The Ones She Left Behind

Chapter Seven

Maggie sat at the kitchen table, a piece of construction paper in front of her and a pink crayon in hand. Topher smiled from across the table at her as she started coloring.

“Are you drawing Barbie’s dream house again?” he asked her.

She shook her head. “No. Barbie’s boat so I can sail away.”

He chuckled. “Nice.”

“Maggie!”

Maggie jumped as the booming voice echoed throughout the house.

“You were supposed to do the dishes last night. Why are they still in the sink?”

Maggie scrambled to her feet. “I did them! I swear!”

A figure materialized before her, but it was distorted from years of forgotten memories. But she would never forget what his hands looked like. They stayed exactly the same. Big and powerful.

“You little liar!”

Maggie shrieked as the hand came down across her face, knocking her to the ground.

“Topher! Help me!” she cried, looking wildly across the room for her protector.

He was nowhere to be found.

Her father’s lips were moving, but it wasn’t his voice she heard.

“No one is going to save you now.”

Sweat ran down Maggie’s face as she shot upright. Breathing hard, she looked around the room.

“Topher?”

She flipped on the light, but he wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Topher?” Tears pooled in her eyes.

“Topher, you’re worrying me. Please come out so we can talk.”

Still, there was no one there.

“Topher, I’m really sorry about what I said. Can you please come out so we can talk?”

Nothing.

A sob escaped her lips. He was really gone.

He would never abandon her, would he? Then again, she did tell him she was afraid of him. Topher had taken his role as her protector seriously. Maybe he left to protect her from himself.

She got out of bed and put on her slippers. Walking through the house, she tried her best not to make the floor creak too much.

She had hoped Topher would be at the pool table, but there were no pool sticks floating in the air. There was no sign of him whatsoever.

Tears ran down her face but she was quick to wipe them away. Don’t cry, she told herself. Topher was somewhere nearby. He had to be.

The nightmare returned to her. If Topher was really there, she wouldn’t have had a nightmare. Maybe there really was no one to save her now.

Maggie froze. Was that really the reasons why she missed him? He took away her nightmares every night. He had protected her from her father. He talked her through every painful memory that hit her.

But, was that really why she missed him?

No wonder Topher left.

He cared about her enough to do all those things. He cared enough to look out for her. No matter what he did, he always had her best interests at heart. All he wanted to do was make sure she was safe. He messed up one time in the six years he had been there for her, but she didn’t even know what had sent him into a rage. She hadn’t even thought to ask him. He wouldn’t have done what he did for no reason.

“Topher, you can come out now. I learned my lesson.” She looked around, and her heart sank. Was he really gone? She refused to believe it. The Topher she knew wouldn’t leave her, yet he also wouldn’t have wanted her to be afraid, either. 

“Just because you don’t have a life doesn’t mean I shouldn’t, either.”

Maggie winced. He had done so much for her, but all she did was throw it in his face. He had been right. He never had to protect her. He never had to be her friend. She should’ve been more grateful, but instead, she used his promise of protection against him. What kind of friend did something like that? 

Wrapping her arms around herself, Maggie fought back tears as she went back to her room. Closing the door behind her, she tried to go back to bed, although she knew that sleep would be impossible. She didn’t know if she could ever sleep again as long as Topher wasn’t there.

As she lay awake, a dozen questions filled her mind. Where had Topher gone? Would he ever come back? Would she be able to find him?

Maggie pulled the blanket over her head. If he didn’t come back, then what? She would have no choice but to move on without him. She would have to learn to live with the nightmares. She would have to live with the pain of knowing she pushed him away, and she would have to accept the fact that she couldn’t bring him back.

____________________________________________________________________________

Darcy moved through the trees behind Lani’s house. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she had to find Topher.

She had seen everything. She had listened as Maggie told Topher to leave. She watched as he had disappeared. She didn’t know where he had gone, but she was convinced he had to be nearby. Darcy knew that Topher loved Maggie, so she knew that it was unlikely he would be far from her.

And yet, because of that love, he could have also gone as far away from Maggie as possible.

