A Master Of Mischief ~ George Weasley Love Story ~ Book 1

Chapter 67

**George’s POV**

                                 

“Morning sweetie,” I greet Maddie. I get the same response I’ve been getting for two weeks. Silence.

“What would you like for breakfast?”

Silence.

I keep chattering, talking about the weather, the joke shop, anything to fill the silence.

“I’ll go get some toast and we can have a quiet breakfast together, okay?” I suggest cheerfully. As I turn away I let my expression fall. It’s exhausting, trying to pretend to be happy and optimistic all the time. Maddie hasn’t shown any signs of getting better. Completely opposite. She’s lost a lot of weight and hasn’t held Alithea since that first night that I put her on Maddie’s lap.

When I reach the door, I’m thinking of ways I can get Maddie to eat when I hear something unexpected.

“George.”

I spin around and look at Maddie. She’s staring out the window, her expression as blank as it has been for two weeks.

“Yes?” I press.

“I want to go home.”

I feel so relieved to hear her voice I almost begin to sing and dance. Instead, I force myself to calmly walk over and sit opposite her.

“Okay,” I say, “this afternoon-”

“No.”

She says the word so fast he lips barely part.

“I want to go now.”

“Alright,” I agree quickly, “I’ll get Alithea.”

I run downstairs to the kitchen where Mum has just finished giving Alithea her breakfast.

“Mum, she’s talking,” I gasp, pick Alithea up and wiping her face, “I’m taking her home.”

“George, is that wise?”

I shrug.

“It’s what she wants,” I reply dashing upstairs again. Maddie is right where I left her.

“Ready, sweetheart?” I ask. She stands silently. I hold out my hand, but she ignores it, turning on the spot. I arrive a moment after her and she’s already walking upstairs. My heart stops. I haven’t been home since that day.

“Sweetie!” I call, hurrying after her, thinking of any excuse to stop her from seeing the blood. To my surprise, there’s no blood. There are clean sheets on the bed. Maddie lies down on her side of the bed and closes her eyes. I walk over and kiss her softly on the mouth.

“I love you.”

I take Alithea on a tour of the house before putting her down for her sleep. When I go back into our room, Maddie is gone.

My heart thumping in my chest, I search the house for her before running into the yard. She’s standing out the back, staring at the fields surrounding the house. Staring, always staring.

“Hey,” I say quietly, wrapping my arms around her I hold her close, wishing she would relax into me like she used to, wishing her face would break into that smile I love so much, wishing I could have my wife back.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask her, “it wasn’t your fault.”

She doesn’t respond. I keep holding her, hoping she’ll give in, but she doesn’t.

“I love you,” I tell her again, “I love you and Alithea and Alithea loves you too. She misses her Mummy.”

I let my arms fall away and return to the house. I begin cleaning the dust away, keeping an eye on Maddie out the window. After a few hours she comes back inside and sits down on one of the couches.

Over the next few days we fall into a routine. Wake up, get dressed, Alithea and I play while Maddie stands outside and stares. I put Alithea down for a nap, Maddie keeps staring. I clean. Maddie stares. Just before Alithea wakes, Maddie comes back inside and sits on the couch. I get dinner ready and feed Alithea. I put Alithea to bed and eat. Maddie and I go to bed.

“It’s raining,” I point out one morning, a week after we came home, “you probably don’t want to stand outside today.”

Maddie ignores me and stands outside anyway. I go through the cupboards and make a list of groceries we need.

“I’m going shopping,” I tell her, “do you want to come?”

She doesn’t answer, so I take that as a ‘no thanks honey, I’ll stay here’.

“Alithea is sleeping,” I tell her as I leave.

When I arrive home the first thing I notice is Maddie sitting on the couch covered in mud.

“Scourigfy,” I mutter. I grab a thick blanket and wrap it around her and then sit next to her.

“I know you’re not going to reply,” I tell her, “but I love you. I love Alithea. And I loved that baby.”

I get up and head back to the kitchen to unpack the groceries.

“She was a girl.”

I stop.

“What?” I ask quietly.

“The baby was a girl.”

I turn around slowly. Maddie sits staring down at her feet. Tears are rolling down my cheeks. I open my mouth, but I don’t know what to say.

The next morning I wake late. It’s raining harder than the day before. I walk downstairs and glance out the window, expecting to see Maddie standing out in the rain, but she’s not there.

“Maddie?” I call, searching the house. I walk out into the yard.

“Maddie?”

She comes walking around the side of the house, her hands full of flowers. She walks straight past me to the corner of the yard where she usually stands. She kneels down in the mud and lays the flowers on the ground. Curious, I walk over to her. There’s a small mound on the ground with a tombstone saying: The most beautiful girl that never lived.

I feel tears well up in my eyes. Maddie stands up and sighs deeply. I look down at her. She’s looking at the grave.

“I love you,” she whispers and I know she’s not talking to me. I reach my hand out to her. For a long moment she keeps looking at the grave and then she turns and takes my hand. Her hand isn’t cold anymore. It’s warm and soft and I know she’s going to be alright.