Ben - Mama McCarthy
“Fuck.” Clasping my hands behind my neck, I stared at the ceiling as I paced in the kitchen. “How the fuck did that happen?” I looked to Coleson, who was sitting at an island barstool next to Maggie, who currently had an ice pack on her forehead and was looking like she was about to fall asleep. I couldn’t stand the sight of her physically hurting again; it made me want to vomit.
“I don’t know, Ben. Honestly, I don’t,” Coleson said, his serious gaze bore into me over his laptop screen. He rarely ever used my real name. The fact that he did now meant this was bad, terrible actually. I shook my head and resumed pacing, trying to piece everything together.
“They knew we were going to be at the hospital. How? Do we have a leak?”
“I don’t know.” Coleson sighed. He was typing furiously on his computer, going over security footage.
“Well, figure it out. Someone tipped them off.” I bit out another curse.
“We will,” Coleson murmured.
With the restless energy coursing through my body, I started making dinner for us.
Within five minutes, Maggie was making little snore noises from where she fell asleep, cheek against the cool counter.
I’d let her get a little nap in because I’d be waking her up every couple hours tonight.
Fuck, what a mess.
“It makes sense,” Coleson whispered at one point.
“What does?” I turned away from the stove to look at him.
“That they’d try something today. They’re probably getting desperate. They know she’s going to testify for us, and they know things are gonna collapse if she does.”
“Not if ,” I snapped back. “When.” If implied something would happen to her to keep her from the courtroom, and that wasn’t an option.
He leaned back from his computer, his face was grave when he warned, “Things are probably going to ramp up, bud.”
“Yeah.” I braced my hands on the counter and closed my eyes. That’s what I was afraid of. The closer we got to the court date, the more danger she was in.
A half hour later, I placed the finished chicken cutlets on the island and Coleson finally shut his laptop. He gently nudged Maggie awake.
“Oh, sorry,” she slurred and wiped the sleep from her eyes.
“How ya feeling, Jinx? Survived your first car chase.” He shot her a playful wink.
“She shouldn’t have been in a fucking car chase,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest.
Coleson just shrugged me off and went for the food, then handed Maggie the serving spoon. At least her appetite was still intact, but I didn’t want her to overdo it and then not feel well again.
“Don’t eat too much,” I butted in.
The chicken dropped from her fork and she cocked her head to the side as she looked at me in surprise.
“No, I didn’t mean–” I ran a hand over my head and bit out a curse. Nothing was going right today. “I don’t want you to get sick again. You’re concussed.”
Coleson laughed. “Smooth move, Cap.” He wiped his hands on his pants, then grabbed her chin to look in her eyes. “You’re being a little overbearing here, man,” he said to me while studying her pupils. “She looks okay to me.”
Okay wasn’t good enough. “You hit your head hard and then vomited, Maggie. You’re concussed.”
She just harrumphed and added more food to her plate. “I barfed because you made me sick with your crazy driving, Mr. 007, and sorry for being in a bit of shock after being shot at in real life.”
“As opposed to fake life?” Coleson joked.
She just elbowed him.
Trying to squelch my worry, I poured a glass of water and set it in front of her along with some painkillers that I knew she’d probably ignore.
My phone started ringing. As soon as I spied the name flashing across the screen, I dropped my head back and groaned. I couldn’t catch a break today.
I’d been avoiding her phone calls because I knew I wouldn’t be able to go to Tilly’s party like she wanted, especially not after what happened this afternoon. But the party was tomorrow, so I didn’t really have the luxury of dodging it anymore.
As soon as I answered, Eileen’s voice erupted on the other end: “You are coming to your niece’s birthday party even if I have to drag you here myself. You work too damn much, Benjamin Capretti. You can take off one measly afternoon to come see your family.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my forehead. Today was frustrating enough. I didn’t have it in me to be lectured at like I was a teenager again. “I don’t know if I can–”
“You do know! Yer coming!” she yelled through the phone. “And that’s final.” She huffed. “Got it?”
I gave Coleson a desperate look. He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Is Joseph there with you?” she demanded.
My eyes narrowed at the phone. How the hell did she know?
“ She’s psychic ,” Coleson mouthed to me with wide eyes.
“Who’s Joseph?” Maggie whispered, taking another bite of her chicken.
“Me,” Coleson uttered quietly.
“Let me talk to Joseph,” Eileen barked.
“You’re on speakerphone,” I told her, switching it on so Coleson could hear better– the two of them surely already heard every word she said because she was practically yelling into the phone.
“Joseph?”
“Hi Mama Banks,” Coleson said in a jovial tone.
“Hello son, you are also expected at Tilly’s party.”
The smile dropped from his face.
Take that, asshole . I grinned as he reeled in existential crisis.
“But… But…” he stuttered. “Isn’t it–” He cut himself off and swallowed hard, like it pained him– “Penny’s party?”
“No,” she answered firmly. “It is Tilly’s party, and you are expected to be there with a present for the little one. Got it? And you are to make sure my Benjamin is also there. Can I trust you with this, Joseph? Or am I going to have to round yer asses up myself and bring you down to see yer family?”
“Work is kind of intense right now.” I eyed Maggie, who now looked like she perked up. “I don’t think we’ll be able to make it.”
Maggie shook her head at me. “We can go,” she whispered.
