James lived in an enormous house by the sea. He informed them that it had a Master’s bedroom, his bedroom, four guest rooms, TV room, his father's den, dining area, kitchen, living room, a garage which was big enough for five cars, and a wide-spaced veranda facing the ocean.

Janice had the first guest room for her and Mr. Samuels, while Todd took the second guest room. Next to that would be Maxine’s room, for Alex would be staying with Natalie in the fourth guest room.

As soon as they arrived, they unpacked their things. However, that took no time at all. That was why they had an hour to explore the house as they waited for James' parents.

Maxine decided to go downstairs in the living room, where there was a fireplace. The room was so cozy that she immediately felt at home. She walked around and saw picture frames by the fireplace. She went nearer and saw a quite adorable photo of two boys and a girl between them. They laughed happily in the picture that she couldn't help smiling as well.

The more Maxine stared at the photo, the more she noticed that one of the boys looked an awful lot like Todd.

“Yes, that’s Todd.”

Maxine jumped out of fright. She quickly turned around and saw James a couple of feet from her. His arms were crossed, as though he was watching her from where he was all along.

“Oh, you’re here,” said Maxine.

Well, duh, she thought to herself – mentally rolling her eyes.

She glanced at the photo defensively. “I was just looking at the, uh, pictures.”

James chuckled, walking towards the picture that Maxine was staring at.

“You must be wondering who this girl is,” he said, pointing at the short-haired girl between the two boys.

“Not really,” she answered truthfully.

She had a feeling that she already knew who that girl was. And if truth be told, she wasn't interested to find out if she was right on her hunch. But of course, James chuckled. It was obvious that he was going to say it anyway.

“She’s Maggie,” he informed, looking at the picture. “She’s our childhood friend.” He paused for a moment before turning his eyes to Maxine. “You’re not going out with Todd, are you?”

She blinked at the sudden question. “What?” she asked incredulously.

“Are you going out with my cousin?” he repeated carefully.

“No,” she said, her face full of indignation.

He nodded. “Okay, then.”

Before Maxine could ask where he was going with this, he continued with a sigh, “It’s safe to tell you this without Todd being furious at me.”

She frowned in confusion. “Tell me what exactly?”

“Todd and Maggie were childhood sweethearts,” he began. “Todd would only be here during summer and winter. Whenever school started again, Todd had to go back to New York. They were determined to be together, though. So I guess that was why they lasted for a while.”

Maxine wanted to say something – anything. She wanted to tell James to stop. She wanted to ask him why he was telling this stuff to her. And yet she wanted to know the story. Because somehow, understanding Todd's past was understanding a part of him. And she wanted to know all about him.

“The thing is, Todd and I have the same taste in girls. Then, he came back the summer before High School and . . . There's no other way to say it . . . He caught us — Maggie and I — doing something that you could call cheating. And Todd . . . He didn’t do anything. He just broke up with Maggie right then and there. Without another word, he walked out and he didn’t talk to any of us since then. Maggie felt so bad . . .” he trailed off, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them again and looked at Maxine. “You weren't lying when you said you’re not together? I mean, the way he looks at you . . .”

Maxine didn't answer. She stared at James.

They barely knew each other and yet he told her a very personal thing. It made her quite confused. What made him think that she would want to hear Todd’s first love? Yes, she wanted to know. But she wanted Todd to tell her himself. Not from James. He didn't even ask her if it was okay or if she wanted to know.

It made her angry. She felt like he was insulting her . . . warning her not to get close with Todd because he was still caught up with his past.

“Why?” she demanded. When James looked confused, she said, “Why did you tell me about Maggie and – and Todd? What’s the point?” Her voice was harsher than she intended, but she didn't care.

“Good question,” said James thoughtfully. “Hmm, maybe because I know that you can help him let go of the past.”

“Excuse me?”

