Ruined by You (24 page)

“Boys that meet young girls at a bar,” she said, jabbing a finger toward me.

“You mean boys like Dad?” I said, flatly.

Her eyes widened, fiercely. “You will
not
disrespect me, young lady. Do you understand?” Her head shook back and forth. “Do you hear me, young lady? Do you?”

I shook my head, sharply, and looked out the window. The weight of her outrage bore down on me, and tried to crush me. I didn’t do anything to deserve this.
 

“You look at me when I’m speaking to you,” she said

“Maggie, please…” Grandma said from the front seat.

I shook my head and let my eyes float over each of the hilltops as they passed outside. I just needed to disappear somewhere. But I didn’t get to.

“Angelica Margaret Simpson,” she said, her voice pure fury.

For a moment, I thought my heart had seized in my chest. Everything tightened around me, and I choked out a cough. I looked over at her, my chest too constricted to speak.

“I’m your mother, and you
will
respect me,” she said. Her eyes were wide. Fierce. Angry. She hadn’t used my first name in a long time. She hadn’t used it in five years. Not since
he’d
left. She held me in her stare for a long minute before speaking again.

“I don’t want you seeing him again,” she said, each word slow and deliberate.

I shook my head, my eyes stinging with my chest.

“You can’t do that,” I said.

“It’s done,” she said.

My brain wasn’t working rationally. There were too many things jumbling it up. Things weren’t making sense.

“I have to see him,” I said. “I have to see him for work. You can’t stop me from going to work.”

“Would you like to test me and find out?” she said. Her voice was a whisper.

“I’m an adult,” I said. I can see whomever I want. I can work wherever I want.”

“Angelica, you will
not
see that boy again. Am I understood?”

Tears trickled down my cheeks.

“I love him,” I said. “I love him, Mom”
 

And, just like that, the anger drained from her face. It was like watching a balloon being deflated. Her face sagged, and her eyes drooped down. Her head tilted to the side, and she gave me a long look.

When had she gotten so small?

“Oh, child,” she said, shaking her head.

“He’s not like Dad,” I said. “Meet him and you’ll see.”

Her eyes tinged red.

“I can’t stay away from him, Mom,” I said, pleading. “He’d never do anything to hurt me. He’s better than all that.”

She watched me for another moment. Her eyes were searching me for something, but I didn’t know what she wanted. What did I have to say? What did she want to hear?

Trails of wetness ran down my neck.

“I love him,” I said, quietly.

Her sad eyes tilted the other way, and then she nodded her head, slowly. She turned around and sunk back into the seat, her head facing out the window.

“I hope you’re right, child.” She said. “I wasn’t.”

The last part was so soft I could have imagined it. I sobbed into my hands. Tears streamed down my arms and onto my shirt. I didn’t care. I just needed to be with Haden. He could make everything better.

I just needed to feel his arms wrapped around me, so I didn’t have to be so strong.

* * * * *

When we made it home, I raced straight back to my bedroom. Sarah was nowhere to be found. I needed to be alone. Too many thoughts were on my mind. The thoughts created a thick fog, making me sluggish.

What was Mom getting so upset about? Why didn’t she trust me to make my own decisions? It’s not like I was a kid, anymore. Life had forced me to grow up faster than anyone should have to, and I was stronger because of it.

I flopped down on the bed and covered my head with the pillow. The light of the room was smothered, and flashes of Haden went through me. My heart pounded as I thought about him. He had won me over, time and again, and I knew that he was it for me. I was hopelessly in love with him.

I needed to tell him, so he knew, too.

No, I need to
show
him.

I got up and paced around the room. Why wasn’t Sarah around when I needed her? She could give me a ride to the Saloon so I could get the ‘Vette. Then I could go see him.

I punched out a text message to her.

WHERE ARE YOU? NEED YOU. ~M

I paced around the room some more, before falling back onto the bed. Mom had made it clear that she didn’t want me to see Haden. But, that wasn’t an option. Not anymore. He was a part of me.

My phone buzzed.
 

ALMOST HOME. WRU?

