Betrayal: Abby's Guilt (The Betrayal Series) (6 page)

Abby did tell Kyle she was going to see The Philharmonic that Saturday, but she lied about who she was going to see it with. She told Kyle she was going with some classmates from one of her English classes, and Kyle believed her. He had no reason to believe Abby was lying. She had never lied to him or hidden anything from him.

The day of the concert, Kyle left the apartment early. Between his work-study job and his studying for another final exam, Kyle was going to spend that entire day at the Brooklyn campus.

Chapter V

The night of the concert, Brianna paced back and forth outside The Avery Fisher Hall. It was a gorgeous mid-spring night in New York City, and the entrance of the venue was buzzing with men in formal tuxedos and women in elegant evening gowns.

Brianna peered inside every limousine and taxi that pulled in front of the theater, hoping Abby would be inside one of them. The original plan was for Brianna to pick Abby up at the apartment she shared with Kyle. But the day before, Abby called Brianna and told her it would be better if they met at the theater instead. Abby did not want to say why she didn’t want Brianna to pick her up at her apartment, but Brianna had a suspicion Kyle had something to do with it.

Almost an hour later, everyone was inside the theater, and there was still no sign of Abby. Abby had texted Brianna earlier telling her the taxi she was in had gotten caught behind a messy accident and that’s why she was so late. Brianna looked at the time on her phone. The show was starting in ten minutes. If Abby didn’t show up soon, they were going to be late for the start of the concert. Seconds after Brianna had looked at the time, a checkered yellow cab pulled in front of the theater. Brianna’s face lit up when she saw Abby get out of it. Abby gave Brianna a small wave and mouthed an “I’m sorry” before walking towards her. Abby took Brianna’s breath away. She looked like a Greek goddess in her aqua blue, empire-waist gown. The mid-spring breeze kept ruffling the chiffon fabric of her flowing skirt with every step she took.

“Hi,” Abby breathed once she was standing in front of Brianna.

“Hey, yourself,” Brianna replied, gazing at Abby’s gorgeous brown hair which had been pulled back into a gentle half ponytail. The heavy bangs that normally covered Abby’s forehead had been combed back and were being held in place by shiny, silver pins that matched her earrings and the jeweled bust of her gown. The hairstyle made Abby look a couple of years older than she was. Brianna no longer wanted to go in and listen to the orchestra play songs she did not understand or care for. Instead, she wanted to spend the night staring at the angel with the piercing brown eyes standing in front of her.

“I thought you weren’t coming. I was about to send a search and rescue team for you,” Brianna joked.

“I’m so sorry. The traffic in New York City is normally pretty bad on a Saturday night. Add an accident to that and well…,” Abby remarked as she gazed up at the woman who had been keeping her up at night questioning her identity. As her eyes rolled down the elegant, mermaid-styled satin gown that hung perfectly over Brianna’s exquisite curves, Abby came to the conclusion that it should be illegal for someone to be that attractive. That off-white, floor-length gown-probably made by a designer with an Italian sounding name-made Brianna look every bit like the movie star she was aspiring to become.

“We have to go in now. The concert is about to start,” Brianna breathed, and the two women began to walk towards the entrance of the theater in a hurry. “You look lovely tonight, Abby,” Brianna said over her shoulder as she sprinted through the hallway that led to the entrance of the theater.

Abby grinned, feeling heat creep up her cheeks. “You look amazing too, Brianna.” Abby took a peek at the back of Brianna’s backless gown and her eyes widened at how dangerously low the back of Brianna’s dress was. Abby gazed at Brianna’s flawless, exposed back and wished she had Brianna’s measurements and the confidence to pull off such a daring but beautiful dress.

After handing the tickets to the usher, Abby and Brianna walked inside the theater and made their way to one of the boxes. Abby’s eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped when she realized she was going to be listening to The New York Philharmonic and to Yo-Yo Ma live, and for the first time in her life, from a freaking box. Brianna had not mentioned that little detail to her. She couldn’t hide her glee. She was like a kid in a candy store inside Disneyland on Christmas day.

