Colorful Past

 Chapter 2

Abagail and Alex

By Elise And Rose

Alex pushed the key into the lock. Pushes open the door and walks into his apartment. He tossed his keys onto the table. Loosened his tie as he walked past the living room and into the kitchen for a drink. He leaned against the counter taking large swallows of his beer. He'd been on auto-pilot for the last two days since leaving Abby's apartment. Angela? He shook his head and sighed. Alex didn't even know what to call her anymore. He was past his initial anger but his disappointment in her lingered.

He finished off his beer then set the empty bottle on the counter. He exhaled deeply as he pulled off his jacket and walked to the bedroom. This was not how he expected the last few days to be. This wasn't how he expected the week, the month, or the damn year to be.

Alex looked over at the empty bed where she should be laying next to him. He loved her. He needed her. But her lying was something he didn't need. It would be a long while before he shared a bed with her. If he could forgive her, that is.

He pulled out the top drawer of the dresser, just needing to look at it once more. The small black velvet box sat tucked beside a stack of his silk ties. He picked up the box, his thumb brushing over the velvet. Instead of opening it, he slowly set it back down then closed the drawer. Plans change, he guessed.

After changing clothes, Alex went back out to the living room and sat heavily in his chair at the desk. The laptop whirred softly as it booted up. The Internet browser automatically signed on. "Alright, Angela Hudson let's find out who you are."

Alex pulled up good ole reliable Google. He typed in the name. Angela Hudson. He sat staring at it, finger resting lightly on the enter button. With a sigh Alex sat back in his chair, moving his hand away from the computer. He couldn't do it. Couldn't investigate her behind her back. He wanted to hear it from her. Maybe she would give him a straight answer with no emotional dramatics. He hoped so. It was the only chance he was going to give her.

Abby had gone though the last couple of days in a mixed haze of fear and grief. Alex hadn't called. As she worked on the painting before her a heavy sigh passed her lips. Abby/Angela couldn't blame him for walking out that door. Feathering the knife lightly over the delicate canvas the image of his face and how upset he was came to mind.

Fifty times at least if not more she had picked up the phone to call him then just set the receiver back down. It was all she could do to focus. Eddie had been standing at the bus stop this morning when she got off. Maybe if she kept denying the truth he would give up and let her go. She had made changes enough to her appearance. Fixed her teeth had her nose done kept her hair short instead of the long down her back. Should have been enough.

Looking up at the clock she realized she had stayed two hours over time. Her supervisor wouldn't be happy about that. Abby went about cleaning up thinking about Alex the way his eyes sparkled when he laughed. How his hands felt caressing her skin. Would she get to see and feel those things again?

Picking up her back pack she nodded to herself a decision was made. She would call him tonight. Even if he didn't forgive her Alex deserved the truth. The biggest part of that truth, how much she loved and needed him in her life. Standing by the dog day painting as he had called it Abby pulled out her cell. Taking a deep breath she dialed Alex's number and pressed talk.

Alex reached up to turn off the laptop. He watched it blankly as it powered down. The moment the screen went dark, the phone rang. He looked over at it. It rang three more times before he picked it up. "Yeah?"

She almost hung up but steadied herself looking at the painting. "Alex, it's Abby. Is there someplace we can talk. I can come to your place."

He always loved the sound of her voice. Especially when she was whispering in his ear as they made love. But her voice alone wasn't going to sway him. Meeting at his place wasn't going to work either. They needed someplace neutral. I’ll meet you at Strand's bookstore on 12th and Broadway. I'll be in the café in a half hour."

Nodding even though he couldn't see it, she felt a surge of relief and nervousness. At least he was going to talk to her. "I'm leavening work now. I'll be there." She paused for a moment wondering weather he would want to hear it or not. "I'll see you soon. I love you, Alex."

"I'll see you in a half hour." Alex sighed as he hung up. He got dressed then went to the bookstore. He sat at one of the tables near the window sipping on a cup of coffee while he waited for her.

Abby looked at the painting once more then sighed as she walked out and hailed a cab. She wasn't going to take any chances that Eddie was following her. As the cabbie pulled away from the curb she wondered if Eddie had called his boss yet. With a wing and a prayer she hoped not.

After a short while the driver pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the bookstore. Paying the man she gathered her nerves and tried to tell her self there would be no breaking down this time. She had to check emotion at the door for a while.

Walking in Abagail turned toward the cafe. Alex was easy to spot, just look for the fedora on the table. Seeing that hat brought a soft smile as memories of the last year passed though her mind. Hopefully there would be more added to them. Hopefully. Stopping by the table she set down her pack and gave him a soft grin. "Hi."

Alex looked up at her and nodded slightly. "Hi."

He waited for her to sit down. Took a long sip from his coffee then moved his hat from the table. He set it on the window sill and looked back at her. "I want an explanation. The truth. All of it."

On the drive over Abby had rehearsed it in her mind. Still didn’t make it any easier. His cool demeanor was exactly as she expected. In truth she deserved worse. Licking her lips and pulling a napkin from the dispenser she prepared for the rejection that would surely follow. A nervous habit she began to twist the napkin.

The truth is I was born as Angela Hudson. I was an up and coming art major at Miami University in Florida. I was contracted to replica a couple of pieces for the college with all the proper permissions. I completed them with compliments from the curators of the museum. Perfect copies he called them."

She paused a moment to take a breath this is where he would turn from her. Alex was one of the good guys, a white hat and hers had been mudded. "I went on entering the graduate programs instructing the underclassmen as well. One evening as class ended I was met by a man Eddie, the one from Bosco's. He gave me the card and an invitation to meet with one of Miami's most well to do Art dealers."