Relief eased into me. She was on her way. I didn’t respond to the message, because I’d see her soon. I toss the phone on the bed, and kept pacing in a small line. I needed to go see Haden. We needed to figure this out together. Whatever
this
was.

A few minutes later, I heard her car pull up outside. I bolted out of the room, and out the front door before she’d turned it off. She stared at me, confused. I probably looked like a mess, still, but it was going to have to be OK.

“What’s going on?” she asked as I climbed into the car.

“The Saloon,” I said.

She looked at me, confused for a second, but she put the car into gear and pulled out.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “You seem… frantic.”

I shook my head. “Everything’s great,” I said, beaming. “You should have seen it, Sarah. Haden is more incredible than I’d even thought.”

Sarah grinned. “Well, what happened?” she asked. “How’d the big meeting go?”

“Well, where do I start?” I said. “There was a fight. Apparently Haden is some kind of guitar prodigy. And… we signed the band!”

“That’s wonderful,” Sarah said. “Wait, Haden plays the guitar?”

“Apparently. He had to fill in for their guitarist after he quit.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” she said.

I nodded. “You should have seen him.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” she asked.

“I need to go see him,” I said. I smiled at her. “I think I’m in love with him.”

Sarah beamed, knowingly.

That came as no surprise to her. She’d known I was for a while. She’d seen it before me, and she took satisfaction in that. I knew, now, and, that’s all that mattered.

Dark clouds loomed to the north. They looked huge and fierce.

“It looks pretty ugly out there,” I said, pointing out my window.

“Yeah, there’s supposed to be a big storm blowing in tonight,” she said. “At least, that’s what Huck was saying. He and his dad were running out to work on their fence some more when I left.”

“Do the storms get really big?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, they can get pretty bad. You don’t want to be driving in them if you don’t have to be.”

I nodded.
Good to know.

“Wait,” she said, suddenly. “If the ‘Vette is at the Saloon, how’d you end up at the house?”

I cringed just from thinking about it.

“Mom and Grandma caught me with Haden,” I said.

“What?” Sarah said, incredulously. “How’d they do that? Where were you?”

“San Antonio,” I said. “They were at the hospital.”

Sarah didn’t say anything for a minute. “Do you think everything’s alright?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I said. “They said it was just some routine stuff.”

“What did they say about Haden?”

“Mom’s pretty upset about it,” I said. “She looked like she was making herself sick over it.”

“Why is she so against you dating?”

I sighed, and looked at my cousin. I stared at her, intently. I still wasn’t sure that I should tell her. She didn’t need to know anything more than she already knew, right? What’s done is done--there wasn’t going to be any going back and changing it. So what was the point in dredging up the past unnecessarily?

“What is it, Maggie?” she asked.

I winced. “The thing with my dad,” I said. She nodded. “It was worst than we told everyone,” I said. I looked out the window at the lights of the city starting to turn on. They looked beautiful. “There’s a reason we didn’t come back to visit during those first few years,” I said. I shook my head. “She doesn’t trust any guy, anymore.”

“Maggie, I’m so sorry,” she said.

I looked at her and gave her a warm smile. “It’s fine,” I said. “It all happened a long time ago. But, Haden’s different. He’s nothing like Dad was.” I shook my head again.

“He seems like a pretty nice guy,” Sarah said.

I grinned, and nodded. “Yeah, he is,” I said.

By the time Sarah dropped me off at the Saloon, the clouds were already rolling in over Green Falls. The storm was going to be very bad, so it was a good thing I was going to be with Haden, hopefully in his hotel. Sarah pulled around next to the ‘Vette, and I climbed out of the car.

“Call me later,” she said. “I want to know how it goes.”

I grinned. “I will,” I said.

“And, don’t worry about your mom,” she said. “I’ll cover for you if she realizes you’re out.”

“You’re the best,” I grinned.

“And don’t you forget it,” she said.

With a wave, she drove off. The sun was setting, and the parking lot was filling up. But I didn’t have any intention of sticking around for happy hour. I slid into the car and dug through my purse, searching for my phone. I knew which hotel Haden was staying at, but I didn’t want to drop by unannounced.

