by Paige Dearth
“These are my best friends, Colby and Juju,” Maggie said.
Lorraine and Rob exchanged quick hellos, still in a state of shock that their daughter was back with them. Once inside the house, Lorraine found Mara sitting at the kitchen table, her knees pulled up to her chin. When she saw all the adults enter the room, she rushed over to Lorraine and took her hand.
Lorraine bent down. “Mara, this is our daughter, Maggie,” she stated with glee. She leaned over and gave Maggie a hug. “Remember we told you about her?”
Mara nodded. Her head hung, and her hair covered her face.
Lorraine and Rob were so happy that they were practically dizzy and didn’t notice the change in Mara, but Maggie noticed it quickly. She’d seen that look on Seth’s face when he thought Colby was going to take her away from him.
Maggie bent down and pulled Mara’s chin up with her index finger. “Hi, Mara. Everything’s going to be fine, and now it looks like I have a little sister,” she said.
Mara’s head jolted up, and her face lit up with excitement. “Wow, that’s so cool,” she said, relieved that Maggie wasn’t going to make her leave.
Hours passed as they all sat in the Clarkes’ kitchen talking about how the Clarkes came to find Mara, what Maggie’s brother, Keith, had been doing, and anything else they could think of to avoid talking about what had happened to Maggie in all the years she had been gone. Lorraine could see that her innocent daughter was no longer there. She had grown into a beautiful, loving woman, but the hard edge came through loud and clear. Lorraine and Rob both knew their daughter had been through hell.
It was early evening when Rae Harker announced that he needed to head back to the precinct. As Maggie got to her feet, Lorraine grabbed her hand. “Won’t you stay? You can sleep with Mara in your old room.”
Maggie sadly shook her head. “No. It would be better if I go back to my place.”
Maggie had no intention of staying at her parents’ home. In an odd way, there was almost no connection between the daughter she had been and the person whom she had become. Maggie felt detached from Lorraine and Rob. She was just getting a taste of freedom and she wasn’t willing to give it up. Maggie loved her parents, but the bottom line was that she didn’t know them anymore. As such, Maggie came off as oddly distant to the Clarkes. Maggie’s homecoming had been much less than the three of them had dreamed it would be, and each of them wished it could have been more.
Lorraine’s shoulders dropped. “Where do you live?”
“Kensington,” Maggie admitted.
Lorraine visibly shivered and then immediately regretted it. She didn’t want to make Maggie feel uncomfortable about anything.
“When can we see you again?” Lorraine asked, still holding onto Maggie’s hand.
“I’m not sure. I…I…” Maggie looked to Colby.
“I can drive you here whenever you want,” Colby offered.
Maggie smiled, reminding Lorraine and Rob of the magnificence that remained in her.
“How about if you come for lunch tomorrow?” Lorraine asked.
Maggie nodded. “OK. That would be OK.”
“Terrific!” Rob exclaimed. “Maggie, we want to talk to you about what happened. We never stopped searching for you. We want you to know that not a day has passed that we didn’t talk about you.”
“Thanks,” Maggie muttered, feeling guilty that she hadn’t thought about them in a while. “Maybe someday we can talk about everything. I’m not ready to do that now, though.”
“Fair enough,” Rob stated. “Lunch tomorrow, then?” he asked, hoping he hadn’t scared her off.
“Sure. We’ll be here,” Maggie said.
Sitting in Rae Harker’s car as they drove back to the police station, Maggie stared out the window.
“Maggie, I know this has been really hard on you. But at some point in the very near future, we’ll need to talk about what happened to you. We have to do our best to make sure it doesn’t happen to others. OK?” Detective Harker said.
“I know. I figured as much,” Maggie mumbled.
For the remainder of the ride, Maggie was flooded with emotions. She was happy for her freedom and to have seen her parents again. But it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t how she’d imagined their reunion. Her parents looked much older. But what was really nagging her was the feeling that Lorraine and Rob needed something from her that she wasn’t certain she could give to them.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-One
Two weeks later, Maggie and Colby drove to New Jersey to pick up Joey at the Freys’ house. Joey started jumping up and down as soon as she laid eyes on Maggie.
