by Tracey Smith
She began to move faster, practically running as she broke out into the small clearing in front of Aaron’s house. The windows were dark, the loft overhead shut tight. She walked slowly across his small lawn, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She hesitated before knocking on the door. Could she handle it if he rejected her again?
She almost turned back, but she’d come this far and she needed to see him. She held her breath as she knocked on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again, louder this time, and waited, but no one came. She tried the handle and it turned in her hand.
She pushed the door open and slowly stepped inside. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the murky darkness and then another second for her mind to register the fact that Aaron wasn’t home.
The furniture remained just as it had been before but there was a feeling of emptiness permeating the air. She walked to his room and confirmed that he was not asleep in his bed. She noted with a sudden feeling of panic that his books were gone. He was gone.
She didn’t even remember the walk back to the big house. She didn’t bother turning on a single light as she crossed through the house and climbed back into bed.
~∞~
Apparently two days of missed calls was all Andi was willing to put up with. She woke Maggie by plopping down on the bed beside her.
“I have coffee,” she said in a bright sing-song voice as she held out a styrofoam cup. The strong smell of coffee invigorated Maggie’s senses and she opened her eyes to look up at her friend.
“I also brought chicken soup, just in case you really were sick. It’s down in the kitchen,” She told, her standing from the bed and crossing to the windows to pull open the curtains.
“What do you mean in case I really was sick?” Maggie asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and grabbing the cup of coffee off the nightstand where Andi had left it for her.
“I know that Aaron left,” Andi said matter-of-factly.
“How did you know?” Maggie asked. Andi just looked at her with an expression that said she knew everything that went on in this town and Maggie ought to know that.
“How are you?” Andi asked as she crossed over to the closet.
“I’ve been better,” Maggie answered honestly. “But I suppose I’ll live.”
“Good to hear, cuz we’ve got stuff to do today,” Andi said, emerging from the closet with an armful of clothes which she tossed onto the bed in front of Maggie. “Get dressed, I’ll be downstairs.”
Curiosity drove Maggie to follow Andi’s command. A short while later she was joining her friend downstairs.
“What exactly do we have to do today?” Maggie asked warily.
“We’re going to Savannah to do some apartment hunting. Plus we’ve got to go by the Mercer campus. Today is the last day for late registration.” Andi looked intently at Maggie, waiting for her response.
Maggie hesitated. She wasn’t sure what she wanted anymore. Did she still want to move to Savannah or was she going back to Boston? Over the last few days so much had happened, so much had changed that she hadn’t really had time to process it all, to consider her options and her next move. She looked over at Andi who was watching her expectantly and she just couldn’t bring herself to hurt her friend. She decided to humor Andi, reasoning with herself that it would be good to get out of the house at least.
“Just let me grab my purse,” she said, and Andi smiled.
~∞~
Maggie spent the long drive to Savannah trying to figure out what she was going to do. She asked herself if Aaron had been the only reason that she wanted to stay in Georgia. She vaguely remembered contemplating the move before they had become serious, but for the last month she’d been imagining their life together in Savannah and now it seemed almost impossible to imagine her life there without him.
Andi allowed Maggie the time to think. She didn’t push her to talk but she also wouldn’t allow her to wallow for too long. Anytime Maggie would start to get lost in her own misery Andi would suddenly pipe up with some cheerful bit of conversation to distract her. Maggie was grateful for her friend’s presence. She needed her energy right now to keep from getting swallowed up with despair.
It didn’t take long for Maggie to realize that Andi had put a lot of thought and effort into this outing. She had six appointments scheduled to view apartments all over Savannah. At first Maggie was just going through the motions with her, commenting on the size of the kitchen or the view from a window. But by the third apartment Maggie actually found herself picturing her life in Savannah with Andi. She started paying attention to things like the Chinese place on the corner that would probably have good take-out and asking questions like whether or not they allowed cats.
By the time the girls had stopped for lunch Maggie was actually smiling occasionally without having to think about it. She was beginning to feel like herself again and that’s when she realized that the self she felt like was who she’d become when she’d moved to Georgia and it was still who she wanted to be. Aaron had been a big part of that, but he wasn’t the only part. He wasn’t the only reason to stay.
Maggie tried to ignore the small part of her brain that reminded her that Aaron would probably be in Savannah as well. She wasn’t really sure if that was a reason to stay or a reason to go. So for now she tried not to think of it.
After lunch they went by the Mercer campus and Maggie applied for acceptance in the medical school. It wasn’t until she was filling out the paperwork to have her records transferred that the reality sank in. Medical school was still an option for her. It was that final realization that her dream of becoming a doctor was still a reality which helped her to see that her life was not over.
What she’d had with Aaron had irrevocably changed her, and losing him had nearly destroyed her. But she had survived and she would go on. She would probably never stop loving him, never stop missing him. But her life would go on and maybe someday she could be happy again. Not the kind of happy that she’d had lying in his arms in the barn loft, but some semblance of happy at least.
