As Jason locked eyes with his daughter, he felt as though his heart were about to explode out of his chest. Abby stood in the open doorway, the muted sunlight made her golden hair glow. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth parted slightly, as though she were about to speak.
"Abby..." he said, his mouth stammering on the name.
She took a step forward, her bare feet moving softly on the carpeted floor.
Panic suddenly bubbled up inside him, and he blurted out, "No! Get out Abby!"
She stopped abruptly, clutching her hands in front of her. Her brows creased in concern, and she opened her mouth again.
"Leave Abby," he said again, his voice harsh and strained.
He saw her lip tremble, and she quickly turn and ran out of the room.
"Shit..." he murmured, leaning back in his chair. He felt his heartrate slow as he cleaned himself up.
Why did she have to see that... why did she have to walk in just then...?
He paused, glancing out the window. He saw Abby walk into the backyard, moving slowly across the grass. The sunlight reflected on the tears pouring down her cheeks.
Oh hell...
he mentally berated himself. He watched as she lowered herself onto the grass and laid back.
I shouldn't have yelled at her...
He thought, standing up,
Christ, I need to apologize...
He looked towards the doorway. He realized it hadn't been her movement that had alerted him to her presence.
She sighed... she sighed?
He glanced back out the window. Abby lay in the grass, her eyes closed.
"Hey honey?" He heard his wife called from across the house.
He cleared his throat, and responded, "Yes dear?"
She poked her head around the doorway, "I am off to Susan's. The stew is going to take a couple hours but don't worry; you don't have to do anything to it until I get back."
He nodded, shuffling some papers around on his desk, "Okay," he paused, not looking up, "Is Abby going with you? I know she likes hanging out with Susan's kids, whats-their-names..."
His wife rolled her eyes, "James and Kayla, dear. And no. She said she was tired, so I sent her to take a nap." She glanced at her watch, "Gotta go. See you later dear." She waved and left.
Jason stood at his desk, looking down at his cluttered desk.
Abby was supposed to be resting... why did she come see me...?
He tried to think back to how she looked when she came in.
Her cheeks were flushed red... Her mouth parted, with her bottom lip glistening... her hands her clutching her skirt, pulling it up ever so slightly...