“You came for me!” Joey yelled, wrapping her arms around Maggie.
“I told you I would,” Maggie said. “Are you ready to go?”
Joey had packed a small suitcase that the Freys had bought for the occasion. Inside were new clothes they also provided for her. Joey walked over to the Freys and gave each of them a good-bye hug.
Juliet was wringing her hands together. “We’re really going to miss you, Joey. If you ever want to stay with us or come for a visit, you’re always welcome.”
Maggie reached out and took Juliet’s hands in her own.
“You haven’t seen the last of us. We’re going to be around, and I’m sure Joey will want to come and stay with you for a few weeks in the summer,” Maggie said.
Joey nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna come back. You promised we’d go to the beach, ’member?”
Juliet’s eyes filled with tears. “Of course I remember, Joey. We’re going to have so much fun.”
Colby, sensing that the Freys needed to talk to Maggie privately, pulled Joey along. “Let’s go, lady. Your chariot awaits,” he teased, taking Joey’s hand and leading her outside to the car.
Ron moved closer to his wife and draped his arm around her shoulder to give her support. Then he looked at Juliet and nodded.
“Maggie, this is hard for us. You and Joey and Juju are all we have left of Seth. I’m afraid…” she looked at Ron. “We’re both afraid you’ll move on, and we won’t see any of you again.”
Maggie could feel Juliet’s deep anguish. Seth looked so much like his father that it was as if Ron was a grownup version of the boy she’d always loved. Her heart ached for the couple who were trying desperately to hang onto the only link to their son they had left.
“Juliet, we’re family now. We aren’t going anywhere. Seth wanted us all to be together. He told you that himself. I don’t want you to worry, OK?” Maggie soothed.
“OK,” Juliet stated sadly.
“In fact, I was thinking you two could come back to Philly for a weekend this month,” Maggie offered.
Juliet perked up. “That would be wonderful. We’ll rent a suite at The Four Seasons that has a couple of bedrooms. You all can come and stay there. It’ll be so much fun,” she gushed.
“That’ll be great. Let’s plan on it,” Maggie replied.
Over the next six months, Maggie continued to work at Double Visions. She’d passed her GED and had applied to local colleges. Juju, Maggie, and Joey still lived in the rundown apartment in Kensington. Maggie and her parents had managed to develop a healthy relationship, and she had even told them about some of the things that happened over the past eleven years.
Maggie realized, through her parents’ insight that being an unwilling participant in anything is nothing at all like being a willing participant. Lorraine and Rob had learned over the years that victims of abuse often felt like everything that had happened to them was their fault because, in some way, they’d participated. The only people to blame were the brutal savages who forced her to participate.
Once she was able to wrap her mind around this enlightening concept, Maggie opened up to her parents about her past. For the first time since her kidnapping, Maggie felt free of shame.
A few months later, Juju announced that she was moving in with her girlfriend, Rory. With this news, Maggie thought about taking Joey and moving o
ut of Kensington. One night, as Maggie and Colby were going to dinner, she mentioned the idea of moving closer to her parents.
“It’s funny you should bring that up,” Colby began. “I was thinking I’d like to move out to the suburbs soon. Maybe we can get an apartment together. You know, as roommates.”
Maggie and Colby had remained close. While they each had a heavy crush on the other, there had been too much turmoil as Maggie tried to settle in with Joey and reestablish a bond with her parents. They got together as friends, but nothing more.
“Roommates, huh? Well, that’s an idea,” Maggie responded giddily.
“Yeah. You, Joey, and me. I think we could make it work. Besides, you two have grown on me, sort of like mold that you can’t get rid of,” Colby teased.
Maggie threw her head back and laughed, her silky black hair flying behind her. Colby’s groin stirred as he watched her in awe.
“So? What do you think?” Colby asked.
“I think it’s something I have to give some serious thought. I also have to talk to Joey. I want to make sure she’d be comfortable moving away from her school and moving in with the likes of you,” Maggie joked.
