AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Alright, everybody, here's Chapter 4. I hope you guys enjoy it. This chapter focuses on Maggie's 15th birthday and the whole family coming together for it. There's tears, anger, laughter, and love.

Keepin this short and sweet! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :)

Thanks,

-Eleni

Chapter 4.

"Our Hell Is A Good Life"

Maggie

May 29th, 2020

It's my birthday and I feel good today. The first birthday I've spent outside of the hospital. You don't know an awesome feeling until it's this kind of feeling. Despite my parents divorce, they're here at the house, together, trying to get a long and set up for my birthday. I love them for that. Dad and Nathan were making some awesome food that I probably wouldn't eat and Mom and Aunt Haley were helping each other decorate all around the house. All of the little ones were running in and out of the house and as annoying as it was, I didn't care. Let them live a child's life. I didn't get to do any of that. Well, I did for five years until my poor little body couldn't take it. I love my family, but I hate them for feeling sorry for me. I can see it in there eyes, especially when my mother looks at me. Each eye tells a different story, but they both consist of pain, agony and despair, so it doesn't matter the stories they tell. It's obvious and I can tell she puts on one of her fake smiles to pretend nothing is wrong because she knows I hate it when she looks at me like that. I was sitting at the kitchen table with my best friend, Jamie waiting for Jenny to arrive with Jake and Peyton and watching everyone else working, laughing, getting a long. Bailey, my 6 year old sister came running up to Dad.

"Daddy!" Bailey ran towards my Dad, jumping into his arms.

"Hey Bear, how's my girl?" Dad said, embracing her in his arms, giving her a hug.

"Well, Dylan is being mean." Bailey said with a scrunched face, yet her eyes were like lightening bolts. Big, green lightening boltz. She had the most electric eyes I've ever seen. Very similar to Mom's.

"Oh, is he? Anything I can report to his Mommy and Daddy when they get here?" Dad said, referring to Jake and Peyton.

"He told me you don't love Mommy anymore because you love Emily instead and I told him he was a big fat liar." Bailey said. She sounded so innocent when she would talk.

God dammit, Dylan. I love the kid to death, but it seems like he eaves drops on everything. At just 7 years old, the kid knows almost too much for his own good. Either he eaves drops or Jake and Peyton can't seem keep their voices lowered when they decide to talk about their best friends in front of their mischievous children.

Mom was smiling while she was helping Aunt Haley decorate, but once Bailey spoke those words, Mom's smile went away and she pretended like she didn't hear anything. I couldn't stop looking at her. I felt horrible.

"Well you tell Dylan that I still love your mommy, okay?"

Liar.

"Okay, I will tell him! I knew he was wrong! ...HEY DYLAN!" Bailey said as she ran back outside. I wish I was that young to where my parents would just lie to me and tell me they love each other when they don't. It makes a kid like Bailey very happy.

Once Bailey had left the kitchen, the room became quiet, nobody would break the silence. It was awkward and you could feel the tension rising between my Mom and Dad. Thankfully the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I yelled, running for the door.

"Maggie Elizabeth, please don't run. The last thing I need is for you to trip and fall." My Mom yelled to me from the kitchen as I still ran to the door.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry Mom." I said as I opened the door. It was Peyton, Jake and Jenny.

"Great timing guys, everyone's in the kitchen." I said as they all walked in and gave me hugs.

"Hey Jamie! Me and Jenny are going up to my room!" I yelled. I didn't feel like going to get him, but I also didn't want to leave him down there with the screaming children and the jabbering about nonsense adults.

We all headed up to my room. As I walked past Riley's door, I decided that I would go in and see what he was up to.

"Hey, guys I'll meet you in my room." I said. They nodded and walked into my room as I knocked on Riley's door.

"Hey, shrimp cocktail, it's your big sis, can I come in?" I joked. My brother was very dainty and small, all the more reason to call him shrimp cocktail.

"Yeah, sure." He said. I walked in and noticed he had something, looked like a note pad. He tried hiding it.

"Watchya got there, knucklehead?" I asked, giving his hair a good shake down by my hand.

