33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Maverick
T wenty years.
Twenty years I've waited patiently for my little sister to reach out to me, twenty years of knowing that my biological parents had died and left behind a little girl, a little girl who needed me. I tried to fight for her, but I was only eighteen and had absolutely no rights to Maisie.
Being adopted meant that I couldn't help her, it was like a complete stranger trying to fight for a child that he didn't even know.
I've thought about her everyday of those twenty years, but life got in the way. I'd been repeatedly told by my parents that I had to let it go, I couldn't help right now and they assured me that Maisie would be taken care of, there was nothing I could do so I had to let it go … for now.
Then when she turned eighteen, her social worker handed her over the file that detailed everything about her parents accident, she had also told me that she didn't believe that Maisie was going to read it anytime soon. Hannah had always been on my side, trying to help me keep tabs on Maisie but at the end of the day there was only so much she could do without jeopardising her own job.
Maisie had grown up into a tough, strong, independent woman and that explains why she never felt the need to go through that folder. Maisie has told me in her emails that she'd kept that folder hidden away, too worried about what she might discover. The only reason it had been opened was because of her recent health scare, she'd told me about her diagnosis and what led her to finally discovering me, to say I was relieved when that email pinged through would be an massive understatement.
We may have missed out on our whole lives up until now, but not a day would now pass by without my sister knowing that I love her, I've always loved her, I haven't even met her yet and I love her. She's my flesh and blood, the only living blood relative I have.
I don't know what she looks like and I still haven't heard her voice but we've chatted via email for the past few weeks, she's told me all about her life and I've told her about mine. Not that there's too much to tell. I was adopted as a new born by Duncan and Bonnie Anderson, I've lived my entire life in Scotland but never truly felt like I belonged. I started boxing as a teenager which quickly progressed into me fighting professionally, I've won many fights over the years but it always felt a little empty. Like something was missing. I also have a younger brother called Jay, he's around Maisie's age and is a giant pain in my arse.
I'm now forty years old, training younger boxers in my own gym called 'Mad Mav's', that was my boxing nickname when I competed. So now that's how I spend my days, training, riding my bike, drinking whisky and fucking about with the girls down the pub. I'm planning on leaving the gym with my buddy Miles whilst I go down south to meet Maisie and her family.
But for right now, I'm sat at my kitchen table with a glass of whiskey in front of me, waiting to talk to my baby sister on Facetime for the very first time. It was her idea, she said she wanted to know what I looked like. I remember seeing pictures of her as a little girl, pale skin, big blue eyes and a curly mop of red hair. I hope she hasn't changed a bit.
We arranged to call at seven in the evening, once we'd both finished work. So here I am, tapping my short finger nails on the table, staring at my three fingers of whisky and waiting for the phone to ring.
As if I willed it into reality my phone starts buzzing on the table in front of me, the caller ID telling me it's Maisie. I tuck a strand of loose hair behind my ear, take a large swig from my glass and answer the phone.
Maisie's beautiful face immediately fills my screen and she hasn't changed a bit, she still has that wild hair, those piercing blue eyes and freckles dotted across her cheeks. I stare at her and she stares at me, I don't know how long this goes on for until I manage to croak out.
"Hi Sis." I tell her with a small smile, we're completely different looks wise, but we have the same blue eyes.
She continues to stare at me, mouth gaping wide open until I see someone elbow her in the side and a deep laugh sound from next to her. Her husband Mack.
"Sorry about her mate, give her a minute." He chuckles as he leans over and sticks his face in the camera, he has dirty blonde messy hair, blue eyes and a kind face. He's a big guy, I could tell that already.
"Take your time Mais," I said with a laugh, she was literally frozen – until she wasn't.
"Holy shit! You do not look how I expected you to look, like not at all."
"What were you expecting?" I got this reaction a lot and I got it okay. I was 6'6, broad, bearded, muscled, tattoos, dark man bun. I quite often got called a -
"You look like a god damn Viking!" and there it was.
"I thought you would be a red head like me." Maisie sat forward in her chair, she couldn't get any closer to the damn screen if she tried, I felt like I was under a bleeding microscope.
"I was when I was younger, not quite as red as you though. It changed as I got older. How are you doing guys?"
Maisie had moved over a bit to allow Mack to be in the picture too, they looked perfect together. The perfect happy couple, I couldn' t help but wish it for myself. I was getting on now though, maybe it just wasn't on the cards for me. If I hadn't found the one by now then maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Couldn't say I blamed them though, I was a grumpy shit most of the time.
"We're good thanks Maverick." Mack responded.
"Please call me Mav." I took another drink from my glass before setting it back on the table in front of me and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"So – tell me everything." And they did. We spoke for hours about their lives and how they'd met. Maisie told me about her life growing up and how she'd always felt alone. I also told her how I'd tried to fight for her, I'd tried to help her. She'd cried then, the strong, fierce woman sitting in front of me cried. I felt that foreign burning sensation in my eyes too but I'd never let it show. I was the big brother now, my job was to protect and I hoped like hell she'd let me. They told me about all their friends, their jobs, their plans for the future. Maisie told me about their wedding day in such detail that I felt like I'd been there. I'd missed it all, all the big moments in my sisters life and I'd been on the other side of the country burying my head in the sand.
We spoke until Maisie's eyes were drooping and she couldn't stop yawning. We went to say our goodbyes until she stopped me,
"Mav, we have some news to tell you."
"Okay?" Was it about her recent diagnosis, she'd told me all about her recent health scare and in return I'd told her about the fact that my mother also has Fibromyalgia and she's able to live a perfectly normal, happy life.
"Mav … how do you feel about becoming an uncle?"
An uncle. I'd barely gotten my head around the fact that my little sister was now in my life, with a pretty cool husband too. And now I was going to be an uncle. I had family, real, blood family.
"That is bloody fantastic news. When's our wee baby coming?"
"Well, we had our twelve week scan a few weeks ago and everything went really well. So we have about five months left, we wanted you to be the first to know, we haven't told anyone else yet. We've missed out on too much, we wanted to give you this." Maisie told me with a shy smile.
"I'm over the moon Mais, I'm going to be an uncle?"
"You're going to be an uncle."
We said our goodbyes after that, arranging that I planned to travel down in a few weeks time. I couldn't wait to meet them and their friends, it sounded like they had a good bunch of people around them, I couldn't wait to be one of them.
"I missed you Sis." I told her.
"I missed you too." She replied, I'd make sure she never had to miss me again.