Page 25 of Falling Backwards
She looks at him with steady composure, the picture of someone telling the truth.
I knowIbelieve what she’s saying.Her explanation makes a huge amount of sense.Much more sense than someone making up something about me.And Cristiano is also tall and dark-haired.
Whatdoesn’tmake sense is why she’d spend time and energy siding with me.
I scratch the back of my head about that while Ronald takes his time deciding whether he believes Maggie for himself.
And I also remember that girl I passed on my way out the front entrance.Now I get why she was familiar to me:sheis Cristiano’s girlfriend.She’s been around here before to dine in his sections like how my mom and Paxton sit at the bar when I’m working.
Just as I’m about to offer up that useful information, Ronald speaks again.
“How do you know all this?”he asks Maggie.
“I was still doing my detail work at the end of the bar when it happened.”
He dips his head.“Ah.Okay.”After he takes a deep breath, he looks at me in a way that is either annoyed or bored.“All right, then.As you were, Luke.”
And…that’s it.
He’s walking away again, and I’m letting out a lungful of air I guess I was holding.
While I watch him leave the room, Maggie comes farther into it.Once we’re the only two in here, I turn so my eyes can follow her to her locker.
Something like gratitude tries to climbup my throat.
But it halts before I can voice it.
She just cleared my name and got me out of undeserved trouble, but that situation wasn’t her business to get involved with.Why was she even paying enough attention to think to butt in?She doesn’t know how to stay in her lane?Did she think I couldn’t figure out a way to handle things myself?
That’s probably exactly what she thought.I don’t stand very tall in the grand hall of her opinions.Just earlier, she didn’t think I could look around the freaking hostess stand without the help of a responsible adult.Meanwhile, our boss believedherafter next to no interrogation.She’s all honest and reliable and I’m not, huh?
‘Oh, can I trust you?’
Remembering her saying that only deepens my displeasure.
So what ends up leaving my mouth is, “Why’d you do that?”
She pauses opening her locker only long enough to draw a breath.
“Why wouldn’t I have done it?”Her voice remains measured.She doesn’t bother looking at me.“People shouldn’t be punished for things they haven’t done.”
“I’m not helpless,” I counter.“I’ve never needed your backup before, so what made you think I needed it just then?”
“Wh…?”Now she does twist around.Her bangs can’t hide the fact that she’s frowning.“I’m sorry, did you miss how Ronald was completely brushing off what you were saying?Did youwantme to let him write you up for no reason?”
“I didn’t want you tolethim do anything.I wanted to take care of it myself.”
She chortles out, “Oh, okay.”
I frown, too, as she turns back to her locker.“What’s funny?”
She doesn’t answer, just keeps doing whatever she’s doing.
It irritates the hell out of me.First I had to deal with her sticking her nose into my business, and now she’s laughing at me?
I start striding over to her.“Maggie!”
And she spins around and starts striding up tome, eyes suddenly on fire.
