The Magpie's Death

The Magpie's Visit (2)

An hour later, after staring down his new friends to remind them of their deal and listening to their incoherent accounts of the night, Sam found himself back out in the station lobby. Jack glared up at him but said nothing. Then he turned and headed outside, so Sam followed him quietly toward the house.

With the fence in view, Jack halted and spun, still scowling. His face was now a bright red. "What the hell did you do?"

"The deputy told you." Sam didn't want him to know the truth, hoping he would just accept the story as it had been explained.

Jack only continued to glare and it was clear he didn't believe the lie. The two spent a while in awkward silence before he spoke again, either trying to decide what to say or trying to calm himself before saying it.

"Even if what you said is true, which it's not, why do you care?" It wasn't only his disappointment speaking, though that was there too. He was genuinely asking because he genuinely didn't understand. "What does any of it have to do with you?"

Sam didn't know how to answer that question because he wasn't sure why he did it. It didn't matter that he told himself not to get involved. It didn't matter that his plan exposed him to law enforcement or that he had threatened those bullies as the Magpie and not Sam. All that mattered was he'd been angry all day and needed to rid himself of that feeling.

Hearing no response, Jack sighed in frustration. "So, then, am I supposed to believe the missing bottle of vodka is a coincidence?"

Shit. When did I get so careless? He would have never done this with a real job. Or with anything. Why had this been so messy?

"I heard your conversation," he confessed. "Or confrontation. When I was making a delivery to the coffee shop."

Jack sighed again, but this time the disappointment was heavier than the irritation. The sound was so much worse and Sam wished he would just be angry.

"So you came out here on purpose? To threaten them?"

Nodding, Sam felt the tiniest hint of shame for the first time in his life. There was a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and a strange uneasiness making it difficult to breathe. It was terrible.

"Why? It has nothing to do with you." Jack met his gaze, dark green cutting deep into him. "How long are you planning to stay here? What do you think will happen after you leave?"

It was another thing he hadn't thought about, since he never needed to think about consequences like that before. He took a step back.

"Exactly."

"It made me angry." The words leapt out and that hot feeling in his chest returned. "Even the deputy-"

"Exactly! The deputy doesn't even think it's a problem." After exhaling his stress, Jack pressed two fingers between his wrinkled brow. "Which is why it's easier to just let it happen and move on. What are you angry about, anyway? What happened to not being emotional?"

"I don't know."

He really didn't know. He didn't even know if it was anger. He didn't feel it often, but it was one of the few emotions he at least recognized. This seemed different. Everything was confusing and he kept getting heated over things that shouldn't matter. It made him do things he normally wouldn't and made him sloppy.

Jack nodded, sighing a final time before turning and continuing toward the house. "You're seriously so frustrating."

Following a few steps behind, Sam waited for him to say something more, but that was the end. The two entered the house in silence. Without giving him a glance, Jack took his place behind the desk and Sam hesitated at the bottom of the stairs.

They had finally begun to move past the awkwardness from the previous week and now they were back to not speaking. It twisted Sam's stomach into little knots, knowing that his actions may have hurt Jack instead of help him, but he didn't know what to say to make it better. Instead, anything he said would likely make things worse. If that was possible.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light creaking on the stairs. He looked up to see Ellie slowly making her way down, taking one step at a time as her wide eyes darted between him and her feet. He rushed to meet her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way.

"Why are you up?"

He asked knowing she wouldn't answer, but he had started talking to her more often. Spending day after day with her at his side, he hadn't put much thought into their interactions until he watched the other children at preschool. It made him realize he had been treating her differently because she didn't speak. Others calling her strange aggravated him, but this whole time, he had been thinking the same thing.

She stared at him with her big, sleepy eyes, rubbing a little fist under one, then rested her head on his shoulder. "If you're tired, you should go back to sleep."

She took in a short breath, quickly blowing it out again, which usually meant she was frustrated or wanted something. Or both. There were no tears and her eyes weren't red, so it wasn't a nightmare. This late at night, she was either thirsty or something was running through that secret mind and keeping her awake. He took her into the kitchen, offering her a drink. She accepted, but it didn't seem to make her feel any better.

"This would be easier if you told me what was wrong."

Of course she didn't, only returning her head to his shoulder. He leaned against the counter, rubbing her back and staring out into the empty room. Nothing was going right tonight. Or maybe it had started to go bad weeks ago. It was problem after problem, piling on top of each other, and he wasn't equipped to handle any of them. A name and a backstory didn't make him Sam. This wasn't his life. Underneath, he was still the Magpie and he didn't know what to do.

Letting out a long breath, he brought Ellie back out to the foyer. Pausing at the desk, he glanced at Jack, but he didn't receive any interest back, so he continued to the stairs.

"Maggie!"

The loud yet elegant voice filled the large house. It hit him like a shot in the back and he felt a chill run up his spine. This was not the time for this.