Thunder

Abigail sat in what used to be her and her father's home. It felt empty without the man's presence, despite how tense he had also made the environment seem.

The brunette felt horrible for leaving Alex, for pushing him away like she had. It was what had to be done right? She had to stick to the plan; letting Alex back in her life would ruin the plan and at this point, that just couldn't happen.

The plan was simple, in her eyes. She was going to kill herself; not attempt. She would succeed this time and she was sure of it. Everything to go through with it was in front of her eyes. The blades. The pills.

Before she began her plan, though, she had convinced herself to write a letter to all of her new friends, starting with Alex himself.

While writing the letter, Abigail found herself sobbing heavily. Her own words and handwriting becoming nothing more than a blur through her blue eyes. The blank ink smearing when her salty tears plopped down on the paper.

Dear Alex,

I know that you probably hate me right now and I don't blame you in the slightest. I hate myself, too. I had a plan, though, that I had to go through with. If I let you in my life even closer... I couldn't go through with it. It's best for everyone this way, I promise. Maybe one day you can forgive me for this. Don't stay too hung up on me, Alex. I promise you I'm not worth that kind of trouble. If you're reading this, I'm probably already gone. I'm so sorry, Alex. I'm so fucking sorry for doing this. What else could I do, though? Nothing. This was my only way out. My only way to escape the sadness. The only thing I could do to get away from it all. I'm going to miss you the most. You were my first real friend... The first person I trusted. My first kiss. My first boyfriend. You introduced me to some of my other first real friends - Jack and Rian. I love you, Alexander William. I love you so much. Please don't forget that. One day, we'll meet again; it'll be a while before it's your time to come see me, though. Just remember what you promised me. You promised that you would stay, Alex. Don't break that promise, please. If anything, just keep that promise to me. I love you.

Love,
Abigail Speed

Throwing the pen down on the ground, Abigail ripped the slip of paper out of the notebook. Alex would hate her for this, she was sure. He would never forgive her for hurting him, but this is what had to be done, right?

A few minutes passed before Abigail began a new letter, this one addressed to Rian Dawson.

Dear Rian,

I just want to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for being my friend and being there for me. You stood up to my father that night when you barely knew me. It was the first you had heard anything about the dark things that had happened to me. At first, when Alex formally introduced us, I'm sure you thought I was some freak. Alex's charity case, to say the least. When you found out about my dark present and past, I'm sure you broadened your horizons a little bit. I was still Alex's charity case, nonetheless. I was also your friend, though. You showed me what it was like to have a real friend, along with Alex and Jack. Thank you for that. Thank you for being you, Rian. I hope you, too, can also forgive me for doing this. I'm so sorry.

Abigail Speed

Taking a deep breath, Abigail repeated the process from the last letter and began her final note - Jack Barakat's.

Dear Jack,

I wish we had more time to get to know each other. I wish that we were better friends while there was still time. There isn't time, though. The time is up, but that's okay. I still thank you for being my friend while the chance was there. You didn't judge me when you heard the nasty things Dakota was saying and that meant a lot to me. You made me laugh on my horrible days, which is all I could ask for. At first, you scared me. You were very happy and very excited about everything. I envy you for that, Jack. I wish I could have had your carefree attitude and your positive outlook on life. You're a great human being, Jack Barakat. Thank you for being nonjudgmental and making me smile while you could.

Abigail Speed

After the girl had finished writing her final goodbyes to her friends, she took a deep breath. It was time.

*****

"Alex, please, calm down," Rian's voice tried to soothe his best friend, who was currently having a mild panic attack on his front doorstep.

"How the hell can I calm down, Rian?!" Alex practically screamed into the younger boy's face. "She fucking left me! I need her so fucking much and she doesn't care."

"She does care, Alex!" Rian shouted back; still in disbelief that these two teenagers thought the other didn't care about them. "Abigail adores you, 'Lex. How can you not see that?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I guess the view of her running out of my front yard didn't tell me that she adores me," Alex spat angrily. He wanted to hate Abigail; he really did. He couldn't, though. She changed him. He was a better person now because of her and she didn't see that.

"Alex, just... please..." Rian began, stopping mid-sentence. He had no idea where he was going with the thought so there was no point in continuing. He just let his best friend cry. That's all he needed right now; to cry.

*****

Shortly after Alex had called Jack from the lake earlier that day, Jack began growing worried, trying to push any negative thoughts out of his head. Abigail was fine. Alex was fine. Everyone was going to be fine... right?

It had seemed to be working, that is, until, he received another phone call, this time from Rian. "I drove Abigail over to Alex's house... so they could work things out, you know? And they talked for a few minutes and she started to leave, until Alex kissed her."

"Okay, good..." Jack started, feeling a large weight leave his shoulders. "So, everything's okay now, right?"

"Not exactly, Jack," Rian spoke with a hint of nervousness evident in his voice. "Abigail told Alex that she 'couldn't do this' and ran off and we haven't heard from her since. Jack, I'm really fucking worried. What if she tries doing something?"

"Fuck," Jack muttered. "God fucking dammit," he said, this time a bit louder. It was obvious how much Alex cared for this girl; he'd be an absolute wreck without her. "Where's Alex now?"

"He's with me. I'm trying to calm him down, but that's not working very well..."

"I'm going to go to Abigail's house. I'll call if I find out anything, okay?" Jack offered, shoving his beat up sneakers onto his feet and already heading out the front door of his home.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks, Jack," Rian said, hurriedly, hanging up the phone, to comfort Alex.

*****

Jack knocked repeatedly on Abigail's front door, but there was no answer. "God dammit, please be here," the skunk haired boy muttered to himself. Suddenly, an idea formed in his head. Turning the silver doorknob to see if it was unlocked, Jack mumbled out a victorious "yes!" The door was unlocked.

Looking around the, what seemed to be, abandoned house, Jack had to think quick. Where would Abigail's bedroom be? Jogging up the stairs, he saw a white door with a wooden "A" plastered on it. Common sense took over, Jack shoved the door open - seeing nothing. The bed was made. Everything was in order; well, it looked like it was, he assumed, since he had never been in her bedroom.

Noticing another door that was slightly ajar, Jack took his chances and ambled towards it and pushed it open.

The sight on the other side of the door was something Jack could have never prepared himself for. The girl he had seen just a few hours prior seemed to be drowning in a red sea.