MAGGIE

Thirty Eight

          Stephan was sitting on one of the chairs in the backyard when Amy stormed out. The murderous look in her eyes could only be put there by one person. Maggie. She had a way of getting on your nerves and making you want to do something crazy. He knew how to handle her temper tantrums. Amy and Mr. Miller didn't, so they were bound to get angry over the tiniest provocation.

"What did she do now?" he asked sighing. Amy took a moment to calm herself down and when it didn't work she screamed

"That bitch is going too far"

"Either talk or go back inside" he told her in a cool tone

"I can't..... Aarrgh she's so annoying"

"Calm down and tell me what happened"

"She asked for Jamie's knowing very well it was the one thing I wasn't willing to give up. My mother left that place for me. Maggie knows that and she's blackmailing my father into giving it to her" Amy rushed to say. Stephan whistled

"Wow, there's no predicting her next move. I didn't see that one coming"

"Daddy believes she's a good person but I'm not as blind as he is. People like her go around lighting fires then walk away, leaving others to burn"

"Your father is right. Maggie is a good person. It's just that she's hurting right now and can't see past her pain"

"That doesn't give her the right to hurt others. What did I do to her?"

"Have you perhaps stopped to think that you might not be okay with having a sister?"

"What?"

"You've been the center of attention all your life Amy. Your father has treated you like a princess but now that another child has come into the picture, it's not just you anymore. Mr. Miller has to think about Maggie too and you can't accept that. If you did, you wouldn't be so angry" he told her calmly knowing he was touching a nerve.

"I should have known you were also going to take her side. What kind of spell has she cast on all of you?"

"You know I'm right Amy. Maggie can also see that so she's trying to cripple you first before you even think of attacking her"

"You're crazy Stephan. Ever since I found out who she was, I've been nothing but nice to her. I've tried to understand where she's coming from but not anymore. If she doesn't stop, I will be forced to fight back"

"There's no need for that. You'll see that Maggie is just testing you all. She wants to see if you'll run when things get worse"

"I'm honestly done accommodating her. If you don't stop her, I won't care who she is or what my father thinks"

"Sit down Amy. I have no intention of helping her destroy anyone or herself so rest assured, she'll be back to normal soon" Stephan watched as Amy paced for a few seconds then sat down. They were definitely sisters. That short temper they had was volatile but still adorable. One second they were screaming their heads off and the next they were cool as cucumber. Like nothing had happened.

"Why do you love her anyway?"

He smiled knowing why she was asking that "I didn't choose to love her. It just happened. I don't need a reason to love Maggie"

"You had to have seen something in her"

"She's beautiful, inside and out. The first time I saw her, I knew that"

Amy scoffed "You're just infatuated with her. If you truly loved her, you'd know that there's nothing beautiful inside her. She's rotten Stephan. Rotten from the inside out"