Sanctuary

Another wonderful two weeks passed and it was time for All Time Low to shoot their first video for the new album and Alex was ecstatic. The first single they were going to release was Dirty Laundry which was perhaps my favorite song off the album. It wasn’t filmed in LA, so the boys traveled to Baltimore to film the video.

“How’s Baltimore?” I asked during my lunch break.

“Amazing. It’s so weird being back here. You know?”

I smiled to myself.

“Glad to hear that.”

“How are you? How’s work?”

“Great and work’s been the same. How’s the shoot going?”

“Well, it’s such a simple one. We’re just at a laundromat and it’s focused on me more than anything.”

“That’s exciting.”

Then, I burped.

“Are you on your lunch break?” he asked laughing.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Mind if I ask what you’re eating?”

Another burp. I started to laugh as did Alex.

“Oh... bacon cheeseburger with onion rings on the side.”

“Fuck. That sounds delicious.”

“It is. Too bad you can’t have one.”

“Tomorrow, I can.”

“That’s true.”

“Well, I'll let you go eat then.”

“Ok. Love you.”

“I love you, too. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I hung up with a smile on my face. My mind went to another place when I thought about how my conversation with my mom ended on a similar note.

Three days passed since Alex and I had that long talk about my mom and now I’m about to call her via FaceTime. If I can’t talk to her in person, then this will have to do. I can’t get out to Virginia before the wedding, so I can deal with this. After a few rings, my mom answered and I saw a smile on her face.

“Hi honey.”

“Hi Mom. We need to talk.”

“Yes. We certainly do. Where do you wanna start?”

“How about when you said you couldn’t believe the dream I had?”

“You were four. Do you blame me?”

“Yeah, but could you have said it nicer? It shocked the hell out of me.”

“I’m sorry for that. That was so stupid.”

“I agree. Thank you. How about when you-when you...”

I couldn’t get the words out.

“The rape comment.”

“And the way you said it. It was uncalled for on so many levels.”

“I don’t even know why I said it or the fact I laughed. I feel like such a piece of shit for doing that.”

My mom was close to tears as was I. I only nodded.

“I feel awful about when I triggered you.”

“How could you have possibly known?”

“But I should have known. I know you were grabbed and he had to have had a tight hold on you that night.”

“Now, you do, Mom. It’s a result of that and my PTSD and despite the medication I’m on, it’s still a trigger.”

“I’m so sorry you have to go through that everyday. Did I make it worse since that day?”

“Yes and it’s been on my mind everyday. I was hoping talking to you would make things easier.”

“How are things now?”

“Better. Quite frankly, I missed talking to you.”

“That’s good. Hey, Abby, where’s Alex? I thought he’d be here for this.”

“Alex is not so willing to forgive you because you really hurt me and he’s still angry actually.”

“Oh my God.”

“He’s willing to try for me, but he is on the fence about this.”

“Don’t tell me you guys had such a huge fight about this.”

I didn’t want to, but...

“We did, but we made up on Sunday. All things are good between us.”

“That’s a relief. I can’t imagine you two not being together.”

I smiled.

"I can't either and in three months, it'll be official. Time's passing too slowly for my liking, though."

"The day will be there before you know it, Abby and the wedding will be worth the wait."

It will. It definitely will.

"I know." I said not being able to rid myself of my smile.

“Anyway, it was great to resolve this.”

“It definitely was. I just couldn’t stand the thought of us not being in each other’s lives.”

“I agree wholeheartedly, honey.”

“Hey, I’ll talk to you later. Ok?”

“Ok. I love you. Bye.”

“I love you, too. Bye.”

I hung up and smiled, falling back onto the bed I was sitting on.

After a long day at work, I came home around nine and my feet were killing me. Since I didn’t have my personal masseuse here, I settled on a bubble bath and attempting to FaceTime Alex. Once I let the dogs out and let them back in, I made a straight line to the bathroom. The second I got comfortable in the tub, I texted him to see if he’d be able to because I was in the bath and didn’t need any company; not to mention, it was midnight in Baltimore. I smiled when he texted me back and then, I called him.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I waved.

“I see you felt the need to take a bubble bath.”

“Well, I didn’t have you, so this is the next best thing.”

“You’re such a tease.”

“Thank you. I try.” I laughed.

"It's a different story though. I'm on the other side of the country."

"I'm sorry babe."

"No. You're not."

"I am. Trust me."

He gave me the side eye.

“Alex Gaskarth. I don’t lie. I’ll make it up to you when you get back.”

“You promise?”

“I promise, you dork.”

“Ok.” he said laughing.

“So, did you guys have a great day?”

“Fantastic. Can’t wait to get back home though.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

I was grinning from ear-to-ear. We talked for another ten minutes till he was sleepy and my bath water started to run cold. After another twenty minutes, I got out of the tub and drained the water. I fell asleep that night completely relaxed.

See you tonight! I love you! Have a great day!

Alex texted right before I left for work this morning; I melted.

I love you, too! Can’t wait!

I put my phone on vibrate and placed it back into my purse. I could hardly focus until my lunch break when I’d once again get fast food. I walked into the parking lot to find an extremely attractive guy standing against my car. I didn’t run over, but I dashed over and kissed him; it was Alex.

“Hey. What brings you here?” I asked.

“Just meeting my very hot fiancée for a lunch date.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. What a coincidence.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me as I wound mine around his neck.

“When did you get back? You weren’t supposed to get back till this evening.”

“An hour ago. Thought I’d surprise you.”

“Well, you certainly did.”

He smiled.

“Did you know all along that you were gonna be here during the day?”

“I found out yesterday, actually.”

“Well, thank you for surprising me.”

“My pleasure.”

He kissed me again.

“So, where we eatin’?"

“That’s up to you.”

"How about a place where you can get a bacon cheeseburger?"

"I like the way you think."

I laughed and unlocked my car.

"No. We're going in my car." he said, taking my hand.

"Ok." I said, locking it.

I walked with him and got into his car, not able to wipe the smile off my face.

“Are you happy?”

“Maybe...” I said, biting my lip and glancing over at him.

“So am I.”

He smiled at me and took my hand before starting his car. Fuck. I really love this man. Don’t I? For once, we made the decision to eat inside instead of eating in the car.

“You know I’ve truly been craving a burger since yesterday.” he said, taking a bite.

“I’m assuming it’s good?”

He nodded.

“Nothing’s quite as good as whatever you make, though.”

I blushed.

“You lie.”

“Abby Shaw. I don’t lie.”

“This sounds like a conversation we had last night.”

“Oh. That one. You said you were gonna make it to me.”

He smirked.

“And I will.”

I definitely did.

Notes