometimes even screaming into her pillow, her body was constantly weak, and her heart always ached. She felt broken, like a toy that had run out of batteries. She couldn't stop crying, she couldn't stop hating herself, she couldn't stop the images that were burned into her brain.

After almost a full week of being isolated from the Staal's, Marc got worried. Well, more worried than he already was that is. His brothers began asking questions constantly, they wanted to know why there was a crying girl locked in their guest room and why she seemed so distant. But out of all of his brothers, Jordan seemed to take the most interest in Abigail. He'd ask more questions, spend more time walking past her room, and sometimes when no one was home, he would knock on the door and ask her to come out.

It seemed that Abigail Franco had taken up a permanent residence in Jordan Staal's brain. He thought about her almost all the time, he constantly wondered what she was doing, why she was crying, why Marc had brought her to Thunder Bay for the whole summer. And because Marc wasn't giving him any answers any time soon, he was just left to wonder.

Jordan was walking past Abigail's room one afternoon and he knew the house was empty. Everyone was out doing their own thing and because Jordan was always one to sleep late, he was just getting his day started. Just as he stepped past her room, he heard the door creek open slowly. He spun around quickly, looking at the door with a shocked expression.

Abigail was slowly leaving her room; dressed in a pair of black cloth shorts and a tight Rangers tee-shirt. Jordan admired the fact the shirt hugged her every curve and her shorts really showed off her legs, he stopped himself from starting just in time for Abby to look up and notice him standing there.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Jordan furrowed his eyebrows, "Why are you saying sorry?" He asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged nervously. They were quite for a few moments as Jordan continued to stare. Her face had cleared up and the bags were slowly getting smaller, the red blotches were no longer on her face either.

"You look good today," he told her. She blushed furiously and tugged on the bottom of her shorts, trying to make them longer.

"Thanks," she mumbled awkwardly.

"Hungry?" He asked her, smiling. She looked up at him with her wide green eyes and nodded quickly.

"Yes," she said. Jordan smiled wider and nodded towards the stairs.

"Come on, let's see if my Mom has anything left in the fridge. I know she usually goes shopping today and in a house full of guys, the chance of there being anything left is pretty slim to none," he told her. Abigail nodded and followed Jordan as they walked down the stairs.

Despite not knowing Jordan very long, she felt oddly comfortable with him. She didn't trust him in the least bit- he was a guy after all- but she didn't feel as awkward as she thought she would around him. In saying this, she still felt considerably awkward around him, but it wasn't at a level where she wanted to run and hide. He was just there and Abigail was okay with that. She guessed what Marc had told her was right- his family was nice.

When they got to the kitchen Jordan made a b-line for the fridge, throwing the door open and shuffling around the shelves. "Ha!" He yelled. "We've got eggs!" He smiled brightly, holding up the carton and showing Abigail. She gave him a small smile and nodded, shifting her weight between each of her legs.

"I'm not a very good cook, but I make some good omelets, you in?" He asked her, still smiling widely. He seemed proud of himself in some odd sort of way, and it amused Abigail slightly.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Nice, you can help too!"

Abigail chopped peppers and ham while Jordan got the cheese and whisked the eggs together. They cooked in mostly silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. They were preoccupied with cooking and that was enough to keep them both busy and quite until the eggs were done. Jordan plated their meals and Abby poured them each a glass of milk. As they sat down Jordan smiled over at the small brunette sitting next to him.

"We make a pretty good team," he announced, cutting his omelet with his fork and shoving the piece in his mouth.

"We do," Abigail flashed a small smile and nodded.

"Is it okay if I call you Abby?" He asked.

"Yeah, Marc calls me that sometimes," she told him with another small smile. Jordan nodded and and looked at her carefully, smiling himself.

"You know, you should smile more often," he told her.

"Why?" She asked, becoming flustered and uncomfortable.

"Because you look pretty when you smile," he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing. Abigail blushed fiercely and set her head down so Jordan wouldn't notice. "You look pretty cute when you blush too," he added.