Chapter 11
Little footsteps pattered down the hallway toward her room. The throbbing in her head matched each of those steps. With a groan, Magnolia pulled her covers high over her head. “Noooo.”
Whack! Her door flew open, smacking into the wall behind it. “Mommmmyyyyy!” Hayden’s high-pitched scream both assailed her ears and melted her heart. One tug on the sheets, a knee to the thigh, and two little hands wrapped around her neck, and she was face-to-face with her smiling boy.
“Mornin’, buddy.” Her voice was thick with grogginess and too much drinking.
“Mornin’.” He burrowed in under the blankets beside her. “Grandpa says ya gotta get up.”
“Does he now?” Magnolia rolled to her side, resting her head in her hand as she gazed down at Hayden.
“Yep, because there’s a crazy lady at the door for you.” With a giggle, he wiggled closer.
Magnolia wrapped her arms around him and pressed her nose to his head, taking a deep breath. “Whoa, bud, you stink. You need a bath.”
Kicking his legs wildly, he squirmed away. “No bath.” He giggled as he ran back out the door.
That would have to be a battle for later. Just as she was about to turn back over, she heard her father’s heavy footfalls coming down the hall. “What in the hell are you doing?”
Fearing another trough bath, she shot to her feet, nearly toppling out of the bed. “Dad, hi. Whoa.” The room spun, and Magnolia had to reach out her hands for balance. Stumbling forward, her knees hit the mattress, and she bent over, clinging to it for dear life. It had been ages since she’d drunk as much as she did last night.
When he crossed his arms and leaned up against the door frame, watching her, she had the urge to crawl under a rock somewhere. He made a show of looking her up and down then chuckled. “You’re a damn mess.”
She pressed one of her hands to her head and kept the other on the bed, hoping the room would stop tilting. “I know. My life is a mess. You don’t have to point it out.”
“No, I mean you’re a disgusting mess.” He motioned to her appearance.
Looking down at herself, she noticed she hadn’t taken off her clothes from the night before. Her white V-neck t-shirt had a brown stain down the front of it and what looked like a spot of vomit. Had she thrown up? Thinking back on it, she definitely had, and to top it off, Dax was the one holding her hair back from her face. Flashes of their argument ran through her mind. He’d yelled at her… You broke me. You don’t get to decide how I put the pieces back together. Oh, God, he’d slept with Zinnia. The whole night came back into focus slowly. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Psh, I think you already have.”
“I think so too.” At a snail’s pace, she turned to sit on the bed, then rested her elbows on her knees.
“So, you got in a fight last night?” His even tone gave away nothing.
“Yeah, Dax and I had an argument.” She turned to her father. “But you don’t have to worry. It’ll be fine. I wasn’t thinkin—”
“I didn’t mean Dax.” He sighed and came in to sit beside her. “I meant Zinnia.”
“Ugh, yeah.” She let her head fall in her hands. “How’d you know?”
“That there scratch across your cheek.” He reached up, brushing the side of her face. When she flinched back, he chuckled. “Also, the boys might’ve mentioned it. Seems they were impressed with your jab and hook.”
“You don’t have to sound so proud when you say it.” Magnolia flopped back into the pillows. The room tilted but didn’t spin this time. Maybe she was sobering up? I hope.
When her father stood the bed shifted once more. “Anyways, you better get your ass up. It’s nearly dinner time.”
Gazing out the window, she noted the sky beginning to darken. “Why’d you let me sleep all day?”
Shrug. “Dax said you’d need it.” He paused at the door, peeking over his shoulder at her. “Oh, and Zinnia is downstairs. With one hell of a shiner.”
“Shit.”
As he stomped down the hall, he called over his shoulder, “Language, Magnolia.”
To herself she muttered, “Fuck.”
“Still heard that.”
As gingerly as she could, Magnolia sat up straight, knowing she’d have to face Zinnia. The only question was, what kind of Zinnia would she have to deal with? The one from last night, or the Zinnia who Magnolia used to know? The Zinnia she’d grown up with, who was loyal, smart, funny and tougher than anyone her age should be, that was the Zinnia Magnolia wanted to see, not that drunken loudmouth from last night. On the other hand, there was only one way to find out which one she’d get—the crazy drunk or the crazy loyal one?
Determined to see this through, Magnolia forced herself to her feet and peeled the shirt from her body. What made her decide to smell the damn thing was beyond her, but there was no way to salvage it. On her way into her bathroom, she tossed it into the waste bucket and headed over to the sink. As she splashed cold water over her face, the foggy world started to take shape. The more she remembered from the night before, the more she wanted to stay locked in her room for the next two days. Had she really flipped out on Dax? And why did his actions sting so much more than Eric’s betrayal?
She didn’t have time for a shower, but she really wished she had, especially after trying to run a brush through her matted, sticky hair. She had no idea what was in it. “Ugh, no.”
At twenty-eight, nearly twenty-nine, she thought the days of her getting drunk, fighting, and blacking out were over. “Way to take a step back, Maggie.”
Deciding she had no other options, she pulled back her long caramel locks from her face and into a messy knot. Then she slipped into her most worn out pair of jeans and a sweatshirt she’d cut back in high school when she thought the ’80s were cool. It hung loosely off her neck, exposing her shoulder. Clean-faced, no makeup, and in an outfit made for the three decades prior, Magnolia pushed back her shoulders and left her room.
At the foot of the stairs, her father waited with a glass of water in one hand and two Advil in the other. She snagged them from his hand, chugging the water and pills down quickly. “Thank you.”
“Y’all need to work out whatever’s goin’ on between ya.” Then he playfully whacked her across the backside.
“Ouch.” She rubbed at the stinging slap. “What if we can’t?”
“You will.” He nodded toward the front door. “Go on now.”
