Abbey's Road

"I hate the mountains," Johnny moaned, clutching his stomach. He leaned against the window of their rental vehicle and closed his eyes. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick. And it doesn't help that Matt drives like a madman."

"You're the one who wanted to take a car in the first place!" Matt barked from the driver's seat. He didn't turn around, but Zacky could see the angry sparkle in his hazel eyes through the rearview mirror. "The fucking train might've been slower, but at least we only had to listen to Zacky bitch and whine. Now we've gotta listen to both of you."

Zacky squeezed his emerald eyes shut, feeling sick for a completely different reason than Johnny. For one, he was still fighting off the effects of yet another night of binge-drinking. And Matt's vague reference to Abbey had left him feeling as if he were tumbling down the side of the mountain. "Are we almost there?" he asked, not bothering to open his eyes.

Zacky felt a hand on his shoulder and knew instantly that it was Brian. "Almost, man," his friend answered. "We're about ten minutes away from the hotel."

Ten minutes until I can start looking for Abbey, Zacky thought. He pushed back the voice in his head that kept telling him Abbey wouldn't be there and took a deep breath. I will find her.

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Zacky surveyed the interior of his room with disdain. December was quickly approaching, and so the staff had decided - much to Zacky chagrin - to decorate for the upcoming holiday. It was nice, yes, but Zacky felt out of place. He was miserable without Abbey, and couldn't bring himself to want to celebrate Christmas without her. She was the one who went about decorating their house with a feverish frenzy, not stopping until every last thing was perfectly in its place. She made it feel like Christmas. But without Abbey, it would just be another terrible day.

He placed his bag on the floor before plopping onto the bed with a sigh. He hated this constant thinking of Abbey, this constant depression, this constant ache in the center of his chest. I hope she's as miserable as I am, he thought bitterly, and instantly the ache in his heart grew. He hadn't meant that.

"Zacky man, come on if we wanna start looking," Brian's voice boomed suddenly from outside. "And I think Jimmy's wanting to grab a bite to eat somewhere."

"Coming," was all Zacky managed to force out. He kicked the bag underneath the bed to hide it from view and joined his friends in the hallway. Looking around at their faces, he could tell that they were tired from the traveling. But they would never voice this to him. They knew how much having Abbey back meant to Zacky - and to them as well - and they wouldn't give up until they'd found her.

At Jimmy's instance, the group stopped off for lunch at a small place called P&J's Rainbow Cafe. Zacky wasn't hungry, and refused the menu when the waitress attempted to press it into his hands. Brian raised an eyebrow at his friend, but the green-eyed man looked away. He wasn't in the mood for prying questions right now.

The bell above the front door dinged!, and Zacky looked up just in time to see a petite woman with shoulder-length auburn hair exit the diner.

His heart leapt into his throat. Abbey.

Zacky stood up so quickly that he nearly upset his chair; thankfully Matt stopped it before it hit a baby in a highchair. Ignoring the yelling of his friends and the incredulous stares of strangers, Zacky rushed for the exit, thinking of nothing else but catching up to Abbey. The crowd outside the diner seemed to have multiplied since they'd arrived, but Zacky's emerald orbs saw only the small head of brown hair as it bobbed and weaved through the sea of people.

"Abbey!" he called out. His voice was hoarse with hope. "Abbey, please wait! We can make things better, we can--"

Zacky's words caught in his throat as the woman turned around. Her eyes were cold and blue, such a stark difference from Abbey's soft gray ones. He retracted his hand like he'd been bitten.

"What's your problem?" the woman snapped. "My name isn't Abbey."

"Sorry," Zacky breathed. "My mistake."

The woman scoffed at him once more before stomping away through the crowd, leaving Zacky alone, confused, and a bit heartbroken. He should have known better than to get his hopes up. He should've know that Abbey wouldn't be here. I'm never going to find her, he thought bitterly, but then he shook his head. He couldn't find Abbey with an attitude like that.

Zacky could hear his friends calling for him, shouting his name, but he ignored them and began walking down the sidewalk, away from the diner. They'd follow him anyway; there was no reason to heed to their calls. He didn't know where he was going; certainly not back to the hotel where his friends could find him and hound him with questions. Where the hell is a bar when you needed one? he found himself thinking darkly.

