The vodka had gone straight to her head. Abby was in a better mood now but not as good of a mood as she could have been in. She was turning 18 tomorrow and the drunken bastard wasn't going to remember, nor had he remembered the last four birthdays before this one.
Abby should have been used to this by now, she could in fact predict how her dads day was going to go tomorrow. 3 A.M. -cessation of coherent speech, 4 A.M. was less predictable he would either A. Vomit and pass out, B. Piss or shit himself and pass out. Or C. Rage out about nothing in particular and pass out.
5 P.M.? Wake up, remember nothing, all the times she had changed him like an overgrown toddler and it never occurred to him that he woke up in completely different clothes or somehow made it to bed.
She rather liked the occasions he stumbled out with the powder smeared under his nostrils. At least on those nights he managed to take care of himself before inevitably passing out anyway.
She did not however like standing at the checkout with a full cart only for the card to decline, as was sure to happen after he treated himself to a snowstorm and a lake of vodka.
To make matters even worse, the only income they received is when Frank managed to get ahold of his drunk ass with some job or other. She wasn't stupid. He in fact had a habit of getting drunk and confessing his sins to her.
Her dad would never remember in the morning, or afternoon. That he would break down and apologize to her, the dead men that haunted his dreams, to God. He would swear up and down that when he woke up he would be a new man. She was stupid enough to believe him the first handful of times.
Now he just talked about all the shit he had done, He would laugh about it at first, than he would cry about it, and than he would yell at her. 'Don't you sit there and fucking judge me you little bitch!'
He would never remember that either.
Last night had been rough, or this morning rather. He didn't speak a word. Just stared at the wall as tears came out of his eyes.
That was frankly terrifying. She almost wanted him to do what he normally did. He just shuffled to the bedroom with out a word and tear streaked face.
For the first time a long time she wished mom were here and at the same time she was glad she wasn't around to see this. Abby could take it, She could put up with all of it. Mom wasn't like that. She needed peace in her environment. This was not that.
She walked down the cracked sidewalk as the evening sun hung low in the gray sky, She wished she had grabbed her coat before storming out. It was too damn cold. Her breath frosting into a steam before evaporating unseen. The vodka had done something to warm her but not nearly enough.
Screw it, She thought before dialing Olly's number.
The phone rang a few times before Olly's voice answered on the other side. His voice always reminded her of Christopher from the Sopranos.
"Hello?", He said through the phone with a curious tone.
"Can you pick me up? "Abby said, hugging her uncovered arms.
"Why what happened? "He said with a voice that sounded almost like gravel.
"I can't go home, I don't want to and we need groceries but I forgot my coat and I'm cold", Abby said frustrated as her teeth began to chatter.
"Yeah. Sure where are you"
Abby looked around for the intersection, She always forgot street names and she had only lived here for how many years?
"Patterson and 18th", She said with an edge of urgency as she finally spotted the sign.
"Ok", He said before hanging up abruptly. Asshole Abby thought. They had been friends since high school had started and he still lacked the common courtesy to at least hang up correctly.
Abby sat on the curb, her teeth chattering for what was basically a thousand years before she spotted his piece of shit sputter to a stop in front of her. The belt was squeaking, the rims were mismatched and had a door that was blue while the rest of the beamer was black. But it had heat and it moved so she couldn't really complain.
Olly rolled down the driver window and said "you gonna get in or fucking freeze to death?"Abby stood up and walked around the car before opening the passenger door and getting into the ancient sedan and closing the door.
" You gotta slam it, or it'll open", Olly said putting a cigarette in his mouth.
Abby open the door and closed it even harder."Did you hear it click?", Olly asked as he held a flame to the smoke?
"Click?", Abby asked confused
"Yeah it fucking clicks when you closed it right"
"I dont know I wasn't paying attention", Abbysaid beginning to get frustrated.
"You gotta hear the click I'm not replacing that door too", Olly said pointing at the door. There was a car behind them now who honked with impatience.
Olly stuck his head out the driver side window and yelled "One fucking second"
The other driver had his head out of the window now and he was yelling at them to move.
"Hey I'll move this fucking foot up your ass buddy", Olly said before spitting on the ground out the window.
