Abigail Hawkins ducked by a fence as the car passed, and wondered, yet again, if walking down the road at eleven o'clock at night was a good idea. Abby was tall, pretty and slender. She had blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and long runner's legs. In other words, she stuck out alone late at night walking on a dark road. It didn't seem safe. Honestly....it wasn't safe! But Abby felt like it was worth it. She hadn't snuck out since she was like 12, and that time was just so she could go in her backyard and watch a comet that was supposed to be passing by Earth.
She could have driven....she wanted to drive! Her parents were out of town, and they couldn't track her phone since she simply left it at home. It had taken her days of searching her car a little at a time to find the small gps device her mom had hidden there. And she had made sure that her sister, Rebekah, had plans that night. But then Becky had come down with a cold, or more likely a hangover from her previous night hanging out with her friends, and Abby knew without a doubt that Becky would tell mom the second she took the car out after 9:00PM. So she snuck out her window and walked.
Mom never tried to control Becky like she did Abby. Becky didn't have an after school job, no sports or activities, she got straights Cs and Ds on all her grades, and that was when she bothered to go to school at all. She came home at 2AM half the time. She smoked pot, and drank, and mostly hung out with boys who smelled like they only showered once a month. She was a little troublemaker, and no one seemed to care. Abby wasn't sure why she cared - Becky could ruin her life all she wanted. Abby's future was going to be good... At least if her mom wanted her future to be good.
Abby had every aspect of her life controlled: She wanted to quit track 2 years ago, and mom wouldn't let her. She hated the smell of coffee, but mom made her get an after school job at Starbucks that she's been stuck at for a year now. Abby had been accepted at several schools, but mom had picked the one she would be going to, just as mom would pick all of her classes and her major. Abby wanted to save up for a car, but then mom bought her one that Abby wasn't even allowed to pick out, then she refused to put it in Abby's name.
Becky was only 15, almost three years younger than Abby, and she got to do whatever she wanted, while Abby was nothing more than an extension of her mom. It was infuriating.
Abby's dad, a computer engineer at a software company, sometimes tried to encourage Abby to live her own life. But dad was just as much under mom's control as Abby was. He worked for 65 hours a week, even though their family was quite well off and he didn't need to. Abby eventually realized that it's what her dad wanted to do, instead of be there for his daughters.
Then early last month, mom had thrown a combination 18th birthday party and highschool graduation party for Abby, and a few of her friends were invited.... Well, no, not friends. Abby didn't have any real friends, she was too busy with school, and track, and her stupid job. Every second of her time was taken up by things she didn't choose to do. And the few friends she had made over the years were always chased off by mom. Even Becky refused to come to the graduation/birthday party, and although that hurt Abby deeply, she hid the pain from her sister.
But mom had simply invited the children of her work friends to the party. Abby didn't know a single one of them at the time. It was just like mom to throw a party for Abby that wasn't actually *for* Abby. And the whole thing made her feel sad and alone, like mom would never let her be happy. She was 18 now, but she would always be her mother's daughter, and never her own person.
But then she met Scott.
As soon as she saw him at the party, laughing at something a girl next to him had said, she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. It was like that scene in Hamilton when Eliza first saw her future husband. Abby knew that she was destined to be with Scott, and she wished desperately that she had a sister who would introduce them and break the ice, like Eliza had Elizabeth. She had never seen such a beautiful boy though, and she had to talk to him. He was tall, athletic without looking like he had to try, blond hair that was just a touch darker than her own. Blue eyes that she wanted to look into forever. Abby had never been in love, but she was sure that this is what it felt like.
It took every ounce of courage she had to talk to Scott and start a conversation. And she felt like a moron - she was sure she was babbling. They talked for what felt like hours. Scott was the son of one of the partners at mom's law firm, and he was going to the same university that Abby was about to attend. She had felt lonely for so long, and to meet someone so cute and funny...it felt like a dream come true, like he was her prince and they were meeting at some Disney cartoon ball.
Abby remembered shooting a few glances at her mom, expecting see to a scowl or deadeyed stare shot back at her. But her mom was glancing back often, a smug smile on her face. Maybe mom was setting them up on purpose. Maybe Abby was finally allowed to have a boyfriend, as long as it was a boy that mom chose.
But looking into Scott's pretty blue eyes again, Abby decided that she was happy with mom's choice. They had texted constantly since then, even met a few times for lunch with a few of his friends. And Abby began to fall for him more and more, but he hadn't made any serious moves on her, and she was too afraid to make moves on him. Scott had invited Abby to a party on Saturday, just a few miles away from her house. And she felt it. This was the night...
Which was why Abby was spending her Saturday night half-jogging half-skulking through dark neighborhoods. It was ridiculous that she had to sneak around. She was 18 now, practically an adult! But she knew that her life didn't work like that. She couldn't even call an Uber without her mom checking her phone and finding out. This was her only option, and she was determined to see it through. Her heart beat with adrenaline as another car passed, and she continued jogging down the sidewalk, growing more and more excited. She knew she might be a little sweaty by the time she got there, which is the only reason she wasn't running. But she couldn't walk either, she was just too happy!
Abby had never kissed a boy before, but she imagined what it would be like to kiss Scott tonight. They would stare at each other for a moment, and she would lean as close to him as she could. His lips would be firm but soft when they met hers....
*HOOOONK!!!*
The car honked its horn loudly as it passed, and a greasy looking guy stuck his head out the passenger window and yelled at her. "Hey baby, want a ride? I got somethin' you can ride all night!!"