“Can’t you see?” he asked, a bit impatiently. “Since that incident, Todd never spent a vacation here anymore. I bet you anything he never would’ve agreed to come if Aunt Janice hadn’t told him that you’re coming with them. In my opinion, you’re the reason why he came back here. With you, he could face us and what had happened. And maybe – finally, he could forgive us,” he added in a murmur.

Maxine forced out a laugh and shook her head.

“That's simply not possible. Todd came here for a vacation, not because of me. Maybe,” she paused thoughtfully, “Maybe he missed going here and he’s ready to forgive you, after all. It doesn't necessarily mean it's because of me. You're reading too much into things.”

Her heart was beating fast. She suddenly had a hard time breathing, it was as though the air was vacuumed out of the room. Her mind was going overdrive.

Could she be the reason? How in the world could that be possible? No. There was no way that she would allow imaginations of Todd liking her get into her head.

“I know him,” said James seriously. “He’s not the one to forgive.”

“Strange how you would say that,” said a very cold voice.

James and Maxine froze. They slowly turned their heads where the voice came from.

Todd was standing on the doorway. His face was unbelievably scary. It was the same expression he wore the night when he saved Maxine from the young men in Brooklyn. Maxine unintentionally shuddered at the memory.

“I don’t forgive those people who do not deserve my forgiveness,” said Todd, walking toward them.

James was taken aback, and then his face showed the mixture of guilt and sadness. Todd didn't seem to care. When he was only a feet away, he reached his hands and grabbed Maxine’s. He pulled her away with him, leaving the room.

“Why d’you come back, then?” called out James, when Todd and Maxine reached the doorway.

“It has nothing to do with you,” said Todd, without turning to look at James.

“Is it because of Maggie?” asked James.

Todd stopped walking. Maxine stopped too, staring at Todd's back. She wanted to see his face, but she was sure that it was unreadable as always.

James looked triumphantly at Todd and said, “Do you think that you can face her now that you’ve replaced her?”

Todd looked over his shoulder and with blazing eyes, he glared at James.

“That sort of thinking can only be thought by you. And I am not like you,” he added as he continued walking holding Maxine’s hand.

They went outside at the veranda, which was now possible because it stopped raining.

Todd sighed and softly let go of Maxine’s hand. He sat on the couch swing and stared straight ahead, toward the sunset. With nothing else to do, Maxine sat beside him.

They sat quietly for a few moments. It was late in the afternoon, and Maxine was suddenly hungry so she took out her sugar-free chocolate bar and started munching it.

Out of the blue, Todd burst out chuckling.

“Yeah . . . You really do eat like a pig. Hahaha . . .” he softly laughs.

This was the first time in almost a week that Maxine had seen Todd handsomely laughed. She rolled her eyes at Todd.

“Af leasht I don’f loof like fwan,” she said in a muffled voice. Then, she swallowed. “Do you have any more tease? That ‘pig tease’ is beginning to be lame.”

She forced herself not to smile. In all honesty, she missed their little banter. It felt so natural that without it, Maxine's day would be incomplete.

Todd chuckled. “Oh, really? How about when . . .” he paused thoughtfully. As though remembering something, he quickly looked at Maxine and grinned. “Does anybody know that you go high when you eat sweets?”

Her eyes widened. She was about to retort when he continued, “I remember that one time, when you ate a whole box of chocolates. You suddenly said these bizarre things that you like me.”

She choked and went red in the face.

“W – What?” she scoffed, feeling her face heat up.

“You can’t remember,” he said, grinning more than ever. “You were high.” He was smiling his best now.

She stared at his smile for a moment. And she absentmindedly smiled, too.

“You have that smile!” she accused, pointing to his face. “That look you rarely do . . . you’re happy about the thought that I like you”— she quickly realized what she said —“which is not true,” she finished.

All of a sudden, flashbacks appeared in her mind.

Goodness gracious! She did say she liked him.

Her face turned red in embarrassment. How on earth could she say that?!

“I said a lot of things,” she mumbled, looking away.

