Chapter 2

"Good morning Pine Valley! And what a wonderful winter morning it is. I'm looking out the window of the studio and it looks like the first snow has fallen. That's always a sight to see in Pine Valley, isn't it? And now, let's go to Jimmy who has the traffic report for this morning…"

Bianca's hand reached out from under blankets to turn off her alarm clock. She exhaled slowly, "Maggie, you'd better wake up. Traffic might be hell today." When Bianca didn't hear a response, she opened her eyes and saw her companion in bed was missing. "Maggie?"

Her attention was soon brought to the baby monitor, the sound of a baby cooing coming from its little speaker. Bianca soon got out of bed and made her way into Miranda's room where she saw her daughter, wide awake and plastered with a smile.

"Hi there cutie," Bianca reached into the crib and picked up Miranda. "You're one to be smiling this early in the day." She let Miranda grab her index finger. "Did you sleep okay? Did you?" Bianca asked, rocking her daughter up and down, eliciting small giggles from the baby girl. "You probably want some breakfast huh? Yes, you look like you want something to eat. Why don't we go into the kitchen and fix you up some baby food."

Bianca held Miranda securely in her arms as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a small jar of peaches. She sat down at the table and tied the baby bib around Miranda's neck, so as not to create a mess, which in reality was an unavoidable thing. Bianca took hold of the baby spoon and scooped up some fruit and fed it to her daughter.

"Like it?" she asked her, watching Miranda's face contort in a few different ways before swallowing. Bianca was amused, "Yeah, I know… it's peaches processed for babies. Someday, I promise you will get to taste what real peaches are like."

Miranda, being the innocent baby she was, could only giggle at what Bianca was saying her.

After about a half hour of feeding, Bianca took Miranda to be washed up and dressed. "You sure are quite the angel aren't you?" she asked her daughter while getting dressed. Miranda lay on her back on Bianca's bed, her eyes casually observing her mother, while jiggling her rattle.

As Bianca got dressed, with a close eye on her daughter, she couldn't help but wonder why Maggie had slipped out this morning without letting Bianca know she was leaving or even leaving a note. It was out of the ordinary for Maggie to do something like that, neglecting to let anyone know she was leaving. In fact, it caught Bianca by surprise since their normal routine lately consisted of Maggie giving her a goodbye kiss on the cheek or if she was in a real hurry, she'd leave a note.

Yet, this time around, Maggie did neither.

Bianca sat down on her bed, right next to Miranda and thought for a moment. She knew Maggie's schedule by heart, due in part to the fact that Bianca wanted to know when and where she could reach her just in case of any emergency that arose. Bianca glanced at the clock and noticed the time. She saw how it was only 10 in the morning and also knew that Maggie's classes didn't start until noon.

"Why would she leave so early? Finals were done ages ago and it's too early for midterms," Bianca thought out loud. "What is up with you lately Maggie?"

Bianca reached for the cordless phone and dialed Maggie's cell phone. She sat there and let it ring but soon enough it was accompanied by an echoed ring. Bianca hung up and noticed Maggie's cell phone on the night stand.

"Great, you forgot your phone too," she mumbled to herself. Bianca shifted her gaze toward Miranda and smiled, "How would you like it if you spent a little bit of time with your Aunt Kendall today?" She dialed the cordless again, hoping her sister had some free time.

"Hey Kendall, it's Bianca. I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time with your favorite niece today," she didn't even have to wait for a response, as Kendall agreed right off the bat. "Okay, I'll bring her by around eleven. Sound good to you? Well, I have some errands to run and I'd rather not take her with me in the cold weather. Alright, see you then."

Bianca smiled down at her darling daughter who was busy playing with her feet. "To your Aunt Kendall's you go. And as for me, I'm going to bring Maggie her cell phone and see if she wants to grab some lunch before class. So let's get you ready," she said, placing Maggie's cell phone into her bag.

"It's not like Maggie to forget her phone, what is going on with her?"


"Jonathan," Maggie mumbled under her breath.

Jonathan walked up the boathouse steps and sat on the bench perpendicular to the one Maggie was sitting on. He could tell that she was becoming visibly uncomfortable at his presence. He never meant to make her feel that way but it was obvious with everything that had happened between them, Jonathan knew that she had every right to feel that way.

The both of them sat in silence, Maggie's gaze fixed upon Willow Lake and Jonathan's eyes remaining focused on Maggie.

"I saw you walking through the…" Jonathan was interrupted mid-sentence.

"Why are you here?"

"I said I saw you walking through the park."

