The Ahern Brothers Collection - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,8
undergraduate there?”
“How could I miss that important piece of information, Abbs?”
“Mr. Sarcasm just showed up. What’s going on, Wes?” She twists her mouth. “You seem a little upset. Is it the new girl?”
She narrows her gaze and rolls her eyes. “Please, don’t tell me you broke up with Marissa.”
“I told you it wasn’t serious.”
“It’s never serious, Wes. One of these days you’re going to meet the woman of your dreams, and you’ll let her go because work is more important.”
“I’m only twenty-five,” I protest.
“Something tells me that in a couple of years, we’ll have this same conversation.”
“How about you?”
She shakes her head. “Boys are idiots,” she claims.
“What happened with the last one?”
“It didn’t work out,” she says with disdain.
I sigh with relief. The thought of Abby dating doesn’t settle well. She’s too far away, and if someone hurts her, I couldn’t be there to comfort her.
“Yeah, he expected to hit a home run without buying me dinner.”
“Are we using baseball analogies now?”
“Why not?” She shrugs one shoulder.
As I browse the website for Exeter College, I ask about her plans. “What are you going to study in England?”
“I’m taking just a couple of credits. Literatures of Modernity and Mathematics for Physical Sciences and Engineering.”
“When are you coming back to Denver?”
“Thanksgiving … Christmas or maybe next summer,” she says, with a voice void of emotion.
We spend the next hour talking about the places she could visit during the weekends while in England. I begin to check my schedule and email Sterling about this new development. He’s fond of Abby, and maybe he could visit her too. As much as I trust Abby, I don’t want her to spend the summer alone in another country.
Chapter Four
Wes
Today I left work early. Dad’s on his way to Costa Rica, and I have plenty of time to build a new computer. All the parts arrived this week. Of course, my plans were interrupted by a text from little Abby asking if we could FaceTime with her. I couldn’t waste the opportunity to see her, and the conversation was going great until her news.
“So, you speak Spanish now?” That’s all I can manage to say while searching for the right words to change her mind.
“I can say more than cerveza porfavor,” Abby says with a smile.
She moves closer to the telephone and whispers. “That’s beer in case you didn’t know.”
“Do you remember who your translator was while we visited Spain?” I arch an eyebrow.
“Whatever,” she says, letting out a loud breath and rolling her eyes.
“It feels like you’re avoiding coming back home,” I suggest.
Last summer she went to England and ended up staying there for an entire year. I hoped that she’d fly back to Denver and spend the summer with us. However, she traveled to the Dominican Republic to volunteer for a month. Afterwards, she flew to Costa Rica where she is with Mom who, like Abby, loves to help others whenever possible. Dad is joining them, but he didn’t invite me this time. I have to stay behind to take care of the company.
“You should try this,” she shows me the ocean and the beautiful orange, purple, and blue sky with wispy clouds around the deep yellow halo. “Helping others while enjoying the most amazing landscapes.”
She turns the phone around and that beautiful face brightens my day. Those soulful eyes have a shine that makes me want to lose myself inside of them. This gorgeous girl is so different from the one who arrived to us broken a few years ago.
The new Abby is full of life and makes me want to save the world along with her.
Fuck, I miss her so much.
It’s been weeks since the last time I saw her. This past year I made sure to visit her often. Dad wasn’t happy about my continuous traveling, but I ignored his rants. Maybe next year I’ll quit the company and start my own business. I’ll finally put something in motion and begin my own life.
Abby makes me want to do that. Be my own person and stop living under the shadow of my father while trying to make up for Sterling’s behavior. I’m not sure if I’m capable of leaving Dad when it seems that he needs me now more than he used to.
“What’s going on, Ahern?” Her sweet voice pulls me back to her and away from my problems.
“Nothing, Abby girl. What are your plans?”
“After Costa Rica, I’m going back to school.” She shrugs. “I loved taking lit classes, but my favorite