Brianna could not help but giggle at her date’s exuberance. Abby kept grabbing Brianna’s arm and pointing at things. Brianna had no idea there was such a thing as a hardcore orchestral music fan until Abby Sloan began to chew her ear off about the songs that were going to be played that night, the instruments, the history of the orchestra, the theater. She even knew the names of all the musicians. Even though the theater was full of celebrities, Abby could not care less about any of them. She was all about the music.

The performances finally began, and Abby watched and listened intently, turning occasionally towards Brianna and grinning like a little girl. Even though the theater was stunning, bathed in beautiful lights, and wonderful orchestral music was caressing her ears, Brianna could not help but stare at Abby. Abby’s angelic beauty, her child-like enthusiasm, her disarming smile, were the real show to Brianna. She began to wonder if she could ever be satisfied with just being Abby’s friend.

After the show ended, Abby could not stop tugging at Brianna’s arm and gushing about the concert. They walked out of the theater and made their way to a tent where the traditional post-concert dinner was being held. Just when Abby thought her night couldn’t get any better, it did. At the dinner, she got to talk and even take pictures with The Philharmonic’s director, the musicians, and of course Yo-Yo Ma. She was also introduced to several celebrities she had seen on TV or heard about, but she was not as impressed with them as she was with all the talented musicians in the room.

As Brianna watched the adorable brunette go into full fan girl mode at the dinner, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She had been forced by her manager, who was also at the event, to mingle with the celebrities and theater people in attendance. “It’s good for your career,” he said to her repeatedly. But the only person Brianna wanted to mingle with was her new friend, Abby. She had hoped to talk to her and get to know her, but it looked as if none of that was going to happen that night.

After a couple of hours of mingling, fangirling and delicious food, Abby and Brianna left the dinner and walked outside.

“Thank you so much for tonight,” Abby grinned, gazing up at Brianna while they both stood on the sidewalk outside Lincoln Center. “I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I had tonight.”

Abby did not need to tell Brianna how much fun she had. It was written all over her face.

“You’re very welcome,” Brianna replied, almost inaudibly and with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. She couldn’t hide her disappointment over the fact that their night was ending and they had barely said a word to each other.

“I had fun too. We should do this again soon,” Brianna suggested. She was racking her brain trying to come up with an excuse to spend a little more time with Abby.

The smile on Abby’s face vanished. She remembered Kyle forbidding her from seeing Brianna. She wanted to be Brianna’s friend and get to know her. She also wanted to get the truth behind Kyle’s hatred for his sister. But Abby knew she couldn’t keep lying to Kyle just to hang out with Brianna. He was going to find out sooner or later if she kept sneaking around to be with the woman he despised. After the great evening they had spent together, Abby did not have the heart to tell Brianna they couldn’t hang out anymore. So she decided to tell her some other time. “It’s getting late. I have to go home. Thank you again for the concert, Brianna,” Abby said, her voice wavering as she stepped to the curb to hail a taxi.

“You don’t have to take a taxi. My limo can drop you off at your apartment,” Brianna proposed, walking to the curb and standing next to Abby.

“It’s okay, really. I don’t want to inconvenience you,” Abby countered, still waving her hand at the passing cabs and avoiding Brianna’s gaze. Suddenly, Abby’s phone began buzzing inside her clutch. She pulled it out, and her stomach twisted in knots when she saw it was Kyle calling. With shaky hands, and hoping she didn’t have to tell Kyle any more lies, Abby went to answer the phone. As she was bringing the phone to her ear, someone bumped into her arm and sent the phone flying out of her hand. The phone landed face down on the concrete of the busy sidewalk. When Abby bent down to pick it up, a morbidly obese man with a phone to his ear walked by and stepped on it. Abby let out a short scream when she heard a cracking sound coming from beneath the man’s foot. In typical New York fashion, the phone crusher mumbled an insincere apology to Abby and kept walking away.

Both Brianna and Abby squatted down to pick up the crushed phone. Abby cursed softly when she flipped the phone over and saw the phone’s screen was cracked. Thankfully, though, the phone itself appeared to be still functional. She also noticed Kyle had left her a voicemail.

“What am I going to do now?” Abby lamented as she dusted some dirt off the broken iPhone.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure your phone insurance covers that. Apple will fix it or replace it with a new one, right?” Brianna asked a very bummed out Abby.

