She is all I can think about lately.
Ollie and Jax keep saying I’m whipped as I couldn’t stop talking about her during our senior trip. They know that something happened, even though I didn’t share any details of our first time.
They don’t need to know how we connected in many ways. Our long conversations between kisses, our confessions about our lives, our bodies joining… It was such a perfect night.
I get out of my truck and start walking toward the main entrance. I see the sign to the burn unit right after the doors open. I shouldn’t really be here, so I walk in quietly and look around. Seeing reddish hair in a messy bun in one of the rooms, I know it’s her instantly.
I head to her room, silently strolling past the nurse’s station. I feel like I’m in a spy movie or something as I step into her room and close the door. First, she doesn’t hear me, so I get closer. I whisper her name repeatedly. “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…” It sounds like a prayer.
She finally hears me and turns around with a deer in the headlights look.
“Gorgeous, I got you” I tell her as her entire body starts shaking. She hiccups and doesn’t get anything out before her sobs take all the control. The next moment I’m holding her in my arms as tears slip from the corners of her eyes. I wipe them away with my shirt sleeve and whisper sweet nothings in her ear.
“Once you’re out of here, we’ll have time to watchGame of Thrones, eat our favorite cookies, drive around town, go for ice cream, and everything else you want. You need to stay strong for yourself and our future together. It’ll all be okay. I promise you that, babe.”
Seeing her like this makes me want to find the closest corner and stay there, my arms wrapped around my knees. Tracing circles on her back, I continue, “You know, you still look like an angel even with your puffy eyes and burns.”
She looks up at me with unbelieving eyes. “Eli Parker, that’s the biggest load of mouse droppings I’ve heard in my life.” Laughing at her imagination, I kiss her gently before I admit, ”I missed you so much, Maggie.Everything about you. The way you think, your smile, your freckles, and the way you make me feel. I’ll be waiting for you once you’re discharged. It’ll all be okay, trust me.”
It’s a lie that I’ve to keep telling her and myself. I’ve no fucking idea if things are going to be okay.
The door opens after my last comment, and her nurse walks in. When he spots me, he starts shouting. “What are you doing here, young man? You need to leave now, or I’ll call security. She isn’t allowed any visitors until further notice.”
Kissing teary-eyedMaggie a quick goodbye, I leave the room without a chance to tell her how I really feel about her and us. How I think I love her. Realizing my mistake, I stop at a local shop to get pen and paper. It’s time to write to her expressing how I feel. Once I drop the letter off to her Grandma Lou, she’ll have my number and other contact information. It’ll all be okay like I told her just a moment ago.
What I don’t know is that I don’t hear from her again—even after I poured my heart out in that letter.
* * *
Back in the present day, I try to think of something other than her in that hospital bed all alone. I take out my laptop and see seven new emails from my lawyer, marked urgent. This can’t be good. Opening them and seeing what’s coming my way soon, I sigh heavily.
My ex-fiancée Corinna claims that she has evidence on how I was involved in the death of my foster parents. I only mentioned the Browns to her once. She must have done some digging if she thinks she has new evidence. I feel sorry for her. Not sympathy, but pity. It wasn’t enough for her to create a media storm last year. She still wants to make me the villain. Without calling her any names, let’s just say my ex is something else.
I first met Corinna Fitzgerald-Garcia two and a half years ago at a networking event for upcoming young professionals. I was giving the keynote speech about the importance of believing in yourself, and she was one of the attendees. I couldn’t take my eyes off her during my presentation when I spotted her across the decorated banquet hall. Corinna shyly smiled at me once she realized she had a new admirer.
Oh, how I didn’t realize her hidden agenda from the beginning. She wasn’t the shy girl she let me believe she was.
I remember thinking she was stunning with her long dark blonde hair, bright brown eyes, and knockout curves. I have a thing for plus-sized women with brown eyes and curves for days. Her blue dress hugged her hips, breasts, and round bottom just perfectly that night. She was also an enjoyable conversation partner, and we laughed a lot during our first moments together. Whatever I said, she found it hilarious.
Finally, after thinking about Rose for years, I found someone else attractive, engaging, and funny. The feeling seemed mutual. After the event, I asked if she'd like to join me for another drink, and we talked into the early hours of the following day.
We bonded over music, our travel plans, favorite places to visit around the Five Boroughs, and other things. For a moment, I thought that I’d found someone new who suits me even better than Rose. It was a massive shock to my system to even think about it like that. But sometimes, your mind plays tricks on you, and you just go with it. I was smitten. What else can I say?
I think I needed that special connection after being alone for years. It couldn’t be the person I wanted and I had to let go of the memory of her and move on, the best I could.
My company gained international recognition while Corinna tried to increase her following as a social media influencer. Having no interest in social media, I had no idea people get paid to post on social media. It seemed such an exciting job to a small-town boy without any social media accounts.
I still remember Corinna’s shocked face after realizing that I was a social media virgin. I wish I had a picture to remember her expression forever. I must admit that the memory still makes me smile even though I'm not her biggest fan.
To this day, I don’t have any social media accounts. People who need to contact me can do it over a text, an email, or a phone call. I don’t need random people stalking me like we’re friends.
Of course, the influencer job itself isn’t that simple. There are details and facts people don’t consider. They only see the selected material and pictures online. Sometimes it took Corinna hours to research, edit, and post one photo. One fucking photo. I would never have the patience to do something similar. I admired her drive and how she knew what she wanted.
I didn’t realize that she was using me and my connections from the start. I only thought of her enthusiasm as hot as hell. She was like a breath of fresh air. Imagine this, a 20-something-year-old college dropout with big plans, finding someone like Corinna.
It didn’t take too long until we were dating and living together. There were talks about marriage and children. Everything happened so quickly, and I couldn’t deny her.
After the honeymoon phase, I knew that I didn’t love her. I still stayed with her for over a year. It’s one of the biggest regrets of my life because I was wasting time with someone who just ended up being a backstabber.
