A/N: Good news, I'm not dead. Sorry to disappoint some of you.
I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WRITING THE LAST CHAPTER GUYS I DESERVE AN AWARD.
Through writing this last chapter I've discovered that it's a lot easier to write when I'm extremely angry and ever so slightly bitter. So that'll probably help me in future.
Finally, thank you all so much for your constant support with all three of my fics, I really do appreciate it. The updating has been ridiculously unpredictable and some of the content has been very weird, but I've (mostly) enjoyed writing it all and I hope you've enjoyed reading it.
Thank you :) x
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE GALLAGHER GIRLS SERIES, OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.
She wasn't good at this. This whole 'waiting' thing was getting on her nerves. Cammie was a hell of a lot more patient that Macey had ever been, but not today. She wanted Macey to get there, and to do it quickly so that Cammie didn't have too much time to think.
She'd driven around and around for a while, and then she'd stopped outside Macey's cabin. And now she was driving again. That was, until her phone lit up with a message. So she pulled over and looked at her phone.
1 new message from Macey: I'm home! Where are you? X
So Cammie tossed the phone back onto the passenger seat and kept driving. She was only 15 minutes away from Macey's house so it really didn't take her long. But when she saw Macey walking out of her cabin to meet her, Cammie's stomach was turning.
As Cammie got out of the car, Macey wrapped her arms around her tightly. "My god, I'm so sorry. This is the most ridiculous situation ever and I'm so sorry I wasn't with you and..."
"Mace, calm it. It's fine. I'm okay."
"But you weren't, were you? You must've completely freaked out when I wasn't here."
"Yeah, kind of. But it's okay now. It doesn't matter."
"You're sure? I can apologise for a little longer if you want."
"Macey, it's fine. Honestly."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Well, that's good. Cause I kinda need to talk to you about something."
"Maybe we should go inside first?"
"Yeah...yeah we should."
They walked inside in pure silence. It wasn't unusual for them. It had only taken about 2 years for them to reach that stage of friendship where the silences were comfortable and it had been like it ever Cammie and Macey were thankful for that. It meant that neither of them had to talk about the problems dancing around their heads.
As they sat down at the kitchen table with mugs full of hot chocolate, Cammie looked around aimlessly.
"So, Vermont seems nice. You like it here?" Cammie asked, causing Macey to snap out of a little daydream.
"I liked it here when I first came here. The idea of it seemed nice and it was a cozy little place when I moved stuff in. But something feels wrong."
"Wrong...how?"
"Something just feels different. These past couple of weeks, there's been a strange air about the place. It's just...something feels wrong with Vermont."
"Maybe you're just getting used to it still. You were in DC for so long and then you just left. It was all very sudden, and none of us expected you to leave."
"I know. But things happened."
"Things?"
"That thing that I needed to talk to you about..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm getting to it."
"Right."
"But I don't know how to say it."
"Just say it as it is"
"No! I mean, I can't... I'm being stupid."
"Yeah, you are. Just tell me."
"It doesn't matter now. Not anymore."
"Macey. It's bothering you, or it has bothered you and that matters to me. Talk to me."
"I...I can't. If I tell you then it changes things and..."
"What does it change, Macey? I'm still your best friend, I'm still gonna be here for you no matter what it is and if it's already happened then you might as well just tell me."
"Pregnant." Was all Macey could say.
"Wait, what? Who's? How? When? What?"
"No, I'm not. I couldn't be. But I was."
"When, Macey? Does this mean?"
"Let me talk. I'll explain it all, just let me talk."
"Sorry."
"A week or so after Preston left me, I got kinda sick. So I went to the doctors and they said I was two months pregnant. I freaked out and came here because we hadn't spoken about having kids and then all of a sudden he'd gone and there I was with his child growing inside of me. Then it came around to the date of my 12 week scan. I was really excited because it was the first picture I was going to get. My parents had already agreed with Preston's mom that I wasn't keeping the baby. They didn't want it to cause a scandal. But either way, I was excited about it. And then they couldn't find a heartbeat. I panicked like hell. They told me that they'd missed the miscarriage, and that I'd been carrying a dead fetus around for a little while. So they gave me tablets to pass the tissue and everything was dealt with. One minute I was pregnant, the next I was a hysterical mess."
