Maggie paused for a moment as she tried to come up with a convincing lie as to what he had heard but Grandpa spoke again before she could. "Do you have a male guest? That's okay, you know. I used to have female guests over- well before your Grandmother that is."
"Hi, don't mean to interrupt." Maggie swiveled around to look at Frank who was now changed from his bloody pair of jeans into a pair of black sweats, ones that had been in Maggie's closet for a long time.
"Frank, what are you-"
"Oh hello! You're Maggie's friend, I take it?" Grandpa asked, getting up and walking over to him as he held out his hand to shake. Frank took it and gave him a shake with a charming smile.
"Yes, I am. You must be George. Maggie here has told me a lot about you." He lied between his teeth smoothly as Maggie just stared daggers at him with a spatula in her hand before quickly swiveling around to take care of the eggs.
"Well it's certainly nice to meet you, Frank! Magnolia here is the sweetest, you'll find. Although, she has a fierce tongue on her if you make her mad." He warned him, patting his arm before going back over to his chair to sit down.
"Oh don't I know it." Frank said with a smirk as Maggie glanced back to him with a roll of her eyes.
"Will you be joining us for breakfast, Frank?" Grandpa asked just as Maggie threw the bacon on.
"I would love to, if that's okay with everyone."
"I don't see why not, the more the merrier!" Grandpa spoke cheerfully just as Maggie took the bacon off too and gave a fake smile.
"Frank, can I talk with you- in private?" She asked him, her eyes narrowed before walking over and grabbing his shirt, dragging him into her room and closing the door. "What the fuck are you doing?" She whispered angrily.
"Magnolia is a very pretty name." He murmured lowly with a grin, his eyes examining her closely. Maggie blushed somewhat with a glare.
"Shut up. Listen, I don't know what game you're playing here bud, but my Grandpa doesn't need to be involved. Got it? I don't introduce him to people who don't come back regularly because it's not good for him to see a bunch of random faces. He needs routine and when you go wherever the hell it is you're going to get whatever revenge you're looking for, I'll have to answer the same question everyday about where my friend Frank is and I'm not-"
Frank interrupted her mid-rant. "I'll come back. Gotta get you that coffee still, right? I'm not playin' any game. I just want to eat breakfast at a table like someone normal for a second." His voice was low and rough, the tiredness seeping in. Maggie felt her heart twinge for a moment but kept pressing it.
"But you're not normal! None of this is normal, get it? Not even less than 10 hours ago, you were bleeding all over my kitchen floor and I sewed up the hole in your leg. You're some sort of vigilante like Matt, trying to satisfy that itch for justice. And I get it, I do, but if you wanted normal, this sure is a far cry from it."
Maggie's chest was heaving up and down as she got done with her rant, both of them staring each other down silently. "You're right." Frank finally spoke after about a minute. "None of this is normal, but this is the most normal I've had in a long while.." He looked down. "All I'm askin' you is to let me have it while I can."
Maggie blinked at him in surprise at his sudden change in tune, and quickly guilt over took her as she realized how cold she was being. "Alright." She relented as her eyes studied him. "Breakfast is basically ready if you wanna go sit down.. Just don't sit on the chair to the left, that's my Grandpa's chair." She muttered before twirling around and opening her door. Grandpa glanced to her quickly before looking back at his tv.
"So.. is everything alright?" He asked casually as Maggie nodded while walking towards the breakfast in the kitchen.
"Yep, everything's alright Papa. I'm gonna make you and Frank a plate."
"I can make my own plate, but thanks." Frank quickly walked up beside her, grabbing some bacon then sliding eggs on his plate.
"Do you want toast?" Maggie asked him as she turned her head a little to glance at him. Frank shook his head.
"No, no, you've done enough. I'm already gettin' a free home cooked meal, I couldn't ask for anymore." Maggie shrugged at that before opening up a cabinet and pulling out some slices of bread, completely ignoring his refusal.