"Oh, it's nothing, just uhh.. just some drawings and stuff. I've been doing it in my spare time. I obviously have a lot of that since I'm grounded." Riley said, sounding extremely bored with life. He was grounded the first month of summer for getting in a fight 3 days before school let out. The other kid started it, but it was my Dad's idea to ground Riley. Mom thought otherwise because it was summer time, Dad just thought that a punishment was a punishment no matter what the occasion was. It seems like he's gotten a lot more strict over the years.

"I know buddy, but don't worry, you got til' the end of June." I said, smiling, but not really getting his hopes up considering it was only May 29th and the fight was seriously three days ago.

"I know." Riley said, sounding defeated as he bombed his head to his pillow on his bed.

"So are you gonna let me look at those drawings of yours? Or is it top secret?" I asked, smiling. Riley was always so secretive about everything. He was always quiet. It's kind of because of my Mom and Dad. At least, that's how I see it. He's the middle child, he never really got to grow up a happy kid. He experienced and still experiences neglect when it comes to our parents worrying about me. I feel sorry for him and my Mom and Dad need to understand that he needs attention to, whether or not he's the youngest or has cancer. Riley was just very good at staying out of everyone's way. But it shouldn't be like that.

"Yeah... I guess." He said, handing me the notebook.

I flipped the cover of the notebook open and the very first picture was a pencil sketch of our dog, Sundance. The next page was a sketch of some action figurine or something, maybe a Transformer. The next page was pencil sketch of our Mother. He was really good for being only 9 years old. The next page was a sketch of me. I couldn't believe how talented my little brother was. I was proud of him. It was all kind of new to me because I never really knew many things that Riley was interested in aside from skateboarding, basketball, and playing video games.

"Ry! Dude, these are fantastic! You should show Mom and Dad! I bet Mom would do back flips if she saw the picture you drew of her." I said, showing my appreciation for his drawings. He smirked a little bit, revealing the Brooke Davis inherited dimples that all three of us own. But then the dimples disappeared, and he looked sad.

"Nah. If I show Dad, he'll probably just tell me that they're awesome while his eyes are glued to his laptop and If I try and show Mom, she probably won't even notice I'm there." Riley said. Poor kid. He doesn't deserve this. I can't believe my parents don't know how remarkable their only son is.

"Believe me, buddy, they'll notice. I'll make them notice, if I have to." I said, rustling his sandy blond hair around on the top of his head.

"You need to get your haircut, shaggy." I said, after realizing his hair was almost past his ears.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Riley said, fixing his hair, while revealing a small smile due to his tiny bit of laughter.

"Oh, he has a sense of humor!? I had no idea. Welcome back Riley Scott." I said, poking his sides.

"Hey, quit!" Riley said, still smiling.

"Alright, alright, well, me, Jenny and Jamie will be in my room if you wanna come hang with us until dinner is ready?" I asked my little brother as I arose from his bed.

"Nah. I think I'm gonna start a new drawing." He said, grabbing his pencil and sketchpad.

"Alright. See you later then, Ry." I said, walking to the door.

"See ya, Mags." Riley said, while his eyes were focused on the new drawing he was about to create.

As I got to the doorway of his room, I turned around and said something that just needed to be said, wrong or right.

"Hey, Riley?" I questioned.

"Yeah." He looked up.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. Riley looked confused. His forehead began to wrinkle and his eyebrows were scrunched.

"What are you sorry for, Maggie?" He asked, in confusion.

"For making Mom and Dad pay more attention to me than to you. They probably don't realize they're doing it, but I'm gonna let them know that. Mark my words, kid." I finished, walked out of his room and closed the door. I wanted him to hear me, I didn't want him to say anything back, or try to defend me or my parents. That's usually what he does. He doesn't want anything to be about him because he's so used to being ignored. He's 9 years old for christ's sake. Mom and Dad need to be reminded of that.

Jamie, Jenny and I sat up in my room for a long while just waiting around for dinner, cake, and presents.

"So, Mags, did you ask for anything cool for your birthday?" Jenny asked as she painted her nails on my bed.

"You wanna know somethin funny?" I asked back to Jenny.

"What?" Jenny asked. Jamie looking my way as well.

"I didn't ask for anything." I simply said.

