Thunder

Around 3:30am, Rian and Alex had finally gotten Abigail to calm down, and Rian had given the pair a ride to the Gaskarth home.

“Thanks again, Rian,” Alex nodded, as Rian shot a welcoming smile.

“Anytime, Alex,” Rian said, pulling off to go to his own home. As he drove away, Rian couldn’t help but think about the unexpected events of the night. He had learned so much Abigail. He was honestly shocked about all of it. Abigail seemed to hold it together so well. She seemed as if she were unbreakable.

“Alex,” Abigail finally spoke, her voice cracking, once she realized they were alone. “I’m scared about… tomorrow… What if they don’t find him guilty…” Abigail asked, sharing her fears, stopping in the middle of Alex’s driveway.

“How could they not, Abigail? You’re covered in bruises. There’s no way he’ll be innocent,” Alex tried to comfort her the best he could, but deep down, he feared the same exact thing. If Abigail’s father was innocent, she’d be right back in that house with him.

“I guess so…” the girl yawned, scrunching her nose together. “Where were you at anyway?” the girl cocked a thin eyebrow, running her hands across her bony, cold arms, taking in the night’s air.

“I was at Jack’s… we were throwing a party,” Alex shrugged as if it were every day news that he ditched a party with his best friend to go confess that he loved a girl.

“Oh… You should’ve stayed… I feel like I ruined your night now…” Abigail shifted her weight to her left leg, staring at the concrete beneath her.

“Two things wrong with that, though, babe,” Alex smirked as he saw Abigail’s cheeks turn a bright red, even in the dark he could see that, at him calling her babe. “I wanted to go to you. I was the one who left the party and asked Rian to help me find your house. And if Rian and I didn’t leave that party, we would’ve never been able to save you from your father.”

“I guess you’re right,” Abigail said awkwardly, staying a bit of distance from Alex. “What made you decide you love me, though?” she asked the question that had been gnawing at her since Alex said it.

“Let’s just say that while I was, uh… in the middle of something with some girl,” Alex said awkwardly, as Abigail’s face kind of fell at the thought of Alex with someone else. “She told me she wanted me, and in response to that, I told her ‘I love you, Abigail’. After that happened, I kind of thought it should’ve been you to hear me say I loved you, not some other chick.”

“I’m glad you came,” Abigail smiled at Alex in the darkness. With everything that happened, though, Abigail couldn’t help but wonder where she and Alex stood. They were past friends, but not exactly a relationship.

“I am, too,” Alex said, stepping closer to Abigail, closing the space between them. “We’re going to get through this together, alright?”

Sighing heavily, Abigail looked up at Alex, “You promise?” she asked hopefully.

“I promise,” Alex said, tilting Abigail’s head up a bit, eyeing the bruise around her eye. “Despite what you may or may not think, even with the bruises, scars, cuts and burns… I still think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met,” Alex spoke truthfully, pressing his lips softly against the bruise.

“Alex…” the girl whispered softly, taking everything about the night – or at least trying to.

“Yes?” Alex said, looking into the familiar blue irises he had grown to love. “What’s up?” he asked, after he didn’t get a response to his first question.

“Can I kiss you this time?” the seventeen year old asked shyly, looking down at the ground again, trying to avoid her embarrassment.

“I’ll even participate,” Alex laughed at his own joke. “But, really, I’d love-,” before he could even finish his thought, he felt a pair of lips crash on to his. It took him a minute to respond back, for he was taken aback by how in control Abigail seemed to be.

But what shocked him the most, though, was Abigail’s response when he pulled away from the kiss. “Hey, I’m not done yet,” the girl smirked, pulling him back into the kiss.

After a few more minutes of kissing, Abigail finally pulled away, feeling even more nervous. She never did anything thing like that. “Um… sorry…” she said, running a hand through her hair awkwardly.

“Don’t be,” Alex reassured her, laughing at how embarrassed she had gotten. “Trust me, I enjoyed it,” he said, kissing her forehead quickly. Alex laughed lightly when Abigail let one more yawn out. “It’s almost 4am, let’s go get some sleep.”

——-

Much to Alex’s preference, Abigail didn’t fall asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She couldn’t even if she wanted to.

Alex tried the best he could to get the girl to fall asleep , but no luck. “Abigail, you need to get some sleep. I know it’s probably the last thing on your mind, but you have a huge day tomorrow,” Alex whispered, wrapping his arms around Abigail, who was lying in his bed next to him.

A feeling of security and safety washed over Abigail as she rested her hand on top of Alex’s. “I’m just scared, Alex…” the girl bit her lip nervously. She knew just as well as anyone did that there was a good chance that her father would be let off innocent.

“What is there to be scared of?” Alex’s hot breath sent chills down Abigail’s spine.

“Alex, they’ll want to see bruises. When they see the bruises, they’ll see cuts. Someone’s going to get locked up, either way. If it’s not my father, it’s going to be me. Hell, it just might be both,” Abigail said, staring at the pale wall in front of her.

Alex didn’t respond. He honestly hadn’t thought about that. He had nearly forgotten all about the cuts and scars. Without a word, Alex placed his hand under Abigail’s tee shirt, resting it on her stomach. Feeling Abigail’s stomach suddenly move in, Alex queried. “Are you okay?”

“I just… I didn’t want you to feel the cuts…” Abigail said quietly, keeping her stomach sucked in as far in as she could.

“You know I don’t care about those. I only care about you,” Alex whispered into her ear, as he felt her stomach suddenly move outwards again.

