The Ones She Left Behind

Chapter Six

Topher stared out the window as Rydelle fixed Maggie's hair. For most of the afternoon, he had been edgy and nervous, and Rydelle's presence wasn't helping matters.

"Are you sure this is going to look okay?" Maggie asked.

"Better than okay," Rydelle replied. "You are going to look hot."

Topher turned to the girls, Maggie specifically. A pink streak went down the back of her hair, and upon closer inspection, he noticed it in several other places as well.

He looked away again, unable to fight the frown from spreading across his face. The girl in that chair wasn't his Maggie. She was still breathtakingly beautiful, but not in the same way she usually was. Maggie was perfect the way she was. He couldn't understand why she didn't think she was good enough.

Darcy appeared in the doorway. Maggie was preoccupied, and so he took the opportunity to slip out of the room with the young spirit.

"You need to come up with a game plan," she said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You better find a way to follow her on that date."

"I know I should be there, but maybe it's best if I'm not."

"And if something happens to her?"

"I'd never forgive myself." He sighed. "I want to let her go without me. Plus, if he does kiss her . . . I don't want to be there for that. But, what if he manages to get her drunk again? What if he tries something and she can't protect herself?"

"So, we're going, right?"

"What do you mean we?"

"Well, you're not going without me, and I'm going whether you go or not." A smile played on her lips. "And you know I like to have fun, so if you don't come along, you can't keep me in line, so you should really consider going."

Topher groaned. "I guess that leaves me no choice."

"If it makes you feel better, don't look at it as disobeying Maggie. Instead, think of it as a much needed night out for ghosts. And, you can hide yourself from her, right?"

He nodded. "I did earlier. I'm pretty sure it worked."

"Then, we should have no problems."

After Rydelle left, Topher re-entered Maggie's room. Maggie turned her focus to him and smiled. "So, how do I look?"

Topher forced a smile. "You look beautiful, as always."

Maggie stood up, revealing a denim skirt that fell just above her knees and a pink halter top. Upon closer inspection, he noticed she wore sparkly pink lip gloss, and her face seemed to be covered in make-up.

"I still don't approve of all the make-up," he said.

She frowned. "I kind of like it."

He looked away. "I know you don't want me there tonight, but pretend like I am. Don't do anything stupid."

"And, let me guess, my curfew is at ten?" A teasing smile lit up her face.

"No. Nine forty-five," he replied, smirking. "And if you're even a minute late, it's off with Lewis' head."

She giggled. "As for you, don't throw any wild ghost parties while I'm gone."

He shrugged. "No fear, but don't be surprised if you come home and find your room completely remodeled."

She pursed her lips. "That would be so mean."

He laughed. "Well, if you leave me alone, you should expect something like that."

Her face turned serious. "Topher, I know you're worried about me, but try not to. I can handle myself."

He sighed. "I know that. It's him I don't trust. Just be careful, okay?"

She nodded. "I will. I promise."

The doorbell echoed throughout the house. Maggie bolted downstairs and stopped in front of the door. After composing herself, she opened the door and smiled at Lewis. When he smiled back at her, Topher's stomach clenched.

"Hey there purdy lady," he greeted her, holding out his arm. She looped hers through his without hesitation.

As the door closed, Darcy appeared again. "Time to go. Like I said, you better be following me."

Topher nodded. "I will."

She smiled. "Good. Let's go."

Closing his eyes, Topher made himself invisible to Maggie. He and Darcy climbed in the back of Lewis' pick up truck. It was old and rusty. The paint was chipped, and leaves from what looked like last Fall were in the bed of the truck.

Topher and Darcy peered through the window. Maggie turned to Lewis, smiling and laughing. Topher felt a tinge of pain, but he ignored it. His whole purpose of being here was so that she could find happiness. If she was happy, he should've been happy too.

Topher turned away, slumped against the back. Darcy turned to him.

"You could wreck her date and she'd never know."

He shook his head. "No. I could never do that to her."

"Not even if she was in danger?"

He sighed. "Then I guess I would have to."

Lewis stopped in front of a shabby-looking bar and restaurant. Maggie hopped out of the truck and linked arms with Lewis again. Topher and Darcy followed them inside.

Lewis and Maggie met up with Lyle and Rydelle in the front. Topher raised his brow when he saw Lani leading them to a table.

"So, this is the restaurant Lani is a waitress for," Darcy said. "I'm guessing they probably knew that."

