Page 124 of Unfiltered
Abby gave her a slight smile and resumed staring at her computer.
“How’s the editing going?” Blythe got up and looked over Abby’s shoulder. “Oh, still working on the same video?”
“Yeah, I’m not very good at this.” She’d been trying to splice the videos Ricki had shot of her house. Create a collage, but she’d had to start over several times.
“You’d been doing well. You’re understandably edgy.” Blythe put her hand over Abby’s hand that rested on the keyboard. “Maybe you should take a break. Want a beer?”
She wanted one in the worst way, but she declined. If she needed liquid courage to talk to Ricki, then something was seriously wrong. Besides, Ricki wouldn’t have the same luxury.
“What are we going to say to her?” Abby asked. They’d discussed it at length over the weekend, but Abby would feel better if they went over it one more time.
“We’ve already…” Blythe gave her a sympathetic look. “We’ll be natural. Tell her we’re concerned and want to mend whatever fences have been broken.”
“And if she won’t talk?”
“Then we do all the talking. We can’t force her, but maybe if we’re being open, it will trigger something in her.”
They spent the next ten minutes running through the plan.
“Thanks for humoring me and rehashing it again,” Abby said. “I’m going to focus on this. See if I can get it done.”
Abby had not been working long when the front door opened. Blythe nodded at Abby.
“Hey, Ricki. In the kitchen,” Blythe called.
Ricki mumbled, but Abby couldn’t make out what she said. Was that a good sign or bad?Stop.She couldn’t analyze everything Ricki did, or she’d drive herself nuts.
Abby took several cleansing breaths, waiting for Ricki. Blythe patted her arm and smiled before she got to her feet. Should Abby stand, too? They hadn’t discussed the choreography of their movement.Shit.How had they missed that?
Seriously?Staging their movements would have been excessive, even in Abby’s world. They’d agreed on natural, and that was the furthest thing from it.
“Hey, have you seen my portable phone charger?” Ricki said from the hallway. “I thought I had it with me, but I couldn’t find it.”
Blythe winked at Abby. “It’s on the kitchen counter. Where you left it.”
“Ah, fuck,” Ricki muttered as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks and stared at Abby. While she didn’t say it, Abby read her face,What the hell is she doing here?
“Hi, Ricki,” Abby said, going for casual and perky.
“Uh, hi.” Ricki looked between Blythe and Abby. “I wasn’t expecting you to still be here.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here.” Abby wanted to slide under the table. She was already blowing it on her second line. Trying to recover, she added, “I mean, I was hoping to see you.”
Ricki’s eyes softened, but then her jaw tightened. She spread her arms, holding her bag in one hand. “Well, you’ve seen me.” She grabbed her charger off the counter. “I need to get a shower. I have to be into work early tomorrow.” She turned to leave.
“Bullshit,” Blythe said. Apparently, she was having the same problem sticking to the script. “Don’t be a dick. Abby has been a wreck, waiting for you to come home.”
Ricki stopped, but she still had her back to them.
“She deserves better,” Blythe said.
Ricki’s shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t turn around. “What do you want me to say?”
“Anything,” Abby said. “I’d settle for anything.” Her voice cracked, and she fought back tears. Something else she swore she wouldn’t do.
Ricki’s shoulders rose and fell as she took several deep breaths. Still with her back to them, she said, “What if I don’t know what to say?”
“Then that makes two of us,” Abby responded.
