The Life of Abby

Chapter 1

Ever since Abby was young, Abby has had these astonishing dreams. Dreams filled with something from another life. These dreams were of a perfect family. A handsome father looks so young to have three kids of all different ages. He is tall, muscular but thin, with blue eyes, a perfect nose, rosy lips, hair as black as night, a beard, and a smile on his face with love. A mother who looks ageless. The woman is shorter than her husband, fragile, with ash-blonde hair down to her ankles, blue eyes, rosy cheeks, high cheekbones, naturally red lips, and a beautiful jawline with the same smile and look in her eyes as her husband—two teenagers riding horses without a care in the world. The boy with light blue eyes with ash-blond hair, everything looked so perfect about him that nothing was out of place. The girl was as beautiful as a rose. Her green, not brown eyes beamed with competitiveness, jet-black hair flowing in the wind under her baseball cap, and naturally rosy cheeks. A baby in the mother's arms is cooing at everything around her. With red curly hair and blue eyes, her face looked like she was wearing makeup without having or knowing what it was. The mother and father stood by the beautiful white manor adoring the life they had built for their family. Nevertheless, it was only a dream. Abby dreads waking from her slumber.

Once Abby wakes, all she hears is screaming and quarreling. The argument is always about the same subject: money. Abby kept her eyes closed so she did not disturb her parents. They must be drunk or high again. What mess did they leave for me to find, Abby thought. Every time they did something like this, Abby had to clean it because her parents wouldn't clean up the mess they made. It seemed like hours had passed when she finally got the courage to get up, but it was only minutes. It's five in the morning. Abby typically is awake before everyone else to get herself and her siblings time to prepare for the day. Before Abby takes care of herself, she awakens her little brother so she can bathe him. He is only five but has beauty like no other, with light blue eyes with ash-blond hair, perfect characteristics for someone his age. Derek is going to be a heartbreaker one day. She changed his bedsheets because he peed on them again. She puts the dirty bedsheets into the dirty clothes basket before walking to the dresser.

"Derek, wait by the bathroom door for me. I will help wash you, okay." Abby exclaims before grabbing his clothes and walking into the bathroom with Derek in hand. She turns on the water to make it warm. She helps him out of his nightclothes and puts toys in the tub. Abby set him in to play for a bit while tending to her baby sister. She walks out of the bathroom and finds her sister still sleeping in her crib. Lily is a gorgeous baby anyone has ever seen. She has green, not hazel, eyes, jet black hair, and naturally rosy cheeks. Abby bends down and plants a soft kiss on Lily's head before walking out of the room. She goes out to the kitchen to grab a bottle but stops dead in her tracks when she sees the living room. It was covered in used needles and broken liquor bottles everywhere. It covered almost the whole floor in the living room.

There was cocaine by the pounds, heroine bottles on the floors, and brandy, bourbon, and tequila bottles shattered on the floor. She slowly walks to the kitchen, not wanting to cut her foot on anything. Instead, she grabs trash bags and gloves before going back to the living room. She doesn't want Derek to see what their parents do with their free time. Instead, she puts the gloves on and begins to clean from top to bottom. It didn't take Abby long to finish cleaning the floor, but cleaning the walls of everything couldn't be done with what time she had left in the morning. Once she's done, she goes outside to throw the bags away.

She sees the beautiful orange and pink sky while walking to the end of the mile-long driveway. She gets to the trashcan, throws out all the bags, and sits down next to it to watch the sunrise. She takes a deep breath to unwind from all the negative things happening in her home. She pulls out her phone, takes a picture, and sends it to her grandmother. It's something they have always done when they have felt lonely. Abby sits and thinks about what her grandmother told her. "I will always be there for you kids. When you feel lonely, take a picture of the sky and send it to me." Abby gets up reluctantly and heads for the house with one last deep breath.

Once inside, she checks on Derek to see if he's doing okay. She turns back to Lily and sees her about to wake up crying. "Shhh, Lily," Abby says, picking Lily up and bouncing her in her arms. It's the only thing that settles Lily when she is about to cry. Abby heads for the kitchen with Lily in her arms. She goes to where the pots and pans are and pulls a pot out. She goes over to the sink and fills it with water. She puts the pot on the stove and waits for the water to boil. She puts the bottle in the pot to warm the milk. She takes the bottle out of the water and tests the milk to see if the milk is at the right temperature. Abby takes the bottle and gives it to Lily for her to drink.