“I don’t have insurance, and the phone it’s out of warranty,” Abby grunted before sucking her teeth. Phone insurance was a luxury for a broke college student like her, and she did not have $600 lying around to get a replacement.

“I have a brand new iPhone in my hotel room that I won’t be using. You can have it,” Brianna offered as both women stood up.

Abby shook her head. “No. I can’t. That’s very nice of you, but I can’t accept such an expensive gift.”

“Please take the phone,” Brianna insisted. “It’s okay. I got it for free. I get a couple of new phones a week. There’s always one of those phones inside the gift bags they hand out at all the celebrity events I attend. It’s no big deal. Please accept it. Just stop by my hotel room to pick it up. My limo driver will take you home afterwards.”

“I can’t.” Abby continued to shake her head and stared at her shoes.

“Please Abby. Just take it. I told you I got it for free. I’ll probably get a couple more of them before the week is over.”

Abby raised her gaze and took a deep breath. She didn’t have enough money in her bank account to buy a new phone, and her credit card was almost maxed out. Rejecting Brianna’s offer would mean having to borrow money from her parents, and she did not want to do that. She was proud of the fact that after arriving at NYU, she had relied on no one but herself. All of her student loans were on her name only. Her parents did not cosign any of them. Even though her school workload was heavy, she went and got a job where she worked between 25 and 30 hours a week. She hated to be seen as someone who could not take care of herself. That’s why she was reluctant to accept the free phone Brianna was offering her.

“Okay… But I will pay you back as soon as I can,” Abby finally replied.

Brianna simply nodded. She knew better than to spend precious time convincing Abby she did not have to pay her back.

“Okay. Let’s get you a new phone,” Brianna grinned. She mentally thanked the heavens and rude, overweight New Yorkers for making it possible for her to spend a few more minutes with that adorably stubborn brunette. A stretched limo pulled in front of the theater, and the driver stepped out to open the back door for them. “After you,” Brianna breathed, gesturing with her hand for Abby to get inside the limo. Brianna got in after Abby, and the driver took them to Brianna’s hotel.

The limo ride was very short. Abby wondered why they did not just walk over. When they arrived at the hotel, an impeccably dressed doorman, wearing a hat and white gloves, opened the limo door and helped them out of the car. As the two women strolled through the palatial lobby to get to the elevators, Abby gazed, wide-eyed, at the enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the gold-plated columns, the gold plated stairs and the high end furniture. There was even a state of the art fountain in the middle of the lobby. As someone who had only stayed in Holiday Inns and cheap motels when she traveled, Abby felt uncomfortable and a little intimidating walking through that hotel lobby and hoped no one noticed she didn’t belong there.

When they made it to the elevators, a polite operator, also impeccably dressed and wearing white gloves, escorted them to Brianna’s floor.

“Wow, being a star definitely has its perks,” Abby remarked to Brianna after getting off the elevator. Her eyes kept bouncing around as she followed Brianna down a long hallway.

Brianna giggled as she gazed at the gorgeous girl walking beside her. She couldn’t get over how dazzling Abby looked in her ball gown. “I wouldn’t call myself a star yet, but yeah, this line of work definitely has its perks. I can’t complain. And I’m not even paying for this suite. The producers of the musical are.”

After walking the length of the fancy hallway, they finally made it to Brianna’s room. Brianna opened the door with her card key, and Abby’s eyes immediately flew to the breathtaking New York City skyline that could be seen through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors that separated the living room from the terrace. The contemporary styled living room area was bigger than hers and Kyle’s entire apartment in the village.

“Have a seat, Abby.” Brianna gestured towards the white leather sofa that sat directly across from the terrace before walking towards the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”

Abby nodded. “A glass of water would be fine. Thanks.”

Brianna stopped at the kitchen’s doorway and raised an eyebrow at her. “Water? Really? How about a glass of wine?”

Abby nodded, and Brianna disappeared into the kitchen. Abby sat on the sofa and pulled her broken phone out of her clutch. She stared at the time on the cracked screen and saw it was getting late. She worried that if she did not make it home soon, Kyle was going to get worried or suspicious. So she decided to give him a call.