“Colin, you can’t always fix things. I don’t want you involved, it’s too ugly to ruin the fun I have when I’m with you. I should be past this, but I guess I still have some shit to deal with. I’ll be fine, I just need you to go. I don’t want you wrapped up in this bullshit.”
I know how he thinks, I’ve seen it when someone dares to cause his sister pain. I heard about the beating he gave her boyfriend Matt when Colin thought he had hurt her. I don’t want him to try to fix this, as desperately as he will want to.
“Have you ever thought I might want to be wrapped in this bullshit?” his voice keeps growing louder. It just makes me cry harder. “Goddammit!” he yells before crossing to the door. “Come lock the fucking door behind me, Maggie. I’ll be back in the morning to get you. You can go with me to the shelter.”
He jerks open the door, slamming it behind him when he leaves. I sit for a second staring at the door trying to figure out why this perfect evening had to turn bad so fast. Suddenly the door flies partially open making me jump.
“Maggie! Come lock the damn door! I can’t leave until I know you’re safe.” Jumping up, I cross to the door, sliding on the deadbolt. When the doorbell rings twenty minutes later, I’m still sitting on the couch.
“Colin, go home!” With a sigh, I jerk the door open. Lily and Claire are standing outside.
“I told him the same thing, but he insisted on pacing behind his car until we got here,” Lily says, walking inside. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this upset. He’s not going to have any hair left pretty soon.” I look outside after they walk toward the living room.
Colin is standing behind his car, his arms crossed over his strong chest with a scowl on his face. That man! I don’t know if I want to go jump in his arms or pound on his chest until he leaves. In the end, I just sigh, returning to the couch.
“So according to what I could get out of Colin, some douche showed up at dinner and you freaked. Do I need to bother guessing who it was? How does he afford The Capital Grill anyway on a community college professor salary? You would think he would have learned his lesson after the university fired him.” Lily is watching me closely, waiting for an answer.
Claire returns from the kitchen with fresh coffee and Irish cream before I can answer. “Colin has got to be frozen by now. He’s still standing outside staring at your door. Someone needs to put him out of his misery,” she says, pouring generous amounts of the liquor into the coffee.
“I got this,” Lily says, texting. After a few minutes of texting back and forth, we finally hear his car door close. “You know he won’t let this go, right? It would be much easier to just tell him, however, I can’t guarantee he won’t kill the guy when he finds him. He’s like a giant protective bear when somebody is unhappy. For you, Maggie, he’ll cross the fires of hell if he has to.”
“He shouldn’t have to deal with all of the shit from my past. It just took me by surprise is all. Did I tell you he was there with some blonde coed?” It feels good to be able to talk about it with two of the people that were there. They know how bad it was.
By midnight we’re all exhausted. I feel much better after talking about it, so I chase them out to head to their own homes. I know Lily at least has Matthew waiting for her at home. As I climb into bed, my phone pings with a text.
Colin: Are you ok?I’m sure Lily had to give him a status report as soon as she left. I feel horrible upsetting him so badly.
Maggie: I’m good now. Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, Colin.
Colin: Good night, beautiful.
I’m still in bed when the doorbell rings the next morning. Rolling over, I see it’s only seven in the morning. We’re not supposed to be at the shelter until nine so I can’t imagine who would wake me up this early on a Saturday. Staggering to the door yawning, I look through the peephole before opening the door. Colin is standing there looking like the cover of GQ while I stare back at him looking like something the cat threw up.
“Hi?” I say. He’s standing, holding a box in one hand.
“Is that what you always wear to bed?” I look down at my shorts and T-shirt before looking back up at him.
“You’re here two hours before we have to be there, but you’re going to insult my choice of sleepwear?” I’m really not my best in the morning, especially before coffee. I turn, leaving the door open, to go find a robe. When I come back, I find him standing in the kitchen making coffee. “Better?” I ask.
“No, but it’s probably safer. I brought ‘I’m sorry I’m such a dick for overreacting’ muffins. There’s also ‘please don’t be pissed at me because I’m a complete asshole’ pigs-in-the-blanket in there,” he says, motioning to the box. I laugh, plopping down at the table, pulling the box toward me. Colin fishes two plates out of the cabinet then finishes prepping my coffee.
“You’re not an ass or a dick. You’re a good friend who was concerned about my embarrassing behavior at a five-star restaurant.” Fishing a banana muffin and two pigs out of the box I look at him. He is watching me from the other side of the island. “I really owe you an explanation. Come sit down.” I pat the seat next to me.
“You really don’t since it’s none of my business. Lily was certain to point that out to me. I’m surprised I can sit down this morning after the ass-chewing she gave me.” He sits down, fishing several pigs out of the box.
“Yes I do. For a couple of reasons.” He looks over at me, his eyebrow raised in a question. “First, I ruined a wonderful night, but you didn’t even question me about leaving. Second, you’re probably one of my best friends. I should trust you to support me. I just hope you don’t think less of me when you’ve heard what I have to say.” With a big inhale, I start into my story.
7
Colin
How am I supposed to stay calm when my blood is boiling? Maggie is sitting next to me explaining why the fucker, who shook my hand last night, upset her. I don’t want to stay calm, I want to hunt him down.
I’m trying really hard to remain seated, focusing on Maggie. She was so gorgeous last night she took my breath away when she opened the door. She was excited by the restaurant I had picked. We were laughing and flirting, then he showed up. I want him dead. Or at least hurting very badly.
“I swear I didn’t know he was married until she attacked me in the middle of campus. I would never have let him talk me into having sex for the first time in his office. I would have run the other direction. I was just a stupid, naive girl.” She looks at me with such raw shame in her eyes, I can’t stand it.
“Wait, did you just tell me he was your first?” She nods her head. “So he made the decision to take your virginity bent over his desk? All of this right after you buried your mother?” Maggie looks down at her hands, her face turning bright red. I can’t sit there anymore.
