Chapter Sixty-Six

Chapter Sixty-Six: Evan I wait. I arrived at the same park Maggie and I agreed to meet in, and as I look down at my watch to see what time it was, I felt a rush of excitement wash over me to see that it was 6:30 AM and how Maggie will be arriving shortly a couple of minutes from now. I huffed out a quick breath and watch as it morphs into a foggy mist of air, considering it was still January and how the snow still hasn't subsided one bit, I hug my thick coat a little bit tighter around my body, shifting on my feet from where I stood on the park's gate beside my car. I peep inside the backseat and see the way my luggage was cramped in the tight space along with a couple of paper bags filled with food, thinking if we were going to spend a five-hour-long drive to San Francisco, we were going to need lots of refreshments to get us through the day. I had messaged my aunt last night to tell her we'll be crashing at hers, and after some careful deliberation and me explaining to her what had taken place with Maggie and her father last night, she agreed to take us in. That's not to say she wasn't skeptical at first, saying how predicaments like these aren't just something Maggie and I can run away from whenever we please and how eventually we'll have to deal with it. But with the way I witnessed Maggie's breakdown last night, I knew we needed to get away for a while, even just for a bit, so that she can have some peace of mind before she confronts her father again, and how I'll be there for her each of the step of the way, even if it meant we had to risk our safety. But I'll protect her, she was there for me in times I needed someone to confide to, and she was there for me when I needed to reconcile with people who held a grudge against me despite knowing she didn't have to do it. She helped me in more ways than one, stayed to see me become a better person, not only for myself but also for the well-being of others - she was there for me in ways no one took the time to do so. That's why as much as I can, I wanna be there for her as well. I wanna be the person she can run to when times get tough and I wanna shield her away from any sort of danger. In the same way, she did so with me when Robert picked a fight with me two times in a row, or when my parents tried to forbid me to go to New York and tried to take my plans away to go to different states and live my life in whatever way I want. She did so much for me without having to expect anything in return, denied the gifts I wanted to give her thinking she didn't deserve it. But she does. She deserves so much more and to be happy and to live her life in whatever way she wants, to go to college and meet new people she can be friends with, travel around the world like how she planned to without having to worry about how her parents are monitoring her every move in hopes to tie her down. I know how that feels more than anybody and if I'm able to, I'd do everything in my power to make sure she doesn't get stuck in the same place her whole life, remaining defenseless and submissive to the needs of her parents as if they own her. I know how she is as a person and as much as she loves her mother and fears for her well-being and how Wayne is still her dad, she doesn't wanna be dragged down by them. She doesn't wanna be dragged down by anyone and that's why... I love her. I love her in ways that whenever the thought pops into my head, I can't help but want to suck in a quick breath because the idea alone makes my heart stop and race at the same time. She's fierce, she's passionate and she's brave, and she cares so much about others and just wants what's best for them and sometimes I lie awake at night asking myself how someone can be that compassionate? To empathize with other people without expecting to gain anything back from them. How she knew this engagement meant nothing more but for her to be my fiancee for publicity, and how she didn't have to stay but for some reason she still did. She stayed to help me overcome my demons without having to sugarcoat things and to change me completely... Instead, she helped me in a way that encouraged me to be a better version of myself, not someone entirely different, but someone she knew showed the real me and for that I just love her. I love the way she cares and stays for people without actually wanting to be tied down, to still have it in her to move from one place to another because she knows no one, and I mean no one, can own her. Not her mom, her dad, Levi, or even me. God forbid she lets anyone step all over and own her and dictate her life and that's one of the many things I admire about who she is, that no matter how much others want her for themselves, and how much I want her to myself, she refuses because she's her own person. And there's nothing more beautiful in this world than when I look at her and see her relentlessly fight back despite being beaten down so many times, and to still keep moving forward. She's amazing, she's wonderful and she's mine without actually letting herself submit all that she is to me, because she knows her worth, and she cherishes her value and stands her ground. That's why I want nothing more but to be able to stay by her side for as long as she's willing to allow me, for there are only a few people who are just like her, and I don't wanna have to squander the luck I've had of being able to love her the way that I do and her letting me. Because she's mine without actually really being mine, and I'm hers without actually being hers. I look down at my watch one last time and see that it is 6:58 AM, a huge smile spreads over my face from ear to ear, thinking how we'll finally be able to run away from this shitshow without anyone getting in our way. Because people don't own us and we don't own each other. But Maggie and I, it's different, I'd go anywhere with her as long as she asks me. And so I wait, I wait until the clock read that it was already seven, but thinking not much of it and how she's probably just running late (which isn't like her) I decided to wait some more. More, more, and then some more. Until I noticed the windows of my car are covered in white because of the snow and that I can no longer see my luggage and the food I had planned for us to eat, and how my watch reads 8:20 AM instead of 7:00 AM. Our time. "Where is she..." I asked myself as I whipped out my phone and messaged her, but she didn't answer, and so I called but still. Nothing. My hands started to shake, whether it because of the cold or something else I was feeling, as I rushed to the driver's seat and turned on the engine of my car as I made my way to her house. They were still trembling despite the heater being on and that's when I let the anxiety in my system finally unfold as I picked up on the way I was quivering all over and how my heart was beating like crazy. It didn't stop even until I reached the familiar porch of Maggie's house and repeatedly rang her doorbell and banged at her doors, not bothering to hide the paranoia sinking inside me as I started calling out to her. "Maggie!" I shouted as I took a step back to look over at her bedroom window "Maggie, where are-" And that's when the front door to her house opened, and for a moment I felt a wave of relief wash over me thinking it was her and she's probably struggling to carry her bags and how I'll help her put them in the backseat along with mine so we can leave- But instead, I was met with the sight of Frank as he watched me with a blank stare, all the while as I made my way to him and started to ask questions "Frank? Is Maggie here?" His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes averted and focused on the ground as he didn't bother to look at me when I questioned him about Maggie "No, she left with one of her parents." "Where do you think she and Veronica went to?" He didn't say anything at first, just stood there in silence and I looked over to see that he was holding the door so tightly in his hand that I'm pretty the hinges would pop out with the way his knuckles clamped down on it, and that's when my heart began to race erratically once more. "Frank..." I drawled on as I stared at him "Where is she? Where's Maggie? Where did she and Veronica go to?" at this point, my voice  started to tremble along with my hands. He lets out a shaky breath before finally, he looked up at me, his eyes brimming with tears. "She's not with Veronica, Evan."