Chapter Seven: Unwelcomed Blast From My Past

In front of me is someone that I was not expecting, someone I had been told was dead: Mamaw.

Jenna must have entered the room because I hear a crash and a scream. Funny to think that my best friend would have more emotion than I do.

"Keith, I told you this wouldn't be a good idea," Mamaw said.

Keiran was behind Mamaw, looking concerned.

I couldn't help but to keep staring at her.

Mamaw is alive, looks older, but still healthy—way better than when I last saw her.

I try to stand up to walk toward her; I don't watch where I am going and end up tripping on the corner of the area rug. Something I am embarrassed about since this is my second home.

A pair of unfamiliar arms grab me and keep me from falling, but not before I hit my head on the coffee table to my left. Then I fade to dark, hearing several screams.

~VOF~

The first thing I notice when I wake up is how much my head hurts. Not that I am surprised, though, it was bound to happen after I hit my head. I seem to be on the guest bed at Jenna and Keith's house AKA my bed.

I'm not here often, but when I am and we have sleepovers, I take over this room that I absolutely love. Sometimes I think Jenna designed this room with me in mind. The white walls are a stark contrast to the red bedding—red, green, yellow, and blue paisley.

After a minute, I peek to my right and note Jenna and Mamaw in what appears to be a heavy conversation.

"I wish Maggie would wake up, it has been so long since I could be near her!"

All the talking really doesn't help my headache.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet girl, why did I ever agree to leave you? I wanted to bring you with me!" The distraught voice of Mamaw cries.

Oh, how I missed her voice.

"You did what you thought was best. Would you have been able to take her?"

"Perhaps, Keith, Magnolia was already an outsider of that family. I fought my handler hard to let her come. You realize she already has a stone at the cemetery. The death date is the same day that I 'died.'"

Jenna gasps, "How…"

"How did this town not realize? She went to school, didn't she?" Keith sounds like he didn't believe what he is hearing.

Honestly, I am not surprised.

"I'm not sure, but her parents claimed she was dead. My understanding is that they planned her funeral and mine at the same time. But they never announced that she was dead. I have not talked to her parents since that day."

"Why did they take you away from your family?" Keith asks in full cop mode.

I glance at him and he nods at me; my guess is that he knows I am listening to the conversation.

"This is not a conversation that I want to continue without my granddaughter hearing it. I only want to tell this story once."

"Mamaw," I reply, and Jenna and Mamaw get up and nearly run from their spots over to me. I nearly laugh at the comical scene of them, as they fight over who is going to talk to me first.

"Hey, don't fight over the lady! We should all sit down and let Maggie relax," Keith states with an authoritative voice.

Both Mamaw and Jenna say their 'sorry's' and sit down. I smile my thanks at Keith.

"So, I take it there is a lot that needs to be said. Can we start from the beginning?" I look at Mamaw and she sighs.

"My darling girl, I fought hard to take you with me. I knew things would not go over well. The beginning… Do you remember how your Papaw died?"

She continues after I shake my head no.

"Someone murdered him; you were about four when it happened. You were in the car with Papaw and me, asleep in the backseat. To this day, I am still unsure how you stayed that way. It was retaliation because we witnessed a murder, probably around two months before our accident. Did you ever hear of the Volturi Mafia?"

Who hasn't heard of them? They have been creating issues within the state of Massachusetts since the 1900s.

"Why would our family be involved with them?"

Mamaw took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "My name, before I married your Papaw, was Camilla Maria Volturi. My father was Marcus Volturi. Plans were for me to marry a man from a rival family, to merge the families and end a feud. Not even sure who the man was, but I think his name was Laurent. I met your Papaw, and we fell in love. We ran away together and got married. We ended up moving to Rolling Fork, Mississippi after we found Midnight, Mississippi. Midnight technically is not even a town, it is so small. Let me tell you, it was a far cry from the life I had in Boston. But to be with your Papaw, it was worth everything. Until the day that my brother, Aro, found us…"

The looks she gives makes me uncomfortable.

"See, Your Papaw's given name was Jesse Matthew Mitchell. When he and I married, we both changed our names. He became Joel Bernard Wood. I chose Martha Marie Michaels Wood. Your mother was the only one of my four children I had that lived past the age of three. Brandon was the second oldest of my children, he died when he was three. A daughter, Lavender, was two days old. Two more sons, Michael and Mitchell, were twins and a year old and three months." She sheds a tear and quickly wipes it. Several deep breaths later, she calms herself down.

"I can't imagine losing three babies. That had to be hard for you and Papaw. I wish there was something that I could say to make it better. I wish my mother was a better woman that you could have been proud of."

