Chapter Thirty-five
Thirty-five
Maverick
Ifinally feel alive again, I finally feel free.
Free from the mess that the last thirteen years have caused.
Seeing the crowds faces beam and light up, watching them swaying and dancing along to the music that the boys and I happened to get thrown into doing, can only be described with one word; electrifying.
Lacey singing alongside me to mine and Mabel’s song has the crowd in the palm of our hands as we lean in once more to hit the final note of the song that I’ve listen to multiple times a day and have done every day for the last thirteen years.
Colter still by my side, giving the best performance I’ve seen him do on his guitar, his gaze never leaving our parent’s, or Iris’s.
Following suit, my eyes leave the ever-growing crowd and back to Mabel’s direction, but she isn’t standing where she last was when I looked over to her.
I position my hands on the strings to continue the song, but panic starts to rise.
I spot her behind our group with none other than Jimmy Jones, my brow frowning and the anger slowly building up in the pit of my stomach.
Her demeanour’s completely changed, I watch on at the tensed-up position she’s shrinking herself into and that’s when I watch him take hold of her hand.
Finishing up the song on the last lyric, my head turns as I look at Colter, concern creeping across his face. I turn my head to look at Jake, who’s face is turning red with anger.
I strum my guitar for the last time; eyes still locked in on the situation my girl’s found herself in.
He leans in closer, and then with no warning, his lips are on hers.
My mind goes dark and the thumping of my heart moving blood around my body is the only noise I hear.
And that’s when I witness the almighty slap, Mabel putting her whole weight behind it.
“We’ve got to go,” I shout to the boys as we drop our instruments to the floor of the stage.
“Go,” Lacey leans in and takes my guitar from me, I offer her a nod as I sprint off the edge of the stage and jump onto the hard grass, falling straight onto my knees. Pain shoots up my right leg, but in this moment; I couldn’t give a single fuck.
Squeezing my way through the crowd, I feel someone pull me back. Colter, Jake and Luke are right behind me as they push more of the crowd out of my way, clearing a path back to my girl. I can’t hear the noise forming around me, all I hear is static.
Getting closer to my family, I watch Wyatt stand from his seat, arms raised, trying to get to his daughter.
“What’s going on?” I hear Wyatt say as I etch myself closer to my girl, feeling the pull willing me to keep moving forward.
“Oh, leave off, old man,” hiccup, “I’m, trying to have,” hiccup, “moment alone,” burp, “with your daughter,” Jimmy slurs as he wipes his mouth.
“We don’t want any trouble, son,” Wyatt replies, trying to calm the situation.
I scramble my way over to Mabel and reach for her hand, but she pulls it away from me, tears forming in her eyes as she barely looks at me.
What has this fucker said to her?
I feel the panic rising and the attack ready to pounce, when Jimmy leans back and throws a really shit punch across Wyatt’s chin, he hardly even stumbles, but Jimmy does.
My dad stands to attention, and I watch Colter dive at Jimmy. One swift punch to his cheek and he falls to the ground, knocked out cold. Colter grabs onto his hand and looks towards his father.
“Nice shot, son,” Wyatt winks at his son which causes Colter to smirk.
Colter leans down over Jimmy’s unconscious body and grabs his hair. “In case you didn’t realise, your fired, Fucker.” he says into his ear as he lets go of his hair line, and his head smacks against the ground.
Cheers and claps come from around us, but my focus is on the girl who’s refusing to look at me.
“Firefly, what’s wrong?” I whisper into her ear, but once again she moves away from me.
That’s when I see the tears rolling down her cheeks as she shakes her head.
“Baby, what did he do?” I ask again, praying silently to myself that he hasn’t just told her what I think he has.
The muffles from the cheering calms down, but my eyes remain on my girl.
And then she turns to face me.
“Why did you leave, Maverick?” She asks me, sky blue eyes staring straight into mine and my soul.
She never uses my full name anymore.
“I- uh,” panic running straight into to my chest, I gasp for air. I look over to my parent’s whose faces etched with worry, are looking back at me.
“Don’t look at them, look at me,” she says, her voice sharp.
“Why did you leave?” She asks again, the tears now flooding from her eyes, but she makes no sound.
“Baby, why don’t we go somewhere else?” I say to her, trying so hard to keep my breathing under control.
“No, I’m done with this,” she sniffs back her sob. “Tell me, please,” she begs.
I let out a ridged breath, look around me to find that everyone is staring at us. Colter’s eyes burning a hole within me, my best friend doesn’t know either.
“Look baby, I was eighteen and really fucking stupid,” I start, trying to make this sound reasonable, but if anything, I sound desperate.
Mabel holds my gaze, tears still clear to see.
“I- I came home, two weeks after I left,” I stutter out, the tears of panic now fully forming.
Please, don’t let me lose her again.
“When I came home, I saw him first and-,” I look down at the trash still unconscious on the floor. “He showed me picture’s,”.
“What pictures?” Mabel demands and I bow my head in shame, tears now streaming down my cheeks, matching the girl whose heart I pray this won’t break more than this secret already has done for all these years.
Thirteen years ago…
Holding onto the ring box that’s stored in my denim jean’s pocket, I rub my chest with my other hand to try and calm the nerves that’s pounding away at my heart.
