Nightmares

Abbey looked up from her copy of House of Leaves when she heard the soft ding of the overhead sign. They would be landing soon. Wearily, she closed her book and attempted to shove it back into her carryon bag. The slate gray messenger bag had a red phoenix stiched into the bottom right corner of the front flap; the rest of the flap was covered with various patches and stickers with band names on them – Pixies, Sleater-Kinney, David Bowie, People in Planes. It had a large main compartment and several pockets of varying sizes, filled with notebooks for all occasions – sketching, writing, to-do lists, etc. – as well as pens (writing and drawing), an old issue of a music magazine she hadn’t yet read, a bag of trail mix, granola bars, chewing gum (the fruit-mint kind), and a bottle of water. She took out her earphones and wrapped them around her scuffed up iPod – she didn’t have a case for it – and stuffed it into one of the zippered side pockets. She didn’t have a cell phone; she was supposed to call Charlie at the number he’d given her yesterday morning when she got off the plane. She fingered the piece of paper in the pocket of her ancient olive green army jacket, thinking. She didn’t know what she would say to Charlie when she saw him. It had been a long time. She brushed a long lock of dark hair behind one hear and leaned her head back against the seat. She closed her eyes – she would take what few minutes of rest she could get before she returned home.

* * * *

The overhead compartment was stuffed to the gills, and Abbey had to wait in line for four other people to get their bags out before she could read her suitcase. All of the belongings she had left in the world were in that suitcase. She almost dropped it on the way down, and it hit the floor of the plane with a dull thud. It rolled easily down the aisle, now that she was almost the last to walk it. The quiet of the tiny passageway between the plane and the gate gave way almost immediately to an enormous, pulsating mass of people, the din of their voices almost overwhelming. After being away so long, she had forgotten how many people lived in Chicago. Abbey found a pay phone without too much trouble and had to dig around in her bag for enough change. Finally, her hands closed on a couple of quarters, and she shoved them into the slot and dialed Charlie’s number. By that time, the paper had crumpled, and she had a little trouble reading her own handwriting. Or maybe it was the throbbing inside her head. After a few rings, a voice picked up the line, sounding gruff and groggy.

“Charlie? It’s Abbey. You said to call you when I got to the airport.” A pause.
“Abbey who?” Abbey was confused.
“I’m sorry…I must have the wrong number.” She was about to hang up when the voice spoke again:
“Hang on – you looking for Charlie Moss?” Her head snapped up, gratefully.
“Yeah – he’s my brother. He’s taking me in…temporarily.”
“Bad luck – he’s out of town. He must have forgotten you were showing up today.” Abbey silently cursed Charlie, rolling her eyes. This was just like him.
“You still there?” The voice asked.
“Yeah…it’s just – I don’t have money for a cab. He knew he was supposed to be here today. I don’t know where he lives or how to get there.” She cursed Charlie again.
“You need a ride? I’m his roommate, Danny.” She vaguley recalled the name, some pictures she’d seen on Facebook.
“Really? That’s not too much trouble? I don’t want you to go out of your way or anything.” This had surprised her. Charlie must have found a decent human being to live with, for once.
“No problem. I have to run an errand out that way. Hold tight, I can be there in about a half hour.” The pain in her forehead eased slightly.
“Thanks, Danny. A lot.”
“No problem,” he said. She smiled. “Go outside to the pick up area by Gate C – I’ll be there in about 30 minutes. I’ve got an old green Chevy truck – can’t miss it,” he told her.

* * * *

Since she had a little time to spare and no need to head to baggage claim, Abbey wandered around O’Hare International Airport, taking in the enormity of the space. This place had everything. If not for the fact that hundreds of planes took off and landed here every day, it might as well have been a giant mall. She decided to browse the nearest book store. She always liked to see what the masses were reading, though rarely did she ever agree with their choices. She wasn’t a snob about those things; she just knew what she liked, and it was the more unusual things that tended to grasp her attention. She picked up the latest James Patterson novel, another mystery, and almost immediately set it back down. She couldn’t concentrate on even the short description on the back of the book. She was too apprehensive of seeing Charlie again. Just being back in town made shivers run down her spine. She hadn’t been back for almost ten years, couldn’t even fathom the idea after what she’d been through. But then things changed, she had nowhere to go, and Dr. Goldstein had thought it would be good for her to go back. So here she was. The aching in her forehead got stronger again. She fumbled around for the pill bottle at the bottom of her bag – of course – and popped off the lid. She fished out two of the pills and washed them down with a gulp of water. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Hey!” She nearly jumped out of her skin. “You gonna buy that book or what , lady?” Abbey hadn’t even realized she was still holding the James Patterson novel in her hand. The shaking had subsided a little by now.

“Sorry – “ She dropped it onto the pile and headed out of the store. By now, Danny would be close. She decided to head toward the exit and wait.

* * * *


“Abbey Moss?” Abbey jerked her head up and yanked out her earphones. There was Danny, as promised, in a beat up old emerald green Chevy. He was more handsome than she remembered from his picture, with slightly shaggy brown hair and big, soft brown eyes that smiled at her as if they were in on some joke that she was unaware of. “You look just like your picture,” he told her.

“My picture?” She had no idea Charlie kept any pictures of her around – she hadn’t even sent him any in the last few years.

“I looked you up online. You forgot to tell me what you’d be wearing or what you looked like. Good thing you’re friends with Charlie on one of those ridiculous networking websites.” She almost had to chuckle.

“If they’re so ridiculous, why are you on it too?” she asked.

“I’m not. Charlie’s password is pretty easy to crack,” Danny said matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” Now she wasn’t sure what to make of him. He must have seen the look on her face.

“I hope you don’t think that makes me a felon or something. I just do it to mess with him. You know, best friend pain-in-the-ass sort of stuff. And he really does need some pointers on better security.” Danny grinned at her. He leaned over and opened the passenger door. “Hop in,” he said. Abbey shoved her carryon into the back of the car and slid easily into the front seat with her bag.

“Listen, thanks again for picking me up. That was really nice of you, considering I’m basically a stranger,” she told Danny. He was still grinning at her, his chocolate brown eyes enchanting her with their smile.

“Hey, no problem. We’re as good as friends right? I mean, you’re Charlie’s little sister.” She smiled, but internally she cringed at the phrase “little sister.” So far at least there was one good thing – maybe – about returning to Chicago, and she hoped that it wouldn’t fade away too quickly.

More to follow!!