"It takes like two seconds to throw some bread in a toaster, it's not like I'm hand kneeding the dough myself or something. No need to be so humble." She spoke dismissively, not even looking at him as he stared at her, not knowing what to say. "If you wanna do something, you can put a pot of coffee on." Maggie pointed to the coffee maker to the right and Frank turned to look at it before silently nodding.
Unbeknownst to them, Grandpa watched them with a small knowing smile on his face as they interacted in the kitchen.
Soon they were all sitting at the table, quietly eating breakfast when Grandpa spoke. "So Frank, what do you do for work?" He asked as Frank swallowed what was in his mouth before wiping his face with a napkin before answering.
"I uh, was a former marine and navy seal. I worked special ops but was infantry before that." Grandpa nodded with a hum, buttering his toast.
"I was army. Fought in 'nam." He pointed his butter knife at Frank for a moment before swishing it around as he spoke. "Took a toll on me, but I think acclimating back to society was even harder. You ever feel that way?" He asked as Frank stared at him for a moment, his face set in stone. Maggie subtly watched him, noticing the way his jaw set tightly and wondered what must have happened to him.
"More than you know." He muttered, his voice low and gravelly. Grandpa seemed to sense his upset and quickly shook his head as he put down his knife flustered, smoothing his mustache as he did.
"Sorry about that, I'm just an old geezer rambling on. I hope I didn't offend you." Franks eyes were down cast as he looked at his food.
"You didn't upset me, George. I guess I'm still acclimating to life outside of a war zone, if you know what I mean?"
"More than you think." Grandpa murmured wistfully, his eyes cloudy as if he was remembering memories. "Thankfully, I have Maggie here to help me. I couldn't be luckier with a granddaughter like her." Grandpa reached over to grab her cheek and squished it as Maggie chuckled quietly. Frank gave a crooked smile as he watched the interaction.
"Really it's the other way around. If it weren't for my grandpa, I don't know where I'd be in life. He practically raised me." Maggie smile at her Grandfather and he gave her a warm smile back as she picked at her eggs with her fork before glancing over a bit to see Frank staring at her again. Those damn eyes, so unnerving. She thought to herself, averting her own back to her plate.
"Oh yeah?" Frank asked as Grandpa shrugged bashfully.
"Well, Maggie's mother Rachel, my daughter.. passed away when Maggie was young. And uh Joel, her father— well he didn't exactly take it well. We haven't seen him since.. since the funeral."
"Okay Papa, I think that's enough sharing." Maggie told him as she abruptly stood up, scraping the chair as she went. Her grandfather looked at her sadly for a moment before slowly standing too. Maggie kept her eyes downcast as she felt her skin crawl at her Fathers name. It was silent as she turned her back to them, walking over to the sink while gripping the plate so hard that her knuckles were turning white.
"I think I'm going to take a nap in my chair. You should take a nap too, both of you. Maggie you look tired still and Frank, well, you look like horse shit. I won't sugarcoat it. Do you box? That's how I looked coming home when I took it up back in the day." Grandpa rambled on for a moment as he tried to turn the conversation away from the previous topic.
"Somethin' like that." Frank responded as he was the last one to get up, walking up behind Maggie and putting his plate in the sink. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, George. I got nothing going on for the rest of the day anyways." His hand gently touched the back of her shoulder for a moment before he pulled away, and for whatever reason Maggie suddenly felt much calmer.
"I second that. I called in so I might as well catch up on some sleep." Maggie spoke softly as she quickly washed her plate, Franks, and Grandpa's before drying her hands off and going to her bedroom with Frank in tow.
"Have fun you two!" Grandpa called as Maggie groaned while Frank barked out a laugh as they both shuffled into the room. When the door was shut, Maggie turned to Frank.
"What did Matt say to you before he left about when he'd be back?" She asked as he glanced to her before throwing himself on the bed with a groan as he cradled his injured leg,
"Eager to get rid of me, huh?" He asked dryly as Maggie rolled her eyes at him.