“Alex, you and I both know that I’m not going to get any sleep ,” Abigail finally said after a few minutes of silence, and turning herself around.

Sighing heavily, Alex shot a lazy smile at the brunette in front in front of him. “I know. I was kind of hoping my thoughts were going to be proven wrong, though.”

Shooting Alex one of her own smiles, Abigail wrapped her bony, frail legs between Alex’s. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” Alex smirked a little, placing his lips on Abigail’s.

The kiss lasted a few more seconds, before the pair pulled away simultaneously, and Abigail was left with her thoughts again.

After every time they kissed and every time they said “I love you”, Abigail couldn’t help but wonder where they stood with each other. She was aware that they were a bit more than friends, but not exactly an official relationship.

Of course, she wanted to ask, but she knew better than that. Asking would make everything awkward, especially if Alex didn’t want an official relationship with her.

Besides that, she knew Alex would give her some lecture about this not being the “appropriate time” for her to be in a relationship. Much to Alex’s belief, Abigail hadn’t felt this way about anyone, ever. Sure, she liked guys, but it never felt like this. Ever.

“Abigail?” Alex’s voice broke the girl out of her trance. “Abigail?” he repeated himself.

“What?” Abigail’s jumped, startled a little bit. “I’m sorry… I zoned out. What’d you say?”

“I asked if you were okay. You seem kind of out of it,” Alex said, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

“Oh… sorry, I was just thinking,” Abigail said sheepishly, shrugging her shoulders. Half of her hoped Alex would ask about what, but the other half was scared he would.

“About what?” Alex interrogated, as if reading the seventeen year old’s mind.

“Um… nothing,” Abigail said, chickening out. She wanted to bring it up, but she was terrified of what Alex’s reaction would be. She knew the worst that could happen would be he tells her no and that he doesn’t want her to be in a relationship right now. The more negative side of her, though, began eating at her thoughts. It was beginning to make her think that Alex was only doing this because he felt sorry for her. She knew Alex’s reputation just as well as everyone else did, so what made her any different from every other girl he had been with? What if his plan was to just screw her then leave?

“Just stuff, I guess,” was all Abigail replied with, despite her nagging thoughts in her mind.

“Abigail,” Alex said in a knowing tone. He could tell by the way she was answering that she was clearly hiding something. Normally, Alex wasn’t the type to press people for what they were thinking. He usually hadn’t cared much for what people thought, but now that he had seen what Abigail’s thoughts could do to her, he felt obligated to ask. “You can talk to me, you know that.”

Sighing heavily, Abigail began, trying to say as less as possible. Of course, though, just as every time she tried to say as less as she could with Alex, everything came out like word vomit. “I was thinking about why we’re not official yet. I mean, I know this probably isn’t even the best time for me to date someone. But, you know what, Alex? I’ve never felt this way about someone. I don’t know, really. You just make me feel like things might actually get better. I don’t want this to just be a casual thing, because I’m scared, Alex. I’m scared out of my mind. I just want to know if-…”

Alex mentally agreed with everything Abigail said. He wanted to be in a relationship with her just as much as she did with him. He was just scared, for the same reasons as she was, because he thought she’d reject him, thinking she couldn’t be in a relationship at this stage of her life, and everything would be awkward.

Cutting her off mid-ramble, Alex met Abigail’s lips with his. He wasn’t sure how else to assure that he wanted to be with her, as well, simply because he didn’t know any words that could describe the way he felt about this girl.

When he finally pulled away, revealing a stunned Abigail, he couldn’t help but chuckle at her facial expression. “I want to be with you, too. More than anything I’ve ever wanted in my lifetime. You’ve honestly changed me in the short time that I’ve known you. I know we’ve only known each other for about a week, and fuck, we only talked for two of those days, but I don’t know, Abigail. I really don’t. I can’t explain the way you make me feel. You make me feel like I’m doing something right in my life. I like that feeling. I love you and I want to be with you for as long as possible.”

Abigail, nearly speechless, tried to find the best words she could. Still, though, she didn’t understand anything Alex was telling her. “So, what are you saying?” she queried, bracing herself for the worst outcome her mind could think of.

“I’m saying… well, fuck, Abigail,” Alex laughed, running a hand through his hair, feeling his eye lids getting heavier. “I want you. I want us. I’m desperate to make this work. You really don’t get how absolutely and unconditionally beautiful I think you are, or how much I love you. I know you’re probably iffy about the whole me loving you think because of your past, but I don’t care about your past, Abigail. I care about you and you alone. I know I’ve got a reputation that you’re not exactly fond of, and I’m not exactly proud of it. I know it scares you. You think you’ll be just like every other girl I was with, right?” he asked, as Abigail nodded slowly. “But I love you, and I think you and I really have something here, Abigail. No, I’m not asking for some sort of commitment. I know you’re probably not ready for something like that. I’m just asking for a chance for me to prove how much you mean to me and how badly I want this to work.”

Abigail blinked a few times at the boy in front of her. This was the Alex Gaskarth that was known for screwing girls and then screwing them over with whatever baggage he decided to leave them with when he was done, but here he was, telling Abigail how much she had changed him and how bad he wanted the two of them to be in a relationship and he so desperately wanted it to work. “Alex, I… I don’t really get what you’re saying…” Abigail said truthfully. She didn’t get what he was saying. He was spilling all of this to her, but he still hadn’t said the words she was looking for.

“I want you to be my girlfriend,” Alex finally said the seven words Abigail had been longing to hear all night.

“Only if you get to be my boyfriend.”