Yep, its been a while since I've updated; like over a year. Just life has been a little crazy. Hopefully I still have some readers left. If so please enjoy and let me know what you think!


Chapter Nine

Reality?

I woke to the feeling of someone playing with my hair. At first my groggy mind thought it was my mother and my body tensed. I felt the person that was playing with my hair pause.

"Abby it's okay. It's just me." I heard the beautiful voice of Abraham reassure me.

My body loosened and my mind finally started functioning completely and that's when I took notice of my situation. Abraham was resting behind me with one arm wrapped around my waist and the other was tangled up in my hair from where he had been playing with it while I slept. When I asked for him to stay with me last night, I didn't give a thought about waking back up with him still here. At the time I just didn't want to be alone. I was surprised that he hadn't left to go rest in his tank of water.

Feeling his body heat and parts of his skin touching mine made my face grow warm. This was the most intimate position I had ever found myself in with Abraham and I wasn't sure how to proceed.

"Are you alright?" He asked when I continued to be unresponsive.

I blinked and pushed down my embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just surprised to still find you here is all." I told him.

I felt his breath on the back of my neck as he let out a long sigh. His hand around my waist twitched as he gripped me just a tad tighter against his own body.

"Abby, you were terrified to sleep alone of course I wouldn't leave you to wake up by yourself." Abraham reassured me. His hand that had went still in my tangled mess of hair started weaving its way through my hair again.

"Thanks for staying." I muttered quietly as I savored his attention.

"Of course, I will always be there for you. I promise." He assured me.

His words made my insides ache. I would love to believe he would always be there but I knew someday that he would have a bigger priority in his life than me. Someday he would meet the love of his life and I truly wondered if he would still have time for me in his life.

"Don't make promises you might not be able to keep." I said quietly; not even realizing at first that I had truly said it out loud until I felt Abraham jolt from behind me.

"Why would you even say something like that?" He questioned me. I could hear the hurt in his voice.

"You're going to have a wonderful future Abraham and someday you might not have time for my nonsense." I told him. He huffed in response before maneuvering me around so I was face to face with him.

I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye. His eyes always showed his emotions when his face wasn't able to express it. I was unsuccessful though when his hand that once had been tangled into my hair moved down to my chin to lift it so I was looking at him eye to eye. My breath left me as I stared up into his large oval eyes that made me think of the night sky.

"Abby, there is nothing that could happen that would make me not have time for you. Nothing!" He assured me but I shook my head in denial. His eyes showed confusion at my unwillingness to believe him. "Then tell me what makes you say this. What have you seen in my future that you think could make me not be there for you?" He questioned.

I stayed silent unable to get the words to pass my lips. Just thinking about his future hurt my heart. I couldn't imagine what saying it out loud to him would do to me. To tell him that he would meet the love of his life and be so happy. Happier than I have ever seen him but knowing that I was not that someone that put the twinkle and spark in his eyes that I've seen him gaze at the mystery woman with.

"Abby, please just tell me." He begged his voice just above a whisper. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to gather my courage.

"Love," was the only word that would slip past my lips. His head tilted in question not understanding.

"Love?" He echoed the word back to me in confusion.

I sighed knowing I would now I have to explain.

"You find love Abraham." I told him forcing the words to come out of my mouth.

I could no longer look him directly in his eyes instead I rested my gaze on his left shoulder. I felt the arm that was still around my waist grip me tighter pulling my body even closer to his and I could feel his stare on my face. I couldn't bring myself to say anything more and he stared at me in silence for what felt like an eternity but was probably only minutes.

I didn't know what was going on in his mind but I knew he was thinking hard about something. Through the loose fabric of my shirt I could feel his webbed fingers twitch against my side as he seemed to take in what I had told him. Any other time I would have laughed at the slight tickling sensation but not today. My body felt frozen as I waited for him to say something in response.

"How do you know I find love?" His voice was hesitant and quite as he asked finally breaking the silence that had surrounded us.

"I've seen it." I told him quietly. My heart felt like it was breaking as the words came from my mouth. I never thought I would have to tell Abraham about my visions. I figured I wouldn't have to truly deal with the pain of rejection until it actually happened. "I've seen you with her. I see the love that you have for her; it's obvious. She will make you very happy." The words tumbled out of my mouth like vomit.

I felt Abraham's hand squeeze my side again. His hand that hand been resting on my chin to force me look at him moved to my cheek. His webbed hand was spread out caressingly my cheek. I could feel the blood rush to my face in response to his touch but I was confused by what he was doing and why.

"Do you know who this mystery woman is?" He asked me. I shook my head no.

"I've never heard her name and my visions never show me her face." I explained to him. I kept my voice as emotionless as possible so he wouldn't hear my heart breaking.

"Abby, I don't need to find love." He told me. This made my face scrunch up in confusion. He was making no sense. "I've already found it."