"Just trying to stay in the loop is all. You are in my apartment camping out from some sort of either mob bosses or criminals so I think I deserve the decency of knowing." Maggie bit out meanwhile he just stared at the ceiling with a frustrated look.
"Sometimes in the evening, alright? Now stop the yapping and close your eyes. I meant it, I wanna catch up on sleep while I have this rare opportunity. It's only 8:00 and we got a long time to twiddle our thumbs while waiting on ol' boy to grace us with his presence." He muttered gruffly before closing his eyes.
Maggie's stared at him with her eyes narrowed for a minute before silently crawling into bed and finding a comfy spot before finally drifting back off to sleep, exhaustion winning out.
The room was silent other than the steady beeping of a monitor. A six year old Maggie sat awkwardly in a chair next to the bed of her mother who looked tired, dark circles under her eyes as she held onto Maggie's hand. "You know I'll always love you, right Magpie?" Her Mother whispered out as Maggie nodded slowly before grabbing her Mom a water from the side table.
"I know Mama." She opened the lid of the water, leaning over and putting it to her Mom's dry lips as she took a small sip. Maggie pulled it away then and set it back down on the counter. As she did so, her Mom broke down into a coughing fit and pulled her hand away to cover her mouth. When she pulled back, blood stained her hands.
Maggie's body felt cold seeing the blood.
With a start she awoke again, her eyes opening slowly, blinking a few times before focusing on her surroundings.
What caught Maggie's eye upon looking around for Frank was him sitting up in her bed, his back leaning against the back rest with a book of hers in his hand. It was one she had read when she was young, Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
Watching him quietly for a minute, Maggie realized that she was curled up with her knees pressed up against his side and blushed in embarrassment before unfurling and moving her legs away from him while trying not to bring attention to the fact that she was purposely doing so. "You talk in your sleep, know that?" He asked, not even bothering to look at her. Maggie simply nodded, hoping she didn't say anything revealing. "Interesting book." Frank murmured, slightly moving the book as his eyes flickered through the page he was on.
"It was a favorite of mine when I was younger. I felt like Bod, not knowing where I belonged. Stuck in between lingering with the dead or joining the living."
"You read a lot of fantasy books like this when you were young?" Frank asked as he put the book down to look at her as Maggie sat up, crossing her legs as she nodded with a stretch.
"Mhm. I bought most of the books I read when I was young so I can reread them. I enjoy nostalgia." Maggie pointed over to her bookcase against the wall. "The Skulduggery Pleasant series, one of my favorites. Then May Bird and The Ever After trilogy, Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, the Red Queen series, Dark Tower series by Stephen King, the Hush Hush series which is romance, and one of the very first books I read when I was around seven called Miss Honeywell's Sweet Revenge. I have so many other books but those are just ones the most near and dear to my heart."
Frank stared at her silently and she looked back at him, suddenly feeling nervous. "What?" Maggie asked, crossing her arms across her chest defensively as he finally smiled at her with a shake of his head.
"Like listening to you talk. You got a passion about what you like and it's noticeable just by the way you say things." That threw Maggie off, not expecting him to say that as she felt flustered.
"Oh- well I- I just get excited about books." She said dismissively before getting up, sliding her slippers on as she went. "I have to check up on my Grandpa then go get some groceries. Do you want something while I'm out? A pair of new pants perhaps?" Maggie asked as he shrugged.
"These work just fine. Like 'em actually." He told her as she contemplated whether to tell him that those pants once belonged to her Fathers, one of the last few items she had of him. Deciding against it, she nodded silently and turned around to leave. As her hand grabbed the doorknob, Frank spoke again. "I uh, wanted to say thanks for you know, sewing me up, housing me, and feedin' me. Don't know what woulda happened if Red hadn't got us here."
Maggie stood still for a moment, her eyes staring at the doorknob as she opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. Finally, she spoke. "Don't mention it." Was all she said and then she opened the door, walking out and closing it behind her. As she went into the living room, Grandpa was just in his recliner watching some black and white show intently as she shook her head at him.
