Unexpected
Maggie
Since it’s Sunday, I decide to spend the day at home, watching movies. Dina is gone with Ryder to the car show, and apparently, Brayden took my car to the shop today. I guess his old Charger is messed up. I don’t know since he hasn’t said anything, but he hasn’t driven the car home in months, either.
My phone rings, and I smile when I see who it is on the caller ID,. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey, princess, how’s my girl?”
I love that he still calls me princess.
“Relaxing today. What are you and Mom up to?”
My parents hardly ever stay still, always traveling or going off to do community stuff with their motorcycle club. They call at least once a week when they get a free moment.
“For today, we’re going on a poker run with the club, but we’re thinking about coming to visit you and Dina for a weekend soon.”
I smile, thinking my parents are the very best. They love Dina like their own and watch out for her as much as they do me and my two brothers. When her parents passed away, my parents stepped in to comfort and support her in any way they could. Even my two older brothers have adopted Dina. Ryder has met them before, but he has no idea what he’s in for when they visit next, especially Harrison, who has always been the most overprotective.
“We’d love to have you visit. In fact, we’ll be fighting over whose house you should stay at.”
We chat for a few more minutes before ending the call.
My dad, Harold Lawson, is a retired marine. He and my mom, Marguerite, decided to move our family to Coastal, North Carolina after he retired, which happened to be my freshman year of high school. My parents and Dina’s parents became close. They rode together in the same motorcycle club my parents still ride with today.
I’m relaxing on the couch when a knock sounds at my door. Looking out of the peephole, I see there is a deputy sheriff on the porch.
“Can I help you?” I ask, stepping out onto the porch.
He hands me a paper, asking me to sign an acknowledgement of receipt.
“Excuse me; what is this?”
He looks serious as he says, “Ma’am, this is a ten-day writ of execution. The bank that owns your house has completed the foreclosure process. You have ten days to vacate.” He then walks away, leaving me astonished at my situation.
I immediately run inside and call Brayden. This must be a mistake. He doesn’t answer, though. Dammit, I don’t have a car to go find him, either.
As the enormity of my situation engulfs me, I can’t stop the hysterics. I fall to the floor in the middle of my living room and call Dina.
I desperately need my best friend now. I hate to bother her while she’s with Ryder at the car show, and I don’t want to mess up any business he may be handling, but I need her as my world falls apart unexpectedly.
The screen of my phone is a blur through the tears as I watch it show “calling.” With only a few short rings, she answers.
I can’t control my crying enough to say anything more than to come home now, and she assures me she’s on her way.
I focus on her coming home to help me sort this out, trying to calm myself as panic consumes me. Breathe in, breathe out. Dina will help me figure out what’s happened. Surely, I’m not really losing my house, right?
***
Brayden
I feel trapped, stir-crazy. As a result, I take off for a day out and about in Maggie’s car. She will just assume I’m at the shop, and I will make sure to stop by there later and work for a bit, not wanting to totally lie to her.
I don’t know how to tell Maggie just how bad things are about to get. How do I tell the woman I love, the one person to totally accept me, that I not only blew all of my money, but hers, too? Oh, and that house you picked out? Yeah, sweetheart, it now belongs to the bank. My car that we made so many memories in? Yup, a dad who frequents the garage bought it for his punk son. Oh, yes, Maggie, you’ve found a real winner in me, and I lost it all. We have nothing left, except your car. Congratulations, Maggie, you are in love with a complete asshole. I may not beat on you, but I have totally and completely ruined your life, just like Michael did Dina’s. Yes, I’m just as worthless as that piece of shit, sorry excuse for a man.
My mom is right; it should have been me all those years ago. If only Maggie knew, she would agree and wish I were long gone, never to have met me.
When my phone rings, I’m too messed up to talk to Maggie, so I let it go to voicemail. Then the text chimes, alerting me the papers have been served. I’m sure Maggie is a wreck, but I decide it’s best not to speak to her at all for a bit.
She needs to cool down, and I need to think. Damn, I have messed up bigger than shit this time.
Where are we gonna go? Well, Maggie will go to Dina’s most likely. Me? I have nowhere.