Page 27 of The Comeback

Rough brick scrapes my palm as I slam my hand against the side of the building. My skin is alternating between hot and cold and I swallow hard to keep my roiling stomach from betraying me.

A gust of cold wind cuts through my thin shirt and picks up my hair whipping it around my face. The distraction is enough to pull me back to the real world and my heart sinks. I can’t believe I did that. Ran off like that. My cheeks burn and I drop my head to my arm. Now that I’m thinking clearly I realize those were Sebastian’s friends. The hockey team no less. They’re probably all in there laughing at me. I thought I’d done a good job of moving past high school and all that bullshit, but this brings it all crashing back over me leaving me uncomfortable in my own skin for the first time in years.

***

“You’re up next, Abigail.” Mr G looks up from his clipboard to give me an encouraging smile that crinkles his eyes up under his dark rimmed glasses.

I nod and smooth my hands down my pale pink dress for the thousandth time. My friend Tia convinced me to wear it. The fabric clings to my curves a little tighter than I’m used to.

I glance out at the stage to see Carrie’s blond curls bouncing in their ponytail as she finishes her final flip and takes a deep bow as applause rings out through the small auditorium accompanied by the whistles and cheers of the entire student body. I can’t believe I agreed to do this, but after Mr. G heard my song, he insisted and I couldn’t say no to my favorite teacher. It’s not just that he teaches my favorite subject, although that is a part of it. He’s always been so positive and encouraging of my songwriting aspirations. I had one music teacher in Freshman year who liked to remind anyone that had any musical aspirations of the slim chance of actual making it in the industry. Not Mr. G though.

Carrie gives me a smirk as she passes. My attempt at confident steps crumbles when her foot juts out as I’m about to walk out on the stage causing me to tumble to my knees with a jarring crash. I scramble up to the sounds of laughter and jeers, but I push on as Mr. G shushes the crowd of unruly teenagers.

I grasp the mic in a loose grip gaining a little confidence back as the background music swells up behind me. I notice my friend Tia in the front row. She gives me a small smile and I take a deep breath ready to launch into my song. My voice swells out filling the room and I get lost in the music. I shut my eyes and feel each note swirling around me, rising over the background music and it sounds amazing. I’ve got this. My words fill me with pride until…

Thunk. Something wet and squishy slams into my bare arm sliding down leaving behind an oozing trail of stickiness like the trail a snail would leave behind. The words die in my throat and heat burns the back of my eyes as I’m pelted with more overripe…peaches are those? I glance down to see a pile of squished bits littering the floor around me and I back away from the onslaught.

The teacher’s are trying to regain control of the situation, but I swing my head about looking for the closest exit. I end up fleeing backstage. I rush through the darkened area pushing through the students still waiting to show off at the talent show.

“Fat bitch thought she was going to show me up.” The words trail me as I race out leaving school early for the first time ever. I’m not the kind of girl who enjoys breaking rules.

I still have nightmares about that day. Carrie and her gang started calling me Peachy and the nickname stuck all through my senior year of high school. I went from being invisible to having a target on my back. And what do all these incidents have in common? Sebastian. He’s the one who got a target put on my back when he showed up Junior year and snubbed me. And now… I thought I was doing fine, but Lauren, this. It’s all happened since he decided to take notice of me again. I don’t know what I was thinking. That we could be friends? Something more? It can’t happen. I must have been delusional to think it was even a flicker of a possibility.

Chapter 20

Sebastian

Thepiercingsoundofthe mic hitting the floor hurts way more than the shoulder in the chest as Abby shoves past me and tears out of the room. Shit. I’m supposed to be helping her and instead I’ve sent her running. I rip my hand through my hair and look at the guys I invited to sneak in and watch. I thought if she realized she’d been singing for a crowd and didn’t even know, it would help her get past her fear. Huge miscalculation, apparently. Looking out over the crowd of imposing hockey guys I realize this might not have been the best crowd. Not that I had a choice in the matter. Lots of people around school know me, but my only real friends are my teammates. They’re all good guys, but she doesn’t know that. Some of the guys I played with in high school had less than stellar characters.

“Go.” Aspen waves his hand in a shooing motion. “Go after her.”

Right. Go after her. Will that help or make things worse? Either way I have to try. I let her get away the night of the party, but she caught me by surprise. I hadn’t expected to see her at all that night. Much less while I was naked and on display for her wandering eyes. And they did wander. I didn’t imagine that. Her eyes wandered and her lips returned my kiss.

My knees take the impact when I hit the ground after launching myself off the stage. I get a couple of shoves as I run past my friends and skid to a halt outside. Did I miss her? The sidewalk’s not that busy this time of day, but I don’t see her in either direction unless she’s already hopped in a taxi or something.

I pace to the left and the fading sun glints off something in the dim alleyway beside the bookstore. I swing around the corner into the narrow alley my eye’s squinching into a frown at the thought of her ducking into alleyways all by herself. A good way to get herself in trouble.

Her hands are planted on the brick wall, but I’d recognize those brown curls trailing down her back at a crowded music festival. Not to mention that ass. I tilt my head to the sky. Clearly not the time for those kinds of thoughts. Check yourself.

“Abby,” I call out in a soft voice at the mouth of the alley. Don’t want to freak her out even more than she already is.

“Go away, Sebastian.” The sound of my full name on her lips chafes at me. It just feels wrong. I was always Bastian to her when we were kids. After she made me watch that weird old movie about the boy that rides a fuzzy flying dog, it just stuck. That nickname was reserved for her alone. Everyone else calls me Seb or Hart.

“Like I’d leave you alone in a dark alley. What kind of asshole do you take me for?” All the things I’ve done to her in the past go racing through my head. “Maybe don’t answer that.”

“I’m not going back in there.” There’s a slight catch in her throat. My heart aches and my fingers itch to wipe away the tears caused by my thoughtless plan.

“I’m not going to make you. Although, it would be fine if you did. The guys have to clear out anyway for Aspen to make sure the place is ready for the dinner crowd.” I should be helping him, but making sure Abby is ok is more important.

“Well then I can’t leave the alley until they’re gone. I can imagine them laughing at me. I don’t need to actually see it.” She straightens up and drops her hands from the wall, but doesn’t turn to face me.

“What?” She thinks they’re laughing at her? “They’re not laughing at you. They loved it. Jax even made a comment that I would never repeat to you.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know how this works. Been there before, remember?” My mind goes back to that shitty talent show in high school where that evil bitch Carrie threw shit at her on stage. I wasn’t at school that day, but I heard all about it. “I know how crazy I looked running out of there.”

“They’re not laughing. I promise. They’re good guys. I wouldn’t have brought them if they weren’t. I wouldn’t be friends with them.”

She finally turns to me with an arched brow and tear streaked cheeks. “Really?”

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