Abby Interlude II

Abby Greene was having a terrible day. No, scratch that—a catastrophic day. The fiery-haired teenager just wanted to throw herself onto her bed and wallow in misery. She’d found out through the grapevine that her long-time crush, Mark Donovan, was now officially dating Katie Lawrence.

To Abby, this felt like the universe's cruelest twist of fate. Months ago, when Mark had nervously asked her out, she’d turned him down. She hadn’t been ready then, too wrapped up in her own insecurities to see what she was passing up. And now, watching him laugh and smile with Katie, Abby was filled with nothing but regret.

The weight of the day pressed on her shoulders as she turned onto her street, craving the comfort of home. But something was off. Her pulse quickened as she noticed flashing blue and red lights reflecting off nearby houses. Police cars were parked in front of her home, their presence radiating a grim authority.

“Oh, *fuck*,” Abby muttered under her breath, a sinking feeling taking root in her stomach. She didn’t need to guess what this was about. She already knew.

Her parents had been caught.

Abby’s first instinct was to slam on the gas, turn around, and drive as far away as possible. Maybe head to a friend’s house—wait, no, scratch that. She didn’t exactly have a lot of friends to turn to these days. The truth was, they’d find her eventually. Running wouldn’t solve anything.

Gripping the steering wheel, Abby pulled over to the side of the road, her knuckles white with tension. With a deep breath, she stepped out of her car, her boots crunching against the pavement as she made her way toward the nearest officer.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the officer said as she approached, his tone brisk but not unkind. “This is an active crime scene. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“I live here,” Abby replied flatly, crossing her arms over her chest.

The officer blinked, clearly taken aback. “You do?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. He turned and spoke into his radio, his words too muffled for Abby to catch. “Wait here. My supervisor wants to talk to you.”

With that, he walked away, leaving Abby standing in the middle of her own street. She let out a heavy sigh, her breath visible in the crisp air.

“Great,” she muttered to herself, glancing up at the gray sky. “Today just keeps getting better.”