WEST
I didn’t leave the house all weekend except to run to the store for some milk and eggs. Once Maggie had left with her uncle on Friday, I’d gotten it through Serena’s head that I was going home. Alone.
When I got home, Dad had been asleep, but I’d sat and talked to Momma about the game and Maggie. She really liked Maggie. She also wanted to know why Coralee thought that Maggie didn’t talk. Momma had been smart enough to know something was up and didn’t tell Coralee that Maggie had in fact talked when she was here.
It was the first thing she’d asked me when I’d gotten home. I knew she was reading more into things with Maggie than was true. She might have wanted us to be together, but I wasn’t in the right mindset to have a relationship with someone like Maggie. Someone who deserved so much more than I had to give.
Explaining that to Momma wasn’t really a good idea, though. She’d worry about me. And she already had enough to worry about. We both did.
Saturday I’d spent the day in Dad’s room watching college football. When he was awake, we talked some about the game Friday night. Mostly I talked and he listened. It was hard for him to talk now. Breathing was getting harder and harder on him. The hospice worker came, and I stayed with Dad while I could. I only stepped out when she and Momma bathed him.
Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, except we watched the NFL games. Momma curled up on the bed with us, and we talked. We talked about our first camping trip and how Momma had screamed when the black bear had gotten into our cooler. Then we laughed about the first time we had taken Momma fishing. She’d been horrified by the fact we put live crickets on the hook.
Dad also wanted to know about Maggie. She’d charmed him easily enough. He had warned me not to mess that up, saying she was a keeper. Momma had patted my hand as if to agree with him.
Each night after Dad went to sleep, I’d go to my room and text Maggie. She always answered, and eventually we’d end up talking on the phone until we both fell asleep.
By Monday I was more than ready to see her. Dad had actually slept through the night and seemed better this morning. Momma had been happy about that, and leaving them hadn’t been as hard.
My good morning was over right quick, though, when I saw Serena talking to Maggie at her locker. I could tell by the look on Serena’s face that they weren’t having a nice chat. Maggie had backed away from her and was pushed up against the locker door, her green eyes wide and nervous. That didn’t make me fucking happy at all.
I shoved through the crowd, and eventually everyone moved for me. When I got close enough, I heard Serena: “He fucks me. He doesn’t want you. Back off.”
“Get the hell away from Maggie. Now,” I roared as I moved in between them and put my hands on Serena’s shoulders to move her back. “Don’t ever. Ever. Get in her face again. Don’t breathe the same air she breathes. Don’t even fucking look at her. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Serena’s eyes went wide with surprise. She hadn’t expected me to catch her. She’d been furious that I’d wanted to go see Maggie after the game. Until then she hadn’t seen her as competition.
“She’s flirting with you. She thinks she can have you. I was just telling her what we’ve been doing. That you just see her as a friend,” Serena began explaining as if she were completely innocent.
I felt Maggie’s body move behind me, and I reached back to touch her hand. She wasn’t leaving. I missed her. Serena wasn’t gonna mess up my morning with her misplaced jealousy.
“You don’t know what she can have. But I’ll tell you what you can’t have. Me. We had a fun little fling, but that’s done. We’re done.” I didn’t leave room for her to reply. I turned my back on her, knowing we had the entire hallway’s attention now. I knew she wouldn’t stand there, begging me to look at her. She had more pride than that. So I wasn’t surprised when she stalked away. And then everyone went back to their business.
Maggie’s eyes were still wide and so damn pretty as she stared up at me.
“I’m sorry about that. It’s my fault. I make stupid-ass decisions, and they should never affect you.”
She moved her hand to squeeze mine. “It’s okay,” she whispered so softly, no one would hear her.
“It’s not okay. No one talks to you like that. No one,” I said, feeling my anger start to build again. I hated seeing Maggie afraid.
She gave me a small smile then slipped her hand from mine and reached for her book bag on the floor. I watched her as she got her books, wishing I had her alone so we could talk. So I could hear her voice. I had heard it over the phone just last night, but it was always different in person.
Stepping close to her, I inhaled and let her vanilla scent wash over me. I could take that with me to first period. Since I couldn’t take her.
When she turned around, we were so close, our bodies almost touched.
Almost immediately a hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed hard. “Friends. Remember?” Brady’s voice wasn’t threatening, but it sure wasn’t friendly, either.
I took one more deep inhale then stepped back. Maggie glanced at Brady, then smiled one last time at me. Her cheeks turned pink as she held her books close to her chest and hurried away.
Once she was out of sight, I turned to Brady. He was frowning. “That wasn’t friendly. That was ‘I’m about to eat you up in this hallway in front of everyone.’ That’s what that was. I saw it. So did everyone else. And did she . . . did I see her mouth move?”
She wouldn’t want him to know. It wasn’t something she was ready to share. I shook my head. “No. We just communicate differently. That’s all that was.”
Brady cocked an eyebrow. He knew I was full of shit. I had wanted to be as close to her as I could get. “Remember, she’s fragile. Don’t break her.”
He didn’t know how wrong he was. Maggie was one of the strongest people I knew.
“I told you already, I would never hurt her. I was making sure she was okay. Serena was being nasty, and I fixed that. I won’t let someone hurt her. Trust me.”
Brady shook his head, his frown still in place. “I’m trying to. But I see the way you look at her.”
“Just because I want something, doesn’t mean I’m cruel enough to take it. I’d never do that to her. She is just my friend. She will always be just my friend.”
