Life in the Shadows

38.

"London?" Mom asks. "As in London, England?"

"Yes, London, England,"

"I can't believe this!" Mom exclaims. "Penguin Publishing offered my daughter a job. This is incredible,"

"Mom, I don't know if I can take this job," I sigh.

"Honey, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What do you mean you can't take it?"

"I don't wanna leave," I whine childishly. "I'll be all by myself, and I don't know if I can do that,"

"You are a strong, independent, twenty-two-year-old woman. I know you can do this,"

"What about Michael?" I murmur, tears filling my eyes. "I love him so much, mom, I don't know if I can leave him behind,"

"Take me with you," his deep, raspy voice fills the room, and I whirl around. "Hi, baby," he smiles, and I run into his arms, kissing him before embracing him.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were in Cali until next week," I bury my face into his neck, inhaling his familiar scent. It immediately soothes me.

"My parents understood. They knew I wanted to see you."

"That's so sweet of them,"

"They love you almost as much as I do," he chuckles. "That's beside the point, though. When are we moving to London?"

"We?" I gasp. "Mike, I can't ask you to just pack up and leave everything behind-"

"Relax, baby. We'll make it through this. We always do," he rubs my back gently.

"What about your job?" I ask dumbfoundedly. "You can't leave that,"

"It's an international company; I can transfer over to London,"

"This couldn't be any more perfect!" Mom cheers.

"I don't want to leave you guys," I look at mom.

"This is your dream, Maggie. I won't let you leave it behind,"

"Are you sure?" I ask, still hesitant about taking the job.

"There's planes for a reason, Mags. It's not like you won't see us anymore,"

"Okay,"

"Okay?"

"I'm going to take the job."

-

"Maggie, what's going on?" Jack asks, worried.

"I need to talk to you. This is really important."

"What is it?"

"I need to show you something before we do any talking," I plug my flashdrive into my computer, revealing what I wanted to show him.

"What are these?"

"I have some explaining to do."

"Yeah, you do,"

"I'm Jane Doe,"

"What?" he asks.

"I, Maggie Johnson, am Jane Doe, the anonymous singer on the internet."

"Are you messing with me right now? I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not,"

"Why would I joke about this?"

"I don't know. I had no idea you could sing,"

I smile. "I know. Check her YouTube account right now,"