Status: In Progress

The Icy Lens

A Short Flash

It had only been two days since she had moved in with Matt, but she was finally starting to feel some sense of normalcy. Living with him was like the old days growing up, helping to chip away at the numbness inside. However there were still reminders of her sudden, brash choice to pick up and leave. When she looked down at her phone there was yet another stream of text messages and voicemails listed, all from David. With one quick swipe of her finger she deleted them without a thought. Abby didn’t want to hear his excuses, his side of the story, or hear him beg for her to go back. She wanted him to disappear so she could move on.

Abby washed her hair and bare skin that morning, hoping that the water would help wash away the thoughts in her mind. She threw on a t-shirt that Matt had given her the night before and a pair of shorts before wrapping her hair in a towel. She had a long day ahead including the morning optional skate, pre-game meetings, and the evening match-up against Boston. Abby walked through the hall as the scent of burning food filled the air. Some things would never change, and one of them was the fact that Matt couldn't cook if his life depended on it.

Abby smiled and headed into the kitchen saying, “Ah, I love waking up to the smell of burnt omelets in the morning.” A spatula flew past her head hitting the wall beside her and she burst out laughing, “You need to work on your cooking, and your aim.” She joined him at the stove after he threw out the burnt eggs and started from square one. Just as she was about to add the peppers and onions to the eggs they both heard the sound of the sliding door open. “Hey Bro, we came for food,” said a familiar voice from behind room as another commented “Dude what smells.” Both her and Matt turned around to see Paul Martin and James Neal. Abby looked at Matt and said, "Do you not lock your doors?"

Paul and James both stood in the kitchen wide-eyed. “Nisky did you two…Are we interrupting something?” James asked cautiously, “That’s what the sock on the door handle is for you know.” As Abby started to turn red Matt quickly said, “Guys she’s practically my sister. It’s not what you think.” James and Paul looked at each other, and then back at them in disbelief. Paul smirked and said, “But she’s wearing your practice shirt.” Abby shook her spatula at them and said, “If you both expect to eat anything then shut up and sit down.” The two obliged her request and sat there silently, still seeming to question why she was there.

She pulled together some extra food and gave everyone a plate before taking a seat next between Matt and James. “So you two totally did it,” James said while pouring hot sauce on his plate, “Why else would she make you breakfast?” She formed a strong fist and punched James in the arm. “Because he can’t cook to save his life… and for the last time, no, we didn’t do it.” She stabbed her eggs with her fork and took a mouthful before saying; “I broke up with David so I'm crashing here for now. Satisfied?” Paul just bit his lip and said nothing, but James muttered out in a teasing tone "I guess Nisky isn't." Instantly it was like they were in middle school again as Matt threw a piece of toast at James. Thankfully after an apology things seemed to settle down, and the topic changed to the upcoming game.

After Paul and James left, Matt helped Abby clean up the mess. "Hey sorry about those two," he said with a chuckle, "I guess we're always going to have to deal with that shit huh?" Ever since they had been in high school when people realized they weren't related, they assumed that they were dating. While they were close friends, the idea of dating never came up between them. For them it was always a family bond, nothing romantic. "Well I have a solution," Abby said with a smirk, "Lock your door and find yourself a girlfriend to shut 'em up!"

Matt let out an awkward chuckle before saying, "I think I want to change the subject. Anyway, don't you have somewhere to be Miss Work-a-Holic?" He pointed up at the clock causing Abby to let out an "eep" sound before running back to her bedroom. She had only 30 minutes to get ready for the long day ahead. She quickly dressed for practice before throwing some professional clothes for later into a bag. Luckily her photography gear was already at work, so all she needed to do was grab her laptop and run. "Whoa, slow down hurricane Abby," Matt said while tossing her a red bull, "Don't forget this, you're gonna need it later." With a smile she said, "Thanks Matt, what would my caffeine habit do without you?" She gave him a quick wave before running out to her car and heading off to work.

--

It didn't take long to get downtown, and before she knew it she was already parked inside the garage. She opened her trunk and started to gather her stuff when she heard a voice behind her; a voice that she didn't want to hear. "Since you won't return my calls I had to track you down myself," he spoke. Abby's blood boiled as she turned around and stared him directly in the eye saying, "Can't you take a hint David? I don't want to talk to you." She grabbed her bags and slammed her trunk shut, brushing past him as she walked towards the elevator. He ran up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder saying, "Babe, hold up we just need to talk." In a fury Abby dropped her bag on the ground and yelled, "Don't you dare touch me, and don't you ever call me babe ever again." She turned away as he said, "You're making a mistake Abby, Just calm down."

