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Chapter Fifty-Six

K rystal woke to ragged snoring from the girl in the bed above her and no matter how hard she tried to block it out, she couldn’t. A cold breeze whistled outside, rattling the wooden blinds and she pulled the stiff sheet over her shoulders attempting to keep warm.

She lay awake wishing for the comfort of her own room until the morning bell rang through the halls.

The noise in the dining hall was a cacophony of high-pitched voices and Krystal longed for a moment of peace. She quickly ate her breakfast and then asked to use the bathroom. It frustrated her that she even had to ask. In the closed stall, she sat on the toilet lid, placed her head in her hands and willed the buzzing in her ears to go away. It didn’t.

After a while she removed the top from her pen and marked another notch on the bathroom wall. Only three hundred and twenty-two days until her eighteenth birthday, then she could walk out of this hell hole as a free woman.

The bathroom door banged open, and she sat upright.

“Krystal, are you in here?” Bellowed the deep voice of Miss Anders.

“Yes, Miss.”

“The principal wants to see you.”

Krystal flushed the toilet, pushed the pen into her underpants and exited the cubical. As she walked along the dark hallway ahead of Miss. Anders, she gnawed at her fingernails wondering what she was in trouble for.

She knocked on the door and gritted her teeth as she entered, determined to fight whatever accusations she was now facing.

Two police officers crowded the room, and she instantly recognised them.

“What’s going on?” Her heart sank. The only reason they’d be here was because the bodies of her mum and dad had finally been found. The room swayed ever so slightly as panic rose within her.

“Take a seat, my love,” the principal said with a rare display of kindness. “These detectives have something quite incredible to tell you.”

Krystal slumped onto the cold wooden chair and stared into the eyes of the woman who once told her they’d given up searching for her parents.

“Hi Krystal, do you remember me? I’m Detective Powder.”

Krystal nodded, too nervous to speak.

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, but your mother’s alive.”

The room began to swim, and a whirlwind of questions raced through her mind, “What … where … how?” She wanted to ask everything at once.

They were talking. She could see their mouths forming words, but she had difficulty understanding them. Tears stung her eyes and for the first time in her life, she wanted her mother more than anything in the world.

Covering her eyes, she openly sobbed. Did her shattered life have a chance of being whole again?

Would mum take me back after all the horrible things I’ve done?

She had to know, and she couldn’t wait another moment to find out.

She looked up. “When can I see her?”

Abi woke to the smell of disinfectant and flowers. Her eyelids were sandpaper rough as she blinked at the stark white surroundings. She tried to sit up and gentle hands were immediately there, helping her.

“Mackenzie?” She didn’t recognise her own voice .

A woman in a white uniform smiled at her kindly and helped her sit up. Nurse Walters was embossed on her name badge. Abi caught movement out the corner of her eye and turned to see the most glorious sight. Mackenzie was there, the sun beaming through the window behind him like the fingers of God. He was clean shaven and radiant in a white shirt. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

“I’m here, honey.” He leaned in to hug her.

She gripped his muscular arms and drew on his strength. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she released a well of pent-up emotion, as much from joy as relief. “We made it.”

Mackenzie eased away from her and, standing by the bed, rested his hand on her shoulder. “We did.” His voice was full of triumph. “We’re in Darwin hospital. You and the baby are doing just fine.”

She placed her hands on her stomach willing her unborn child to show her signs of life. “Do we know when?” She looked from Mackenzie to the nurse.

“Any day now.” The nurse checked her blood pressure. “I’ll leave you two alone for a minute then I’ll come back and give you a bath.”

“No!” Abigail shook her head.

“You don’t want a bath?” The nurse blinked at her.

“I want a shower … a real hot shower.”

After a heated discussion, in which Abi was unyielding, she eased onto unsteady legs and refused an offer of a wheelchair. Mackenzie helped her into the bathroom, and she removed her hospital gown.

Standing naked before the mirror, she didn’t recognise her own reflection.

Her long hair was now a dark chestnut colour, and her rosy lips complimented her tanned face. She turned to see collarbones dominate her shoulders and her toned arms were shapely and defined. Her breasts were full and sensuous, and she ran her hand over the silky tight skin of her stomach, caressing its smooth roundness.

Mackenzie placed his hands on her waist and looked over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Let’s get you into the shower. You’ll feel like a new woman.”

“I already am a new woman. I don’t need any more transformations. ”

“You know what I mean.” He adjusted the water temperature and then helped Abi lower herself to the plastic chair in the middle of the shower.

Abi turned up her face and allowed the warm water to pound her skin and soak her hair. Slowly washing her body, she relished the sweet smell of a simple cake of soap. Mackenzie stepped into the shower and began washing her hair and as she relaxed into his hands, she wondered if she had actually died and gone to heaven.

