Chapter 53
Chapter Fifty-Three
Maggie
It was ironic for a girl who feared being alone so much to always end up exactly that, due to her own self-destructive actions.
Hurricane Maggie, a nickname bestowed on me that had more truth than most people probably realized.
I destroyed everything in my path, not because I wanted to, but because some part of me would rather destroy them before they destroyed me.
Trauma responses were a hell of a thing.
I walked out of the office, down the steps, staring only down the block in the spot where Brody used to park his car when he came to pick me up.
It was a nice thing. To look at the clock, knowing my day was almost over and he would be out there waiting for me. Someone to go home to. He had always been the best part of every day.
And in that moment, the thought of never seeing him parked there again made my heart hurt so badly that I shut my eyes tightly so I didn’t have to bear witness to his absence.
“You there,” a voice called from above.
Startled, I looked up to find that old man Brody used to torment, with his head out the window.
I looked around, searching the street for sign of the person he was calling out to. When I saw no one else around, I pointed a finger at my chest in question.
“Yes, you, young lady. Have you patched things up with that young man of yours yet?”
I felt a little silly hollering up to yell at an elderly man, but the look on his face told me he very clearly expected a response.
“He’s moving to Michigan.”
“What?” the old man hollered back, so I raised my voice even louder.
“He’s moving to Michigan!”
“I heard you! The goddamn boy is an idiot! I told him to be patient, not flee the state!”
He shook his head in what looked to be incredible disgust.
“When did you talk to Brody?” I asked, highly doubting they had an entire conversation about our relationship through the method I was currently engaging in right now.
But I didn’t hear whatever he said next, because my phone rang.
The thing about heartbreak is, no matter how unrealistic it is, your mind still hopes for miracles. Even though I knew Brody was on the ice, playing his last game, even though I knew he hadn’t dialed my number in months—I still hoped it would be him.
It wasn’t.
But it was probably the last person in the world I ever expected to see calling my phone again.
“Tara?”
“Hi, Maggie.” Brody’s sister’s voice was restrained. “I don’t know if I should be calling you, but… well, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try.”
I was silent, barely breathing, not knowing if she was going to tell me off or break my heart all over by telling me Brody had always been too good for me and I never deserved him anyway—all would be justified. But she didn’t say any of those things.
“Listen, I’m pissed you broke Brody’s heart. And I’m pissed at myself for meddling in it. And yes, I’m aware of the irony that I’m still meddling by calling you now, but I’m his sister and I love him—”
“I know that, Tara,” I assured her.
“So, I’m just going to come out and say it. I know my brother, and he doesn’t want to move to Michigan.”
“What?”
“He wants to stay there with you. And your brother, and your friend. And I know you guys are just as much his family as any of us, and it’s going to destroy him to leave you.”
Was that true? Would it break his heart? I’d been so sure that’s what he wanted.
“Now, I know you’re your own person, and even though he’s like the greatest guy in the universe, you’re under no obligation to be with him, but even just to be his friend—”
I shook my head, stupidly.
“No,” I told her. “No, that’s not what I want.”
“You can’t even be his friend?” Tara’s voice rang through with irritation.
“I don’t want to be his friend, I want to be with him,” I said. “Forever. Always. As long as he wants me. I don’t care. I just want him.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. I bit my lip, preparing for the outrage I was certain to face. But then, the silence broke, giving way to laughter on the other end of the line.
“Well, you better get him, then, before he has to waste time on a plane ride only to turn right back around.”
I grinned, nodding my head frantically.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. And you know what, if he really does want to move to Michigan, I’ll move there with him.”
“You what?”
“You think it’ll break his heart to leave? Well, it’ll break mine even more to have a life without him in it,” I told her, feeling clarity like I’d never felt before. “Wherever he goes, I’ll go, too.”
“What about your job? Your life?”
“What about Brody?” I told her. “It’s time for him to get what he wants for a change.”
“Trust me, Maggie. He’s only ever wanted one thing. Go talk to him, and I think you’ll figure that out.”
We hung up quickly, and I spun around in a daze, giddy with renewed energy and hope.
“Well, what was all that about?” the old man, who apparently was more nosy than I’d given him credit for, asked, still waiting in his window.
“Brody’s sister,” I told him, dizzied and excited. “I have to go.”
“Where?”
“I gotta go see about a guy,” I threw over my shoulder, already running down the cobblestone to where my car was parked.
The last thing I heard was the old man’s laughter swirling through the night air.
“Ah, lucky bastard got off easy!” he called out. “At least he didn’t have to go to war to win you back!”