“You’re right,” he nodded. “A lot of things — about me,” he chuckled.

“You just imagined it,” she lied.

“You know perfectly well that I didn’t,” he said, turning his head toward the sea. “Don’t worry, I like what I heard,” he added more quietly so that she wouldn't hear.

“What did you say?”

“You just imagined it.” he quoted her, still grinning.

She suddenly looked down at her shoes.

“Todd, about what you said earlier — I was just thinking,” she paused and looked at Todd.

He faced at her, waiting for her to continue.

“All of us deserve the right to be forgiven,” she finally said.

They stared at each other for a while. Todd’s smile slowly faded.

“There are also limitations,” he replied, all amusement gone in his face. “It’s not that easy to forgive. You should know that.”

Maxine flushed. She did know that, but . . .

“But you’re here now,” she pointed out, shrugging. “That must mean that you’re finally ready to face whatever happened in the past.” When he didn't answer, she sighed. “Why did you come back to Seattle, Todd?”

There was a minute of silence. He hesitated, but spoke anyway.

“’Cause I want to get something over with,” he said quietly.

“Why now?”

“Because . . . I know I’m not alone anymore.”

Then, he gave her a little smile.

There goes my heart beating so hard again, she thought.

She didn't know what or how to answer. She wasn't sure if she understood what he said. She wasn't sure exactly what he meant. Nevertheless, she felt a tinge of happiness.

With an arched eyebrow, Todd said, “You’re the one to lecture me about forgiveness. Why, have you forgiven your father yet?”

Maxine fell silent. She looked at her shoes again and didn’t answer Todd.

“I think you’re ready to forgive him, Maxine,” he murmured, laying his back on the swing. “You’re just looking for the right time.”

He hit the jackpot. That was exactly what she was thinking.

These past several weeks, after the talk they had at the Empire State Building, she thought about her father. She thought that maybe the spark between her parents was gone and it led them to separate. Maybe the love they once had disappeared. Maybe it wasn't entirely her father's fault.

And so Maxine decided that it was time to let her anger with her father vanish. She was just looking for the right time to tell her father how she felt. Of course, waiting for the right time was never easy.

When the sun went down, Todd and Maxine went inside.

As they entered the kitchen, Alex was running around with no particular destination. When the little boy saw them, he quickly ran to Todd.

“Hey, little man,” greeted Todd with a smile.

Alex smiled back. “There’s a pretty girl in the living room,” he said a-matter-of-factly. “James told me that the girl was Todd’s ex-girlfriend. Is that true?” he asked Todd, tilting his head slightly.

Todd didn’t answer.

Maxine’s heart made a crack. The lovely girl they were all talking about was here. The girl that made Todd fell in love. Maybe the only girl that was capable of doing that. Most of all, she was the girl that broke Todd Samuels’ heart.

Finally, Todd patted Alex’s head and smiled.

“That was a long time ago,” he said.

Maxine audibly sighed in relief, though there was still a crack that left her heart.

“Does that mean that you’re not gonna divorce Maxine?” asked Alex.

Todd and Maxine's eyes widened in utter shock.

“What did you just say?” they said in unison.

Alex clapped his hands to his mouth. “Oops,” he giggled.

With no warning at all, the little boy ran away from them. Both teenagers weren't letting the matter go so chased after him . . . only to find themselves at the living room.

They froze.

Maxine's eyes scanned the room, until her eyes found her.

There she was; sitting beside Janice was Margaret Islestorm.

_________________________________________

Wow. A lot of you guys were right, eh? Excited for what Maggie looks like? Soon... *evil laugh*

Sorry if it's really taking time for me to upload. It's sooooo hectic at school and home that I find myself doing a lot of things. Anyhow, I'll make it up to you guys! :D

Picture of James!!! >>>>

Note: Todd and Maggie's confrontation!! :O

Upload: I upload on weekends. ^_^ (Therefore, I will upload tomorrow! Yay!)

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