Chapter Two - Part One

Abbie came closer to the bus stop, just three blocks from her apartment, once the stop was in sight her heart began to flutter. Her palms began to perspire and her breathing sped up to match the thoughts running through her mind.

"This could be it. I might be able to see him again. This time I'll introduce myself or say something witty to get his attention. Ugh, I don't want to look too eager or even worse, needy. What am I thinking? I probably will never see him again, it's a lost cause. Shit, did I bring money to get on the bus?"

As she arrived at the stop digging through her pockets for $2.25, Abbie found her self excited for the first time in a while. Five months prior Abbie was in a steady relationship that she thought was perfect. He was handsome, but not the conventional type of being tall, dark, and handsome. Instead he was a different type of attractive. He had a musty smell and deep brown eyes. His smile was crooked but it suit his face and light complexion. He went by the nickname his grandfather gave him when he was younger and his auburn hair had hints of red tint, Rusty his grandfather called him. Rusty was average height and had broad shoulders and strong hands. Abbie had loved Rusty all through her senior year of high school, but never had the chance to tell him her feelings.

They only shared two classes together through out that year and they hung around two very different crowds. Abbie mostly drifted from one group of friends to another, while Rusty stayed true to his friends from grade school. In high school Abbie was considered eclectic, she never fit into any particular category. So, she was seen as a "floater" and someone who could blend into any group or clique on campus. Rusty was thought of as a "hick" or "cowboy," he drove a truck that had not been washed in years and wore sturdy and reliable boots to school. He joined the 4-H club his freshman year and by senior year had his 4-H jacket instead of a Letterman's.

The next year Abbie had ran into Rusty at college orientation not knowing he was going to the same state college only an hour away from the town they once shared in high school. They never realized how much they had in common and three short weeks after that day in orientation, they started to see each other in another light. They dated for a full year before the first bomb was dropped on their relationship. Rusty found a construction job in another town that he wanted to pursue instead of college. When Abbie found out he would be leaving the state she had a feeling she knew it would strain their relationship.

Rusty moved a few months into their sophomore year of college and nine months later their relationship ended. Abbie loved Rusty and he felt the same way towards her but he was making money and moving up in the construction job he had found.

"Come move out here. We can live together and you can go to the community college. You won't even have to work. I'm making enough for both of us. If you wanted to work there are tons of animals out here and that means there must be a vet you could work at," Rusty begged her one night.

Abbie held the phone to her ear with tears streaming down her face, "You know I can't. I don't have enough money saved and I already have a job here and I don't want to go to a community college now that I'm so far into my second year." She put her hand over the receiver while she let out short gasps and listened to the words that stung to her very soul.

"Abs, I can't do it anymore. I want a girlfriend who wants to be with me. Who wants to be here. I know you have a lot going for you there. So stay. I love you, but I just can't wait any longer, it's hard enough as it is that I know you won't leave for me. I love you Abbie, and I'm sorry."

The next few weeks went by like a whirlwind for Abbie. There were finals, then summer school started, and then Abbie moved out of her parents house and into the apartment with Karen. While Abbie went to the state college, Karen went to cosmetology school and picked up a part time job as a receptionist at a salon. Abbie started to rely on her little sister for comfort during the hard times when she could not get over Rusty.

The bus finally arrives and Abbie steps on immediately looking around for any sign of Mystery Man.

"Miss it's $2.25 to ride," the gentleman driving the bus interrupts her thought process.

Abbie shoves the crinkled dollar bills into the pay slot, "Oh yea, sorry." As she makes her way down the isle of the bus seats she thinks, "I knew it." The bus lurches forward and continues on it's route. Abbie sits down next to an elderly man, who looks over and nods his head and smiles. She kindly returns the gesture and smiles, feeling the disappointment that she may never see Mystery Man again.

Chapter One - Part Two

Abbie walked through the apartment door, Megan following behind, both girls threw their book bags on the carpeted floor. Megan placed her keys on the bookcase next to the entrance and stepped out of her Vans. Abbie called out to Karen, "We're home."

Karen walked out of her room and down the hallway while pulling a sweater over her full curly hair. Adjusting the arm sleeves, "Hey Ms. Smitten, tell me more about your mystery lover. I'm intrigued." Karen flopped down on the couch watching her sister rifle through the mail on the bookcase, still standing in the doorway.

Megan walked into the kitchen and called back, "Who's your mystery lover? Why was I not filled in on this situation?" She began going through the cupboards looking for a clean glass.

Abbie began to blush and tried to change the subject, "Why is it freezing in here? Didn't I tell you to turn on the heat?"

"No no no, don't do that. I'll turn on the heat, but you have to fill us in on the guy you stopped the earth for to call me about," replied Karen while she got up from the couch and walked back into the hallway. Adjusting the temperature, "So did you even talk to him?"

"I didn't. I just seen his head. The back of his head and his profile. When he stood up to get off the bus I almost got off with him," Abbie explained while fiddling with an envelope. Still standing in the doorway Abbie took of her shoes. Walking over to the love seat, she picked up a hair tie from off the coffee table. Sitting down on the couch, Abbie pulled her hair back into a ponytail and continued, "I need to get my car fixed, but I don't have the money right now. I'm going to have to keep taking the bus till I get paid. Who knows maybe I'll see him again."