"I'm not sure if Maggie did," he replied. He wasn't sure if Lani being there was a good idea. Being underage, the group couldn't have drank at a place like this, but given that it was Lani, he wouldn't have been surprised if she would get them something anyway.

There was a game room in the back, less than twenty feet away from the group. Topher headed toward the jukebox in the corner, figuring that was the safest place to watch from a distance. On the opposite side of the room was a dart board, and a couple of pool tables sat in the middle.

As the group looked over the menu, Topher watched as Lani headed back to the table with drinks. As Topher had predicted, they all looked like alcohol. Topher had asked Maggie not to do anything stupid, and he had hoped that she wouldn't, but when he saw her take the first sip, he had a feeling they would be repeating her last night of drinking.

Lani took their food orders, and after, Topher watched as Rydelle turned to Maggie and pointed toward the pool table closest to him.

This ought to be good, Topher thought, watching as Rydelle led Maggie to the pool table, Lyle and Lewis following them. Rydelle set up the game.

"I really don't know what I'm doing," Maggie admitted.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." Lewis followed Maggie up to the table. As she lined up her shot, Lewis placed his hands on her elbows. "Relax your arms a bit. The more relaxed you are, the better your shot."

She lined up the cue and hit the cue ball. It hit the others with succession, but none went into the pockets. Still, she improved.

Topher clenched his fists. He should've been the one who taught her that.

Out of the corner of his eye, Topher saw Darcy walk over to the jukebox.

"Any suggestions?" she asked him.

He shook his head, his eyes still focused on Maggie.

It was Rydelle's turn. She lined up her shot with two solids side-by-side. She sunk both in the right corner pocket with ease. She took another turn, this time knocking another solid closer to the right middle pocket.

When it was Maggie's turn again, Lewis gave her tips on exactly which one to go for, and as soon as she leaned forward to line up her shot, Lewis placed his arms on her shoulders again, holding them down. She took a shot and sunk one in the left middle pocket.

Maggie jumped up and threw her arms around Lewis' neck. Topher watched the scene, his frown increasing by the second.

Music poured out of the jukebox as Darcy strutted back over to him. Upbeat pop music filled his ears. "I'm afraid to know what's playing."

She bobbed her head from side to side with the music. "It's Avril Lavigne! Just what you need right now."

He shot her a look. Somehow, he figured his idea of what he needed differed from what she thought he needed.

She sang along with the music, dancing all around him. Topher focused back on Maggie. Lewis' hand was a little too far down her back for Topher's liking, but when he saw her smile, his heart sank.

He really didn't want to be here.

Topher glared at Darcy as her singing grew louder, then glared at the jukebox. He walked over to it and reached inside, changing the song. He didn't know what he changed it to, but he was hoping Darcy didn't know it.

Darcy frowned. "That was rude."

"I know."

"Look, if you want your girl, sometimes you're going to have to play dirty." She pointed over to the group. "Screw with their heads. Mess with their game. That'll scare them away."

He shook his head. "I refuse to ruin Maggie's happiness. I've already told you that."

She shrugged. "Fine. Be miserable. I, on the other hand, am going to have some fun."

She walked away, leaving Topher alone to continue watching the group.

Maggie was bubbly, laughing at every stupid thing that came out of Lewis' mouth. It made Topher sick, but at least it looked like she was having fun. She didn't seem to be in any real danger.

After a few minutes, Rydelle pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her pocket. She plucked one from the pack then held the pack out to Maggie. Topher took several steps closer to them.

"I'm going for a smoke. Wanna try one, Mags?" Rydelle asked her.

Maggie shook her head, biting her bottom lip. "I really shouldn't."

Topher breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she had some sense. Maybe her judgment wasn't so bad after all.

"Are you sure?" Rydelle tried again.

Maggie hesitated. "Well, one won't kill me I guess."

Maggie followed Rydelle outside. Topher followed them, wishing now that he could reveal himself to Maggie before she did something really stupid.

Once they were outside, Rydelle held the pack out and Maggie took a cigarette. Rydelle lit it for her.

"Maggie, don't," Topher whispered, but as long as he was hiding his presence from her, she couldn't hear him, either.

Maggie held it between her lips. Within seconds, she started gagging.

"Yeah, that typically happens the first time," Rydelle said. "Try again."

And she did. This time, she held it a few seconds longer and managed to exhale.

"So, how do you like Lewis?" Rydelle asked, exhaling smoke.

