Chasing the Sun

“What are you doing here?” Tyler growled as soon as he saw ‘the people who were there for him’. The red head, an almost mirror image of an older Abbey laughed slightly, the older man on her left side looking tired.

“Come to see my baby girl. Heard she was in the hospital.” She replied snarkily. Tyler’s blood began to boil after each passing second that she was standing in front of this woman, the same woman who had basically broke Abbey down to nothing her freshman year of high school.

“You’re not going to see her.” He replied simply, standing his ground in the process.

Although he never met the woman, and only recognized her from the few pictures Abbey had of her, Tyler knew the type of trouble she could cause from the stories Abbey had spoken so infrequently of. The only time her mother was ever brought up was either when she was drunk or extremely upset about having a dead beat, throughout the years she had made it very apparent that it was a touchy subject that had no real substance being talked about in their home.

“I’m her mother,” Loren spat through her teeth, from beside her the unknown man had grabbed onto her hand and pulled her back from out of Tyler’s face. He didn’t know whether or not to be thankful for that gesture because he wasn’t sure what exactly what about to go down, or disgusted because this was undoubtedly one of her mother’s drug dealing boyfriends- at least he assumed he was one.

“I would have to disagree with you on that one.”

“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” she questioned, firing back quickly. Tyler chuckled, it was kind of a low blow he was about to take, but in all fairness Abbey wasn’t able to currently stand up for herself, and so instead she would have him to stand up in her honor.

“You broke her. Broke her down good and well. You better count your lucky stars that she had a fantastic father who actually loved and provided for her, unlike her crack head, doping mother. She almost didn’t go to university because of you, because all those things you said to her… She didn’t believe in herself because of you. Because you called her a slut, and that she wasn’t good enough. What it really was the pot calling the kettle black. You were the whore. You were the one not good enough for her, and her sisters, and her father. You were the problem not her.” Tyler would eventually regret what he had said, someday, because who called their fiancées mother- even estranged- a whore? It was the emotion of all the pent up shit he’d been dealing with in the past couple of days finally catching up to him. He didn’t really mean it… Or did he?

“Tough shit. So she had a rough life, it made her stronger. That’s why she isn’t dead yet.” If he hadn’t heard already the type of loving, and positive speaking person that Loren McNealy was, he wouldn’t believe his ears as he heard what she was saying now. Who the hell even speaks to about their daughter like that?

“I suggest you leave,” Tyler made known as soon as she was finished speaking. All the negative vibes that she was bringing into the hospital were no help for the positive energy needed to get Abbey better. Make her leave now, or he’d be paying later. Loren opened her mouth, as to speak again. “No. Go home. Go back to wherever the hell you came from and stay there. We don’t need you. Abbey doesn’t need you.”

He hadn’t necessarily expected Loren- and her slightly scary looking man friend- to leave so easily, in a way he thought that possibly that he’d have to get a security officer for them to be escorted out, but when she picked up her purse and muttered a half-assed good bye, Tyler almost jumped with joy.

One pain in the ass down… One more apparently to go.

As soon as Abbey’s mother walked away Sid walked up, a baseball cap pulled low on his head, a couple of brown curls poking out the side. Ever since his concussion in the middle of last season, he had been yet to be cleared for full contact, and to playing in actual games. Lately in his exuberant amount of free time he had been spending it at the hospital with Tyler, taking over shifts of watching Abbey to make sure he was actually eating three square meals a day, taking showers, and getting a couple hours of sleep.

“What was that all about?” He asked, pointing back towards where Loren was walking out. Tyler shrugged, he really wasn’t up to explaining the whole Abbey/mother debacle, nor was it his place.

“Abbey’s mom. She’s… difficult.” That was the best adjective he could find to describe her in that moment in time without giving away what was really happening. “She just brings negativity, and I know Abbey wouldn’t want her here.” Maybe that was too much to offer, but Sidney didn’t pick up on it.

“Oh,” he mumbled, balancing his bag on his shoulder. In the shifts they were taking, Sidney would watch video highlights of games to free the time he spent sitting, Tyler wasn’t one hundred percent okay with somebody not watching her 24/7 like he had been, but it was good for him to get out of the hospital. Even if it were for just a little bit. “My turn. Go home and get some sleep. You look like you died.” If that was supposed to be a joke, Tyler hadn’t picked up on it, he just gazed past Sidney and towards the entrance for the ICU.

“If she comes back, don’t let her in.” Tyler used vague pronouns to describe her, but Sidney caught on to what he was talking about.

“Got it, boss. Don’t let the crazy lady come near Abbey Road.” Tyler grinned; Sid really was a good guy.

“I’ll be back in a little bit.” He mumbled, expressing a yawn. Sidney nodded as he made his way back to the IC Unit, and towards Abbey’s room.