[Edward POV]
7.00 am. Abby and I were still talking to each other through the window. Suddenly, Desiree knocked on Abby's already open door to announce her presence,
"Abigail? You didn't sleep?" Desiree asked while cleaning the area around her eyes.
"Ah. Not yet. I will sleep on the plane." Abby replied, her eyes still bloodshot from the overnight conversation.
"Pff- Abigail." I couldn't hold back my laugh.
Turning back to look at me with a red face, Abby shouted, "SHUT UP!"
Desiree walked near Abby before bending forward, hands on the windowsill as she greeted me, "Good morning Ed."
"Good Morning Desiree. Want me to help you scrub your back? It'll be hard for you to shower with the cast on."
"PERVERT! Mom, ignore him!" Abby pushed her mother away as the latter laughed. Abby said, "I'll go help my mom."
"Alright, I'll go to the Dunphys for breakfast. Call me after you guys are ready." I muttered, my hand still propping my jaw as I looked out the window.
Abby was reluctant to go away, and fidgeted for a few seconds. Then, she stepped back into the window area again and said, "You're not going to sleep right?"
I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I told you I'm going to the Dunphys. Your mom chose to go to the airport with Claire. Remember?"
"Ahh, Right. Sorry, brainfart moment." Abby said in a cute manner before running away with a blushing face.
It was normal to get impaired cognitive function after a sleepless night. Yesterday at the hospital, Claire offered to drive Desiree to the airport, as she thought it was more normal for her to do so instead of my dad and Desiree couldn't drive with her cast.
It was actually true when you think about it. She was her best friend, and my dad was just a guy she went on one date with. A date in which I still had my suspicions that they did much more than just 'talk'.
Also, airport farewell moments would just be too awkward. Imagine when Haley and Tara started to cry, and I just stood there like an emotionless robot. So it's better for me to send her off right here, and let her friends be there to accompany her in the end instead.
"HuahhhHHHH" I yawned, my eyes were moist from the sleepy tears. "Hmm, why is he not texting me back? Did he get the ticket or not?" I muttered as I checked the text messages I had sent to my dad.
"I should make a whatsapp type chat app or IMessage before I go to Texas." I muttered. It would be easier for me to chat with my friends, and also for us to share pictures from our vacations/camp/work.
I went to take a quick shower before changing into a simple sweatshirt and sweatpants, paired it with my Nike sneakers, and a black baseball cap. My legs were still hurting, so I walked instead of jogging, like I usually would, towards the Dunphy's house, while avoiding recognition from the passersby.
"Dollar bills, dollar bills~ Watch it falling for me, I love the way it feels~Dollar bills, dollar bills~Keep on falling for me, I love the way it feels~" I hummed with an excited tone as I checked the subscription numbers climb up on my streaming site– [Entertain].
As I live streamed the concert yesterday, I was true to my words and donated every penny that I collected from the people buying the pass to watch the concert live, however, subscription to my website, commenting passes, and group chat passes were counted in a different way.
I managed to get 4.5 million dollars from the concert pass alone, and 2.1 million dollars more from everything else, including the commercials played during the live broadcast.
"Almost half a million people bought the pass. Damn, it was truly shocking." I muttered. Not immediately, but a lot of people bought the pass throughout the show. They could also check the number of donations collected on the screen, and the numbers matched with the amount I had donated to the soup kitchen before, doing wonders for me and the company's credibility.
"The most surprising one was Pepper's mom." I let out a heavy sigh as I reached the Dunphy's front door. Pepper's mom– Eve, did a high class move and gave me some pocket money in the exact numbers of the donations I collected, straight into my tax free trust, and also doubled the amount of funds in the charity, but she donated it under an anonymous alias.
Her only request was for me to come and have dinner with her again, which was hard for me to reject considering how deep her pocket was.
"I'm sorry Nonni, but in the ranks of 'the grandmothers I love', you have been pushed to second place." I mumbled to myself when suddenly a gust of wind pushed an acorn seed to fall right on top of my head.
*Bonk*
"Oww…Fucking squirrel." I cursed as I saw the innocent animal staring at me from a tree nearby, waiting for me to leave as it wanted to get his treasure back.
[Squirrel POV]
Why is he staring at me? Is this another Dolittle situation? Should I report this back to HQ? It would be bad for my agent's record if he understood my plans of destabilizing the Middle East. Should I nip this threat in the bud? Too bad, he gave me some good vibes. If he was a squirrel, I think we could have been close friends.
[Edward POV]
'Why is he staring at me? Oh, I guess it's because of my [Animal Affinity]' I thought as I threw the acorn back to the tree before ringing the doorbell.
"I got it!" I heard Luke's voice coming to the door, and he opened it without any hesitation.
"Dude, what if I'm a kidnapper?" I narrowed my eyes and used a scolding tone as I entered the house.
"Do you have any candy?" Luke asked casually.
"Uhhh..No?"
"Then don't worry, I won't go with you."
"That's not how it works- Luke!" I widened my eyes in disbelief as Luke walked back towards the kitchen smilingly. I rubbed my forehead in frustration before following Luke, my nose picked up a sweet scent.
