Page 56 of Maggie

Chapter 17

Maggie

Ever since Wylder broke up with her then disappeared out her front door, nothing felt real. Everything seemed numb or dream-like. She hadn’t expected the way Wylder had acted, especially after their wonderful night together and their heart-to-heart the day before. He’d been one of her closest friends, and it broke her heart that he hadn’t trusted her enough to even talk through his feelings with her. It hurt. It really fuckin’ hurt.

Maggie hadn’t called or texted Wylder for weeks, and it felt like part of her was missing. Every time something good happened, her first reaction was to tell him and it hurt every time she couldn’t. It wasn’t even that she’d lost her boyfriend because they’d only been dating for a minute; it was that she lost one of her best friends.

She didn’t know what to do with herself. Lovely Oblivion was one month into a three month break before the next tour. She had two more months to entertain herself before her job would offer something to occupy her time. She didn’t want to do anything but stay in bed, eat ice cream, watch court TV, and drink a bottle of Jack. On top of everything, she had to rely on sleeping pills again. That or drink herself to sleep. The unaided slumber she’d found with Wylder had remained with him.

Maggie thought she’d hidden her depression well, but friends kept randomly appearing to try to cheer her up and take her out for meals so maybe she hadn’t hidden it well after all. She didn’t care anymore. As far as she was concerned, she had no work obligations for two months. She could order groceries and avoid people until then.

She stood in the shower for forever, letting the hot water run over her body. When the water finally ran cold, she turned it off and stepped out. She dried herself with a towel and put on clean pajamas. If she really wanted to torture herself, she had one of Wylder’s t-shirts that smelled like him, but she already felt bad enough as it was so she chose not to wear it.

She settled into bed with a bottle of Jack and clicked on court TV. She didn’t even care that it was the middle of the afternoon.

After a while, Maggie thought she heard the doorbell, but she ignored it and drank herself to sleep.

* * *

Maggie opened the door for the grocery delivery guy and was surprised to see a bouquet of colorful flowers sitting in a vase on the floor of the hallway outside her apartment door. She showed the delivery man where to put the groceries and picked up the bouquet of lilies, roses, and other miscellaneous blooms when she showed him out. She carried the flowers inside and shut the door.

She put the bouquet on the counter and plucked the card from its holder. It read:

I’m sorry. If you let me, I’ll apologize forever for the mistake I’ve made. I was wrong. I miss you. Please forgive me. ~Wylder

P.S. Buzz sends dog kisses

Tears flooded Maggie’s eyes, but she couldn’t hold back a laugh at the same time. She missed them.

She laid the card on the counter and began putting her groceries away. The delivery service had done well with separating the refrigerated items from the pantry items, so it didn’t take long to sort everything.

Her phone chirped right as she finished. She pulled it out of her pocket to see a text from Wylder. Hesitantly, she opened it only to see a photo of Buzz making a goofy face. She laughed and closed the message.

Over the next few days, she received random messages from Wylder in which he’d say hello or tell her a random funny event from his day. She didn’t reply. After most messages, she had a shot of whatever alcohol was closest and tried to forget he’d said anything. Their lifestyles were too different, he couldn’t handle long distance, and they needed a clean break sooner rather than later.

If only she could make herself believe it. Sure, he’d apologized, but he’d said what he felt at the time — essentially, that she wasn’t enough for him to overcome the challenges of being with her.

Maggie settled onto the couch and turned on the TV. She glanced at the entryway where Wylder had broken up with her and sighed. She was going to have to move. Her phone rang. Wylder’s picture popped up on the screen. She ignored the phone and let it go to voicemail. Soon, her phone chirped that she had a message.

She stared at the phone and her heart thudded in her chest. She missed him.

She picked up the phone and clicked the button to listen to the voicemail.

“Maggie, it’s Wylder. I’m... I miss you. I was calling to hear your voice. Maybe talk about the day with you like we used to. I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I miss you. I miss us. Please call me.”

A sob escaped her throat. She hadn’t heard his voice in weeks, and, now that she had, his words tugged on her heart strings.

Fuck it. It may only be 3:00 pm, but she was going to sleep.

Maggie wiped her tears and turned off the TV. She went into her bathroom, popped two sleeping pills, and climbed fully clothed into bed.

* * *

Maggie woke around 10:00 pm. She yawned, and noticed she could hear the TV from the living room... but she had turned it off before she came to bed, right?

She climbed from bed and walked to the living room.

“Holy shit,” she said when she saw the reason the TV was on. Somehow, Wylder had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV.

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