With her heart in her throat, she pushed through the screen door and walked out into the late day sun. Sitting on the top step was Zinnia, looking just as awful as Magnolia felt. She wore ripped jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, which was rolled up to her elbows. Like Magnolia, she too had her hair pulled into a high ponytail. Why does everyone else look cute when they do it? Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, and her left eye had a purple ring around it and appeared to be a little swollen. Instant regret ran through Maggie. “Did I do that?”
Zin’s hand immediately flew up to press over her eye. She flinched with a hiss. “Yeah.”
Maggie moved to sit on the other side of the top of the stairs. She leaned against the pole at her back and rested her head against it. “I’m sorry I hit you so hard.”
“I’m not.” Zinnia tilted her head down and mumbled, “I didn’t mean what I said last night.”
“It’s been hard around here. I get that now.” Magnolia plucked at one of vines that wound through the railing.
“Maggie, when you left I thought you were goin’ to come back. And when you didn’t, I…” She let her words fall off as though she didn’t know what to say.
“When I left what?” Magnolia prompted her.
“I just thought, you know. We were like sisters. Hell, I came over every Sunday for dinner with your family, and I thought all of us…” she circled her hands as though saying everyone on the ranch, her father, her mother, Dax, “I thought we were more important to you than just a couple generic letters and text a couple times a year. I mean, being friends on Facebook doesn’t mean you’ve kept up the friendship.”
Maggie nodded, feeling as though this was the first time she’d had to face what she’d done head-on. Calla let her off the hook; even Dax was avoiding talking about it. But Zinnia needed straight-up answers. “You know, Zin, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. And I know I messed up, in the worst kind of way. I threw away people who cared about me and needed me.”
Zinnia slid a bit closer. “You were so young… How could you have known?”
“I know, but still, you were like a sister to me. And you needed me.” Magnolia too slid a bit closer.
“My happiness wasn’t your responsibility. It was mine, and I just blamed you.” She hesitated. “I just missed you so much.”
“I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I just ran away from home, I guess, and never came back.” Before she knew it, they were in the middle of the steps, sitting knee-to-knee. “Until now.” Just thinking about Eric made her skin crawl. How could she have fallen for his line of bullshit? He promised her the world and she’d bought it hook, line and sinker.
Zinnia wrapped her hand around Magnolia’s. “Maggie, I didn’t mean to throw what happened in your face. I was angry. God, I wish I could take it back.” As Zinnia squeezed Magnolia’s hand, her nails dug in, but Maggie didn’t stop her.
“I didn’t mean what I said about you becoming your father.”
Zinnia dropped Magnolia’s hand, then looked up at her with grave blue eyes. “Maggie… about Dax.” Her voice hitched. “I swear, we didn’t plan for it to happen. I swear, Maggie.”
Silence hung between them as Maggie thought about what to say. What could she say? That Dax wasn’t hers at the time? Hoes before bros, you traitor? He’s mine? No matter how badly she wanted it, she couldn’t lay claim to him. “I know you didn’t plan it. And I’m not going to lie. It hurt to hear it.” To herself, she muttered, “It’s weird that it still bothers me.”
“You should know that after you left, he struggled the most. I mean, all of us thought y’all would last forever. You two were just…” When she glanced to the sky, a dreamy look crossed her face. “You were just perfect. Whatever direction you were goin’ in, so was he.”
“Yeah.” It was true. Magnolia and Dax were damn near symbiotic before she left for school.
Zinnia reached out and grabbed her hand once more. “What happened? Why didn’t you come back?”
“I, ah…” She’d never said the words out loud before. “When I got to school, it was a whole different world than what I was used to. I saw all the things they had up north, and the city can be intoxicating. I wanted to see if I could make it anywhere else, and to be honest I didn’t want to end up like my mom. Stuck at home, longing for more.” She shrugged. “Turns out that’s exactly what I became, just in a different place.”
“I understand that. My worst fear is becoming my dad.”
Magnolia wrapped her arm around Zinnia. “You won’t. I know I said it yesterday. But you said something to hurt me, and I wanted to hurt you back. But honestly, Zin, you’re so much more than your parents.”
The two sat like that for long moments until the screen door swung open with a bang. When Maggie looked over her shoulder, her father stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. “Have y’all worked out your differences?”
An ear-splitting smile covered Zinnia’s face as she popped to her feet and hugged Magnolia’s father. “Yes, I’m glad you called me.”
Magnolia raised her eyebrows. “You called her? Since when do you have Zin’s number?”
“Oh, darlin’, I’ve got secrets you don’t know about.” He winked playfully at her.
When she rose to join them, her father turned serious as he gazed at her. “Now, y’all better stop actin’ like children. It’s time to grow up, even though I’m proud my daughter knows how to throw a good right hook.”
Zin pressed her hand over her eye at the same time heat flooded Maggie’s cheeks. Yet her father continued, “Y’all can’t act like a pack of wild dogs going after each other.” He wrapped his arms around each of their shoulders. “Sometimes family isn’t about the blood running in our veins, but it’s about the people we choose to be around.” He squeezed them in closely. “You, my girls, are family, no matter how much time has passed.”
Magnolia squeezed him back. “You always know what to say?”
“No, but I’m old, so I’ve heard my fair share of bullshit.” He pressed his hand into her back, urging her forward. Beside her, Zinnia too stepped toward the front door. “Now, I know it’s not Sunday, but Friday night is just as good as any other for dinner. Don’t you think?”
Zin smiled up at him. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Confused, Magnolia looked from her father to Zinnia. “Not Sunday?”
When her father patted her on the head and smiled. “Just because you weren’t here doesn’t mean life stopped.” He waved them inside. “Now that y’all are done acting like children, let’s eat.”