"Pancake? French toast?" I muttered as I saw the Dunphy's family working hard in the kitchen. Claire was flipping pancakes, Alex was making French toast, while Haley put some chocolate chips and syrups on the dish before bringing it to Phil who was waiting at the dinner table.
"Ho~Ho~ A king for a day." I greeted Phil.
"Ed, come eat!" Phil invited with a high spirit.
"Usually people just give a card for Father's day. Don't let my dad know about this, or he'll have some unrealistic expectations." I said to Claire and Haley. They laughed before Haley grabbed something from the kitchen top. "We did buy a card though."
I chuckled a bit before Alex walked towards me and shoved a plate of French toast onto my hands. "Here. Your eyes are red. You should rest more."
"I will once I send off Abby and Desiree." I replied. My words were like pouring cold water on the excitement, causing both Claire and Haley to be depressed.
"Ahhh. I don't want to say goodbye! It'll ruin my mascara!" Haley muttered in a joking manner. I smiled and sat next to Phil as he enjoyed his 'Father's day' surprise from his family.
"Hey, Ed, are you okay?" Phil asked after seeing that his family was no longer paying attention to us.
"Huh? Why do you ask?" I looked up from devouring my breakfast.
"You look a little upset." Phil said in concern. I was a bit surprised, but I didn't want to talk about it and changed the topic quickly, "I still haven't slept since last night. By the way Phil, did you get interviewed at the end of the concert yesterday?"
"Uh, there was an interview?" Phil's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, I think, Cam and Mitch did it. Or so Pepper told me, but I'm not sure which media it was for yet."
"Oh, lucky them." Phil lowered his head in depression, before his mood lifted again as Claire walked over with a plate of pancakes. She kissed the top of his head and said, "Enjoy Honey. I'm going over to Desiree's house. I'll be using the minivan to take them to the airport."
"I'll help you load the suitcases." I wanted to finish my breakfast and leave with Claire, but she stopped me.
"No need, Ed. You said you haven't slept. It'll be 2 more hours before they leave. Haley and I will go there first, and we will call you when it's almost time. Try to get some rest before then." Claire said in a soft and gentle manner, which spooked me a bit.
"Who are you? And what have you done with Claire Dunphy?" I widened my eyes and asked in a horrified voice. She rolled her eyes and said angrily, "I can be sensitive if I need to! Now come on Haley! Let's go!"
After she left, I asked Phil, "Any idea what that's all about?"
"Well she seemed to get the idea that the 'It will Rain' song was created for Abby." Phil explained.
"Oh, that song wasn't even about me." I said casually. Alex sat next to me after finishing her work and said, "Really? Then who was it about? Please don't tell me it's my parents again. I can't even handle the one song, now there's going to be 2 of them." Alex begged.
I laughed and said, "No. It's actually about my dad. You know, after my mom left him. He didn't drown himself in morphine though, but I just learned about it at the time, and thought it was edgy."
"Ahhh." Phil exclaimed in relief. "I can rest easy now. And Claire doesn't have to keep you away from your house until she finds the stash anymore."
"She's there now?" I asked in confusion.
"Ah no. She said she was going there later." Phil explained subconsciously.
I was puzzled by Phil's words, but I decided to just ignore it. I talked to Alex for a while, and then asked Phil, "Hey, can't you buy her a smartphone?"
"Huh? For Alex?" Phil asked, confused. Even Alex was confused by my sudden request.
"Well I can buy it for her, but I got a feeling that she won't accept it. Wait- Alex, I can use your payment to buy you a new phone."
"Why do I need a new one?" Alex furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"I wanna make a chat app, and it will be able to send pictures, so all of us can update our vacation progress in the group chat? What do you think?"
Alex's eyes lit up and she said, "Dad. Let's go buy it!"
"NOW?" Phil, who was eating his pancake, stopped just before it could reach his mouth. "Yes now! Come on!" Alex urged.
"What about my father's day celebration?!" Phil asked, aggrieved.
"We only planned for the breakfast thing. There's nothing else." Alex walked towards Phil and started to pull his arms to make him stand up.
Although it seemed to be overbearing, I saw Phil smiled widely as he could spend time with Alex. In all of his children, his relationship with Alex was quite strained as Alex was generally a serious person. So whenever she acted unreasonably, Phil didn't actually hate it, but he loved it instead as it felt like Alex was a young child again.
"Ed, what phone?" Alex stopped mid-way and asked with an excited glare.
"Ask your dad. He's well versed in this stuff. You can trust him." I replied in a casual manner.
"You saw through me Ed." Phil said, but before he could brag, Alex pulled him away. "Ed- ED- Take care of Luke!"
"Don't worry~ I'll make sure to keep an eye on him!" I replied. Then I looked around, and Luke was nowhere to be found. "Ah damn it." I cursed.
…
As the furniture in the house was included when Desiree and Abby moved in, the house didn't change much. I was standing alone in the living room as Phil helped Desiree load her suitcases inside the minivan.
