Can't Let Go by Michelle Brewer Read Free Book Online

and waved over her shoulder before entering the large building. 
    She’d been navigating the airport since she was a little girl and so it was all familiar—menial tasks to take her mind off the reality of her situation.  When she’d finally settled in at her gate, she sat down and stared at the cell phone in her hand, hesitating only a moment before surfing through her contacts until she came to Ingrid’s name. 
    “Ingrid, this is Abby.  I’m just calling to let you know that I’m not going to be in for a few days—a friend of mine just passed away, and I’m going out of state in order to tend to the arrangements.” 
    As she hung up the phone, she felt another wave of shock pass through her.
    It was happening.  It was all really happening. 
    It just seemed so irrational—how could she be preparing to board a flight to plan Hayley’s funeral?  How, when not even twenty-four hours before, she’d been so happy and alive? 
    How could she be dead?
    The terminal began to sway and Abby inhaled sharply, trying to regain her bearings. 
    It would be okay.  She knew it would.  It had to be. 
    She imagined Hayley sitting at her side, scolding her for acting so lost.  Abby was supposed to be the strong one—she was supposed to be the reasonable one.  In times of crisis, it was Abby who took control. 
    But that had always been because she knew she had Hayley to lean on.  Hayley who, despite her spontaneous and sometimes reckless behavior, was always there to support Abby—the picture of confidence and optimism.
    She took another deep breath as tears threatened to well over.  She needed to maintain control.  This was no place to break down—it was no place to mourn.
    She shifted her train of thought back to work then—so many things that had been left undone.  Ingrid was going to be livid—she knew.  But she didn’t care.  She would be on her flight soon and she wouldn’t have to deal with the litany of phone calls that was sure to follow.  She resolved to ignore the phone calls even once they did come—why shouldn’t she be allowed time to grieve?  It was her right.
    As another wave of emotion began to pass through her, she sighed and decided to distract herself by checking over everything she thought she should bring, making sure she had brought the numbers of everyone she was supposed to call.  She ran through ideas of what she was supposed to say.
    Abby had never had to break news of a funeral before.  She’d never had to plan one.  She’d never really even been to one—since she was a little girl, when her mother had died.  At least not for someone she really cared about.  The few she’d attended in her older years had simply been friends of her father’s, people she’d had little to no relation to.
    Once again, she wondered how this could be happening. 
    It was like she was caught in a nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from.
    She still had a bit of time before her flight and she rose, tossing her carry-on bag over her shoulder and making her way through the airport.  She found a book store and scanned the racks, unsure of what to get.  She simply needed something to divert her attentions until she was on the plane—then she could sleep. 
    The selections were limited and she eventually found her way to the magazine rack.  The latest issue of Rumor stared at her, the cover full of celebrity headlines.  Rumor was one of the more tasteful gossip rags, but it was, nonetheless, a gossip rag.  With a slight sigh, she reached forward and plucked one from the stand.  She scanned the covers once more before deciding on a wedding magazine.
    It wasn’t as if she really needed one.  Most of the details had already been planned out, what with the wedding being only three months away.  She remembered going virtual wedding-dress shopping with Hayley—she’d secretly taken pictures of herself in various dresses with her cell phone and had sent them to her friend.  The dresses