"Good afternoon sleepy head, I bet you feel much better." He smiled at her as she smiled back.
"You're right, I do. But now that I'm awake I'm going to be a pain in your ass for a bit. Have you changed your colostomy bag and showered?" She asked him as he smoothed his mustache with his fingers, glancing between her and the show.
"Well.. I changed it. Last night, that is." Maggie groaned at him as she quickly walked over to the kitchen and opened one of the drawers before grabbing a new bag then going back over and kneeling down next to his chair while changing it.
"You have to change this one at least twice a day, it's a closed bag Papa!"she lectured as he sighed.
"I know, I know.. Sometimes I just get so caught up watching my shows that I forget."
"Did you forget to shower too?" Maggie asked as he shook his head.
"Heavens no, I'm not a savage! I like to smell my best just in case Ms. Alberta from down the hall comes over to play dominoes." Maggie rolled her eyes but couldn't help laughing quietly.
"Well at least I don't have to worry about that. Listen, I'm going to the store to stock up on groceries. Is there anything we need?" Grandpa nodded at her as she got up to throw his other bag in the disposable waste. "What is it?" She asked as he grinned.
"Some Maryjane. Could use it for my achy muscles." Maggie pinched the bridge of her nose as he said this.
"How many times have we talked about this? Do you want me to get in trouble?" She asked as he huffed.
"You're not gonna get in trouble, Mags! Police have much better things to do then go after someone with some weed in their pockets. Like stopping these vigilantes running around for instance." He pointed at her as she glanced to him before looking away quickly.
"You don't think they should be fighting against crime?" Maggie asked casually as she slowly put on her shoes. Grandpa shook his head with a grunt.
"If we let everyone in a mask run around to fight crime, where does it stop? What's the line? It sets a bad precedent for the younger ones too. They'll grow up thinking they can go fight against some mob boss and then they get a shot to the chest. I watched people who thought they could be hero's back in Vietnam, and you know where they are now? In graves." His tone was deadly serious, something Maggie didn't witness often.
"They have saved people's lives, Papa. That has to count for something. Not only that, but what about when our justice system fails us? When the police fail us? They don't really care about the poor people living in Hell's Kitchen, praying for someone to come every single day and night, but no one does. There's a woman somewhere out there right now, getting beat up by her husband every night and the police don't do anything, the neighbors hear her cries, see her bruises and everyone looks away!" Maggie's snapped out, chest heaving for a moment as she finished her rant, tears in her eyes.
"Maggie, I-" Maggie interrupted him as he looked on lost at her.
"But not him, not the vigilante that just wants to protect those who can't be protected." She whispered this part before she wiped her tears away roughly, turning away from Grandpa. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I-" Maggie paused for a moment, swallowing thickly. "I don't know what got into me. I'll be back soon."
Maggie quickly walked out the door, not bothering to look back as her heart ached in her chest. As she closed the door, she leaned against it quietly crying. "Get it together, Maggie. This is ridiculous." She chastised herself quietly before finally standing up straight and slowly walking down the hall and just as she turned towards the stairs a voice called her name.
As Maggie turned around, she saw it was Tom who had opened his door and was staring at her in concern, his warm brown eyes looking her over. "You uh, don't look so good." Maggie shrugged and attempted a half assed smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"It's nothing, Tom. Just having a rough day." Tom nodded slowly as he stepped out of his apartment all the way before shutting his door. He was wearing a pair of black slacks, a light blue button down that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he was wearing a skinny black tie with a pair of black loafers.
"I'd ask you if you want to talk about it but I think I know what your response would be already." He gave a small smile. "So instead, I'll ask if you want company while you go to get groceries." Maggie blinked in surprise at that, wondering how he knew she was getting groceries.
"How do you know I'm going to get groceries?" She asked as he pointed to her bag.