"Macey... you could've told me. You should've. Did you tell anyone?"
"Mom and Dad knew. So did Preston's mom. But the first person I called was Abby."
"Abby knew?"
"I begged her not to tell you. Don't blame her."
"No, I mean. I get it. But..."
"I would've called you. I just... I couldn't explain it all to you and I knew that Abby wouldn't make me talk if I was that hysterical."
"It's okay."
"So yeah. The doctor said I had to get someone to take me home, so I called her in a panic."
She fumbled around in her bag for her phone. She dialed the number in a hurry, trying to see properly through a mass of tears. Luckily, the phone connected almost immediately.
"Abby?"
"Macey? What's up?"
"I need help. I need your help."
"What kind of help are we talking about?"
"I...I need a ride home."
"Where are you?"
"I...I...I'm at the hospital."
"The hospital? Macey what's wrong?"
"I just...damn it."
"Five minutes. Give me five minutes."
And the phone line went dead.
Macey sat out in the waiting area for exactly five minutes and then Abby was there. She ran into the hospital and scoured the room in search of Macey. When she saw her, Macey was curled up in a chair in the corner. She hadn't stopped crying since she'd found out. Abby came to her side.
"Macey, talk to me. What's wrong?"
"I... I can't."
"Yes you can. Whatever it is, you know you can tell me."
Macey nodded and attempted to dry her eyes.
"You can keep crying, Mace, you just gotta talk."
"I was pregnant." She managed to force the words out. "Turns out I lost my baby two weeks ago. But it was the twelve week scan and they...they couldn't find a heartbeat Abby." She collapsed in a mess of tears again and Abby hugged her tightly.
"Macey I'm so sorry. Does Preston know?"
"He didn't even know I was pregnant."
"Can I please kill the boy?"
"I should probably do it, seeing as I'm so good at killing things. Take my baby, for example."
"Hey! You snap outta that crap. You did not kill your baby, Macey. Miscarriages are common, this happens. It's shitty. It's really, really shitty but you're gonna be okay. You need to get some rest. You need something to eat, something to drink and then you need to sleep."
"I don't want to. I can't stay at home, I can't be in that apartment because there's all that baby stuff there and I just can't deal with it today."
"We'll go to your apartment and I'll go in and grab all your stuff. Then I'm taking you to your cabin in Vermont."
"You don't have to drive me there, I'll get on a plane or something..."
"You shouldn't be by yourself."
"I'm okay, Abby."
"I don't think you get it. I'm not leaving you to deal with this by yourself because you'll bottle it all up. I know you, Macey. You're not allowed to do this by yourself. You don't have to tell other people, not yet. But you will eventually."
"Abby..."
"You can thank me, and then you can shut up about it. Okay?"
"Thank you." Macey said, and even though she totally did not feel like smiling Abby could've sworn she saw a small grin on Macey's face.
"She took me to my cabin, and she stayed in the guest room for 2 days. Then she had a mission coming up so I told her to go spend time with Townsend. I owe her a lot. She helped me, and she kept it a secret. I know that I should've told you...but."
"Macey, does Preston know?"
"Does he...? Does he know? He doesn't have a right to know. He lost that right when he walked out on me at 5 in the morning. He totally, completely and utterly lost any right he had. I owe him nothing. I owe you an apology, and I owe Abby my sanity but by God, I don't owe anything to Preston Winters."
"He deserves to know. It was his child!"
"Like he gives a crap. He needs to give me an explanation before I give him one."
"You're not being very fair, Macey."
"Was he the one that had to take tablets for two weeks whilst the remains of what was nearly a child was flushed out of his body? Was he the one that felt like crap for two months whilst trying to keep the baby healthy?"
"Macey, I get your point. But I think you may be being a little bit unfair."
"No, Cammie. Unfair is waking up to find that he was gone without leaving me with so much as a goodbye."
"Macey..."
"I didn't get to say goodbye...And God only knows where he is now."