Once Lily has finished with her bottle, Abby walks over to the bathroom where Derek is still playing. Abby checks her phone to see what time it is. It's now 5:45. "Derek, it is time to get washed." She pronounces as she lays Lily down on her tummy just outside the bathroom door. Abby goes over to the tub and gets a body wash. As Abby helps Derek get bathed, their mother comes in, telling unspeakable things to her about the kids. She has no time and energy to go back and forth with her mother. Jessie does that every morning. Abby disregards her and continues assisting Derek. Once their mother leaves, Abby gets Derek out of the tub to dry him off. He goes to his bed to discover the clothes Abby laid out for him. He finds a navy blue Polo shirt, denim jeans, and steel-toed boots. Abby goes and helps Derek get his clothes on, finds a toy car, and starts to play.

Abby turns around and picks Lily up from her tummy. She walks towards the dresser that she has to use for a changing table. Abby pulls out the drawer a little red shirt and denim shorts. Abby makes Lily giggle a bunch while changing her diaper and clothes. She sits Lily up and dances with her, and sings her a song like she does every morning. Abby picks her sister up and walks over to Derek, putting Lily back on her belly so she can begin trying to crawl.

Abby is only 17 years old; she should not parent a five-year-old and a seven-month-old. Instead, she should be achieving ordinary teenage things. Abby goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. She forgot that her parents were fighting; all she does now is tune them out. Abby tried to give her brother and sister an everyday life in the nightmare. She heard the door slam shut and the car peeling out. Dad had gone to work, she thought.

She went to her small room closet to find a blue shirt that her grandmother had made and bellbottoms. Abby finds Derek still playing, and Lily tries to go on her hands and knees. All she could do was stand there and smile at them. Abby walks to the bathroom again and puts her clothes on, not daring to look into the mirror. She hated seeing herself. It was a constant reminder that she had done all she could do for her siblings. She has always felt that she hasn't done enough for them.

Abby fixes her hair to match the 70's aesthetic. She walks out of the bathroom and goes to meet Derek and Lily. She picks Lily up and gives her many kisses, making Lily giggle again. Abby places her back down before going to Derek. Abby sits down next to him and plays with him for a bit. "Derek, I need you to take care of Lily while I'm at school. Can you do that for me?" "Of course, Abby. I'm a big boy now," states Derek. "I know you are. Be good and take care of her." Abby is very grateful that today is Friday. She will not have to worry about her mother not taking care of the kids over the weekend. Abby picks up her bag and heads for the bus.

It is about 6:30 in the morning; this school year is her last. She makes it about 1/3 of the way down when she notices Derek running out to say bye to her once more like he does every morning. She sees something is offbeat this time. He is crying. "Derek, what's wrong? What happened?" "Mom hit me for playing in my room. I wasn't disturbing her at all. Please stay. Will you stay?" He says in between each staggering breath. "Oh baby, you know I have to go to school. I'll call grandma and tell her to come to get you and Lily. How does that sound?" "Okay. I love you. Please come home after school."

She kisses him goodbye and watches him make it back inside the house. She continues her way down. When she got down to the end, the bus was already waiting for her. She got on the bus and dialed her grandmother's number. It goes straight to voicemail. "Hi, grandma. Would you please get Derek and Lily? I don't want them home while I'm not there. I love you." She hangs up the phone and peers through the window to see that they've stopped again. She quietly drifts off to sleep.

Abby wakes to her head slamming against the window as they hit a bump. She saw the old, run-down school beside her when she opened her eyes. Abby steps out onto the sidewalk, takes a deep breath, and enters the school. She does not have many friends. She sees Kali, her best and only friend, running towards her. Kali is a tall, light blonde, blue-eyed, tanned skin and has all the guys following her. Kali is the most popular kid in school, and Abby is the school's loser.

"Abby, how are Derek and Lily? Are they at home with your mom?" She has been the only person at the school who knows about Abby's home situation. "Derek got hit this morning. Lily is trying to crawl. They're always at home alone with her. I called my grandma to go get them, but it went straight to voicemail." She tells her. "I'm sorry, love. I hope she goes and gets them." "So do I. Hey, let's get to class. I want to get this day over with."

They kept talking about the latest gossip as they arrived for the day's first class. They have each class together. Kali takes her seat in the back and starts flirting with her lab partner, while Abby takes her seat quietly in the front. In the middle of the class, a new student walks in. A tall, very handsome boy walked in. He must be at least 6 feet tall, with very well tone muscles, light blue eyes, jet black hair, high cheekbones, and a strong jawline. He looks too elegant to be at this school. He's wearing business attire with a shirt a little tight, which makes his muscles pop out.

"Please tell us your name, young man." says the teacher. "My name is Trystan." "Please take a seat next to Abby. Abby, raise your hand, please." Abby silently raises her hand so the boy can identify who she is. He sat next to her without saying a word and began taking notes. Abby was so mesmerized by him she couldn't talk or concentrate. She finally, after some time, was able to get back into her concentration and tune in to what her teacher was saying. Then, she stays reticent for the rest of the school day and keeps to herself.