"You always use the same bag when you go down to the supermarket down the block. I've seen you down there with it before and also the last time we talked when you were wearing that bag and I asked what you were doing, you said you were going to the supermarket. So I just figured.." He shrugged awkwardly before scratching the back of his head. "God that made me sound like a creep, huh?" He asked as Maggie let out a bark of laughter, not expecting him to say that.
"No, no," Maggie shook her head as she chuckled before taking a deep breath. "Just observant." Tom smiled then before he took a step closer.
"So, do you want some company?" He asked as she stared at him for a moment, weighing it in her head. Finally Maggie nodded her head.
"Yeah, that would be nice." She told him as he blinked in surprise before grinning.
"Okay uh let me go get my wallet." He told her quickly before spinning around and fumbling with his doorknob for a moment before practically throwing himself inside. Maggie watched him in amusement as he did this and before she knew it, he was back with his wallet before shoving it in his back pocket.
"After you." Maggie motioned for him to go down the stairs first and followed him after, meanwhile he looked back up at her as he walked down the stairs with the same unwavering grin.
"Do you go to the market down the block exclusively?" Tom asked her as they got down the stairs and out the door.
"Yeah, usually. I know where they get their produce from and they normally give me a discount for being a loyal customer. I feel like it's important to support local business's in Hell's Kitchen. Ya know?" She asked a Tom nodded, his hands in his pockets as they walked.
"It's nice to be able to support your local business. I go all the way down to Harlem to shop because my Mom owns a shop down there and when I'm done I swing by to talk to her for a bit." Tom told her as she smiled.
"Aww, that's sweet! What business does your Mom own?" Maggie asked as he turned his head to look at her for a moment.
"My Mom is a florist. She has a small greenhouse on the roof of her condo that she grows her flowers in, amongst other things." He murmured the last part and Maggie raised an eyebrow.
"Among other things?" Tom smiled wryly as he chuckled.
"Oh you know, the green stuff that makes you giggle." Maggie gasped as she swiveled her head to look at him with a grin and wide eyes.
"No way! Your Mom just got ten times cooler. My Papa asked for some just today, you'll have to get me in touch with her." Tom laughed at that, shaking his head in amusement.
"Oh God, she'll love that. George wants weed?" He asked her in surprise.
"Yepppp. He asks me at least once a week to get him some and I normally tell him no because I really don't know anyone and I wouldn't even know who to ask but since your Mom grows it.. I might just have to get him a surprise sometimes soon." Tom tilted his head at that with a smirk.
"I'm sure he'll love that. I'll give her a call and let her know." He told her and as they made it to the market, they chatted back and forth while Maggie picked out fruits, vegetables, and other things that she could think of to make dinner with.
"So, why aren't you at work today? You're a nurse right?" Tom asked as Maggie hummed with a slight nod as she grabbed a bundle of bananas.
"That is correct. As for why I'm not there today.. I had a long night, and when I finally went to sleep.." Maggie trailed off as she remembered her dream. "It was an even longer one." Her voice was quiet. Tom said nothing but glanced at her for a moment.
"Don't kill me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but you seem sad a lot." He told her as Maggie looked down. "I'm sorry, that was stupid of me to say."
"You're okay." She murmured. "I feel sad a lot so you're not wrong."
"Do you ever want to talk about it?" Tom asked nicely but Maggie couldn't help but feel dread at this idea.
"No." It was silent after that until they walked up to the stand counter to pay. Right as she was about to give Clara, the shop keep her card, Tom instead pulled his out and stretched his arm to her.
"Maggie, who's your friend?" Clara asked with a smile, plucking the card from his hand as Maggie gave her an awkward smile back.
"Clara, this is Tom. Tom, this is Clara."
"Well it's so nice to meet you Tom! Mag's here doesn't bring any friends around so it's a refreshing sight to see. And paying too, what a gentleman." Clara winked playfully as Tom rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that.." He murmured, a blush spreading across his face.
"So bashful! Magpie, you better keep this one." Maggie tried not to groan out loud but instead stared at Clara with her best death stare, trying to convey the message for her to shut up. Clara just grinned at her instead. "Well ya'll have a good one!" As they both turned around, Maggie with her groceries and Tom putting his card back in his wallet, he cleared his throat.