Dammit, where’s my phone?

I cursed myself. When was the last time you used it? I thought back, and then it hit me. I had texted Sarah to find out where she was…

I groaned. It was still on the bed where I had thrown it. Oh well, what was done was done. It wouldn’t be a big deal, anyway. The front desk at the Lodge would know how to get in touch with him.
 

The drive to the Elk Horn Lodge was short, and the parking lot was spacious. Rain was dropping in light sheets by the time I got there, with the sky already black as night. I raced inside, trying to shield myself from getting wet. The lobby was huge, and was furnished with earthy tones. Stuffed wild game and furs were decorated all around.

A lady who had to be in her mid sixties greeted me at the front desk. She had the look of someone who wasn’t too busy, and who had been doing her job for a very long time.

“Good evening, will you be staying with us tonight?” she asked, with a cheery smile.

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’m here to visit one of your guests.”

“Well, if you give me their name, I’ll phone them and let them know you’re here.”

I frowned. For the first time, I realized that I didn’t know Haden’s last name. “Sorry, just a moment,” I said, struggling to search my memory. Surely, he’d mentioned his full name at some point - hadn’t he? How had I gone this long without knowing it? “Can you search for Haden?” I asked. “His last name is slipping my mind, but I’m sure there can’t be that many Haden’s in your system.”

The lady’s smile faltered for a second. Begrudgingly, she began pecking at her computer.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It doesn’t look like we have anyone by that name staying with us.”

I shook my head. “I know he’s staying here,” I said. “He’s been here for a week already. Maybe you’ve seen him? He has long dark hair, and his arms are covered in tattoos? His eyes are bright green, like mine.”

The lady’s pinched tightly. She slid the keyboard away from her fingers, and wrapped her hands together.

“I’m sorry, dear, but the Lodge values and respects the privacy of our guests. If you don’t know the name of the party you’re here to see, perhaps you should call them and let them know that you’ve arrived.”

I groaned. “I would, but, you see, I forgot my phone at home. I left in a rush, and didn’t realize it until I got here.”

“I’m sorry dear, there’s just nothing I can do,” she said.

“Look, I’m not some crazy person off the streets,” I said. “Can you just call him and let him know that Maggie is in the lobby? He’ll come right down, I know he will.”

She shook her head. “There’s nothing I can do,” she said. “And, I’m sorry to say this, Maggie, but you’ll either have to book your own room or be here visiting a guest. We don’t tolerate loitering.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I’m not loitering, I’m here to see Haden.”

She nodded once. Her curt tone was getting under my skin. “Be that as it may, we don’t have anyone by the name of Haden.” She looked at me for a long second, and then added. “I think it might be best if you left the premises.”

“Excuse me?” I said, in shocked disbelief. “You want me to leave?”

“Please don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be,” she said. “I’ll call security if I must.”

I held my palm up.

“No, that won’t be necessary,” I said.

I turned and walked toward the door. A disbelieving numbness settled over me as I realized that I wasn’t going to see Haden so easily. I was going to have to go all the way back home, and risk being caught by my mom, just to get my phone back and call him. I couldn’t even call Sarah and ask her to pick it up for me, because I didn’t have her number memorized.

Everything felt like it was beginning to fall apart. It was just my luck. As soon as things came together, they fell apart again. I was taking one step forward, and five steps back. I groaned as I considered the possibility that my life was forever doomed. Nothing was ever going to go the way that I needed it to, and I was never going to be happy.

“Maggie?” a voice called from behind me.

I spun around in a flash, recognizing the voice immediately.

Haden stood in the middle of the lobby, a Coke and Snickers in his hand. He stared at me, confused.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. He walked over, and I stood fixed in place.

“I came to see you,” I said, shooting a glare at the woman sitting behind the front desk. She watched us with a scowl on her face. “I forgot my phone, so I couldn’t call you and let you know I was here.”

Haden smiled at me as he drew near. He threw his arms around me in an awkward hug, juggling the snacks. I clung to him, not wanting him to ever let me go.