"I made the mistake David? I need to calm down?" she growled, "You are the one who fucked up, not me!" She reached down for her bag and David grabbed her arm, holding onto it so she couldn't walk away. "I came here to apologize and this is how you react? I thought we could patch things up..." Abby interrupted him and said, "Patch things up? You cheated on me. Did you think I would just jump into your arms if you said you were sorry? Well guess what, I'm not coming back. You should have thought things through before you screwed someone else."

David tightened his grip on her arm said, "Oh, so it's all my fault? I see. You want to play that game. Well then guess what? I have needs too, needs that you weren't around to fulfill. So blame yourself for driving me to this." He proceeded to remind her that she was never home with her work schedule, and when she was they never spent time together. He blamed her for having to stray elsewhere for physical satisfaction and companionship. The final knife twist occurred when he finished his rant with "You were so busy with work that you didn't realize how long this was going on."

His final words struck a chord with her and she started to feel her eyes tear up. She had been blind; not only his cheating, but also in regards to who he really was. "It's been months," he continued with a sneer, "And multiple people too." Abby was trying to hold in her tears as she took her free arm and smacked him hard across the face; the sound echoed in the garage as her hand stung.

"Excuse me, this is a private garage and you don't belong here," a voice said from behind, "Is he bothering you? Do I need to call Security?" She turned and saw that it was none other than James Neal. He walked up to her dressed in his suit, appearing to stare down her former fiancé like he was a forward from Philly. David let go, and started to back away with a snarl, "No problem here, I think we're done." David turned around and started to walk away, but not without saying, "No one to blame except yourself, remember that you ungrateful little bitch."

Part of Abby wanted to run up to him and pummel him herself, but instead she bit down on her lip. She reached down and grabbed her bags before briskly walking to the elevator. She needed to get inside the building and get away from him. "Hey, wait up," James said while running up next to her as she hit the button. They got onto the elevator and stood there as they began to move. "He seems like an ass," he said awkwardly while shifting his body against the side of the elevator, "Are you sure that you're..."

Abby's temper let loose as she said in an angered tone, "Do you think I'm ok? Five years down the drain and now he's saying it's my fault he cheated? Then he proceeds to shove my face that I was blind the entire time. Exactly how do you think I feel?" As his face started to show a mix of remorse and fear realized what she had done. She knew he was just trying to be nice, he didn't deserve to hear that. "I'm sorry, I just, I didn't mean to flip," she said as the elevator door opened. James flashed her a smile and said nicely, "It's fine, just don't slap me, that looked like it hurt."

As they got off the elevator she stopped in the hallway and looked over at him and said, "Hey, thanks for walking up and interrupting." She saw him flash what the media called his "million dollar" smile before saying, "First I get punched, now I get a thank you. I should threaten ex's more often." Abby smiled and let out a laugh, "Don't push your luck, You're no prince charming." James winked and said, "You're right, I'm more of a knight in shining armor." Abby almost instantly rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, just take the thank you and quit while you’re ahead." As they finished walking the length of the hall he entered the locker room, but not before taking his hand and messing up her hair. Abby blew her now messy bangs away from her face and let out a slight laugh while heading to her office to finally begin her work day.

--

The group that showed up for practice was small, since most of the team took the morning as a maintenance day like Matt. After snapping some images she headed up to her office and quickly sent the photos off to the web team to put up online. She flew through her meetings like normal, and before she knew it she had to get ready for the evening game. Since she hadn't had time to do laundry, she threw on a black pair of pants and a button down black dress shirt with the NHL logo on it. Her jewelry consisted of her staff lanyard, and she completed the outfit with a pair of heels. Abby grabbed her bag and headed downstairs to go meet Matt for his pre-game snack.

As she walked into the room she watched as he motioned for her to sit down and have some pizza. She took a slice and waited a few minutes before explaining what happened in the morning with David. Matt was far from pleased, in fact he was furious. "Matt, Chill," she said, "I don't want to drag this out any further. It's too much to keep being reminded about it." He sighed and said, "Listen I can't ignore this, He should pay for what he did to you." Abby shook her head and said, "He won't get away with it. He'll find out how lonely he is someday, and if not? Well, then I should be thankful that it ended now and not after I walked down the isle."

Abby knew it would be extremely difficult for him to ignore what happened, but it was what she wanted. She didn't want anything else to do with David, and she sure as hell didn't want Matt getting into trouble over a dead relationship. "Matt, I promised you I wouldn't blame myself," she said while taking his hand across the table, "So I need you to promise me you won't start any trouble. Please?" She looked at him with her "puppy dog" eyes causing him to finally agree. "Now if you want to take out all that anger, do it on Lucic tonight," she said with a smirk, "You know how much I dislike that prick." Matt started to laugh and said, "Sure thing, now that I can do."
♠ ♠ ♠
Music Inspiration:
Goyte "Somebody that I used to Know"
Readymade Breakup "Starting to End"