"He seems like a good guy," she said. "I like him a lot." Maggie held out her cigarette. "I'm not sure smoking is really for me, though."

"Oh that's okay. We've got time to get you used to it."

Lewis came outside. "Rydelle is like a walking chimney. I prefer a girl whose breath doesn't smell like smoke when I try to kiss her."

Lewis' arm found Maggie's waist again, but his hand rested more on her skirt than her shirt. Maggie giggled as he led her back inside. "Come on, I still have a few things to teach you before our food comes."

Before they went back to the pool table, Maggie made a stop at their table and drank down what was left of her drink. With Lewis' arm still around her, she returned to the pool table. There were a few less balls on the table now, and Topher figured Lyle and Lewis had been playing while the girls were outside.

Maggie picked up the cue and aimed lazily at the cue ball. She took a shot, but the stick went over it. Instead of getting upset as she had with Topher, she started laughing.

Lewis' hands were on her hips now, and her arms wrapped around his neck.

"They're about to kiss, you know." Darcy appeared at Topher's side once again.

"Don't remind me."

"And you're really just going to stand by and watch it happen?"

"What else can I do?"

"You're a ghost! You have all the power in the world to stop her."

Lewis leaned closer, and Maggie's head shot up, instantly connecting their lips.

Rage and jealousy reared inside Topher.

"You want to do something. Do it," Darcy said.

Lewis' hand wandered up the back of Maggie's shirt as she pressed her body against him.

Topher's hands curled into fists. Rydelle had come inside and was almost back with the group. Topher glared at the lighter sticking out of Rydelle's pocket. She was too busy watching Lewis and Maggie to notice it was now floating in the air on its own.

With the flick of his fingers, the lighter flipped open, revealing a bright, burning flame.

He dropped his hand, and the lighter fell on the pool table.

Everyone gasped as the sprinklers went off as well as a fire alarm. Someone grabbed a fire extinguisher, but it was impossible to put out a flame that was being controlled by a ghost.

The flame stayed in one place, at the edge of the table, but as Lewis ran, Topher pointed in his direction, and a small trail of flame spread toward him, making him run faster. Lewis tried to escape, but he couldn't get the door open.

As he saw the fear in Lewis' eyes, panic seized Topher. Darcy was nowhere to be found, and he realized she must've possessed the door, keeping Lewis and everyone else from leaving. Topher closed his eyes, and the fire died in an instant.

Darcy appeared, and everyone fled the restaurant, everyone except for Maggie. Topher stared down at his hands, and then he looked at her.

Maggie sat on the floor of the game room, hugging her knees to her chest. Soft sobs racked her small body.

Sighing, Topher made himself visible to her. She would hate him, but he couldn't lie to her, either.

"Maggie, it was me. You don't need to be afraid."

Maggie looked at him, her expression suddenly a twisted mix of fear and anger.

"H-how could you?"

The restaurant had to shut down after the incident. Instead of Lewis taking her home, Maggie went home with Lani. On the way home, Maggie didn't speak to Lani and refused to look at Topher. Topher stared out the window into the darkness. He didn’t need to look at Maggie to know how angry she was, and the fear that had been in her eyes the last time she spared him a look back at the restaurant haunted him. He had worked hard to ensure she would never feel fear in his presence, but now that he was the cause of it, he wasn’t sure how he could fix that.

Once home, Maggie rushed down the stairs to the bathroom. She forcefully washed off her make-up, thinking she could scrub hard enough to erase more than just the concealer and mascara. She touched the scar on the side of her face as her breathing grew heavier. 

The only person she had ever been afraid of was her father. Her father was the reason behind the scars that marred her skin. She had never had reason to fear anyone else because Topher would protect her from anyone who tried to hurt her.

Now, she was afraid to leave the bathroom. She knew he would be in her room, waiting for her. She was terrified of being alone with the person who had sworn to protect her, the last person she had ever thought she would be afraid of.

Maggie’s hands trembled as she changed into her pajamas. She had never seen him try to set someone on fire, not even her father. She didn’t even know he was capable of doing that. What if he ever became angry with her? Would he threaten to set her on fire as well?

Maggie choked back a sob as she dropped to her knees. For six years, Topher had been by her side. For six years, she relied on his protection, never realizing just what he was truly capable of. Were there other abilities he was hiding from her?

Picking herself off the floor, Maggie tried to collect herself. Sooner or later, she would have to go to her room. She would have to face him.