When he hadn't found a bar within ten minutes, Zacky decided to just give up. It worried him that his pain was so bad it wasn't even worth locating alcohol to wash it away. In the end he simply sat down on the curb in front of something called an old-fashioned soda fountain and placed his head in his hands. This, all of this, it wasn't worth it.

"Excuse me?" a small voice said. Zacky's head swung to the side and he noticed a young girl standing next to him. She couldn't have been older than fifteen. Her sharp blue eyes widened and she stuttered, "Y-You're Zacky Vengeance."

"Yeah, I am," he replied monotonously. He wasn't in the mood to deal with fans, but still he got to his feet. There was no reason to make this girl's day as miserable as his was. "What can I do for you?"

"Uhh, sign something maybe?" the girl squeaked. Her small hands dove into the bag she wore around her shoulder and soon produced a small piece of paper from inside. She thrust it at him, along with a pen. Zacky could see that her hands were shaking. "My name is Abbie," she added.

Zacky's heart stopped. "What did you say?" he breathed.

"I said my name is Abbie," the girl repeated, appearing a bit confused. Zacky blinked. This was some kind of sick cosmic joke, wasn't it?

Suddenly Zacky bolted, leaving his young fan alone in the middle of the busy sidewalk. She called after him, asking what his problem was, but he ignored her and continued running. He took a sharp turn and his path veered into the street, eliciting several angry honks from drivers as they did their best to avoid him. Right now, he honestly didn't care whether or not they hit him or not. Part of him wished they would. At least that would put an end to all of this misery and confusion.

It was several hours before Zacky’s friends discovered him, cold and wet, with a double deuce dangling from his hands. Matt quickly wrestled the alcohol from his friend, while Brian and Jimmy helped to stabilize him and help him to the rental car, surprised at the lack of opposition from their green-eyed friend.

“Zack, you okay, buddy?” Jimmy asked tentatively, glancing at his so far silent friend.

Zacky’s green orbs rolled up to meet Jimmy’s blue ones. “Does it look like I’m...fucking okay?” he hiccuped. He held out his hand to Matt, who sat in the driver’s seat. “I’d like my beer back, please.”

“Like hell,” Matt stated. “You’re drunk enough as it is. The last thing I wanna do tonight is have to take you to the fucking emergency room because you decided to get alcohol poisoning.”

“I hate you,” Zacky hissed vehemently. “Let me out of the car.”

“We’re doing eighty!” Matt exclaimed. Zacky’s green eyes glittered with anger. He was safely constrained between Brian and Jimmy in the backseat, but Matt still reached over and activated the automatic lock, just in case. Right now, he wouldn't put anything past Zacky.

“Let me out of the car!” Zacky roared. He raised his fist as if to hit Matt, but Brian restrained him.

“You’re gonna get us all killed if you hit him,” the brown-eyed man said, forcing his friend’s hand down.

“I don’t care,” Zacky whispered somberly, his mood changing quickly. “I wanna die.”

The other four men in the car shared a sharp inhale. They knew Zacky’s words were fueled by alcohol, but these past few days, they couldn't be sure.

“I think a good night’s rest will do you some good,” Matt stated as the hotel appeared up ahead. He began to slow down and swung the car into the parking lot, causing the three men in the back to fall against the right window.

“God, why did we let Short Shit sit shotgun?” Brian grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

“Ha, try saying that five times fast,” Jimmy laughed as he exited the car. Matt, Brian, and Johnny joined the taller man as he repeated the short phrase over and over. Zacky remained silent. Needless to say, he wasn't in the mood to join in on his friends’ merriment. He followed them back to the hotel, and wasn't surprised when Jimmy announced that he was staying in his room tonight. He doubted that his friends trusted him to be alone right now.

Zacky didn't even bother changing clothes before falling into bed. He could sense Jimmy's sympathetic stare boring into his back, and it was all he could not to snap at him. He didn't want sympathy. He wanted Abbey.

Notes