“Thank you for getting me out of the house,” Maggie said as they drove back down Devereaux Lane. It had been a long day and Maggie was grateful for the exhaustion. It meant sleep would come easily.
“I’m glad you came along,” Andi said.
“Me too,” Maggie replied honestly.
“You’re going to be okay,” Andi said softly.
Maggie sighed heavily. “I know.”
As they approached the driveway Maggie noticed a black car driving down the road ahead of them. For a moment it appeared to have been stopped on the road in front of the house, but now it was disappearing into the distance. Something about the car stuck in Maggie’s mind, but she couldn’t place it. She couldn’t figure out why it made her feel so uneasy.
“Did you see that car?” Maggie asked as they turned into the driveway.
“What car?” Andi slowed down and looked around.
“Never mind.” Maggie shook it off. “It was probably nothing.”
~24~
Getting back to work was cathartic. Ms. Brandy was happy to have Maggie back in the shop and Maggie was happy to be there. Dusting shelves and conversing with customers was far better than lying in bed and wallowing. She still had an empty ache in her heart that she suspected would never go away, and questions that she was resigned to never having answers for, but life must go on.
Maggie began seeing the black car on her road on a fairly regular basis. She decided it must belong to someone who lived farther down the lane and after a while she stopped paying attention.
She still drank her coffee on the veranda in the mornings, looking out over the orchards and gauging the progress of the harvesting crew. It was almost over and soon she would be leaving. She actually longed for that day to arrive. Too many things at Devereaux Manor reminded her of Aaron.
After the cleaning crew came through and changed the bed linens his scent was no longer with her when she went to sl
eep which brought on another wave of heartbreak. He was slowly slipping away from her, being erased from her life a little more each day. She hoped it would be easier when she was in a new place, a place that held no memories.
She still looked for him every morning as she watched the harvesting crew arrive. She suspected he was out there in the fields directing the crew, but she never saw him. If he did still care for the property he managed to do it only while she was at work. Eventually she began to wonder if he’d brought in someone else to handle the task to avoid seeing her all together.
Her days off work were the hardest. There was too much time to think about what could have been. On those days she tried to lose herself in books because it was much easier to read about someone else’s heartbreak than to face her own.
She was systematically reading through the vast selection of novels in the library, but when her system led her to grab a copy of Great Expectations she decided she’d had enough reading for one day. She left the library feeling betrayed. The one place that had become her refuge from her pain had now pulled it into sharp focus.
Reading the title of that book had brought back a flood of memories from the night when she and Aaron had stood in the barn together discussing its merits, watching fireflies, making love, sharing their pasts, and promising their futures. It had been one of the best nights of her life and one she did not care to remember.
As she crossed into the foyer she wondered what time it was. She was hoping Andi would be off work soon so they could go to a movie, anything to distract her from the memories that wouldn’t stay at bay. The sound of the doorbell surprised her, perhaps it was later than she’d realized and it was Andi answering her silent prayer. She happily opened the door wide expecting to find her friend.
“Mr. Branson?” she asked, taking a step back in surprise.
“Good afternoon, Maggie, isn’t it?” he asked, stepping forward. She glanced over his shoulder and noted a very familiar looking black car parked in the driveway. Her heart began to race.
“W…what are you doing here?” she stuttered feeling very anxious under his penetrating ice-cold stare.
“Where’s Aaron?” he asked as he took another step forward, forcing Maggie to take a step back. She realized with alarm that he was now inside the house. His tone was friendly but something in his expression was not.
“Aaron’s not here.” Maggie answered with a strength in her voice that she did not feel.
“Are you sure? I thought I saw his truck.” He looked around the room as he spoke, taking in their surroundings. Maggie took another step back to put some space between them.
“Aaron’s not here. I thought he was in Savannah working for you,” Maggie said weakly. His eyes zeroed back in on her with the gaze of a predator spotting its prey.
“Savannah? So he did take that job,” he said, taking another step toward her and closing the distance between them. Maggie could feel the panic gripping her.
“You aren’t Mr. Branson are you?” she asked, taking a large step away from him.
He reached out and grabbed her wrist in a firm grip. “I never said that I was.”
“What do you want?” Maggie asked, trying to pull her hand away. He clenched her wrist tighter making her wince.
“I was really hoping Aaron would be here so that I could deal with both of you at the same time.” All pretense of kindness was gone. His eyes flashed with anger as he wrenched her wrist until she cried out in pain.
“Who are you?” she asked as she struggled to pull her arm free.
“I’m the man you are trying to steal this house from!” he shouted angrily. “All of this, this belongs to my family, to me! It should have gone to my grandfather years ago when his brother died! But that whore of a daughter just couldn’t stay where she belonged. Now she’s stayed holed up in this house all these years, just holding onto it so we couldn’t have it! Well, I’m tired of waiting. It’s mine and I’m taking it!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maggie cried. “I’m not trying to take anything from you.”