Abby opened the door again and slammed it as hard as she could
Click
"Woah, woah , woah what the fuck, I said slam the door, not use the force of fucking God", Olly said his head back inside the car with his arms raised dramatically.
"Oh my fucking God can you just turn the heat on?"
"MOVE YOUR FUCKING CAR!"
"ILL MOVE YOUR FUCKING SOUL TO THE PEARLY GATES YOU FUCKING COCKSUCKER!"
"Olly, Can we just go? "Abby said exasperated.
Olly put his head back into the window and said sarcastically " as it pleases her majesty"He fought the gear shifter and won....sort of. The car lurched forward and jolted back as it found its gear but they were moving.
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"Slam the fuck out of my door, bark orders at me but do I get a thank you? Of course not", Olly said, waving one hand around
Dramatic little diva Abby thought to herself. His dark brown curls didn't even move with the bobbing of his head. Even as the cigarette jumped up and down with his flamboyant movements.
"Thank you", Abby said softly with a roll of her eyes "Can I have a cigarette?" Abby asked, more annoyed than angry.
"Oh woah and she wants to smoke up all of my darts?"Olly continued ranting. He hadn't remembered her birthday either. She could feel the bitter ice cold heat in her chest. She wasn't going to cry. She refused. Not in front of Olly."Than again it is your fucking birthday and all so who am I to refuse?", Olly said with a shit eating grin as he handed her a still sealed fresh pack of smokes.
Abby looked at him with wide eyes as she took the smokes. "You remembered?", She asked genuinely shocked.
"Yeah I remembered, you've only bothered me to insanity about it for like four fucking years" Olly said with his eyes fixed on the road. "It was supposed to be more of a surprise but I know you will put my head in a vice if I surprise you so there's going to be surprise party for you tomorrow"
"With who?". Abby asked, slightly excited. She was also confused because she didn't have enough friends to even have a full blown party."Well mostly my family, they would never turn down an excuse to barbeque and get fucked up but also Nadya and probably her friends', Olly said taking a pull of the smoke that was between his lips as he blew a plume of smoke.
Abby smiled softly as she unwrapped the cellophane and opened the flip top and pulled the foil. She flipped one, she always did. It was supposed to be good luck but her guardian angel hadn't seemed to have gotten that memo. She then pulled its neighbor and put it in her mouth.
Abby had the mental image of a 30's style business man just saying "Good luck? Best I can do is problems every waking moment toots."
Abby suppressed a laugh from the mental image before turning to Olly
"Do you have a light?"
Olly took the smoke from his lip and handed it to her. She grabbed the stump of a cigarette and put the lit ember to her unlit end and pulled until she had an ember of her own. She handed his smoke back and sat back into the seat.
"We still going to the store?" Olly asked."Nah fuck em, He can figure it out", Abby said, it was honestly her own small revenge that he hadn't even bothered to remember her birthday." I don't ever want to go home", She admitted softly.
"Where are you even going to stay?' Olly said with a quick glance over to her before looking back at the road
"I mean I will have to go back, I just don't really want to", Abby said taking a drag of her cigarette
"So where are we going now?", Olly asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Can I crash on your coach tonight, I do not want to deal with him today", Abby asked
"I mean yeah you're always welcome"
Abby gave him a sly grin and said "wow that was possibly the nicest thing you have ever said to me""
"Fuck you", Olly laughed as he grabbed the smoke and crushed it in the ash tray.
"So is it like a medical thing? Is that why your always sort of an asshole?", Abby said jokingly.
"Oh of course, doc said it's a chronic case. Worst he's ever seen", Olly said sarcastically.He reached down and turned the dial of the radio and produced some ancient hip hop.
"And somehow hasn't heard any music from this century", Abby said, continuing to tease him.
"Fuck you, that's the king, Biggie smalls", Olly said turning the volume up to spite her.The rest of the drive went by in a blur as the beamer rolled into the gravel driveway of the double wide trailer.
Abby had been here a handful of times, she liked to say her and Olly were opposites, she lived with her dad and he lived with his mom.
Olly pulled the brake handle up and hopped out of the car and stalked to the door without so much as a glance at her.
Abby hopped out of the car and closed the door.
"Did it click?" Olly called back.
Abby pursed her lips and opened the door and slammed it.
Click
She stuck her middle finger up just in time for Olly's mom to come out the front door.
