The Pursuit

Eleven

Maggie felt the swaying sensation move through her body. Her body rocked side to side. Her head on something soft and known. She's slept like this before. She turned her head to wake herself up. Her eyes opened and adjusted. She sat in the backseat of a suburban SUV, seatbelted in with her dad's hand on hers. He squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. He smiled at her, that "It'll be okay but I don't know how we'll do it" smile. The same one he gave her the morning of the funeral. He's trying to be strong.

"Hi love", he placed a kiss on her forehead. "You ready for the next part of the journey?" He looked out the window and then back at her.

She could see the fields of brown earth to her right, and her father looked out with her. The farm house in the distance was old and decaying. The silo was missing paneling and paint was chipped. Please not here, she thought.

She closed her eyes tight and breathed in and out. This coping shit is never gonna end...

Sam peered back from the front seat. He smiled at her with his green eyes shining bright. He moved his head forward as the car bumped in the road.

Brandon was in the driver's seat. Where are we?

"Almost there honey, almost there", her dad patted her leg.

"Where are we?" she asked the occupants of the car.

"Pennsylvania", Brandon replied.

"Where in Pennsylvania?", she persisted.

"It's best you not know your specific location just as a precaution", Sam looked back. Uh, excuse me, David McCall, didn't know I signed up for the remake of Fear.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever", she exasperated.

"Mags, it'll all be okay", her dad reassured her. "You will be fine, and then we will move forward, like we always do".

She looked into the rear view mirror and caught Brandon's eyes. The caramel shined brightly in the reflection of the setting sun. What happens next? Maggie felt a sense of dread once again creep over her. She stared silently forward and watched the road shift and turn.

Maggie zoned in and out of awareness. She watched the sun set completely and the darkness surround the car. She thought back to the last day and tried to make sense of it, try to decompress what was happening. She looked at her dad, who had shaved and showered since seeing him that morning.

"So you want to tell me about you and Jamie or should we just pretend it never happened?", Maggie said to her father trying to get some reaction from him. She hoped he could lighten the mood, if just for an instance.

"I'd rather not comment", he said pompously.

"Seriously?!", she screeched turning her body to confront him.

Her father let loose a laugh that hit her in the chest. He shook his head and looked at her. "Don't say I didn't warn ya!", he chuckled again.

"Just tell me already!" Maggie swiftly replied. She could see Brandon shift uncomfortably in the driver's seat.

Her father paused and smiled again, clearly thinking of where to begin, "Maggie, Jamie wasn't just your friend but mine". He put his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. He was diving into his memories, she could see that, and they were happy ones too. God, he's so much happier than me.

"Every once in awhile Jamie would text or call to make sure you were okay, after one of your episodes", he opened his eyes and looked at her with compassion, and paused to make sure he hadn't hit a nerve yet. "We started meeting up every once in awhile over coffee or dinner and things just happened naturally. We started seeing more of each other and one thing lead to anoth-"