Independence (22 page)

"Yep." I
ran my thumb over the scruff on his chin. I noticed how wound up he was. It was about more than my passing out again. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he said too quickly and began the math again. "Let's just get this over with and then we can blow this joint."

"Gladly," I
accepted his subject change. As we made our way down the hall, Caleb asked me to text Bish and tell him to meet us. So I did. He replied back immediately and Caleb made me add on not to bring Jen. I gave him a quizzical look, but made the request anyway. The response wasn't as fast. I could almost hear the pout in his voice when he texted back.

OK…
b
e there soon
So while I had my phone out, I decided to go ahead and text Beck again. She had to speak to me sometime, right?

Where are u? I'm worried. U don't have to tell me where u r or come home, just let me know that ur ok
I stuck the phone back in my pocket and forgot all about it once we entered the hall. There they were. All sitting like ducks in a row in my living room. My mother, who carried the scowl of a scorned woman instead of the one who did the scorning. My ex-boyfriend, who glared at Caleb's hand in mine as if he'd never laid eyes on such a scene before.
My new step mother who
se
eyes danced around the room in her uncomfortableness.
My father and then my…father…

I blinked hard and leaned into Caleb to steel myself before looking back at the motley crew. "Are you all right?" Dad asked and came t
o wrap me in his arms comfortingly. Haddock looked like he was in actual pain to not be able to do the same. Caleb and I looked at each other and he gave me a sympathetic smile as Dad let go and gave my mother a warning glare as she started to lift from the couch. She sat back down with a huff. Chad just watched the whole thing. "I'm fine," I spouted.

"What happened?" Chad asked and lifted his eyebrows waiting for the answer.

"I just don't feel well. And you yelling at Caleb, and then you showing up," I told my mother, "I just couldn't handle it. I can't deal with all of this right now, OK?"

I turned and paced the room. No one moved, but Haddock. He came up behind me and I turned to find him with a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry if my coming here upset you."

"It didn't, I promise. We just have so much going on right now." I whispered, "The wedding is tomorrow, too."

His eyes lit. "Oh, really?" He looked over his shoulder just a bit. "Would you mind if I came?" he asked softly.

I thought. "Is that even allowed? You're not of this clan."

"I think since you're the ones making the rules now, you can make an exception." He smiled. When I didn't smi
le back, he recanted. "It's
all right
though
. I understand. I'll be staying at my house about twenty minutes from here. If you were to need anything, let me know."

"Haddock," I stopped him. He looked back at me hopefully. I hoped I was making the right decision. "It would be great if you could be there tomorrow."
He looked a mixture of relief and devastatingly happy. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure." Then it came to me. He may be the key to finding Marcus. "In fact, I have something I want you to help me with.
"
"Anything," he said without hesitation.

"Have you heard from Marcus?"

"No. I've heard from no one. Why?"
"Because I have."

He blanched. "Maggie..."

"We'll talk later," I promised.
"
I'll call you tonight and tell you all about it."

He didn't look happy about leaving it at that, but he did. "OK. Please, please, call me. I'll be waiting."
"I will."

He nodded and then waved to my father. "Thank you for letting me wait for Maggie here. I'll…see you soon."
"Not a problem
," Dad answered and
pulled Fiona up from the couch,
placed his arm aro
und her and sighed
. "Well…" he said awkwardly. "I guess it's time for everyone to
scoot. Lot
s to do tonight
, unfortunately
."

"
You're kicking us out?" Mom yelled, but Chad stood. He gave me the sulkiest and most annoyed look I think I've ever gotten from him.

"Can we talk outside for just a minute?"
I took a deep breath through my nose. I glanced up at Caleb who bit into his bottom lip, but nodded his head toward the door, telling me he wouldn't hurt him if I went with him. "All right," I agreed. "Let's go."

He smiled like he'd won. Like I was going to hop into his Honda Accord with him and ride off into the Gainesville, Florida sunset. I rolled my eyes as we reached the front porch. "You've got three minutes, Chad."

He huffed. "Why? Any
more than that and you know I'll talk sense
into you?"
"Two minutes, forty
six seconds."
He sighed. "All right.
I've already said my peace. You know how I feel. I just wanted to get you alone for a second without that meat-head with you."

"You can leave if that's all you have to say."

"I want you to reconsider. If you don't want to be with me, OK, fine. I'll get over it eventually, but this? You getting married just because you think that's what you've got to do? That's so stupid, Mags."

"That's not why I'm getting married. I love him. That's why."

"Careful," he taunted. "Your low GPA is showing."

I gritted my teeth. "You can be a real jerk, you know that?"
"And you were never this dumb when we dated!" he yelled. "I can only account it to the company you're keeping."
"And that's your cue." I turned to leave and he grabbed my arm.

Then he yelped and glared at me. "How do you keep doing that?"