Mamaw turned her face towards the wall and sighed. "There was nothing you could have done to make up for losing the babies or how I raised your Mama. Nothing. Papaw and I spoiled her and she married a man that at first spoiled her, then abused her, then you. There was nothing Papaw and I could do. We tried everything we could think of to make your Mama see sense, but sadly nothing worked."

"What made my parents not like me, Mamaw? Can you tell me, please?"

A laugh comes from behind me and I turn to see who it is.

Miss Ruby!

"Miss Ruby, how are you today? What brings you here?"

A sadness spreads across her face. Each time I see her, she appears years older.

"Magnolia, I wish this was a social visit, but I have some news."

The silence was deafening. I notice Jenna looking at Keith for a clue, Keith looking lost leaves me concerned.

Keith almost always knows what is going on. His 'knower' is well known to drive all of us crazy.

Oddly enough, between my visions and his 'knower', the two of us are usually a deadly combo.

The fact that neither of us had any clue of the cluster fuck that seems to be happening right now makes me worried.

I don't seem to be the only one with that thought process. Concern paints both Jenna's and Keith's faces. Keiran seems calm, cool, and collected in the corner.

"I can only imagine what kind of news. I mean, Mamaw has been dead for what? About nineteen years and low and behold, she lives! How does that work? More than that, why do I think that you have something to do with her leaving me?" I am slightly pissed.

Miss Ruby almost looks sorry.

"To be honest, I am and I want nothing more than to go back and change what happened to you and Cynthia. Cynthia seems to have had a good life from what I am told. At least better than yours." Miss Ruby mumbled something.

"I am sorry to pry, but what do you know of Cynthia's life? Do you keep track of her too?" Keith asks with concern in his eyes.

"Not as much as I have with Maggie. Cynthia is safe as far as I can tell."

Looking around the room, I notice that there are more people than I thought there were.

Miss Dixie has come along with three people I don't recognize.

Keiran, Keith, and Jenna are sitting around me. Keith moves Jenna from his lap and comes to sit next to me. He puts his arm around me like the big brother he sees himself as in my life; I fall into him and let his comfort surround me.

I have never felt more grateful for Keith and Jenna than at this moment. Any other woman would likely be angry with this interaction, but Jenna knows my love for her husband.

"So what is all this telling me? If I may ask." I look at Miss Ruby and Miss Dixie.

Miss Dixie looks at her grandmother and then back at me.

"I don't know what this means, to be honest. We did not plan this meeting is all I know. What is Miss Wood doing here, Gran?"

"Ms. Wood is moving again. I'm not sure why, but the handlers drove her through town. I am going to have it dealt with. This puts everyone here at risk."

Two of the men I did not know seemed to be worried.

"But right now, we need to deal with the issues at hand. Does anyone know if Thomas saw Ms. Woods?"

I am suddenly tired, so I take this as my chance to close my eyes. I feel a warm and soft blanket covering me up and am grateful that it feels like the blanket that I adopted when I am here and it is cold. It might not be much, but it is my favorite blanket.

It was a gag gift for Jenna from one of Keith's friends.

What makes it a gag gift that made Jenna want to throw it out?

Just the Christmas scene with the baby Jesus in a manger. With some angels, animals, and the three wise men.

Why do I love it and refuse to let her throw it away? Because it is so soft and warm! Makes me feel like I am comforted when it is over me.

I open my eyes enough to see Jenna and smile at her as a thank you. She nods and walks away. My eyelids are so heavy they close on their own, I barely detect the voices around me as I fall asleep.

I wake slightly as my body moves, someone sits on the bed next to me

"Don't worry, Mags, I will figure out all of this. Jenna and I will take care of you. Rest and we will deal with this when you wake up," Keith says before he gets up and leaves the room.

I smile, knowing that Keith will keep me safe. He will deal with everything for now, and that means I can just nap, which I do, gladly.

~VOF~

AN:
And here is chapter seven! My poor Maggie. When it rains it pours for this poor woman! What did y'all think? Did you guess Mamaw would come back from the dead?

I can never thank Monica for all her hard work betaing this piece! I'm not easy to work with!

Izzy for prereading! Again, you know how difficult I can be.

Midnite...for giving me this story to write for you. Your faith in me getting your vision (eventually) across means more than you know!

To the Guest Reviewer (who made me think with their review), musicdaydreams, and sakari-x, thank you for your reviews and chats for chapter six. Knowing that you take the time to read and review and chat with me makes me a happy lady!

As always, I don't own Twilight or it's characters. I just borrow them and we go on a field trip.

Thank you all for reading and as always, I look forward to your theories on Magnolia's past and future. Message me anytime!

-Brier