Scandalous 2 Page 0,43
handle this information. Part of him wants to rush off and bash her father's face in, but the man is dead. When Abby says it, when she spills her confession, everything changes. There's a fragile side to her that she's kept hidden. Without a thought about his work, Jack throws his arms around her and pulls her to his chest.
Stroking the back of her head with his hands, he says soothing things in her ear. Finally, he says, "I'm sorry that I didn't see it then. I wish I could take it away."
Abby sniffles and laughs into his shoulder. "That's funny. I think the same thing about you. There's this painful look in your eyes and I have no idea why it's there. Sometimes I think it's my fault. Sometimes - "
Jack holds her tighter. "It's never your fault. None of it." It's my fault. Every bit of it. Every time I saw you and ignored those bruises. Shit. Jack curses himself. "Abby, you're my life. You're safe with me. I promise you." He pulls away and kisses the tears off her cheeks. Jack's gaze takes in the streaked paint and the glassy eyes. Jack pats the canvas and Abby sits next to him. He lays back and she follows. They both look up at the ceiling. "I was a shitty friend back then."
"No, you weren't. You were a kid. Kids aren't supposed to protect other kids from their parents. The world is fucked up, Jack. We both know that." Her voice sounds a little better. Some of the emotion is returning. She always looks out for him.
"Remember that time we cut class and went to Captree?" It was a boat basin where fishing boats docked. They took out passengers into the Sound to fish for the afternoon.
Abby snorted. "Yes. That was the stupidest thing I'd ever done - up until that point anyway."
Jack grins at her and takes her hand. They stare at the rafters overhead. "I didn't know you'd do that."
"I don't know how I did that." When Abby tried to hook a worm onto her fishing line, somehow the hook went through her palm. She screamed and showed him. The hook went through the meaty part of her palm. Jack remembered every bit of that day. She needed him. He got a pair of wire cutters from one of the crew and removed the hook from her hand. She holds up her palm and shows him the scar. "The mark is still there. It's my memento of my fishing trip with Jack." She laughs. "Who cuts school to go fishing?"
"Cool kids, like us. And we didn't just go fishing, we jumped on a flounder boat. Totally different. Way bad ass." He grins at her and she laughs. That sound fills him like nothing else. One moment he can feel completely dejected, but when he hears that sound - there's nothing that makes his heart soar higher or faster.
"Bad ass flounder fishers. Yeah, that sounds like us." Abby smiles at him.
Jack says, "This is horribly tactless, but you look perfect. I have to paint you."
"Now?" she asks.
"Now."
"Like this? I cried. I messed up the paint."
"It's completely perfect." He kisses her temple and jumps up. Abby lies on the canvas as Jack touches up some of the flowers painted on her chest. They dip beneath her pale breasts and vine up her sides. Jack's eyes take on that look he has when he's working.
They talk about lighter things, remembering the past and laughing about the future. Jack feels it as he's painting. Without a doubt, this will be the most devastatingly beautiful thing he's ever made.
Chapter 25-26
Chapter 25
ABBY
The next afternoon everything changes. Suddenly there are picketers in front of the studio. A swarm of them appeared overnight. They stand on the front lawn and in the street holding signs that say wonderful things like:
"RESSURECT MORALITY"
"PORNOGRPHERS WILL PERISH"
"LUST IS A DRUG "
And my personal favorite: "ABBY GRAY: THE HAMPTON WHORE"
I'm sitting with Gus and Jack in the conference room. Their faces are straight, utterly serious, waiting to see how I'll take the personal attack. After the painting session last night, Jack thinks I'm fragile. Maybe I am a little, but not about this.
I can't be somber about it. I laugh and say, "They made me sound like a ghost. Wooooo, the Hampton Whore used to haunt this very building." I make more ghost noises as the guys' eyebrows creep up their shocked faces. I can't believe it.