Forlot - Books 10-12

Chapter Sixteen

"Margaret! Stop!" Stanley ordered.

He and I rushed over to her and Nigel. I went behind Nigel, and Stanley went behind his ex-girlfriend. We wrapped our arms around their waists and pulled, trying to get Margaret to let go of Nigel.

I was gently tugging on my friend so that he would not be in more pain than he already was. On the other hand, my boyfriend was doing the exact opposite.

Instead of giving her gentle pulls and comforting her like I was doing with Nigel, he had his voice raised, yelling at her, and was pulling her with all his might. At one point, he had her off the ground!

Let me tell you that it was not the easiest thing to do. Margaret did not budge. She ignored us, especially Stanley, and continued on taking out her anger and frustration at Nigel.

Like me, he did not deserve this. He did not even know her. At least, that is what I thought.

Margaret may have had a good grip on Nigel, but after what seemed like forever of a game of Tug of War, she finally let go. But that did not stop her from screaming her heart out.

"Ah!" Nigel and I cried out in unison as we toppled to the floor. We were on our backs, and Nigel was lying on top of me.

"Uh, Nigel?" I managed to speak, even though that I was squished underneath him. "Could you get off of me? Please?"

"Whoops. Sorry."

He quickly got back up on his feet and held out an open hand for me. I took it, and he helped me up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I could be doing better though."

He pointed at his nose, indicating that he was referring to my nose. "What happened to your nose?"

"It broke."

His mouth dropped open, and he tried to say something, finding the right words.

All the way, Stanley was dragging Margaret up the stairs, and she was not having it. She kicked her legs and thrashed her arms. Stanley attempted to cover her mouth, but she just bit down on his hand.

By the look on his face, he was furious, and I did not blame him one bit. His ex-girlfriend was definitely not a decent human being.

"Come on," I said to Nigel. "Let us go in the living room. I will explain everything to you then."

I took his hand, and we walked into the living room together. We sat down on the couch, and he rubbed his arm, the place where Margaret had squeezed.

"Does your arm hurt?" I asked him.

"A little," Nigel confessed.

"Would you like an ice pack?" I picked up my ice pack that had been still on the floor and held it in front of him. "You can use this one."

He shook his head and gently pushed it away. "Thanks, Margie. But no. I will be fine."

"Suit yourself." I set the ice pack next to him. "Did you come here by yourself?"

"No. My mom came to visit Mr. Hawk. My sister, Karla, is also here. So are Hansel and Gretel and their parents."

"Oh." I suddenly felt a little nervous. Not because of what they would think of my broken nose, but because Margaret could eventually harm any of them. "You are lucky, Nigel. Margaret went easy on you."

"Easy on me?" He held up his arm. "My arm says otherwise."

"No. What I mean is thank gosh that she did not punch your face and give you a broken nose."

"What about a broken nose?" a voice interrupted our conversation.

I quickly spun my head around in the direction where the mysterious voice came from and immediately spotted a group of people standing near the entrance to the living room.

There were eight people in total, and I knew them all. None were complete strangers to me. There were Mrs. Sanders, Karla, Hansel, Gretel, and Mr. and Mrs. Mason. Also with them were the cutest babies that I had ever seen.

Two babies crawled into the living room, and they were both girls.

I smiled at them. "Tamara. Thumbelina."

Tamara and Thumbelina crawled over to me and stood on their little feet. They grasped my pants with their little hands, and I knew what they were up to. They were attempting to get in my lap.

"Awe." I stroked the tops of their heads, brushing their tiny hairs.

"They are such princesses," Nigel commented.

Indeed. The babies were wearing princess outfits. Tamara had on a pink dress, and Thumbelina had on a green dress. I swear that they could be mistaken for twin sisters.

Like...me and Margaret.

"So what about a broken nose?" Hansel repeated his question.

I showed my nose that was covered by the tape. "That would be my nose."

"How did your nose break?" Karla asked. She and the others walked into the room and over to me and Nigel.

"One word. A crazy girl punched me."

"That is not one word," Hansel remarked. "Those are..." He counted on his fingers. "...five words."

"Somebody punched you?" Gretel said. "Who?"

"Just guess."

"Hmm..." Karla thought for only a few seconds. "...that girl who was bent on killing you during the funeral?"

"Ding, ding, ding! That is correct."

"How did she find you here?" Mr. Mason asked.

"And are there charges being held against her?" Mrs. Mason added. "There had better."

I rested my head in my palms. "I am sorry to say, but the charges have been dropped."

Everybody except Mrs. Sanders and the babies gasped.

"That is not right!" Hansel stated angrily.

"The reason is because...Mr. Hawk convinced the hospital to let him take her home, which is here."

"How could Mr. Hawk allow the charges to drop?" Mr. Mason questioned, even though that I did not know the answer.

"He did not drop them," Mrs. Sanders finally spoke. "I...I did."