Chris mentally sighed. Instead of counting her qualities, he was unconsciously comparing her to Giselle, desperately trying to convince himself that he needed to move on from the love that had consumed him for as long as he could remember.
He glanced up at Abby again, then focused his attention back on his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and stopped on 'Pigtails.' His finger hovered over the call option for a moment, contemplating how it'd look if he dialed her number for the eighth time that day.
Abbott wasn't picking up his phone and neither was Giselle. His head ached at the thoughts he was keeping at bay. He felt restless, though he couldn't place a finger on the reason why.
He plastered a smile on his face when Abby put down her health magazine to ask him, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," said Chris, taking a sip from his green tea. "I just have a feeling..."
Abby crossed her right leg over her left. She smiled, saying, "What kind of a feeling?"
He put down his cup on the table in front of him and leaned in from his chair toward her. "I don't know. It's crazy."
"Try me."
He pursed his lips. "I have a feeling that something is missing from me."
Abby's smile melted into a frown as she straightened her spine. "Why do you feel that way?"
"I don't know." He chuckled. "It's probably nothing."
"D-do you want me to call Giselle? Do wanna...talk to her or something?"
There was an edge to her voice, so he smiled and said, "I have you."
Her face split into a wide grin. "Are you sure it's not acidity? Are you feeling well in the mid-section?" Her hand hovered over her belly in circles.
"What?" He bit back a smile.
She snickered. "You sure you don't want to go to the loo?"
"Shut up." Chris grabbed a cushion from behind him and threw it at her.
Abby dodged it, bit down her lower lip, failing at the attempt to keep her lips from stretching into a smile, and gestured toward his cup of green tea.
"Oh yeah," he said mockingly, picking up the cup, "a healthy cup of tea."
"Come on! You don't wanna gain weight and you don't want an unhealthy heart."
"I also don't want misery and definitely not starvation," he said, copying her tone.
She rolled her eyes, smiling. "You're such a baby. I'm sure you like it."
"Nope. I like creamy coffee and pasta and French fries."
Abby smirked, her plump, glossy lips tugging up at the corners. "Those things will kill you."
"At least, I'd die happy," he murmured, then winked.
She was smiling. "Shut up, I don't even—"
Abby was cut off by the ringing of Chris's phone. With an excuse-me gesture of his finger to her, he placed his phone to his ear with a, "Hello?"
"Is this Chris?"
"Yes? Who is this?" Chris got to his feet. He paced the floor, waiting for the person to respond, and watched as Abby flipped through her magazine.
"Uh, this is Xavier."