The Peacemaker

Chapter 13: Blood Stained

Magnolia

The door cracks open and dim light begins to seep into the room. I stand ready behind the door as it swings inward. I listen carefully as someone steps into the room then kick the door as hard as I can, ramming it into the person on the other side. I recognize the voice as it cries out in surprise, but it does not belong to my captors.

I am both relieved and afraid as Vincent's shout fills the room. The shock of confusion causes me to forget my plan of escape and instead I retreat to the back of the room, the photos on the floor a barrier between us.

He follows my gaze to the pictures of violence scattered like leaves, then looks back to me, a deep sorrow etched in his face.

"I had hoped you would never see me like that. Maggie, I-" He takes a step forward, then stops, seeing the fear in my eyes at the blood on his hands. His eyes fall to the floor, then immediately away not wanting to look at the destruction he wrought. He takes a deep breath, about to speak again when Nicolas appears behind him. I open my mouth to warn him, or maybe to distract him, I'm not sure which. But Nicolas puts his hand on Vincent's shoulder, speaking softly.

"We need to go. I hear sirens."

"Maggie," He reaches out to me, but I move to the corner, farther away. I can't take that blood covered hand. I can't look into those deceptively kind eyes. His father has won. All I can see is the monster before me and the sinister smirk of the assassin in the photos burned into my mind, all traces of Joshua covered by the blood of others.

He quickly gathers the photos then looks at me one last time and follows his brother out the door.

When the police find me, I am still crouched in the corner of the the room that has been my prison. No thoughts cross my mind as they put a blanket around my shoulders. I hear nothing, see nothing, as they lead me out of the room. I give barely a glance to the body on the floor being covered with a sheet as they escort me through the main part of the factory.

Outside I am surrounded by the warm and caring arms of my parents as they cry over me but I can't make myself return their show of emotion. They take me to the car. Dad opens the door, mom buckles me in.

I stare out the window but see none of the scenery. All I see is the images of Vincent, covered in the blood of those he killed.

It took almost a month for things to start feeling even a little normal again. I went back to school because sitting at home only gave me time to dwell on what had happened. It was hard at first, to see the seat where Joshua once sat, now empty. In my heart, it was as if he had died but I was the only one who seemed to know.

After school I drove home to see a figure sitting on the steps. He looked up as my car pulled into the driveway. My heart stopped and I reached for the gear shift, throwing my car into reverse but he pulled my door open before I could hit the gas.

"Maggie, please. Let me talk. If when I am done, you still want me gone, I will go. You never have to see me again."

I looked up at him and saw the mournful eyes of Joshua, not the cold,dangerous eyes of Vincent. I took a deep breath, and turned off the car.

******************New scene starts here!!!!******************

We sat down on the porch, him with his head in his hands and me with my arms resting on my knees waiting for him to collect his thoughts. Finally he took a deep breath and began.

"I wasn't one of those good guys who fell into a bad crowd. I never had the option to be good. My father is..." He paused then corrected himself. "Was the head of the Santiago crime family in Chicago. I was bred into it. It was always part of my life. I am not a good person. I never have been and you have every right to hate me. The things I have done are unforgivable. 

"And I thought I could escape, leave it all behind.  But then Nic shows up, and then my father, and they pull me back in. Because of me you got hurt. There is nothing I can say or do that will ever make up for that."

I looked at him for a while, trying to decide what I would say next. I knew I should have a million questions but I couldn't think of even one. Finally one fell out of the fog of my brain.

"What made you leave? I mean, if you were raised in all that, why suddenly turn your back on it? I'm just having a hard time connecting you and 'Vincent'. You just, you got so angry and that look on your face..."

"I'm so sorry Maggie. I've tried so hard to repress that part of me. It took a long time for me to learn to control it and I just lost it. I lost it and I hurt you. I'm not asking your forgiveness. I don't deserve that. I just, I don't know. I guess I just want you to know."

I wanted to tell him I forgave him, but I wasn't sure yet if I had, if I could. So instead I circled back to the only question I could think to ask. "You still didn't answer my question. Why did you leave?"

"I guess I fell in with the right crowd. Mateo, his family were in Chicago visiting cousins or something. He walked down the wrong street at the right time. I was, uh, on a job for my father and Mateo turned a corner and there we were. He didn't run, or even act scared. I was about to turn on him when he looked at me and asked if I was okay. I'm standing over a guy I had just beat into a bloody mess and he asked if I was okay. It threw me off. I just didn't know how to respond to that. He looked genuinely concerned for me. It wasn't something I was use to seeing.

"We ended up spending a long time talking that day. He gave me his number and told me to call if I ever wanted to talk. I ended up calling him almost every day.  He ended every phone call saying, 'If you ever want to leave that stuff behind, start over, you're always welcome here.' One day, I took him up on the offer and I left without even a backward glance."

"I'm glad you did." I said, leaning into him before I even realized what I was doing. I guess forgiving him wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

He looked at me and smiled then wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Me too."

Epilogue

I laid in Joshua's arms as the movie flickered on the television. The events of the past months seemed even less real than the animated show that played out on the screen.

I looked up at him as he smiled at the antics of the characters on the show. He is Joshua again; the scars on his body the only sign that Vincent ever existed. I snuggled in to him content to let those memories fade into the past.

Dear readers,

I hope you have enjoyed this little story. I had fun writing it, and honestly, it did not go the way I expected. haha. I started it as a fluff piece. A simple romance with school drama. haha Apparently I can't keep my stories so light-hearted.  Anyway, that is all for now. On to other works! I may come back and edit/polish this story some other time but for now I am done with it. Let me know what you think and where I can improve! I welcome your feedback!

See you in the next story!