“You don’t think I know about all the snooping you’ve been doing?” he screamed as he twisted her wrist even farther and she felt the bones crack. “When she first told me that the crazy old woman had brought Aaron here I knew they were trying to steal my inheritance, trying to keep from me what was rightfully mine! I couldn’t let that happen, but then I realized he didn’t even know. I could take my time, figure this out. But you just couldn’t leave it alone could you? First with the picture and then that damn journal, I barely got that away from you before you showed it to him. I really wanted to leave you out of this.” His voice softened and he stroked her cheek gently. She flinched away from his touch.
“You’re the one who took those things?” Maggie realized.
“I could have done it that night, you know? I watched the two of you sleeping. I stood there and held your fate in my hands. But I still wanted to spare you. You believe me, don’t you? I didn’t want to have to hurt you. I tried to get you to leave, both of you. He took the job in Savannah, why couldn’t you just go home with your mother like you were supposed to?”
“You sent those letters?” Maggie realized with a sinking feeling, like the floor was dropping out from under her.
“You should have just left. That’s all you had to do. And I just needed to find all of the evidence. I needed to make sure there wasn’t a trace left behind. No more loose ends.” His tone sounded pleading, as if he wanted Maggie to understand. “I just needed the file. She said I had to find the file. But you just kept snooping! Couldn’t mind your own business. You have it don’t you? Where is it? Where’s the file?” His face contorted with rage as he twisted her arm even farther bringing her to her knees.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Maggie cried.
“Don’t lie to me! If you would have just left it alone I could have kept you out of this!” he screamed at her as tears streamed down her face from the pain. “But you just couldn’t mind your own business,” he sounded genuinely distraught as his mood drastically shifted once again. “If you’ll just tell me where the file is, then maybe I could let you go,” he suggested hopefully.
“I don’t know what you mean. I don’t have any file,” Maggie insisted.
“You’re lying! I know you were in the East wing, I heard you in the next room. I was there! Don’t lie to me. That’s where you found it wasn’t it?” he asked with a crazed look in his eyes. Maggie just shook her head in denial.
“I should have just taken care of you right then, but your mother had to show up at just that moment. I couldn’t get rid of her too. Too many missing persons.” His words were coming faster as his eyes darted around the room manically. “Then Aaron just stormed off and left you all alone. But I needed to get rid of both of you. I couldn’t avoid it. It had to be done, but it needed to be at the same time or it would be too suspicious. So I had to wait, bide my time until you were both together again. He should be here now. Where is he?!” he demanded as his anger flared once again.
“I don’t know,” Maggie cried. “He’s gone, he’s never coming back. You can have the house. I don’t want it. I’ll leave. I’ll never tell anyone,” she promised.
“You’re lying!” he roared.
“I’m not. I believe you. This house should belong to you.” She looked up into his eyes and tried to suppress the revulsion she felt. “I know you don’t want to hurt me. Please, just let me go.”
She saw the conflicting emotions warring on his face. She felt his grip loosen and she took her opportunity while she had it. She pulled her arm from his grasp and spun away from him, sprinting up the stairs. His momentary shock at her quick movements gave her a short lead as she leapt up the stairs two at a time. She just needed to get a locked door between them.
She was fast, but he was faster. He grabbed her by the hair, wrenching it back so hard she saw stars in front of her eyes, and then she was flying, tumbl
ing down the stairs head over heels. She felt several bones crack along the way.
She hit the ground hard. Her head was swimming, but strangely her body felt mostly numb and tingly, like that horrible sensation you get when your hand falls asleep. Her mind was fuzzy and her eyes couldn’t focus.
She felt his weight press down on her and her ribs screamed in pain. The pain momentarily focused her rattled brain. She looked up and saw him over her with a feverish look in his eyes.
He grabbed her by the throat, squeezing until she could barely pull in a raged breath. Black spots danced in front of her eyes.
“Why are you making me do this?!” the man said as he clenched his hands around her neck. “I didn’t want to hurt you! You made me do this!”
She couldn’t breathe anymore. He was squeezing too tight, crushing her airway. The black spots were filling her vision, joining together, and blotting everything else out. Then everything went black.
~25~
Consciousness came slowly and painfully. The first thing she was aware of was the aching pain that permeated every inch of her body. Her limbs felt heavy, weighted down somehow. She couldn’t move. She tried to recede back into unconsciousness to escape the pain but her mind rebelled, slowly becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. Something was beeping nearby and she smelled flowers.
Fear began to set in as bits and pieces of memory came back to her. She realized with alarm that her arms felt tied down. She was afraid to open her eyes, afraid to find that horrible man staring back down at her.
She felt someone squeeze her hand and she tried to hold perfectly still. She didn’t want to give any sign that she was awake.
“Maggie?” Aaron’s voice broke through her nightmare and her eyes flew open at the sound.
