You are a drug and it is quick

Chapter Twenty-Five

As winter turned into spring, Abby and Taylor made all kinds of progress in the studio. After recording a four song EP, they were released digitally on her brand new website which Zac had been nice enough to help her set up. Taylor had even put his photography skills to work, taking some promo shots of her that even she had to admit were stunning. She was officially the first person, other than Hanson themselves, to release music as a 3CG artist. She honestly could not believe it.

She wasn't sure where this was going to take her, but she knew that the music had been not only a good distraction from everything going on in her life, but something to give her confidence, which really helped her as she tried to rebuild herself and her life. Over the past few months she felt as though she had made great strides towards being the better person she knew she used to be.

Other than writing, playing and recording, she had also cut alcohol out of her life. Drinking had never been a real problem for her but it just reminded her of Adam, and what it had done to him. It wasn't like she was vowing to never drink again, but she figured she would save it for special occasions only. Zac tried and tried to get her to cut cigarettes out as well, but she wasn't ready for that quite yet. They helped her cope with her anxiety and though she knew they were not healthy for her, they did make her feel better in the moment. She also had slowly worked her way back to her blonde hair. As much as she and everyone else seemed to like the darker color on her, it just reminded her of the head space she had been in when she did it. Blonde was a reflection of who she really was, where as the darker hair was an angrier, more depressed version of herself. It had started to grow back out, as well. When she cut it, it was just below her shoulders but now it was beginning to flow down her back as it had before.

The most important thing, though, was finally cutting Adam out of her life for good. Everyone in her social circle, including herself, had changed their phone numbers so he could no longer reach them, but as a precautionary action, she also filed a restraining order against him. She half expected to hear from him once he got served with the papers, but she didn't. Maybe he tried but couldn't track down her new number. Or maybe he didn't try at all. She realized that she didn't really care either way. Sometimes she did wonder, though, how he was. She knew he was still drinking and using, and now that he was also selling, she was sure he was even more worse off than before. She forced herself to not care, it wasn't her problem anymore. She had tried to help once, and it had bitten her in the ass.

Luckily, the nude photo scandal dwindled off fairly quickly. If anything, she had to admit that it may have even helped create buzz about her and her upcoming music career. She didn't want to be one of those people that became famous because of nude photos, but she hoped she had the talent to back it up, at least. She knew that being involved with the guys was also helping build interest in her music, though in that case, she didn't mind riding their coat tails a little bit. None of it would have been possible without them, anyway.

One day in early April, a week after her EP had gone online, Taylor called Abby, insisting she meet him at the Coffee Bean in twenty minutes. She was currently at home with Zac, the two of them at the kitchen table working away on their laptops. Abby was setting up social media pages for herself to help promote her music, as Taylor had suggested, and Zac was answering messages from fans.

"What was that about?" He asked, glancing at her over his computer.

"It was Taylor, he wants me to meet him for coffee."

"Oh? What for?"

"No idea." She shrugged, slipping her phone into her purse, which was hanging off of her chair, and closing her laptop.