"
Doesn't matter," I muttered sadly. I felt Caleb's anger as he heard what was going on through me. I assured him it was OK. I was sending Chad home anyway. "Go home, Chad. I'm sorry that you think that I'm ruining my life, but it's the opposite. One day you'll meet a great-"

"Oh, really?" He turned in an angry circle. "The old
You'll meet a great girl and forget all about
me
bit?"

"I was going to say you'll meet someone and know what it's like to want to marry them, no matter
what
."

"Ah… I guess this is it. I tried. At least I can say I tried."

"I guess so." I swallowed. "I really do hope you have a great life. I hope school is great and you do well with football…meet someone one day."

He nodded, deflated. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that stuff. I just love you, Maggie. And I hate to think that your life took a turn for worse because of a stupid thing I did last year."

"You don't get to take credit for my decisions, Chad," I said softly. "I didn't take a turn for the worse. I would never have met Caleb and his family
,
and Dad would have never woken up from his funk if everything hadn't happened that way. Yo
u can't…outrun your destiny."
H
e gave me a strange look, but eventually just nodded once. "Bye, Mags. See you around maybe."
"Probably not," I said, not unkindly. It was just facts.

He nodded with his back turned as he strode to his car. I felt a heavy relief tainted with
a hint of disappointment. I needed a minute before going back inside. I went to the side of the porch and stood, watching the cars as they zoomed and crawled through my neighborhood.
My older neighbor lady was shelling peas or something on her porch swing. She waved and I waved back just as the front door opened. I stayed put. I heard Mom's thoughts as she pulled her phone out and dialed a number. She was angry.

"Haddo
ck's here!" she hissed. "Maggie's real father
. How the hell did Haddock find out about Maggie? How the hell did Maggie find out about Haddock?"

The person on the line, a male, said, "Sweet thing, just keep focus. I just need to you to come back to California and forget all about those hillbillies."

"Oh, I will," she said with surety. "I just need to do a couple more things and then I'll be on my way."

"Did you get the bracelet?"
"Yep.
And I stole a couple rings and things from that twit that lives with him now.
" She laughed. "That'll fetch a pretty penny for when I get back. And I talked to Jim about Maggie coming back with me. He refused to hear a w
ord of it, of course. She
's
fallen in love with some boy here."

The man laughed and I wondered why he would be happy to have me come back with her to California. "Well they could both come and work in our restaurant if they want."

"He's loaded. Hiring Maggie for cheap li
ve-in labor is out now. Besides, s
he's
really
too pretty for manual labor."

"If she looks anything like you, she's as pretty as a peach."

I swallowed vomit.

"She looks just like me," she said proudly. "Anyway. I got most of the things I came for. All of which should set us up for a little while. Maggie won't be able to help us like I thought, but it's fine. She can stay in this po-dunk town all she wants." She examined her nails.

"What about life insurance. She got any?"
"Jim does." She laughed. "
Too bad we're divorced now or I could
kill him before I leave. Then he'll at least be of some use to me."

I felt the last remaining shred of feeling for my mother drain away. As I watched her back leave, I knew there was never any real love for me from that woman. I felt an odd, dull ache. It was as if I were sad, but it was irrelevant. The hole or void she may have inf
licted on me was long filled. But it
didn't mean that it didn’t hurt like the dickens to see with your own eyes that your mother could give two craps about you.

I heard Caleb come onto the porch and I waited knowing he would find me within seconds. He did. The hard set of his mouth told me he already knew everything. He pulled me by my elbows and rubbed my back.

"Don't spend another second thinking about that woman," he commanded softly.

My phone buzzed with a text. I assumed it was Bish telling us he was almost there, but it wasn't.

It was Beck.

I jumped and scrolled to read it.

We're fine. We holed up somewhere Ralph knows
out of the way
. Stop tex
ting me. I don't want to see u
. I
don't want to know u any
more. When the coast is clear,
let me know. Otherwise, we'll stay gone for a while.
I stared at it sadly. I had saved her life and she didn't want to know me anymore?

I slammed my phone shut and looked up at Caleb. "Wow. What an ungrateful cow."

Caleb

Yikes.

Maggie was livid. With good reason, mostly. Beck was being childish. Yes, humans didn't understand us, but this was a little ridiculous. Or maybe I was just being biased because she was hurting my Maggie.

"Baby, don't worry about her. She's just…"

"I just don't understand how she can be that way. And my mom? And Chad? Is everybody out to make me feel like crap today? I shouldn’t be having doubts the day before our wedding."
"What kind of doubts?"

"Not wedding doubts, just…doubts. Why is all of this happening?" She sniffed and the first - of what I figured - of many tears slid down her cheek, effectively breaking my heart. "You don't have any doubt?"
I took her face…her gorgeous
, tear—
streaked face in my hands and looked her straight in the eye. “Doubt? No, not ever. Not about you, not about us and not about what we’re meant to be doing right now.”

“But all of these things keep popping up,” she argued, but the fight was just gone right out of her. She sniffled, her fists wrapped in my shirt front, whether she knew it or not. “I don’t
doubt us either, of course not.
I just don’t understand why things have to be so hard-”