“I’m not leaving you,” I whispered tersely back.
Coleson thankfully started chatting away with Eileen about potential birthday gifts. Traitor.
Maggie’s face cracked. “No, you’re not leaving me, I’m coming with you, duh.”
I blinked at her. “No.”
“Yes.” She slammed her hands on the table, then grabbed her left hand up with a hiss.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled her left hand into mine and began massaging it for her, secretly loving how she instantly melted a little.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. “Hi, uh… Mrs. Banks?”
My hands froze on her wrist. “No,” I cut her off with a serious look.
“Yes,” she said simply.
I dropped her wrist and grappled for the phone, but Coleson held it away from me with a shit-eating grin on his face. This could not happen. If Eileen met her, she’d ask about her until the end of time.
Maggie grinned at me as she asked, “Is there room for one more at the party?”
An awkward beat of silence stretched on the call. My eyes closed and I shook my head as Eileen asked, “And who might you be, miss?”
“I’m Maggie.”
“Are you Joseph’s Maggie or Benjamin’s Maggie?” Eileen’s voice had a hard edge to it.
“Benny’s,” she answered quickly.
“Oh,” Eileen laughed, her guard all but dropped. “He hates being called Benny, doesn’t he, love?” she teased.
Accepting that I already lost this battle, I clasped my hands behind my neck and shook my head at her.
“Yupp,” Maggie giggled, “that little vein in his throat is going all wonky right now just because I said it.”
I slapped my hand to my throat and cut her a shut it look.
“Well, you really are Ben’s then, aren’t you, love?”
She paused and looked at me with an earnest expression that rendered me completely helpless. “I can be,” she said quietly.
“Ahh, I see,” Eileen answered in a knowing tone. What the hell did she see ? “Well you’re now expected at the party as well, Ms. Maggie. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Goodbye boys,” she said before ending the call.
“What did you just do?” I groaned, feeling a weird mixture of doom and hope swirling into my chest.
She shrugged. “I wanna go to the party.”
“And you just practically told them we’re dating. I don’t lie, Maggie.”
She gave me a simple smile and patted my chest. “You didn’t have to. I did.” Then she yawned. “I’m getting to bed. You two have fun. Goodnight.”
As soon as she left the room, I focused back on my friend. He held his temples and hung his head, looking like someone just told him his dog died.
“What’s that look for?”
His worried eyes shifted. “I haven’t seen Penny since–”
I held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t even worry about it. She won’t hold it over you.”
“Fuck, I just… I can’t,” he choked out, and I felt for him, I did. But I had too much of my own damn drama to help him with his… Like how Eileen now thought I had a girlfriend that I never told her about.
I blew out a sigh. “I’m in trouble, man.” I went to the fridge for a beer.
“Me too,” he said, gesturing for me to get him one too.
________
That night, I walked into her room and sat on the bedside armchair. Her bedside lamp was still on, and the TV had a “are you still watching?” sign on the screen, illuminating her peaceful face. “Hey, Maggie.” I gently touched her shoulder. “Wake up a minute.”
Her forehead pinched. “Huh?” She rubbed her eyes and turned toward me, taking most of the white comforter with her. “Ben?”
“What’s your name?”
“Maggie Marie Quinn,” she grumbled, her eyes falling back closed. “Now, will you stop waking me up? I cherish my weekend sleep, you know this.”
I did know that, but I also needed to know she was alright. “What do you do for work?” I pushed.
“Seriously?” She flopped onto her back, trying to ignore me.
“You’re concussed, Maggie.” I reached over and smoothed her hair back.
She sighed contentedly and leaned into the palm of my hand. She was probably wholly unaware that her breath against my skin made my heart practically beat out of my chest.
“I’m an art teacher who’s going to whoop your ass if you wake me up again. I got a bump on the head, I am not concussed. I feel totally fine, Ben.”
“Okay.” A corner of my mouth reluctantly kicked up into a grin. “I’ll be back in a couple hours.” I pulled my hand away, but she snatched it back quickly for someone who was half-asleep.
“You don’t need to keep doing that. You could stay.” She intertwined our fingers.
I stared at our joined hands. My heart beat erratically in my chest. “This is your concussion talking. Your poor brain’s all scrambled, Jinx,” I said lightly, trying to play it off.
“It’s not. Stay here.” She patted the bed next to her. “At least get some sleep between waking me up.”
I swallowed hard, trying to fight against the way my hands were trembling. “You want me to stay?”
“Yes,” she said sleepily.
“Why?”
She reached over and shut off the bedside lamp. “Because I’m not scared when I’m with you.”
“You don’t need to be scared,” I said automatically.
“Yupp, because you’re here with me.” She sighed and pulled my hand closer to her chest. “And you don’t need to be scared because I’m with you .”
My eyebrows pinched together. “I’m not scared,” I said automatically.
She grinned with her eyes still closed. “Yes, you are.”
I snorted. “Of what?”
“Romance.”
Well, shit.
Her words continued to echo in my head as her breathing evened and she fell asleep, and they kept me in her room long after the allotted time I should’ve stayed.
You’re not allowed in her bed, you asshole, I scolded myself.
But I could stay right where I was, watching over her from this chair.
And I could bring down the organization completely. Because I wanted, no, needed , to give her peace of mind.
Leaning closer, I pressed a light kiss to her hair.