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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER
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SOMEHOW, BOTH MAGGIE AND Zeke found themselves in the living room at the same time, both planning to watch a documentary -- one they usually would’ve watched together. Maggie was already sitting on the couch when Zeke appeared in the doorway, visibly hesitating at the sight of his little sister with Scooby resting his head on one knee, a bowl of popcorn balanced on the other, and his favourite knitted blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Maggie stared back at him with the same scepticism, the opening credits to Ghost Adventures blaring from the television speakers. She debated whether or not to pause it as Zeke averted his eyes to the screen.
“You gonna sit?” she asked, unable to stand the silence.
Zeke’s eyes darted back to her. “You have my blanket,” he pointed out, neither a yes or a no.
Maggie smothered her grin then, wordlessly unravelling the blanket from her shoulders and holding it towards him. Slowly, Zeke accepted it, wrapping it around his own shoulders before cautiously sitting down beside her. He was careful to keep his distance, but after several beats of hesitant silence, his hand shot out to grab a mouthful of popcorn. Maggie, positively beaming, was quick to move the bowl between them.
Progress.
The only downside was that it didn’t last long.
Not even five minutes into the episode, Maggie’s phone began to ring on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with Dakota pulling a funny face. Maggie sighed and regretfully paused the TV, ignoring the low sound of Zeke’s huff as she held the phone up to her ear.
“What’s up, Dakota?”
On the other end of the line, the hustle and bustle of Dakota’s workplace -- a popular little cafe called the River’s Edge -- overpowered the sound of her sister’s voice. A second later, Maggie heard a door slam shut before Dakota grumbled, “Fuck, it’s busy in there. Mags, you’re friends with that Maeve Cooper girl, right?”
Well, that wasn’t what Maggie expected Dakota to ask. As far as she knew, Embry and Mae had gone out somewhere after Embry finally mustered up the courage to ask her out on a ‘not-a-date’ date, nothing that should’ve concerned Dakota… As Maggie’s shoulders tensed, Zeke not-so-subtly leaned closer to listen in, his head almost pressed against Maggie’s phone.
“I might be… why do you wanna know?”
At that, Dakota let out a sigh, catching Maggie off guard. “She’s been here for, like, two hours now. I think she’s been stood up and it’s getting kind of sad looking at her.”
