American Teen-the Sequel

Me Time

Katie was obviously asleep before she answered the door. "Margaret, what are you doing here?" She asked. 

"I'm sorry to interrupt your sleep, Katie. But I didn't know where to go. Can I stay with you for a few days? I promise I'll explain." She seemed to wake up a little at the sound of my pleading voice. 

"Definitely. Come on in. What happened to you-you're a mess." I had tears all over my face. I sat down and explained to her how I left George. How he left Teddy all alone and how he wasn't acknowledging me and how I was too stressed to be able to handle it. 

"You did the right thing. He's a grown man. He should be accepting your help or at least getting himself some. And he left Teddy. No one in their right mind would leave a baby alone in a flat. Plus, you said he hit you?" I nodded my head. "Come here Mags." She pulled me close and let me cry into her shoulder. "You and Teddy can take my bedroom. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Oh no I'll-"

"Margaret, you will take my bedroom. This is not a negotiation." Katie said.

"We can sleep in the same bed Katie. We've done it before." I replied back. We shared beds all the time at Hogwarts. 

"You sure you don't want some space? I don't want to make you uncomfortable." 

"Katie, I really don't care. But do you mind watching Teddy for a bit? I need to go see Mrs. Weasley and tell her what happened."

"I can do that for you." 

"I appreciate it, but it should be me. I think she said she was returning from visiting Charlie today." With that I left Teddy in much more capable hands than last time, and went to visit Mrs. Weasley. 

--

"Margaret dear, come in. How's everything?" Mrs. Weasley said, ushering me into the kitchen. "Is George alright?"

"Actually, Molly, that's what I need to talk to you about. Someone needs to take care of George. It can't be me anymore. I have too much on my plate with Teddy and my job and taking care of myself. It's too much for me to handle. I'm afraid I'm not doing a good enough job of caring for George. And..." I took a deep breathe. "I broke off the engagement." 

Mrs. Weasley gasped at that. "Why, dear?" 

"Mrs. Weasley,"

"Molly" 

"Molly, he doesn't talk to me anymore. He won't even look me in the eye. I made some improvements back when I went to St. Mungo's, but he's reversed all of them. He needs someone to care for him, and at this moment I can't. Teddy is my priority. I'm so sorry. " I realized I couldn't bring myself to tell her about him leaving Teddy to get drunk or about him hitting me. Like all those years ago when I asked McGonagall not to discipline him. He's my weakness. I could never hurt him, even when he deserves it. I love him too much. And until last night, I thought the same was true for him. 

"He needs someone to feed him and cook him meals. I usually did, but obviously I won't be there now. I also got rid of all the alcohol in the flat, but he somehow gets more. There's a store of pepper-up potion in the cupboard above the stove though. He also needs some reminders to take a shower. You might just have to spray him with water. Again, I'm so sorry for burdening you with this on such short notice Molly." I really was. I felt so bad for leaving George, but I had to. 

"Not a problem dear. You need to take care of yourself and Teddy. I understand, and it's obvious you still love him. I'll be sure to go over there to take care of him. Maybe he should move back into the Burrow. And Margaret, please don't be afraid to come visit us still. You might have broken the engagement, but we still love you here." Mrs Weasley said to me. She's so nice. I mean, who would still want you to come visit after you just left their son to wallow in self pity.

"Of course I will, Mrs. Weasley. I should be going now. I left George some breakfast and lunch so he should be fine until dinner." I got up to leave the kitchen, but before I could exit the house Ginny stopped me. 

"I know that's not why you left him Margaret." Ginny said. "What did he do?"

"You obviously heard the conversation Ginny. I told your mother what he did." I don't think Ginny needs to hear about her brother's idiocy. 

"I don't believe that's all. You're telling me you left him because it was too much to handle? You love him, Margaret. You have been through so much. I'm sure that's part, maybe even most, of it, but there had to be a breaking point. You looked distraught when you arrived. Something more had to happen."

"Fine. come outside and we'll talk." I knew Ginny wasn't going to stop until I told her what actually happened. I don't know how she does it. But I told her everything. Every fight and detail up until I placed the ring on the nightstand and left. 

"That son of a bitch." Was all she said. "I can't believe he did that to you. You need to tell my mom what really happened." Ginny told me. 

"No, Ginny. I can't do that. He'd get in so much trouble. He was drunk. It's fine. I left him so he got what he deserved."

"Stop protecting him Margaret. Being drunk doesn't excuse what he did. You know, he doesn't deserve you. You're way too good for him. He's much to selfish and too big of a git for you. Which sucks. I was really looking forward to us being sister-in-laws." I laughed at Ginny.

"Me too. Maybe I could marry Charlie."

"or Percy. He's still available." 

"Hmm. No." I said. 

"I would never think he would do this to you Mags. He's been head over heels in love with you since he first laid eyes on you. I swear, he never shut up about you when you weren't there. He'd tell all these stories about how brilliant you were and how your pranking ideas never fail. It was obvious what he thought of you. And we were all so happy when you guys got together. We placed bets on when it would happen. Well, Fred and I did. My mom stopped us before we could get the whole family in. And when you disappeared for a month only to show up practically dead on our doorstep, I swear he was on the verge of death himself. He hardly ate and was always by your side. The only person that could talk to him was Fred. I'm sure if you had died instead of Fred he would be the same way."

"I highly doubt he would have hit Fred and screamed at him about how much he hates him." I said. 

"I don't think so. Where are you staying anyways?" Ginny asked me.

"Katie's flat. But don't tell anyone. I don't want him to know. I need some time away from him for now. I might drop Teddy off at Andromeda's once she's better so that I can focus on if I can ever forgive George." 

"Personally, half of me thinks you should and half of me thinks you shouldn't.  On one hand, you and George are couple goals. Or you were. And I want you to be part of this family. But you need to do what you need to do. Besides, the men here get away with too much."

"That's true. Like when Remus said he made a mistake marrying Tonks and getting her pregnant. I slapped him for that."

"He said that?" Ginny cried. "And she still took him back?! This is what I'm talking about. The men treat women like they're shit and then come running back with some excuse like 'I was scared' or 'I didn't realize how much you meant to me until I lost you' and they think we should just take them back like that. Like we're so in love that we can excuse anything." 

"Preach. But the problem is, we do love them. and we know that people make mistakes. Like don't let me forget how Harry broke up with you and then you took him back." I glared at her.

"He broke up with me to save the world, Margaret. It's different" She glared back. "Just do what your heart wants. And if it wants him back, make him work for it. Because lord knows that boy has pushed it too far. Don't be so empathetic." 

"Thanks, Ginny. I should probably go know. Don't tell your mom about any of this." I gave Ginny a hug. I was both more and less confused than I was. I shouldn't let George get away with this. But I love him, and he's drowning in grief and alcohol. But I have to stop making excuses for him. If he wants me back, he can prove it to me. Because I'm Margaret Hughes, and I don't need no man.