"Is she always so.." Tom trailed off as Maggie nodded.
"Bubbly? Loud? Abrasive?" She asked.
"All of the above?"
"Yes." Tom chuckled at this, Maggie giving him a side smile back.
"How lovely." They walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes afterwards until Maggie spoke.
"I forgot to ask you, why aren't you at work?"
"Oh, I do have work. I'm night shift tonight, the usual attending couldn't make it in tonight for one reason or another."
"You're a doctor?" Maggie asked him in surprise, never even knowing.
"Yep. I was a resident up until a year ago so I'm still relatively new but I'm slowly getting the hang of things."
"Well you're just full of surprises." Maggie commented as he shrugged.
"All apart of the charm." Just as he said this, they got back up the complex and went up the stairs, Maggie going first this time.
"And yet you still live in one of the shabbiest places in Hell's Kitchen?"
"Medical debt is eating me alive." Tom joked as Maggie nodded in understanding.
"Makes sense." As they got to his door, an awkward silence lapsed for a moment as both of them stared.
"So uh.. I know we never set an actual day to get food but do you think Saturday would work?" He asked her as Maggie suddenly felt nervous, wanting to tell him no. You guys just had a nice time! What are you doing? She screamed at herself internally before going to talk. Right as she did though, her door swung open and Frank stood there, his arm stretched out to touch the top of the door as he looked at them both.
Maggie turned to stare at Frank in shock and Tom turned his head as well, surprise coloring his face as he looked Frank up and down.
"You're back." Frank's rough voice, the complete opposite of Tom's, rang out in the hallway. "Want me to help you with your groceries?" He asked as Maggie's eyes widened as she couldn't form words for a moment at Frank's weird behavior. It then dawned on her that he was trying to save her from this interaction.
"Oh, uh yeah, if you wouldn't mind." Frank walked out into the hallway, not even limping as he strode over and grabbed the big sack of groceries before glancing to Tom with an unimpressed look for a moment then turning around to go back in.
"I'll help you put this stuff up." Frank told her as she slowly followed him in as Tom stared.
"I'll talk to you later maybe to figure out a time?" Tom called as she got to her door.
"Yeah, Tom! We'll figure out a time." Maggie responded before Frank swung the door close on Tom and quickly groaned as he rubbed his leg.
"Who was that puppy dog?" Frank asked as Maggie rolled her eyes.
"That was Tom, and he's very nice."
"Seemed a little too eager to get in your pants." He grumbled as Maggie scoffed at him, grabbing the groceries from him and marching into the kitchen.
"Do you just always speak without thinking?" She asked him bluntly as he slowly walked in after her.
"Oh, trust me, I think about everything before I say it. Point still stands too. And don't look so offended, I read it on your face the moment I opened the door, and before I did, I could hear it in your voice, you don't wanna go out on a date with Casper the friendly ghost."
"Why wouldn't I? Tom's sweet and-"
"A boy in a man's body?"
"Quit that!" She scolded him as he laughed.
"I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. How often does he bug you about going out with him on a date that he never outright says is a date?"
"At least twice a week." Grandpa chimed in from his chair as she turned her head to glare at him.
"You stay out of this." She told him before turning back to look at Frank. "How did you even hear him asking?"
"The walls are thin in your apartment. Which is why I bet you soundproofed your bedroom." Frank pointed out as Maggie put up the cold things in the fridge.
"Listen, Tom isn't a bad guy by any means. And so what if he's a little bit.. eager?"
"A little bit?"
"Oh alright, so he wants to go out with me! He's nice, good looking, and a doctor. That's not bad." Maggie listed off as Frank shook his head.
"He's not what you want." Frank muttered as he stared at her. Maggie stopped putting up the groceries to look back at him.
"How do you know what I want?" She asked him as they stared at one another quietly.
"I just do."