Those four words crushed what was left of my already breaking heart. My blood ran cold and my body felt detached from my mind. I couldn't breathe. A million thoughts ran quickly through my mind. Had the mystery woman showed up while I spent two months in a coma? Was she a new agent at The Bureau that I had not yet gotten to meet? The more these thoughts raced through my mind the more upset I got. While I was in a coma fighting to get back to Abraham, Hellboy, and Professor Broom; Abraham had found his soul mate. Abraham was the light in my darkness that I knew I couldn't be without. I didn't want to live in a world that told me he didn't exist. Now I wake up to find out that my visions of his future were happening. Happening during a time when I needed him the most. I thought I would have more time. More time to dream and hope for something I knew was never going to happen.

"Oh," was all that I could force myself to say. I wasn't even sure if I actually made the sound or just thought I did.

"Abby," he began. His hand that had be resting on my cheek moved to put some of my messy strands of hair behind my ear. My body reacted to his touch and broke out in goosebumps. I could feel his stare but didn't dare look up at him instead I continued to keep my eyes on his shoulder. He took a couple of seconds to speak again. I begged inside my mind that he wasn't going to tell me about the woman. I didn't want to hear about her from Abraham; at least not yet. I had just woken up not even twenty-four hours ago. I wasn't emotionally ready to handle this. "Abby, please look at me." He begged me. I shook my head no. "Abigail please." He tried again.

Slowly I moved my eyes up to meet his. He was watching my every move intensely.

"Abby, I knew I found love quite a long time ago." He finally told me.

I didn't understand.

"How did I not know about her then?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. I always thought of Abraham as my best friend ever since I was a child. So many nights had he set with me as I cried about the monsters in my nightmares and had watched me draw all the horrible things no child should ever see and know were real. He was there for me to talk about anything and everything to. I thought he felt the same. Now he was telling me that he has been in love for a long time now and he never told me. All that useless wishing and hoping for nothing. All those times we spent together and the little moments we would have that gave me just a small shred of hope…. Meant nothing.

My thoughts were broken when I heard Abraham give a small laugh. I didn't understand what was funny. Did he know he was breaking my heart in to a million pieces and thought it was funny? The Abraham I thought I knew would never laugh at someone's pain but maybe I didn't know him as much as I thought I did.

After hearing his small laugh, I couldn't bear to be in his arms anymore. Everything that was happening was just too much for me. I couldn't deal with it. I hadn't been awake long enough to process everything that had happened to me. Everything that happened while I was in a coma still fresh and felt real to me. The thought that this was my own personal little hell that I had died and went to briefly crossed my mind. I pushed myself out of his arms and not realizing until it was too late how little room I had behind me. I felt myself falling backwards and then my back hitting the tiled floor of the hospital room I was in. I could feel the coldness of the tile on my back through my shirt as I stared up at the ceiling. My whole body was protesting from my hasty retreat from Abraham.

"Abby, are you okay?" I heard him ask from above me. His question of my well-being was laced with confusion and a slight bit of panic was also heard. It just made me more annoyed at him.

A second after the question was asked his face came into view. My legs were the only part of me that still was on the bed and I could feel one of his webbed hands hesitantly touching my bare skin of my knee. I could see him staring at me from the corner of my eye but I refused to look away from the ceiling or even move from my fallen position on the floor.

"Abby, are you okay?" He asked me again after he didn't get a response from me the first time. "Abby, I need you to say something to me." He begged.

"I'm fine." I told him. "I just didn't realize how close to the edge of the bed I was." I explained to him.

I heard the rustling of him moving off the bed and then not long after he was standing above me looking down at me.

"Let me help you get back into bed properly." He told me. He didn't give me time to protest before I found myself bridal style in his arms. He gently laid me back on the bed and made sure my head was supported by pillows and that my blanket was covering my legs. Any other day I would have melted at his attention and his touch but I felt nothing. I just felt hollow now. "Did you need me to get you anything?" He asked.

I still couldn't bring myself to fully look at him but I could tell he was standing in his what I had dubbed as a child his 'awkward stance'. It was the stance he always used when he didn't know what to do with himself. His arms were crossed over his chest with his hands on his stomach. Any other time in my life I would have found it adorable but today was different.

"No," I simply told him. "I think I just want some time to myself." I explained.

He seemed puzzled by this and I couldn't blame him. All I had wanted since I woke up was to not be alone but now that's all I wanted. I needed time to sort through my thoughts and feelings and I couldn't do that with him staring at me. For once in my life I wanted to be nowhere near Abraham.

"Well, uh okay… if you're sure. I mean I don't mind staying with you." He told me.

"I'm sure." I told him.

I watched him shift his weight as he seemed reluctant to leave me. I didn't understand why. I was telling him he could leave. He could go back to doing whatever he wanted instead of babysitting me.

"Alright then, if you're sure. I'll come back later. I promise. Maybe we can have lunch together." He offered. I gave him no response. He waited a few moments but getting no response from me he finally sighed in defeat and then finally left me alone in the hospital room.


So this story is almost finished. I see it having at the most 5 more chapters at the least 2 more. This is defiantly one of my least favorite chapters... like I don't what is exactly that I don't like about it I just don't. Let me know your thoughts on it. As always thanks for reading and hopefully I will update in a more timely manner. -Adelene