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There was a long spell between one entry that had been written to when Maybelle finally confessed all the secrets she had held alone in her book. She had started the excerpt by talking about the father she never knew, the one who had been taken too early by a rare form of cancer when she was only a small child. A man Maybelle had been told was a good and generous man. A man who was strong, kind and full of unending love for his wife and children.
Stephanie Mason had become a single mom of two at a young age and less than a year after the death of her first husband, she had met another man. The relationship between the two had progressed quickly, Stephanie and the kids moved in with the boyfriend and they began their lives together with just a few short months of dating under their belt.
Everything had been fine for the first few years, good even, until Maybelle got older, and Stephanie had started school, meaning she had to spend more time out of the house and dedicated to her schoolwork. Maybelle soon found herself alone with the man, trapped in dark corners and a victim to aggressive words, and violent touches.
Maybelle hadn’t reached out for help, she thought it was what she deserved, she had been told as much by the man who only knew how to handle her with anger and violence.Fortunately, Liam had been spared, being the son, the boyfriend had never had, he doted on Liam. Maybelle endured, keeping the marks and proof of the hurt to herself. That is until one fateful day at the beach, her mom finally noticed the marks when Maybelle wore a swimsuit.
Stephanie Mason, still going by her late husband’s name, confronted her boyfriend but she was met with the reveal of his true nature unveiled by harsh words and horrid behavior. Stephanie refused to remain in a home where she and her babies would be subject to a person so foul and unkind. Within weeks she had saved up enough money to flee with her children to San Francisco.
In order to make it work, Maybelle had dropped out of sports, all extracurricular, started part time online school and part time in person until her last semester of senior year so she could work and help keep the family afloat until Stephanie graduated with her license.
Maybelle wrote that she decided she would never tell Liam of the nightmares she experienced. Maybelle didn’t know if Stephanie ever told him, she guessed not but Maybelle would gladly bear the burdens of the past if it meant he could go on, succeed at sports, thrive in school, and become something great without carrying the load she did.
At that point, damage to Maybelle’s spirit had already been done. She caved in on herself, terrified of the world and the people in it, carrying a weight she struggled to bear alone. Stephanie had tried helping her, getting her into therapy and programs to help her overcome the trauma and heartbreak but little Maybelle had given up. She lacked the self-love and ability to see herself out of the hole she had been thrown into and had begun to let the world burry her alive beneath all the pain.
It had all made sense to Trey then, what Liam said about her not being able to handle hard conversations, about hershutting down that night on the beach and the way she avoided everyone. Maybelle had gone on to explain in her precious book that while a lot of people may have the fight for flight instinct, she had frozen when she felt threatened. Explaining it as her bones locking up, her body having a terrified mind of its own that she had no hope in controlling.
Maybelle began to cry again as she scoffed through the tears, “I can’t even really be sad. It’s not like I remember ever living through that. I have no idea what that heartbreak must feel like. What has me so damn emotional is just the thought of someone treating a child in such a way.” Maybelle sniffed, “and the fact that I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like, but that child gave up. She fell apart. She stopped trying to live a happy life—Istopped trying to live.”
Maybelle put a hand over her face and Trey took a moment to watch her, to think and then he reached for the book, “May I?” He asked and Maybelle handed it to him.
“While you slept, this book was the only thing I had. The only thing that gave me hope that I would one day have the opportunity to get to know the girl in the writing. I read it every day, took it with me everywhere, I practically memorized the damn thing.”
Trey opened the book to the very last page then handed it back to her, “This entry was my favorite, I read it every time I was feelingtooalone.”
Maybelle looked from him to the book and swallowed a sob as she read the first lines.
Dear Future Husband,
I want to live.
I just had the craziest rollercoaster of a night ever. I went to a party, by myself! Not by choice but that’s beside the point, I pushed through it alone. It sucked at first, littleawkward at times, scary at others but Trey Turner was perfect. I think my little infatuation with my brother’s best friend just became a serious crush, but we can talk more about that another time.
Right now, I am telling you that I am done just existing through each day, barely scraping by quietly. I am done being the ghost. I want to live. I want to make memories, good and bad ones. If tonight has taught me anything it is that I can be happy even through the bad times. I could totally focus on what went wrong for me tonight, and regret coming but I won’t! I experienced adrenaline, excitement, courage and fear and I feel triumphant. I can overcome my body’s reactions to fear, I can overcome my anxieties, I can beat the past and I will.
The past hurts, but I am not going to fear the future because the past sucked. I am going to live a great life knowing that I survived the past. And if I can make it through that, then I can get through it all. I know it will take time, but I am ready to put in the work, I am ready to smile again. I am going to create memories, make friends, go on dates, go to school, learn something I love, and I am going to be great. Because you and I deserve a Maybelle that strives to be great.
I love you,
Maybelle Mason
Maybelle was doing what she could to control her tears but was sorely failing.
Trey cleared his throat when her eyes met his, “You wrote that the night of the accident. You wanted to change, you wanted to beat the past and I think you did. I think you woke up ready to start over, to make the most of your life even though it was marred with tragedy. You could have used every excuse to hide from the world and fall apart but you didn’t. You woke up and you ran, May.”
Then he too was crying, Maybelle immediately moved forward taking his hand in hers. Trey smiled, tears falling from his bright green eyes as he hauled her into him, “I am so so proud of you Maybelle Mason.” He said into the golden curls of her head.
Maybelle let herself melt into Trey. Both of them grasping to one another. Maybelle no longer cried with sadness, disturbed by what she learned, she wept with gratitude. Thankful for Trey, thankful for life, thankful for second chances and new opportunities.
37 Marry Me
It was Christmas Eve, and the store was insanely crowded. Trey and Maybelle were planning to spend Christmas home with Chelsea, but Trey couldn’t make it out until later that night. Maybelle caught a ride with Penny back home to San Fran a couple days earlier to spend some much-needed girl time with Chelsea.
The two women had planned to watch a couple Hallmark, Christmas edition, movies while they made dinner, but Chelsea realized she had completely spaced on a fewseasonings and ingredients she needed for her Christmas Eve feast she had been planning.
In the name of relieving some stress and to pull her weight for once, Maybelle offered to go to the store to grab the needed items while Chelsea continued to cook with what they had.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable driving alone? Traffic is going to be a mess with it being a holiday.” Chelsea warned as she retrieved the keys to her car for Maybelle.