In the weeks that followed, Maggie and Joey agreed that it would be a good idea to move in with Colby. Lorraine and Rob were thrilled to have their daughter closer and offered to help get them started. Then they gave Maggie the greatest news.
“We want you to know that we still have your college fund,” Lorraine stated, giddy to have her daughter back.
“My college fund?” Maggie asked with scrunched brows.
“Yes. Your college fund. We set one up for you and Keith when you were born. We never stopped putting money into yours. We hoped that one day you’d come back to us. There’s enough money in there for you to go to a good college,” Lorraine explained.
Maggie squealed, “Wow! Thank you so much. I never expected anything from you.”
Lorraine and Rob watched as she happily told Mara what great parents they had. Mara giggled and joined in on Maggie’s excitement. “Do I have a college fund too?” Mara asked.
“Of course you do,” Rob lied.
He and Lorraine had discussed it, and when the time was right, they’d take out a loan for Mara’s education. They’d originally planned to use the money they’d saved for Maggie, but once she returned, that idea was dead.
As days turned into weeks, Maggie, Colby, and Joey prepared to move into their new apartment. They had found an affordable two-bedroom apartment in Whitemarsh, the town next to her parents’. As the time to move crept closer, Maggie and Joey became more excited. For starters, they were happy to move to the suburbs, where there was less congestion. But they were most excited about having a real bathroom in their new rental. Colby was also excited, but not for the same reasons. He was excited at the prospect of becoming more than just a good friend to Maggie.
On the day they moved, Maggie and Joey walked to a small deli in the early afternoon to pick up sandwiches and to say good-bye to the many people they knew in the area. Several of the young prostitutes came to see them one last time and wish them luck. Most planned to continue with prostitution, but they were grateful to be free of Rock.
Juju and Rory showed up at the apartment in Kensington and helped them load their meager belongings into Colby’s car. As they stood at the curb, Maggie grabbed hold of Juju. They squeezed each other tightly for several minutes. When they parted, they were both choked up.
“We’re going to see each other all the time,” Maggie reassured Juju.
“I know, but it just ain’t the same anymore. I moved out, and now you’re movin’ outta Kensington,” Juju yammered. Juju didn’t want to mention that Seth was no longer with them. The memories and the loss were just too painful.
“I guess we’re getting old,” Maggie joked unsuccessfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Colby came up behind them. “Are you ready to go, Maggie?”
Maggie nodded and looked at Juju. “I’ll never forget how you saved my life and rescued me from the snow.”
Juju grimaced at the thought. “I’ll never forget how you moved in and took over like a bossy beotch.”
They laughed and hugged once more before Maggie turned and got into Colby’s car. As he pulled away from the curb, Joey looked out the back window and waved until Juju and Rory faded from sight.
Chapter One Hundred Forty-Two
“Well, ladies, this is it. We all get to start over again,” Colby said with enthusiasm.
Maggie was leaning against the car window and didn’t respond to his attempt to pick up the mood. Colby knew there had been many changes in Maggie and Joey’s lives over the past nine months. Losing Seth, leaving Kensington and everyone they knew, freedom from Rock, and finally, saying good-bye to Juju—at least temporarily—had taken its toll.
“All right, now look. Juju will come and visit, and it’s not like we aren’t ever going back to Kensington to see her. This isn’t an end to things; it’s a new beginning. The three of us are off on an adventure. We’re all roomies now, and we’re going to have lots of fun and make new memories. So cheer up, you two. You’re bringing me down,” Colby lectured.
When neither Maggie nor Joey responded, Colby added, “OK, then. I guess I’ll just be talking to myself from now on. Maybe that won’t be so bad; at least I know I’ll always agree with myself. Wow, Colby. You’re right. We are going to have a lot of fun together. By the way, did I tell you that you’re the most handsome man on the planet? Yeah, and you have a great personality, too. Everyone wants to be around you,” Colby rambled.
Maggie and Joey couldn’t help but laugh at his performance.
“You’re such an odd man,” Maggie said, chuckling.
“Yeah, Colby. You’re weird,” Joey chimed in from the backseat.