"Young and dumb I agreed, enthusiastically of course. I didn’t stop to think that someone offering a real business proposition wouldn't have invited me to dinner at nine o'clock at night. Much less send a lackey with a card instead of a call from his assistant."

Wringing the napkin in her hands she glanced out the window at the people walking by. Turning back she looked up into his eyes hoping to see what he was thinking."Needless to say I fell for the compliments and the finery. I thought I was making replicas for owners of pieces that wanted something to display so the real piece would be kept under key. Instead my paintings were used to replace the real ones."

"I wanted to quit, I tried. But..... when the studio caught fire I saw my way out. I wasn't the only forger. I had saved some money and bought a new identity Abagail Hennessey and took the first bus to New York."

Nibbling her lip she looked into his eyes letting him see all of her is the woman he knows. Nothing is different just her past. "That's the truth. Everything else you know is true. Especially how I feel about you."

Alex's hand slid over the coffee cup. He shook his head. "No, I don't know all of it. If you found out the paintings were being used as forgeries, why didn't you go to the police?"

"I was stupid enough to believe that Donavan Laseter was a good man. I took what I found to him and was shown the face he had hidden behind that smile and honeyed voice. He said he would kill me and to keep me under thumb he moved me into his house and I was put under guard. Even my phone calls were monitored."

Laying the napkin flat on the table she sighed. "That fire... It happened so fast. when I was standing out side the studio alone watching the flames swallow everything. I knew it was my chance."

Alex turned the coffee cup in his hand wondering how much of the real Abby… Angela he knew. "How did the fire start?"

Abby thought back to that night. "I'm not sure really. I was in a back room working on a copy when the smoke alarms started going off. I ran out and the room with all of the cleaning supplies, thinner and the like had flames pouring out the open door. It moved so fast up the walls and across the floor. Like it was hungry and feeding. I almost didn't get

out before it reached the back door the only one left. The heat I guess swelled it shut."

Alex sighed. "Alright...after that. Why didn't you go to the police?" He'd always thought Abby's judgment was better. "I don't get it. Why just run off? What good does that do? You should have gone to the police." In his frustration, Alex tapped the paper coffee cup on the table. "So you were scared, changed your name, and hid out. And didn't go to the police. Bad choices. Explain why you never told any of this to me."

Shoulders falling she could hear it in his voice. The disappointment he felt in her was as painful as watching him walk out the door the other night. "I did a lot of things wrong. I didn't trust anyone. I didn't know how long his arms reached or if he believed I had perished in the fire."

Folding the napkin in triangles and squares as she talked. Her eyes still looking at his handsome face memorizing every line every curve. She would love him always. "Before I met you I just worked and home. I didn’t make friends. It's foolish but fear that strong makes you do foolish things. Not an excuse I know but truth. I didn't tell you because I was afraid of what you would think of me. I was.... am...ashamed of what I've done."

"You didn't trust me. Don't trust me. You wouldn't have told me any of it if I hadn't pressed you the other night." If nothing else, Alex was glad he found this out before he proposed. "What are you ashamed of? Making forgeries you didn't know were forgeries? Or lying to me?"

He leaned on the table, his arms folded. "What happened the other night on your way home from work?"

The soft anger in his voice broke her heart. Trust wasn't the issue. He would never understand the fear she's held. But he had to know she loved him more than life itself. "Both I'm ashamed of both."

Swallowing down her breaking heart she took a soft breath and refused to let any tears escape. "When I came out of the museum Eddie was there." Absently she rubbed her arm where his hand had grabbed. "He… He grabbed and said he knew I was Angela. He didn't say it so much as inflect a threat. He was there at the bus stop when I got off at the museum this morning."

Alex was worried for her. Why would she try to handle this herself instead of letting him help her? After almost a year together and she still didn't trust him. "Did he say anything to you this morning?"

The tear she didn't want to fall started to but she brushed it away as she nodded. No more tears until she got home by herself. "Yes, he said he wondered who else would like to know about Angela. I don't know if he meant the museum, you, or... Laseter. I ran inside before he could say more."

Alex sat back and exhaled. This was a mess and she was letting it get worse. He got up from the table and glanced at her. "Let's go."

Those two words surprised her more than anything else he could have said. Abby had expected scorn, rejection, but not let's go. Standing and grabbing her backpack Abby put her full trust in the man her heart had chosen. Looking up at him she nodded. "Where are we going?"

"You need to go to the police."

Her stomach tightened as she nodded again. Yes, she needed to go to the police but she was scared they would see her as a criminal as well. Abby longed to reach out and touch him, to feel his arms around her. "Will you stay with me?"

He opened the door and held it for her. "Don't have a choice, do I?"

Outside, he hailed a cab. They rode in silence to the police station. He held the door again for her and hoped the police would be able to track down Eddie and Laseter and keep them from harming her.

After speaking to the desk sergeant and asking to speak to an officer, Alex went back to the lobby and sat down. "They're sending an officer to talk to you. Should be out in a couple of minutes."

Watching his movements his voice she wasn't sure if they could ever get back what they had before. The only person to blame for the loss was herself. But he was wrong about one thing, he did have a choice. Alex could have just dropped her here or refused to talk to her at all. Instead he was here with her. That gave her a glimmer of hope. Reaching out her hand tentatively Abby placed it over his gently. "Thank you. And I know it doesn't account for much but I'm sorry I hurt you."

Alex just nodded as he stood up and put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah."

An officer stepped over to them and addressed Abby. "You asked to speak to an officer, Miss Hennessey?"

Alex watched the officer escort Abby past the desk. When they disappeared down one of the corridors, Alex sat down and sighed deeply then waited for her to come back out.