Before I can respond, Maggie whips the door open and sprints down the hall. I drop my chin to my chest, and my hands go to my hips as I catch my breath.
This will be a new development to discuss in therapy.
14
Ian
Current day - June
Adjusting my sunglasses against the bright June sun, I glance around the crowd. It’s a relatively calm political rally. Nate and I are recently back from the tour. We finally hired and trained enough people to allow us to send a couple of the other guys in our place.
Nate eventually got the flight attendant he’d been pursuing. Olive came back home with him to help care for her brother as he goes into rehab for his drug addiction and deals with some legal issues with a drug dealer he got mixed in with. I’m happy for Nate. He’s always believed in true love and soulmates, and it seems he and Jack have proven that maybe he was onto something. I want to think that all hope isn’t lost for me, but it makes me despondent because of acertain blonde who immediately comes to mind whenever I think about it.
I nod a greeting when Jack joins me, forcing my mind back to the reason we’re here today.
“I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I am that you and Nate are back.” Jack crosses his arms over his chest, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd for any sign of an issue.
“You and me both, buddy,” is my mumbled, gruff reply. “I know Nate is especially glad to be back. Especially now that Olive is with him. Pretty sure he’s already moving all her stuff into his house.”
Jack chuckles. “He absolutely has. I’m surprised he didn’t ask you for help moving. He called me last night.”
“I was wondering why he called me while I was at the gym. I didn’t call him back when I got home because it was late.”
Jack is quiet for a moment, then says, “So, Gisella wanted me to invite you to our Fourth of July party next week.” His tone gives me the impression that there’s something he’s leaving unsaid.
“Okay, can I bring anything?”
Tilting his head, his brow furrows. “Maggie will be there.”
I nod in understanding. “Ella wants to make sure I behave myself?”
He grimaces with a shrug. “Pretty much. She’s a little pissed at you after the engagement party.”
When Maggie left me, she was pretty upset. I hate myself for how our interaction ended, so I can’t blame Ella.
I don’t get a chance to respond when we hear the speech concluding, and we get into position to escort our client to the waiting vehicle. I’m grateful for the opportunity to focus on something besides my personal issues.
Getting help for my trauma was long overdue, but sometimes I miss the simplicity of my life a year ago. I just walked around with two emotions—anger and, occasionally, a slim glimmer of happiness. Now there are so many feelings swirling around within me at all times that I don’t even know what to do with them.
All I do know is that I’ve spent the last few weeks since I saw Maggie at the engagement party thinking about how to handle this situation. I keep making it messier between us, but staying away from her seems impossible. And I don’t mean staying away by not seeing her in social settings. But not having her by my side feels even more unfathomable. Like being with her was completing me in a way I never knew possible, and now that she hasn’t been in my life, the part of me that connects to her is just drowning in seclusion.
Now, how to convince Maggie that being together is a good idea is another question altogether.
My feet hit the pavement,and I reach back into my Bronco to grab the bottle of wine for Ella and the beer I brought as my contribution to the party. As I cross the street, I notice Maggie’s car parked down the street. Nerves run through my body at seeing her again. I’m not sure how she’ll react to me after the last time I saw her, but I want to try to make up for it. It’s the first step in convincing her to give us another shot.
The doorbell echoes through the house, and it isn’t long before Ella whips the door open with a wide smile on her face.
“Ian!” She steps back and waves me enthusiastically into the house. I texted her and apologized after talking to Jacklast week. I’m glad to see she was telling me the truth when she said she forgave me. Ella is a wonderful person. Jack lucked out when she fell in love with him.
I hand her the bottle of wine. “I got you this.”
“Oh, my goodness, you’re so sweet. Thank you!” Shutting the door behind us, she walks toward the kitchen. “Come on in. Nate and Jack are out back. Grab a cold beer from the fridge, and you can join them. Tyler should be here soon.”
Tyler is Jack’s cousin. He’s worked with us for the last few years and is a good kid. Tyler’s grandmother raised Jack when his mom dropped him off at her sister’s house and never looked back.
Walking into the kitchen, knowing Maggie is here, brings me back to a few months ago, when I saw Maggie again for the first time since she ripped my heart out. Said organ picks up half a beat as she comes into view.
Her back is to me while she is chatting with Nate’s girlfriend, Olive. She’s wearing a long sundress that looks amazing on her, from the back anyway. Her shiny blonde hair brushes against her shoulders as she laughs at something Olive’s telling her.
