Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry, Aunt Rose—I’m just not up for it this year,” she said with a sigh.
“But honey, I hate to leave you all alone in the house! You’re so depressed since you had that fight with your Monstrum,” her aunt protested.
“He’s not ‘my Monstrum’ anymore,” Abbey said sadly. “And he never will be again.”
“Don’t say that!” Aunt Rose exclaimed. “He still loves you—I’m sure he does!”
“Then why hasn’t he come back to see me or called me?” Abbey demanded. “No, Aunt Rose—we’re broken up for good. I even…even gave him his engagement ring back,” she added and then had to swallow the lump that rose in her throat.
“Oh, honey…” Aunt Rose put her arms around Abbey and squeezed gently. “Don’t give up hope,” she whispered. “I know he still cares for you—you should have seen the way he looked at you! Like you hang the sun and the moon and shine brighter than both of them put together!”
Abbey smiled a little at her aunt’s old-fashioned way of talking.
“Thanks, Aunt Rose, but I think I really made him mad. I don’t blame him for not coming back after the way we ended things.”
“This is foolishness!” Aunt Rose told her. “Just call him, honey!”
“I can’t.” Abbey shook her head. “I broke up with him—he probably never wants to see me again!”
“He cares about you, honey! He punished that horrible Chris Brander for you,” her aunt pointed out. “He did exactly what I would have wanted to do to him if only I had known.”
Abbey could hear the reproach in her aunt’s voice. Rose still hadn’t forgiven her for not telling her about the attack right after it had happened. She sighed and shook her head.
“Look, Aunt Rose, just go on to the convention. I’ll stay here and listen to my favorite audiobooks and watch some old movies and eat lots of chocolate. I’ll be fine.”
“I still say you should call him,” her aunt said with a sigh. “This is just a big misunderstanding between the two of you. I can tell you still love him—it’s plain as the nose on your face! And I’m sure he feels the same way. Just think about it, please?”
“I’ll think about it,” Abbey promised her, though she doubted she would. Her heart was still sore with wounded pride. And she was still irritated that the big Monstrum had lied to her. She just couldn’t see herself calling him, even though she missed him terribly. And she doubted he wanted to call her either.
In the end, Aunt Rose went to the convention on her own and Abbey stayed in the house. She decided to put on Dirty Dancing and just veg on the couch—she loved the old movies she and her girlfriends had watched at slumber parties when they were kids. They had seen them so many times that Abbey could still “see” every scene in her mind’s eye as she listened to the dialogue coming from the TV.
As she watched the movie, she had to explain parts of it to Spex, who was fascinated by it. The little Eye-pet had been a lifesaver these past few weeks. It was his unconditional love that kept Abbey going, even when she wanted to just stay in bed and rot. He had a nest on her nightstand and his sweet little voice in her ear was the first thing she heard every morning and the last thing she heard every night.
“Pretty Abbey, why is the movie called ‘Dancing Dirty’ when none of the dancers has dirt on them?” he asked her.
“Well, actually it’s Dirty Dancing,” Abbey corrected him.
“Yes, Spex sees them dancing but none of them needs a bath,” the little Eye-pet protested. “And why does the main dance-man say nobody can put Baby in the corner? Spex didn’t see anyone trying to do that to her. She is dancing all around with the dance-man—not standing in the corner.”
“Well, when he talks about putting her in the corner, what he really means is—” Abbey started to explain.
“Abbey? Pretty Abbey?” Spex interrupted her and she noticed that his little voice was suddenly softer and there was a note of fear in it.
“Yes, Spex? What’s wrong?” she murmured.
“Pretty Abbey, Spex sees eyes watching,” he whispered, sounding even more afraid.
“What? Do you mean on the TV screen?” Abbey asked, frowning.
“No-no,” Spex murmured. “Eyes outside the window—watching Pretty Abbey.”
“What?” Abbey exclaimed. Her heart was suddenly pounding. There was a large picture window in her living room, directly across from the couch. Aunt Rose normally shut the curtains at night, but Abbey had forgotten to do that and she was sitting in full view of the window.
“Mean eyes!” Spex whispered, sounding more and more frightened. “Hurt-you eyes! Pretty Abbey, Spex thinks there’s a bad man outside!”
By now Abbey had come to trust her little Eye-pet completely. If Spex said there was a bad man in the bushes outside her house looking at her through the window, she believed him. The question was, what could she do about it?