When Abi emerged from the bathroom, savouring the feel of a fresh bathrobe she was surprised to see a police officer waiting at her doorway. He knocked when he saw her, and she welcomed him in.

“Hello, Abigail. My name?—”

She interrupted. “It’s Abi … just Abi.”

A smirk touched Mackenzie’s lips and Abi suppressed a smile of her own.

With a curt nod the police officer continued. “Abi. My name’s Detective Thompson. I just wanted to let you know we’ve found your daughter and …”

Abi’s mind ran adrift as she imagined Krystal’s reaction. How would this news have shattered a seventeen-year-old girl’s life?

Is there a place in her world for me?

She wanted to hold her and tell her everything that happened, to say sorry for ever leaving, but more than anything she wanted Krystal to accept her and Mackenzie and their unborn child as her family.

“… be here in about an hour,” the officer concluded.

“What?”

“She should be here in an hour,” he repeated.

She sat upright. “Oh my God, Mack, help me get dressed.” She threw back the covers and tried to swing her legs over the side, but Mackenzie was instantly at her side.

“It’s okay, honey. She’ll just be happy to see you.”

“She won’t even recognise me.”

“And you may not recognise her.”

The police officer excused himself and Mackenzie placed a reassuring hand on Abi’s forearm.

Her mind cast back to the last time she’d seen her daughter. Krystal was a young, underdeveloped, fifteen-year-old girl and now she was nearly a woman. How much would she have changed physically and mentally? There was one thing she knew for certain. She would never give up on her daughter again.

She reached for Mackenzie’s hand and ran her fingers over the fine hairs on the back of it. “I love you.”

He bent over, kissing her gently and she inhaled his scent of sandalwood and leather. When he straightened, he reached up and unclipped the silver chain from around his neck. His mother’s ring fell into his palm, and he picked it up with two fingers. He took her left hand. Tears welled in her eyes as Mackenzie slid the ring onto her finger. “I love you too.”

The baby suddenly moved within her, and Abi knew no matter what happened she would forever be in a loving family.

They sat in comfortable silence as Abi ran over a list of questions she should ask Krystal.

But how will I introduce Mackenzie?

Looking down at her oversized belly, she wondered if any words were enough.

Fear once again gripped her.

A knock on the door made her jump and Abi held her breath as the door slowly opened. A young woman, tall and regal, with cascading blonde hair, stepped into the room. Abi froze as she stared into her daughter’s eyes.

“Mum,” Krystal squealed as she raced to her.

Abi clutched the daughter she’d been longing for. She held her tight, wanting to take all the hurt away, to absorb all the pain and suffering and to start their lives afresh. They embraced for a long time and Abi smoothed her hand over Krystal’s silky hair as her tears wet her cheeks.

Krystal eventually released her grip. She wiped her eyes. “I thought you were dead.” Her voice trembled. “We b-buried you.”

“I know, sweetheart, and I’m so sorry.” Abi didn’t know where to start.

Krystal’s eyes fell on Abi’s stomach, she tilted her head in an inquisitive way and frowned. “Mum?”

“I want you to meet someone.” Abi held her hand toward Mackenzie.

His eyes held a mixture of hope and trepidation as he approached her bedside.

“Krystal, this is Mackenzie. He’s the man who saved me.”

“And the father of the baby?”

Abi nodded, unsure of what else to say.

“Are you in love?”

Abi looked into Mackenzie’s honey-coloured eyes. “Very much so.”

There was a moment of pause as Krystal studied Mackenzie as if looking for an answer to an unasked question. Then she walked with purpose around the bed and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.”

With his gaze on Abi, his face was a tangle of emotion as he hugged the daughter she thought she’d lost forever.

Pain rippled across Abi’s stomach, and she cried out.

“What’s wrong?” Instantly Mackenzie was at her side.

“Mum, are you okay?” Krystal reached for her hand.

The pain went away as quickly as it came, and Abi looked into the concerned eyes of the two most important people in her world. “I couldn’t be better.”

Another slice of pain gripped her and once it subsided, she grinned at them. “Are you ready to meet our new family member?”

Krystal’s smile lit up the room. “Absolutely.”

Mackenzie dashed off to get a nurse and Abi squeezed Krystal’s hand as another contraction overtook her. She screamed this time and moments later Mackenzie came running in with a nurse.

Abi was comforted by both Mackenzie and Krystal throughout the swift birth. A healthy squeal from the baby boy made them all laugh and cry at the same time.

Tears teetered on Mackenzie’s lower lashes as he leaned in to kiss Abi. “I love you.”

His words made her feel complete. “I love you too.”

The nurse wrapped him in a blanket and placed him on Abi’s chest. She touched her little boy’s cheek. “Hey little guy, we made it, and you look just fine.”

Mackenzie unrolled the blanket and when he touched the baby’s little hand tiny fingers stretched and wrapped around his thumb.

Abi rode a swell of emotion as she finally knew what it felt like to be a family.