"Really!? Why wouldn't you ask for any presents on your birthday?" Jenny asked. Jamie understood why I didn't. Jenny was just really thick minded, so it was hard for her to comprehend most things. We still love her though. I went ahead and explained. But, the explanation was very short and to the point and I think it made Jamie mad, and Jenny looked like she was about to cry.

"I didn't ask for anything because in a couple of years I probably won't be here to use any of it." I said. I think that talking like that is normal. Especially for someone who has had the sickness of leukemia for almost 10 years. Others hate it. Especially my Mom and Jamie.

"Jesus, Maggie, talk about being blunt." Jamie said, sounding angry.

"But it's the truth, Jamie. Look at me." I said, with my arms out. I actually had hair this time though, my very own. It was growing back, but i still wore bandannas all the time just because I was so used to them. I probably only weighed around 90lbs, my skin had this sickly pale, yet purple tint to it and my eyes, as usual, looked like they had been punched by the incredible hulk.

Jamie stood up from my computer chair and walked towards me.

"I don't see anything wrong with you. I think you're beautiful." Jamie spoke softly, kissed me on the cheek, and walked out of my room. Jamie liked to walk away from things that made him angry. If he didn't, his temper would get a little out of control.

Me and Jamie have this special bond. I like to compare it to how my Dad and Aunt Haley were when they were younger. He's like my big brother, only a week older than me, but still. The point is, I love how much this boy cares for everyone. He always puts himself before others. He definitely inherited that from his beautiful, genius of a Mother.

My Mom eventually yelled up the stairs to let us all know that dinner was ready. We all ran downstairs, everyone ate, though I didn't really eat much. I can't or else I'd probably vomit everywhere, plus sick people don't usually have an appetite. All of a sudden it was time for presents. Even though I told everyone that I didn't want anything, I couldn't stop them and knew they would get me something anyways. Aunt Peyton and Uncle Jake got me a bunch of new cd's that I had talked about, like The Smiths, Matthew Ryan, Pete Yorn and Metric. They also bought me a nice set of new paint brushes that I actually desperately needed. I like to freestyle paint on huge canvases, it's definitely a stress reliever. Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan bought me more awesome bandannas to wear because they knew how much I liked wearing them and they also got me a Charlotte Bobcat's basketball jersey that said "Maggie 'The Rock' Scott" on the back of it. The reason why it says "The Rock" is because Aunt Haley would always call me that. She always told me how strong I was. Makes sense. Finally it was time to see what parents got me. Dad handed me a rectangular shaped box, almost looked like what a DVD would look like wrapped up, but thicker, and it was heavier. I ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing a beautiful, red leather journal. It had a buckle to close and open and my name was scripted on the front of it in the bottom right corner; "Maggie Elizabeth Scott." I looked up and my dad and smiled.

"Thank you, Daddy." I got up and hugged him. He squeezed me tight.

"You're welcome, baby. Whenever you're feelin sad, or mad or angry or even happy, write in that journal." My Dad simply said.

"I will." I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to go sit back down at the table.

"Don't sit down yet. Maggie come upstairs with me. Your present is in my room." My mom said, holding her hand out to mine. I grabbed it and we walked hand in hand up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Alright, sit on the bed and close your eyes." My Mother said. So I did, crossing my legs, indian style. I heard her open up her closet door, I didn't dare peek, though. Even though I said I didn't want presents, I was kind of excited to know what the wonderful Brooke Davis, my Mother, got me.

"Okay, still keeping your eyes closed?" Mom asked.

"Yep." I replied back.

All of a sudden, I felt this warmth wrap around me like a cloak, it was a good feeling. I could feel my Mother's dainty arms wrapped around my neck.

"Okay, open." She said as she kissed me on the cheek.

I opened my eyes to see what that warmth was that had gathered around me. I look down and notice that it's a blanket.

"Alright, now lay it out on the bed so we can look at it." Mom said, with a smile on her face.

My Mother had made me a quilt. It was the prettiest thing I had ever seen. There were pictures of the whole family on it. Beautiful embroidery, beautiful fabrics, beautiful everything. I pointed to a picture I had never seen before.

"Is that your big ol' tummy, Mom?" I chuckled a little bit. It was a black and white processed photo of a pregnant stomach and feminine like hands gently holding it.

"It sure is. And, we can't see you, but you were in there somewhere too." Mom said, smiling, showing her perfectly straight, white teeth. I smiled back at her.