When she went to her room, the door was open. Topher sat on her dresser, looking down at the floor. As usual, his expression didn’t tell her anything. Did he regret his actions at all?

Pulling her gaze away, she pulled back her blankets. She now felt his gaze on the back of her head, but Maggie ignored it. 

“Maggie?”

“For one night, you couldn’t let me have fun?” When she finally turned to him, there were tears in her eyes. “All I asked for was a chance to do something without you.”

Topher looked away. “Maggie, I did it for your own good. Lewis was all over you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think I was aware of that? Did you think maybe for one second I might’ve actually liked it?”

“I didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“You didn’t want to see me get hurt, so your solution was to hurt me?” She crossed her arms. “I’ve never been afraid of you, Topher, but tonight I was afraid for my life. What if I make you mad? Are you going to try to set me on fire?”

“You know I would never hurt you.” His voice was calm, but that only fueled Maggie’s rage even more. 

She shook her head. “No, I don’t know, not anymore. I don’t know if I can trust you now. You promised you wouldn’t interfere tonight. For once, I just wanted to be happy. Why can’t you just let me live my life?”

Topher met her gaze. “Everything I do has always been to protect you. I won’t stand idly by and watch you or anyone else ruin the life I worked so hard to protect.”

Her hands balled into fists. “It’s my life, my choices! Just because you don’t have a life doesn’t mean I shouldn’t, either.”

Even though he was good at hiding his emotions, Maggie knew she had struck a nerve. Fear crept up inside of her. If she pushed him too hard, what would he do to her? They had never had an argument, at least not one like this.

“I can be wherever I want to be in the universe. I stayed with you because you said you needed me. I didn’t have to, Maggie. Six years ago, I could’ve taken one look at you and moved on, but I stayed because you said you wanted a friend. So, if being there for you every moment of every day is considered not having a life, I would’ve thought you would’ve been more grateful for that.”

“Yeah, I wanted you to be my friend until you stopped letting me enjoy having friends besides you.” Maggie’s gaze hardened into a glare. “For once I’m somewhere that I can make new friends, but you had to ruin that. Are you trying to control my life so much that I can’t have any friends besides you?”

“I always wanted you to have other friends, and you know that. It’s your choice of friends that I have a problem with. First drinking, and now they’re trying to get you to smoke, too? What next? Are they going to convince you to try drugs? Teen pregnancy? If they’re already pressuring you to do these things, it’s only going to get worse from here.” 

Maggie shook her head. “I can make my own choices, Topher. If I wanted to walk to Lewis’ house and crawl into bed with him, that would be my choice. If I wanted to try cocaine, that would also be my choice.”

A spark of emotion flickered in Topher’s eyes, but it was gone as fast as it appeared. “And what kind of friend would I be if I sat back and watched you do those things? Or, is that the kind of friend you want now? Someone who doesn’t care about what’s best for you and only about the thrill of the moment? If it is, tell me now and I’ll get out of your life.”

Maggie gasped. She searched his face for any signs of sadness or despair, but she found none. Did the idea of leaving her really not hurt him at all?

“I don’t want to waste my time protecting someone who doesn’t want to be protected anymore,” he continued. “If you don’t want me or need me anymore, why don’t you just say it?”

“If protecting me means controlling my every move, then maybe I don’t need to be protected anymore.” Maggie searched his face again, looking for any sign that her next words would hurt him, but she didn’t find any. Her bottom lip quivered. Maybe this was what he wanted, she thought. Maybe he wanted her to send him away, and that was why he was acting like this.

“I’m done, Topher,” she said, her voice calm in spite of her shaking hands and ragged breaths. “I don’t need you to protect me anymore. I want you to leave.”

 His expression softened. “I’ll respect your wishes. I’ll leave. You don’t have to worry about seeing me ever again, so there’s nothing for you to be afraid of. I won’t cause you any more pain.” He stepped closer to her and reached out his hand as if he was going to touch her cheek. Her eyes widened, and he pulled his hand back. “I just want you to be happy. Hopefully, you will be once I’m gone.” 

Turning away from her, Topher clenched his fists and closed his eyes. Maggie’s heart raced. Was this really what she wanted? Would she be able to stop him if it wasn't?

“I used to have no regrets, but now I have one: putting the fear back into your eyes. I’m sorry for that, and I hope someday someone worthy of you will take away all of your fear and pain.”

     Maggie wrapped her arms around herself as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Topher . . . .” She reached toward him, but before she could, he vanished.