Maggie's defense mechanisms kicked in, "I thought I told you that I never wanted to see your face again. I thought I told you stay away."

"Maggie please..." Jonathan stood up and took a step toward her.

Maggie shifted back, on the bench when she saw Jonathan take a step toward her. She sat up right away and looked him square in the eyes, trying not to let him intimidate her. Physically, Maggie knew she could defend herself but emotionally, she just didn't want to be around him.

"Don't even think about taking another step," she warned him.

Jonathan stepped back and sat back down on the bench. He could tell that Maggie was serious and decided that it would be better if he didn't move closer. "Why are you being this way?" he asked her. "I told you that I was sorry and I didn't mean for all that to happen."

Hearing Jonathan say that he was sorry didn't make Maggie feel any better. In fact, it only caused her anger toward him to build. "You lied to me," she looked at him firmly.

"And I said I was sorry."

"You manipulated me," Maggie's voice became sterner.

"I never meant for it to happen that way," Jonathan knew that he was losing this battle.

The more Jonathan tried to defend himself for his misdeeds the more livid it made Maggie. "You made me turn against my own best friend!" she shouted at Jonathan. "And the sick part was that you knew what you were doing all along. You wanted it to be that way, so that I would trust you and only you. And you know what, I can't believe I was gullible enough to even put my faith in you. What was I thinking?"

Jonathan didn't know how to reply to what Maggie had just said. Deep down, she was right but he was too stubborn to let her words sink in. Jonathan truly believed that he knew what he was doing was for the good of everyone, but in the end, it only proved to hurt more than help.

"To even think that I had feelings for you," she mumbled. "I did at one point, but when I realized your true colors, I began to regret every moment I spent with you."

"I never meant for it to be that way. I swear," Jonathan tried to salvage whatever he could with Maggie, hoping that maybe they'd be able to be civil with each other but it wasn't working. "And I'm sorry for what I did."

Maggie couldn't keep eye contact with Jonathan as he spoke but when he said the word sorry for what was the millionth time, she couldn't help but laugh sarcastically, "Sorry? You're sorry? Too little too late Jonathan." Feeling a surge of adrenaline course through her body, Maggie stood up, walking toward Jonathan. "You're sorry for what? For messing up people's lives? You want to say you're sorry because you feel guilty about what you did? What do you feel guiltier about Jonathan? The fact that you shot your own brother or the fact that you have so much anger inside you that you never knew you were capable of doing what you did?"

Jonathan had no words to what Maggie had just said. Words couldn't begin to describe the expression on his face as he looked up at Maggie, her eyes filled with anger toward him. He saw the regret in her eyes and knew that it was because of him that she was all wound up. He knew what he did to her and never let it slip from his mind.

"Maggie I…"

"You know, just leave me alone. Please…" Maggie turned her back. "Will you just leave?!"

"You heard her, leave," Jamie came up the boathouse steps, looking right at Jonathan.

Jonathan ignored Jamie's presence, "Maggie I just…"

Jamie shoved Jonathan back onto the bench, "Leave now or I'll just have to make you leave." He cracked his knuckles in front of Jonathan's face.

Jonathan stood up, giving Jamie a look. He tried to step toward Maggie but Jamie stepped in his way.

"Did you not hear me the first time?"

Without any words, Jonathan fixed his coat and left the boathouse.

Jamie turned around and faced Maggie, who he saw sitting on the bench, a lost look on her face. He went over and sat down next to her, he placed his arm around her shoulder.

Since they were close friends, Maggie normally would lean into his embrace but this time around, it wasn't the case. This caused Jamie to be a bit alarmed. He turned to look at Maggie, trying to get her to make eye contact but wasn't successful.

"Hey Mags, you alright?" he asked.

Maggie bit her bottom lip, not wanting to look up at Jamie. "Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled under her breath.

"Was he bothering you?"

"I'm fine… I can take care of myself, thanks," Maggie answered defensively. She reached down to grab her bag when Jamie took hold her hand. She stared at it for a moment before finally shifting her gaze up to him.

"You didn't answer my question," he searched Maggie's eyes in hopes they would say something to him.

Maggie pulled her hand away and picked up her bag. "I have to go. I'm going to be late for class," she ran out of the boathouse.

"Maggie!" Jamie shouted after her.

She didn't even turn back, she just kept running. Maggie was running from every concerned voice that was around her and the people who cared. And the fact that Jonathan approached her didn't make her day any better. It only proved to make it worse and the longer she kept her secrets bottled up, the harder it would become for Maggie to open up to anyone.