The bus pulling into Springfield’s bus station finally, after what felt like the longest journey across America. Two days travelling will be well worth it when I finally have my girl in my arms again.
Two weeks away from her was all I needed to know, I couldn’t be away from her anymore.
California isn’t my dream, she is.
Before I left, I submitted my transfer papers over to Tennessee State College, which hopefully should get approved before my visit here ends.
I left all my stuff in California. Except the bag full of clothes above me and the engagement ring sitting in my pocket.
At least when I go back to get it all, hopefully I’ll have my fiancé by my side when I come home, for good.
I wait for the driver to come to a full stop, before almost throwing myself out of my seat to get my small duffel bag out from the storage above me.
Holding onto my bag over my shoulder, I make my way down the aisle and step off the bus, being met with a slight September breeze, but the town still holding the heat.
Smelling the fresh air, I head towards the flower stall that stands alone in the station. Mrs Taylor always sells the freshest flowers in her stalls, which started here and soon became a well sort after business in the town.
“I’ll have the largest bunch you have please,” I ask the older lady working the stall. Pulling out my wallet, I hand her a hundred-dollar bill as she hands me the most beautiful bouquet of roses and lilies.
“She’s one lucky young lady,” she winks at me, handing me the flowers.
“That she sure is,” I blush back to her, placing the change handed back to me in her tips pot.
“Ma’am.” I nod, before turning on my heels, before almost body slamming into Jimmy Jones, who at the best of times always finds himself in my way.
“Apologies,” I say to him, making sure the flowers haven’t been ruined in the moment.
“Maverick, what are you doing here?” he asks, looking confused and slightly annoyed by my presence.
“Just coming back to see my girl,” I hold up the flowers, giving them a shake at the obvious explanation of why I’d be here.
He moves his tongue in between his teeth, whilst using his thumb to run across his bottom lip.
“She ain’t your girl no more.” He replies bluntly, his tone full of venom.
I rear back as if the boy before me had thrown an outstanding socker punch, in a way he just had, right in my gut.
“Excuse me?” I ask, more to clarify on why Mabel wouldn’t still be mine, I’d spoken to her on the phone not even twelve hours ago.
“You left man, she was free gain,” he laughs.
My head starts to spin; my palms turn clammy.
“What are you talking about, asshole?” I growl at him, willing my fists not to act.
“Don’t believe me? Here,” he says as he takes out his outdated camera phone and shows me a picture.
Mabel was laughing, looking unbelievably beautiful, Jimmy’s arm wrapped around her.
The blood rushes to my head, my eyesight becomes fuzzy and a wave of nausea rushes through me.
I dry heave before looking back to him, doing my best not to let this fucker get to me.
“I don’t believe you,” I hiss through gritted teeth, trying to stop the vomit from leaving my mouth.
“Fine, how about now?” He asks, showing me the next picture, this time Mabel looking at him, the same way she always looked at me, eyes wide with wonder and her cheeks slightly flushed from heat, him speaking in her ear.
This time, the vomit doesn’t stop, and I run towards the closest trash can, expelling the contents of my stomach into it, flowers still tight within my grasp.
“Sorry man, but for once, you lose,” the snake leans down into my ear as my head stays firm in the trash can. I watch him in the corner of my eye walk away; a shit-eating grin etched into his face like he’s so proud of what he’s just done.
He’s just single handedly ruined and wrecked my whole world.
I don’t know how long I stay hunched over the trash can for, could have been fifteen minutes, maybe fifteen hours, but the tears staining my cheeks refuse to let up.
Finally, I rise up from out of the trash can, wiping my mouth to remove any excess vomit. I take a deep breath before looking around the bus terminal.
Thousands of thoughts rush through my head, and the ability to breathe is becoming harder as the seconds wear on. The tightness in my chest is becoming heavier as I do my best to calm myself down, but I fail miserably.
Shaking, the ticket stand comes into my view and as if on impulse my feet move towards the shortest queue.
Panic coursing through my veins, my heart shattering as the static in my head becomes too much to bear.
“Where ya’ heading, honey?” the desk attendant asks.
I look around me, my breathing rapid.
“Cali- California, please,” I stutter out, my hands shaking as I reach once again for my wallet.
“You’re in luck, one leaves in ten minutes,” she says, eyeing me from over her computer, but I can’t find the words, I nod back to her, the ring in my pocket burning a deep hole.
How has this happened?
Does she really love him instead?
Before more questions come flying into my mind, she hands me my ticket and takes the fifty-dollar bill I hold in my own hand.
“Better hurry, honey, it’s boarding,” she smiles back at me.
“Thanks,” is all I can manage.
I turn to walk away but am stopped by the sound of her voice again.
“Sir, you left your flowers,” she says, tapping on the clear glass.
“Keep them.” I say, before heading back in the direction that my whole world just fell apart in.
Not caring who sees me now, whether they know me or not, I let myself go.
I let the tears come.
I allow the tears to fall.
I walk away, not knowing if I’ll ever return back from this.
Or what I’ll even be able to do now.
Because for the first time in my life, I’m not Mabel’s.
Mabel Riggins isn’t mine anymore.
Leaving, lost me my Firefly.