“Oh, I see. So you two only say stuff when it’s to mock me. I get it. You’re both just lucky to be with a cool dude like me,” Colby told them.
The two girls laughed harder. “Oh, right. You don’t have a cool bone in your body. I mean, seriously, Colby, you’re cool through Joey and me. You’re only cool by association,” Maggie teased.
Joey was energized by the banter. “Hey, can we get pizza for dinner tonight?”
Maggie looked over at Colby. “I don’t know. What do you think, Colby? Should we get the brat in the back pizza for dinner?”
“I’m not so sure, Maggie. I mean, she has been good today, and if she gives us hugs when we get to our new apartment, then maybe we could think about it,” Colby teased.
“You two are nasty; and Colby, your breath stinks; and Maggie, your hair has knots in the back,” Joey fired back, giggling.
The three continued to chatter and joke until they pulled up in front of their new apartment. Colby had managed to break through the gloom that had filled the car and gave them a reason to be excited.
As they entered their new apartment, Maggie and Joey looked around in surprise. The apartment was completely set up. The two girls stood motionless with their mouths hanging open. After a couple of seconds, they rushed around to look at everything. There was living room furniture and a dining room set. The kitchen had been fully stocked with appliances and all of the other essentials. Even the refrigerator and cabinets were filled with food. As they walked into the bedroom that Maggie and Joey would share, they found a king-sized bed, two large dressers, and night tables on either side of the bed. The entire room had been done in hot pink and white with random splashes of bold colors on the walls.
“Did my mom and dad do all of this?” Maggie finally asked Colby.
He shook his head. “They did buy all of your bedding. Your mom actually picked out the colors to use in your bedroom. They wanted to buy a lot more stuff, but I told them we had it covered.”
“We have it covered? Are you kidding? Where am I going to get the money to pay for all of this fancy stuff?” Maggie asked.
“You’re not. You’re going to concentrate on going to col
lege and getting a part-time job, remember? That’s what we agreed. Then, after you’re making a billion dollars a year, I get to sit back and sponge off of you,” Colby said, toying with her.
Maggie was immature when it came to finances and what things cost. Working for Rock, she wasn’t given enough money for anything but essentials. She had no idea how much money Colby had spent to set up the apartment with all of the new and beautiful things. Just as she didn’t realize that the one hundred dollars a month in rent she was going to pay Colby would only cover the monthly electric bill. It didn’t matter to Colby, though; he would have let them live there rent-free. But Maggie had insisted on pulling her weight. If only she knew that the monthly lease alone was two thousand dollars. With that price tag, however, came one of the best school districts for Joey and a five-minute drive for Maggie to see her parents.
On their first night in the new apartment, and after Joey was sleeping, Maggie and Colby sat on the soft, plush sofa in the airy living room. Colby had brought them each a cold beer, and they were sipping on the fizzy liquid as Maggie rambled on about how much she appreciated everything he’d done for her.
“I’m not an idiot, Colby. Not many men would want to take on an ex-hooker and the kid she found as roommates. You know that Joey and I come with our unique set of problems. But it doesn’t seem to bother you. Why is that?” Maggie asked.
“My parents raised me to be open. They taught me how to find the good in people. Just because someone had a horrible life doesn’t make them bad. Just because you and Joey were sold for sex as kids doesn’t make you unworthy of great things in life. In fact, I think it makes you even more deserving of the things that bring you joy. My mom and dad always wanted me to accept people for who they are, that’s all. I’m not saying they want me hanging out with serial killers or child molesters, but they would never pass judgment on someone who has been through the things you’ve been through,” Colby explained.
Maggie nodded as she began to understand that Colby viewed her as a human being worthy of happiness. She smiled and leaned into him. Colby leaned forward, and in the next moment, their lips brushed. Maggie’s blue eyes were ablaze, and Colby could feel the blood pumping through his veins. The two had waited a long time for intimacy. They’d both always wanted it from each other, but under the circumstances, they had avoided that type of relationship. But now everything was different. Maggie was no longer obligated to sell her body to survive, and suddenly their newfound freedom turned the heat up on the passion they’d suffocated over the past few years.