Megan sat down next to Abbie, sipping soda from her glass. "I can take you to work if I'm not working, and I can pick you up on my way to our classes."

"No, it's OK. I mean if I take the bus I might run into him again. He must live somewhere near here because otherwise why would he have been on the bus?"

"True. But, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks. What time is it?" Abbie asked checking her jean pockets for her cellphone.

"About a quarter to two," Megan answered squinting at the time on the stereo across the living room.

"I have to be at work by three. I better get a move on if I'm going to make it on the bus," Abbie said while running to her room to change into her work clothes.

Karen watched Abbie scurry into her bedroom, "Are you really going to take the bus everywhere?"

"If it will help me see Mystery Man again. Then yes."

In her bedroom, Abbie stood in front of the mirror changing shirts. She worked at a pet store in the mall for the last 9 months and she loved it. When she first moved to the area the previous summer looked for a job for nearly two months before coming across her dream job. Abbie loved working with people and had a passion for helping animals. When she was younger she wanted to become a veterinarian, but the moment she found out she would have to put animals to sleep, she quickly changed her mind. Abbie had to wear a black shirt, jeans, and a bright green apron as her uniform. She had several dozen black shirts to wear, but since she had Mystery Man on her mind Abbie decided on a tight black 3/4 sleeve top with low cut neckline. She put on her tightest jeans and walked out of her room and into the bathroom across the hall.

Applying makeup in the mirror she thought to herself, 'What am I doing? I might never see this guy again. He probably only took the bus once. What are the chance of him being on my bus again in the same day?'

"Hey Abs, I'm taking off. Are you sure you don't want a ride?" Megan called from the living room.

"It's ok. I'm going to take the bus. Thanks anyways." Abbie called back while brushing her hair.

She came into the living room where her sister was still sitting on the couch reading over a magazine. "How do I look?" She asked while fidgeting with her hair some more.

Karen glanced up from her magazine, "You look fine. A little too dressed up to play with puppies. But, other than that you look like Abbie."

"Thanks. I'm going to have Megan bring me home after work. I'll see you then."

Abbie walked out into the crisp fall air. Briskly walking to the bus stop she kept thinking to herself, 'I wonder if I'll ever see him again.'

Chapter One - Part One

"Kare I'm in love," Abbie's voice huffed through her cell phone receiver as she walked to her next class. She continued, "I am in love Kare. It was love at first sight. Well more like first glance."

Back at the apartment Karen sat in the living room on the plush overstuffed faux suede couch listening to her sister huff and puff while walking. "Abbie, what are you talking about, love at first sight? That's the third time this month."

Abbie laughed, "You don't understand. I was on the bus," she stopped outside that classroom door and scuffed her black well worn Chuck Taylor against the pavement, "He was sitting a few seats ahead of me and I only seen the back of his head and the side of his face, but Kare, he was to die for."

Pacing back and forth, Abbie brushed a dark bang from her forehead and tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. "Kare he was wearing a dark brown jacket with a scarf. Like a manly scarf not a frilly-girly one. He had this brown hair and when he stood up, he was tall and lean."

"Oh, I like it when guys wear accessories. It's hot, but not when they go overboard and try to outdo you," Karen replied then bit into a chocolate chip cookie and changed the channel of their television they took when they moved out of their parent's house that past June. Talking with her mouth full of half chewed cookie, "Hey Abbie, tell me when you get home. I have to go."

Abbie stood facing the class door, pausing momentarily thinking about the mystery man on the bus. Sighing, "Alright. I have class now anyways. Turn the heater on, don't sit there in an ice box, oh and if you get a chance, call Mom. Ask her if we're going Black Friday shopping this year."

"Yea got it. Ok sis, love you."

"Love you too." Abbie hung up, placed her cellphone in the front pocket of her sweatshirt and walked into the classroom. She quickly scanned the room with her dark chocolate brown eyes searching for a familiar face to sit next to. "Megan isn't here today," she thought to herself as she sat down in a desk toward the front of the classroom. Abbie did what she always had at the beginning of each class. Sat down and put her book bag in between her feet under the desk. Unzipped the bag and took out her laptop, placed it on the desk and turned it on while glancing at the chalkboard ahead.

While she waited for her computer to warm up, she reached into the front pocket and took out her phone and texted Megan, her best friend since high school. They drifted apart for the first two years of college, mostly because Megan moved back to the city with to live with her mom and go to community college while she watched her little brother and sister. Abbie went to the local state college and lived at her parents for the first two years before moving into an apartment with her little sister, Karen.

"Are you coming to class?" Abbie pushed send. Observing her thumb nail she thought, "I need to get my nails done."

Abbie was about 5'6" and considered herself healthy when it came to weight. She was the first born and resembled her father most. Although she was average height for an adult female, she had compact features, she always thought her arms and legs were shorter than they should be, but she was probably just paranoid. Her hair was dark like her parents, and full of voluminous waves. Her almond shaped dark brown eyes complimented her full cheeks. She thought her best feature were her lips she inherited from her grandmother, God rest her soul. A full and pouty set of lips and dimples in both cheeks to complete her smile. Written on paper, Abbie was in every sense of the word Latina, but white washed since she grew up in the suburbs.

Bzzzzt. One new text message. Megan. "Stuck in traffic."

"Hurry up. I took the bus. My car died this morning. :(" Send.

Even though the day started off on the wrong foot, Abbie knew, this day would change her life.