Until Friday Night
Page 54

He didn’t seem convinced, but he looked back at Maggie. “I love you, little girl. I loved your momma. Losing her changed all our lives, but it especially changed yours. We want to help you heal. If you’ll let us.”
A tear rolled down Maggie’s face, and I had to fight my instinct to grab her and comfort her. She needed this with them. I couldn’t step in now.
“Thank you. I . . . like it here. I like this house and all of you. I feel safe, and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt safe. Thank you for giving me a home.”
Brady stood up. “I’m just glad you came so I could finally get my attic bedroom,” he said, then winked at her.
Maggie laughed, and I fought the little bit of jealousy that tugged at me over someone else making her laugh. I loved her laugh, but it seemed I was getting possessive of it.
She had a family now. One she would allow into her world.
Maggie wouldn’t be silent anymore.
I left Maggie with her aunt Coralee to go grocery shopping after lunch. I needed to get home, because my momma wanted me there to tell my grandmother good-bye today. I had managed to dodge the woman most of the time she’d been there. The only time Momma hadn’t been with her was at my game last night.
Walking inside I stopped when I saw several suitcases by the front door. One of those being my mother’s. My grandmother was sitting on the sofa, her back straight and her hands in her lap as if she were posing for a photo. It was creepy as hell.
“Momma?” I called out instead of speaking to that woman.
My mother came around the corner, another duffel bag on her arm. She looked nervous and uncertain. My stomach knotted up. I wasn’t moving. We hadn’t talked about this yet, but I sure as hell wasn’t leaving Lawton.
“What’s going on?” I asked, afraid to step any farther into the room.
Momma gave me a sad look, then put the bag down on top of her suitcase. “I wanted to talk to you about this before you left this morning, but you just took off. Which is okay. You have a life. I don’t want your life to change. I just . . .” She glanced at her mother then back at me. “I need a break from here. Being in this house is hard on me. I keep thinking your dad is going to walk in the door any minute. I miss him, and being here makes that so much worse. I just need a break. I would love for you to go with me, but I know with football and Maggie . . . I don’t expect you to. I won’t be gone but a couple of weeks. Please understand. I can’t be here all day alone with his memory.” Her eyes filled with tears and began to roll down her face.
“You want to go to Louisiana?” I’d been there, and I couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to visit my grandmother’s house. It wouldn’t be an uplifting trip. She’d be in hell with that woman and in that house.
She nodded and wiped at her face. “It was my home once. I know you don’t have fond memories of it, but I do. I need something to take my mind off the pain. The sadness.”
This was her choice to make, and I wanted her to be happy again. I hated thinking of her in pain and suffering here alone while I went to school and practice and spent time with Maggie. And I would miss her, but I wasn’t leaving Lawton.
“You’re eighteen. You’re a man now. You’ll be fine here while I’m gone. You have your friends and Maggie. The moment you need me, call me and I’ll be here. But I have to get away, West. I have to.”
I did the only thing I could do. I walked over and hugged her. We had both lost Dad. I’d had Maggie to help me deal with the pain. She had no one. “I love you, Momma. I understand.”
She sniffed and squeezed me tightly around the waist. “I love you too, and I’m so proud of you.”
But she was leaving me. Dad had just left us, and she was leaving me too.
She’s Been Paying Attention in Her Silent Wonderland
CHAPTER 41
MAGGIE
Shopping for groceries with Aunt Coralee was interesting. She chatted a lot and asked all kinds of questions. I didn’t realize how much she hadn’t found out about me yet. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
When we got home, Brady was outside playing basketball with Asa, Gunner, Ryker, and Nash. Aunt Coralee stopped and tossed them all Gatorades from one of the bags before she went on inside. They each grabbed a couple of bags too, and the car was quickly unloaded.
I helped her put things away and had just started heading up to my room when Gunner stopped me. “Hey, you gonna talk to us now too?”
I hadn’t told Brady not to say anything to his friends. They were West’s friends too. But now that they knew I was speaking, I wasn’t sure how to handle them. I didn’t want a million questions from them, either.
“It’s okay. He told us you got limits. Come on and hang out down here with us,” Ryker called out as he sank onto the sofa, a bag of chips in his hand.
I turned around and walked back down the steps. If I wanted to fit into West’s world, I would have to do this.
“You’ve been whispering to West for weeks. I’ve seen it,” Nash said from his perch on the barstool. “I tried to get you to talk to me, but nothing. West crooks his finger, and you start chatting him up.”
“Nash.” Brady’s tone held a warning.
Nash shrugged, then smirked at me. “It’s okay. You can come talk to me now.”
“I asked her to stay down here and talk to us. She can come talk to me,” Ryker argued.