Darcy gritted her teeth as she came to a clearing. She could search this entire forest, but she knew it would be pointless. He could’ve been anywhere in the universe by now.

Her fists shook by her sides. Maggie had really done it this time. It was bad enough that Maggie ruined her own friendship with Topher, but in sending him away, now Darcy would be unable to find him. Not only did Darcy consider him her best friend, he was her only friend. She was a floater. She went wherever she wanted and never stayed in one place for very long, but she always came back at least a few times a week to spend time with Topher and to check up on her sister. Without Topher, no one really would know she existed. Topher was her gateway to Maggie. Without him, she really would have no connection to her family.

Closing her eyes, Darcy vanished from the woods. When she reopened her eyes, she was in Maggie’s room. As angry as she was with her sister, she also knew that she was the only one who could bring Topher back. First, she planned to show Maggie exactly who it was that she had sent away. Maggie may have been the one he loved, but Darcy knew the secrets he hid. Darcy believed he should’ve told Maggie himself, but it was too late for that. Now, it was Darcy’s turn.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sleep never came. Maggie’s thoughts continued to race. She needed to find Topher. Somehow, she needed to bring him back, but she didn’t know how to track down a ghost.

Around six, she rolled over, noticing the bright light coming from her laptop on top of her dresser. Confused, she got up and walked over to it. When she had gone to bed, her laptop had been turned off. Now, it was on and there was a page loading. Once it loaded, The Chicago Tribune logo caught her attention first. Scrolling past the logo, a news headline read “House Fire Ends in Tragedy”.

Maggie’s stomach clenched as she scrolled down to the article.

A house fire started on April 21, 2013 ends in tragedy. Fire officials were called to a house in Summit, Illinois when neighbors said the house was ablaze. The young son of the homeowners was the only one present at the time of the incident.

The boy’s remains were found “chained to a bed” according to Fire Marshall Max Wielder, and he sustained severe burns covering more than ¾ of his body. According to neighbors, the homeowners were having marital problems, and Jessica Knots, the boy’s mother, moved out of the home two weeks prior to the incident. Her husband, identified as Russell Knots, often “beat Jessica, leaving her covered in cuts and bruises”. They were in the middle of a custody battle over their son who has been identified as Christopher Knots. Jessica was coming to get their son later that day.

Christopher Knots, 12, died before the fire officials could reach him. Russell Knots is currently in Cook County Jail awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.

Maggie’s stomach twisted. She thought she was going to be sick. Christopher. Chris-Topher. Topher . . . .

Maggie shook the thought away. No. There had to be some mistake. That couldn’t have been her Topher. 

Another page suddenly started to load on the screen. It was another article from The Chicago Tribune. This time, it was an obituary.

A picture of a young boy appeared on the screen. Even in a photograph, his gray-silver eyes still captivated her. His dark hair fell in front of his eyes, exactly how it had for the last six years. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she started to read.

Christopher “Topher” Knots passed away unexpectedly April 21, 2013 at the age of 12. To those closest to him, Topher is best known for his caring heart and love for learning. 

Topher didn’t have an easy childhood. Growing up, he had witnessed his father’s a***e toward his mother. Topher was brave, however, and would try his best to protect her.

Tears streamed down Maggie’s face. There was still more, but she could no longer read through her tears. 

The articles suddenly vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The laptop shut down by itself. Maggie’s breath hitched. “Topher, are you doing this? If you are, please, I need to talk to you. I-I’m not afraid of you. I know you won’t hurt me. Please, just come back. I-I need you.”

Still, she saw no one. Maggie buried her head in her hands. Topher was the only spirit she knew, but something like this was unlike him. He would never mess with her like this. If he was really there, he would’ve let her know by now. Did that mean another spirit had found her?

Maggie remembered the radio incident, how it had come on by itself her first day at Lani’s. Then, she remembered seeing what appeared to be Topher talking to someone at school that she couldn’t see. A chill ran up her spine. If Topher knew about another ghost, wouldn’t he have told her?

Her thoughts returned to the articles. Apparently, there were quite a few secrets he had been hiding from her. A second ghost could’ve been one of them.