"You have to stop blaming yourself for this. He left of his own accord, you can't have done anything wrong or he would've just told you. It's not your fault he left."
"Whose fault is it then? Somebody always has to be blamed, this time it's my turn just for a change."
"Self-pity is almost as damaging as self-hatred, Macey."
"I don't need a psychological lecture right now Cammie."
"I'm not giving you a lecture, for crying out loud."
"Really? Well it sure sounds like it."
"Macey I didn't come here to argue with you."
"Funnily enough, that's all you seem to be doing."
"I'm sorry, I get that you're still emotional and you must be exhausted from driving back and forth."
"I'm sorry too. Just because I lost my baby doesn't mean I can be a total bitch to you."
"I really wish you'd told me."
"It wouldn't have changed anything, Cam, what's done is done. Telling you that I'd lost the baby wouldn't have brought the baby, or Preston back."
"You still want him back?"
"No. I want answers, I want closure but I don't want him back. Preston can go to hell."
"Something tells me that he's already in hell, Macey."
"What'd you mean by that?"
"I just mean that he walked out on you nearly a year ago. He hasn't called you, he didn't leave you a note or anything. God knows what must be going through his head. He's probably just as confused and conflicted."
"He brought it on himself. Wherever he is, whatever he's doing and whoever he's screwing. I couldn't give less of a shit."
"You think he's with someone?"
"Why else would he just up and leave without telling me why? Like I said, I don't give a shit. I just feel sorry for the poor bitch that's made the mistake of getting involved with him. Preston Winters is a dangerous game, but chances are she'll find that out for herself. He'll screw her over after he's screwed her. That's how he works."
"He might be alone, you don't know."
"Whatever. As long as I don't have to see him again."
TIME SKIP: 5 YEARS LATER.
Macey McHenry paced back and forth outside the doors of the grand hall in the Washington Hilton Hotel. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something wrong. There was an air about the place that made Macey anxious. She knew that she'd have to go inside eventually, even if it was only just for five minutes. But she had to do it.
This was to be her first proper public appearance in nearly 5 years. So much had happened since, A miscarriage, one unhappy relationship, another relationship that had ended when Macey turned down his proposal and two new bullet wounds. The past few years had been kind to her. She was 25, with a successful career and although she was alone she was anything but lonely. She kept in contact with her best friends and was even on civil terms with most of her family. Her life wasn't perfect, but it was good.
She had to do it, she had to go inside. And there was no time like the present, right? Macey considered bursting in, in true McHenry style. But she hadn't made a grand entrance in so long, and she didn't think she was quite ready. So she stood in the doorway for a minute.
Her life wasn't perfect, but it was good. Right up until that moment she looked straight ahead of her. In the blink of an eye, memories from previous years came flooding back to her at a tremendous speed. She wasn't ready for this, she couldn't face him tonight.
He had been talking to her mother. Had been. Now, Preston Winters was walking straight towards her. She had no choice but to try and shut off any emotions that her heart was trying to force her to feel. In that moment, Macey's heart was a castle and as Preston got closer that castle had to put a few more walls up.
She had to act surprised, and she had to look unbreakable, like he couldn't hurt her again even though she knew all too well that he could.
So when she exclaimed his name, it was in the tone of a whisper. They had heard the mention of each other's names in passing conversations and they had seen each other's faces on magazine covers and TV screens.
But in truth, the last time that they had actually seen each other was in the bedroom of their apartment at 12am before Preston left. The last time they had looked into each other's eyes was when they kissed each other goodnight with matted hair and rumpled sheets. Their last words to each other were 'I love you'.
And now? Now they stood there, barely metres from each other but feeling further apart than ever. They spoke, but there was too much silence and then there was too little silence. Everything was too much, but too little at the same time. To say there was tension would be an understatement.
So much had happened. People, places and time had gotten in the way. They always knew that they would drift back together when they least expected it. They expected to fall in love again, and for everything to be okay.
They just didn't expect for it all to fall apart.
A/N:
And that's it's. It's literally all done and I'm actually very proud of myself. Sorry for any mistakes.
Thank you all so much for continuing to read and review on all three of my stories, I'm very grateful. :) x