Abby walked by, her eyes were still red, and her cheeks were a bit sunken from the prospect of saying goodbye. Her mom followed her closely from behind, and she asked in a careful tone, "Are you sure you can handle giving back the key to the landlord?"
"Yeah, no problem." I replied casually. Desiree then smiled and gave me a giant hug, pushing my head into her bosom for the last time.
"I'll miss you Ed." She muttered.
"I'll miss my Cougar…Town head too…" I said as I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her closely. She released me and said, "Don't worry, I'll keep emailing you about the show every week."
"Nicee!" I replied, excited. I really wanted to watch the show, but as I had a tremendous amount of work to do, I had already missed several episodes. Luckily, Desiree shared every single detail with me, making sure to keep me up to date as if I had actually watched it.
She waved me off as she exited the house, leaving me alone with Abby.
"Don't cry. I will hate it if the last memory I have of you is your crying face. That'd give me nightmares for weeks." I joked. Abby, who was feeling melancholic, punched me in the arm lightly as she got annoyed.
"You should be grateful that I appear in your dreams! Even if it's a nightmare!" She said jokingly.
"No. I don't want a goth girl to enter my dream. Unless it's a wet dream."
"Pervert!"
"Anyway, don't be so sad. I'll come see you when my tour reaches New York." I said as I grabbed her hand. She stared right into my eyes with a look of determination on her face.
"No. Don't come." She said suddenly.
"Huh? Why not?" I raised one of my eyebrows, and my tone was annoyed.
"If you come, then I know for sure that I will desperately want to follow you back." Abby choked and closed her eyes as she started tearing up.
I sighed as I held her chin, pulling it upwards so that I could see it clearly. She opened her eyes and stopped crying. She wiped her tears and said, "So, don't come."
I rubbed my hair in frustration before I looked at her angrily. She smiled wryly and said, "Come on. Do me this favor."
"Sure, but, you HAVE to text me at least once a week, even when you're busy." I relented.
"I will."
She stopped crying and then she said, "You know, close- close your eyes."
"Hmm?" I was confused at first, but then, I followed her request. Then, I could feel her presence, especially her face, was so close to mine.
"Hey-"
"Ed. Don't open them. Feel it instead." She said before she put her hand on my face. I sensed her warmth, and I could hear her voice more clearly.
"When my dad left, the figure of him getting out the door kept lingering in my mind. I don't want it to happen to you too." Abby said. "I want your last memory of me to be a good one."
"What do you propose?" I asked.
She touched my nose as she gazed at my face intently, trying to remember every single detail. "You can only open your eyes, when you can no longer…feel me."
"Ugh, I regret making you watch How I Met Your Mother." I joked, but I didn't open my eyes. Then, I felt a soft sensation on my cheeks, my nose, and my forehead.
"Don't forget me, okay?" Abby said before she kissed me on the lips. Then, she slowly backed away, released her hands that were holding mine, and walked away without saying goodbye.
I stood alone inside the house for over half an hour until I could no longer feel her warmth on my lips, and I tried desperately to remember the sensation.
"Goodbye Abby." I muttered as I opened my eyes, feeling that the world was a little bit colder as I did.
…
[Edward's commentary]
"You know what's worse than seeing a person you like leave? The lingering hope that she would still be around as you couldn't see it." Edward muttered. "No closure."
"Do I want her to stay? Yeah."
"Will I get over this? No."
"Does Life still go on even If I didn't? Yes."
[commentary ends]
[General POV]
At the airport.
Abby hugged Haley, and as the latter expected before, she cried sobbingly, ruining her makeup.
"Take care of yourself Haley." Abby said as she released her friend.
"You too. Make sure to text me right when you land. And don't shut me out when you get there okay?" Haley demanded. Abby chuckled and said, "Yeah. I will."
"Hey, take care of Ed okay." Abby requested.
"I will. Don't worry about it." Haley said with determination.
"Then I can rest easy and leave it all to you. Goodbye Haley."
"Goodbye Abby."
Haley waved at Abby as the latter pulled her suitcase and walked into the departure lane. Claire and Desiree were also emotional, but they didn't cry like the teenagers.
"Can you make sure Ed gives the key to the landlord?" Desiree asked.
"Don't worry. A teenager with a key to an empty house is just a recipe for disaster." Claire said as she glanced at Haley. Haley flinched, but she didn't say anything to avoid her mother knowing that she had been sneaking into an empty house her dad listed for sales.
"You guys don't have to worry about Ed. What's he going to do? Work there?" Haley joked, causing both Desiree and Claire to smile. Desiree quickly waved goodbyes to the duo as she followed Abby to enter the departure hall.
"Let's go." Claire said to Haley. Haley nodded and followed her mother.
On the drive home, Haley texted Ed, but the latter wasn't replying.
"Odd. Oh, maybe he's sleeping." Haley muttered as she knew Ed hadn't slept yet since yesterday.
Unbeknownst to her, Edward was currently blaring [Steelheart- She's gone] song as he laid down flat on his bed in a depressed manner.