"Olly why is there still trash in this can?", His mom whined as her eyes landed on Abby.
"Sorry ma, It was an emergency", Olly said evenly. " Im gonna get that to the dumpster right now for you ok?" Olly said evenly.
The only person he never dared to say no to or to disrespect was his mom, grown men would fail where his mom could succeed.
Olly's Mom smoothed out the front of her apron, fuck that meant she was cooking.Abby waved at her as she walked up the steps only to be engulfed by her hug.
Olly's mom released her and held her by the shoulders and said "everything ok? Have you eaten, you're so skinny you should eat more, come in here child and grab a plate"
Abby blushed as she was ushered in the trailer by Olly's mom insisting that it was really ok, that she had eaten. "Oh Bologna, You're gonna fall through a crack in the floor. You hush up and eat"
Olly offered her a shrug of the shoulders. Abby was hungry but it was the same dance every time. Olly's mom would put a pile of food on her plate that she couldn't finish and than insist on giving her another helping.
Abby sat at the dinner table that was also in the kitchen as Olly sat beside her. Olly's mom turned around with oven mitts on her hand as she sat a gargantuan meatloaf on the table and a pot of mashed potatoes and a smaller pot of gravy.
"I'm so sorry about the mess, I was not expecting company Oh! There's corn in the microwave, just help yourself."Olly grabbed plates and handed her and his mother one before reaching for the spatula to the meatloaf.
"OLIVER O'NEILL!"His mom shouted pointing a finger at him.
"Yeah ma?"
"Where are your manners, quests go first"
Oliver handed the spatula over to Abby who looked at the massive meatloaf and opted for a corner piece.
Once everyone made their plates Abby stabbed the meatloaf with a fork and brought to her mouth only for Olly's mom to slap her hand.Abby stared at her confused and Olly's mom held out her hand.
Shit. Grace.
Abby put her hand in Olly's moms hand and the other In Olly's Hand
"Since you grabbed the food first, why don't you say grace Olly?"
Olly looked at his mom but didn't back talk her. He cleared his throat awkwardly and began the prayer.
"Thanks for the food, thanks for the water, bless this meal, amen"
Olly snatched his hand back from Abby and began attacking his plate as though he had never seen food before. His mother watched with pursed lips and then smiled kindly at Abby.
"Dig in child", she said kindly.
Abby loved Olly's moms cooking, she could cook better than any restaurant but she insisted on feeding Abby until she felt like she was going to explode.
The dinner was broken by the occasional small talk from Olly's Mom. Hows school, Hows your dad, any boys?.
Abby always assumed Olly's mom wanted her to start dating Olly, or wanted to see if they were dating. She had never had any particular interest like that for Olly. Or for anyone. Love was an outstanding way to get fucked over, and life had a way of doing that for you anyway. No thanks. The less you love the less you can lose. Sure. She cared about Olly, She cared about his Mom. But if she lost Olly to a romance that didn't work out that would be punch to the stomach.
As they finished dinner Olly took the plates the the sink and rolled up his sleeves as he started washing them. Abby stood next to him and bumped him with her hip and said " I'll rinse"Olly bumped her back with his own hip and said "suit yourself"
Olly than turned to his mom and said "Hey ma"
"Yeah Olly?'
"Can Abby stay over?"
"Of course, You two keep the door open", She said pointing a finger at both of them as a warning she would be watching.
The two of them both started speaking at nearly the same time.
"Its not even like that ma"
"Oh we never.."
Ollys mom stalked off towards her bedroom at the other side of the kitchen and said " mmhmm, I have ears like a hawk."
"Ma, hawks don't have ears"
"Well try it and see mister", she said with a final point of the finger and closed the door behind her as she retired for the night.
Olly returned to scrubbing the dishes and dumping them on her side of the sink as she rinsed them and deposited them in the drying rack.
The silence between them was awkward. Olly broke the silence first.
"Now she thinks we're fucking"
"Could be worse", Abby said with a sly grin.
"Yeah how's that?"
" I could lose my mind and actually sleep with your ugly ass," she said jokingly.
Olly laughed and splashed her with bubbly water. The water caught her in the chest and left her t-shirt soaking and clinging to her body.
Abby punched him in the arm.
"dickhead"