I leaned my head against my Mother's shoulder as she put her arm around me while we reminisced over all of the photos on the quilt.

"Wow, was that Daddy?" I said, pointing to what looked like a very old photo of the Ravens Basketball team.

"Uh huh. And there's Uncle Nathan and Uncle Jake." Mom pointed out.

We kept gazing at all the photos. I was just amazed by it all. Pictures of me, Riley and Bailey hugging, kissing, and playing with each other, pictures of Me and Aunt Peyton and Haley, pictures of me my Father and I, my Mother and I. Pictures of me as a baby, eating peas for the first time. That was a funny one. Pictures of Mom and Dad when they were still teenagers in high school. As I was looking at everything it made me realize how beautiful of a family I had. How amazing everyone was. A single tear fell down my face and I wiped it away.

"Mommy, this is the best thing I've ever had. I'm gonna sleep with it every night." I said as I hugged my Mom. She started crying too. She was so freaking sensitive. But that's okay, I still love her.

"I'm glad you like it, baby. I just want you to know how much I love you, Riley and Bailey." She said, still hugging me. We parted from each other and she wiped my tears away and smiled.

"LADIES! COME ON! EVERYONE WANTS TO EAT THE CAKE!" Uncle Nathan yelled up the stairs.

We both laughed, and my Mom gave me a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, Mom." I said.

"Love you too, sweet girl."

We finally got off the bed and headed downstairs back to the kitchen.

The lights were off but the cake was glowing with the candles that had been set ablaze. They sang happy birthday to me (which I've always hated, but excepted it just this one night), I made a wish and then blew out the candles. Everybody said there "yays" and "woos" gave me hugs and kisses and birthday wishes.

"Happy Birfday, Maga, I made this for you." Bailey said as she handed me a cute little decorated card she had made herself.

"Aw, thanks a lot, Bear." I said, giving my youngest sister a hug.

All the adults smiled and laughed at how cute and attention craved my little sister was.

Riley all of a sudden came up to me with a slightly sad look on his face.

"What's up, Ry?" I asked in concern.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry cause I didn't get you anything." Riley said, with his head down. Then I got this great idea.

"You know what? There is something you have that I want." I said. Riley thought I was crazy, not knowing what I was talking about.

"...What?" He asked, deeply confused. Everyone was kind of quiet and listening in, including our parents.

"Go grab your sketchbook and let me pick out a drawing you did." I said.

Riley looked a little embarrassed.

"Riley, I didn't know you sketched, buddy, you better go get those drawings because I definitely wanna see them." Aunt Peyton said, getting a little excited.

"Yes, as do I." My Mom said, smiling.

Riley gave me the evil eye. I know he hated the attention right now, but he'll love it in about 5 minutes. He ran upstairs to grab his sketchbook and then right back downstairs into the kitchen he came. He handed the sketchbook to me. I flipped through the sketchbook as I had once done before and found the one of me.

"Is it cool if I have this one?" I said as I purposely held it up high facing everyone so they could see it. Riley shook his head yes.

"Did my Riley Davis Scott draw that?" Mom said, in shock as she walked over to him.

"Yeah, I did." Riley said.

"Wow, buddy that's amazing." Dad said, patting him on his head.

Riley began to smile a lot.

"Yeah, Mom you should see the picture he drew of you." I said, flipping the page to where her picture was.

Everyone was so focused on Riley and talking to him about drawing. This was the real gift that I wanted. For Riley to feel comfortable in his own skin with his own family. To not feel left out or neglected. To feel like he's apart of something. Today is the best day. I love my family.

Alright, so there you have it everyone. I hope you enjoyed. I think this is the longest chapter I've written for this story. Tell me how guys feel about Maggie's little brother, Riley. I feel sorry for the poor kid. And I know you guys are probably wondering why a certain part of this story sounded so familiar. If you're thinking of the quilt Brooke made for Maggie then you're right. I did get the idea from the movie, Step-Mom if any of you have ever seen it. Though, these days I've actually seen a quilt made with photos in it in real life, not just in the movies. I thought it was the perfect gift for Maggie from Brooke. Anyways, I'm all done rambling now. PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!

Thanks,

-Eleni.