"She just left here, saying she had class," Jamie spoke into his cell phone, Bianca on the other end of the call. "I didn't even get a chance to tell her that afternoon classes were cancelled."

"Jamie, has she said anything to you," Bianca's forehead wrinkled as she sat in the Student Union, hoping she would run into Maggie. "She's just been so off lately. Like today, she left without saying anything. She forgot her cell phone. Something just isn't right, I can feel it."

Jamie paced the floors of the boathouse, "You could say that. I mean, Maggie just hasn't been herself. I noticed it this morning when I ran into her in the hallway."

"You saw her this morning? What time was that?"

"Umm, it was around nine o'clock," Jamie sat down on the bench. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Maggie doesn't have class until noon and on those days, she normally sleeps in," Bianca replied while her eyes wandered around the Union, making sure she didn't miss Maggie. "But then again, Maggie hasn't been sleeping much lately either."

"I noticed that," Jamie thought back to this morning and the encounter in the hallway. "And she was in a hurry then too. She couldn't even maintain any eye contact with me, just like before. I mean, before she ran out of here."

"And she hasn't said anything to you?"

"None"

"I just can't figure this all out," Bianca sat back in her chair. "I mean, I know Maggie so well but the past few days, it's like she's physically around but she's really not. You know what I mean?"

"I totally get you," Jamie looked at his watch. "It's almost noon. If Maggie has no idea that classes were cancelled, she should be making a stop there instead."

"Alright… hey Jamie?"

"Yeah Bianca?"

"Think you can keep an eye on Maggie also?" she asked him. "I mean, if I can't get her to open up to me, I figure you're the next best thing."

Jamie nodded, "No problem... will do."

"Thanks," Bianca hung up. She sat back once again and sighed. Her eyes continued to look around the Union, hoping Maggie would come through the doors at any second.

The conversation with Jamie now furthered her own suspicions that something was going on with Maggie. Problem is, she didn't know what. It pained her heart to even think that Maggie was dealing with something all by herself. And if she was, Bianca wanted to help. But the problem at the current moment being was that if Maggie couldn't open up, then how would she know how to help her?


"Great, just great… class cancelled," she commented to herself standing at the doors to the lecture hall. "My day just keeps getting better and better."

Maggie began to walk away, wondering where she would go next. She dug her hand into her coat and noticed how her cell phone wasn't inside. Refraining from making a derogatory comment, she decided to keep quiet. Instead, she let her thoughts run through her head again, trying not to dwell on her horrible morning.

Arriving at her car, Maggie stuck the key into the ignition, turning the car over. She flipped on the heat and sighed softly. It definitely wasn't a good day for Maggie. Just when she thought that it was bad enough after receiving some life changing news, the presence of Jonathan only added salt to what was already an open wound, hurting her more and more as each moment passed.

Deciding that it was doing her no good to be sitting in the parking lot alone in her car, Maggie made the choice to drive home with hopes that Bianca was out with Miranda. She hoped to have the apartment to herself, possibly even catch a nap or some semblance of sleep. If there would be one thing Maggie would try to achieve today, it would be sleep.

Making it home safe and sound, after having parked her car and she made her way up to the apartment. Shutting the door behind her, Maggie listened carefully for voices, wondering if she was alone or not. After about 5 seconds of silence, she could tell that she was indeed the only one home.

Maggie walked into the bedroom and sat down on her bed. She slipped off her boots and brought her feet up. Lying down, Maggie's head fell onto the pillows and closed her eyes. She tried to clear her mind of all the events that had occurred in her short day so far. Her appointment with Maria, the results, her encounter with Jonathan at the boathouse and Jamie's concern, she tried to block all that from her mind as she lay in bed.

For a split second, it did work for Maggie, giving her a source of solace for what she believed to be at least a minute. But after the minute of solace, Maggie knew deep inside her head and her heart that she couldn't keep it to herself anymore. Sooner or later, she'd need to make some life altering choices. She had to make the kind of choices that weren't to be taken lightly. Yet, the one thing Maggie didn't want to do was let those thoughts burden her mind, at least for now.

"Why can't I just catch a break? Even if it's for a little bit, all I want for now is to sleep."

But even if Maggie slept, she knew that the same problem she tried to block out would still be there when she woke up.

"You're not alone in this. You have a lot of people who love you and will help you through this."

Maria's voice echoed in Maggie's head. She pulled one of her pillows close and held it tight. Tears that had formed at the edges of her eyes, began to stream down her face.

"How and where do I even begin to deal with all of this?"

That was Maggie's last conscious thought as she drifted off into sleep, the tears still trickling down.