Finding Maggie-Part 2

I initially left LEAVING SPENCER on a cliffhanger. I wanted to continue the story, but I also wanted to be a bit different by changing the perspective. This was harder than I thought it would be. Getting inside the mind of a person like this without leaving the reader feeling sorry for them is hard thing to do. This is still not the writing I would like to do in the long run. But being able to explore everything is helping me learn what I do like. TRIGGER WARNING: PHISICAL ABUSE, MENTAL ABUSE, SEXUAL ASSULT.

Three months… How have they not found her in three months. They have been to every town, every bus stop, every rest stop. How did she manage to get so far ahead of him. Spencer blamed Cole a lot for not getting to the bus stop fast enough. Spencer tried blaming Gerard who had convinced Spencer to have an extra drink that night. Because Spencer hadn’t heard Maggie sneak out of bed. He also blamed Alan for not doing a thorough enough search in the larger cities. Even though Spencer kept rushing him because Alan was taking too long.

When the four men made it to the final stop on the bus route and Maggie wasn’t their Spencer’s father called the three handlers back home. Spencer tried to argue that he wasn’t done yet, but his father said Spencer needed to figure it out on his own. The handlers didn’t work for Spencer, they worked for him, and he didn’t want them roaming the country anymore.

Reluctantly Spencer went home. The second he walked through the door he saw that look in his father’s eyes. Spencer hadn’t been punished for a misdeed since he was seven. But the look Spencer saw was one that only his mother had received in the last ten years when she deserved it. Spencer sat down in his father’s study across from him and waited for what was coming.

“Spencer, I gave you everything. Every toy you ever wanted. Every hobby and sport you wanted to try I made it happen. I also taught you from a very young age what you needed to do to have control of your household. I even lined up several girls for you to choose from high school. But you wanted her. She wasn’t from our world. She hadn’t been raised in our ways, but you promised me that she could learn just as your mother had. So, I met her and I believed you.

“Then her parents tried to step in. you insisted you still wanted her. Since you were still in school, I assisted you. I paid them off to convince them to keep a distance. But then she got comfortable. She believed she had a choice, a life outside of you. I wasn’t happy that you proposed instead of punished but you quickly taught her where she stood. So, I again let you figure it out. I was not surprised to wake up and find that she tried to run. I was proud that you didn’t want me to fix it. That you managed on your own. I was also proud that she finally had that complacent look to her. I thought you had finally managed to break her. But apparently, we were wrong. I didn’t teach you well enough how to demand obedience. You didn’t learn the correct way to beat in the submission. Somehow, you’re not man enough to keep a woman in your control!

“Now you are my son, so I will give you one more chance to set that girl back here and compliant with our lifestyle. If you can’t I will use her to show you what it takes and then force you to marry Briddgette. Who I already know will be the women you need in your life.”

That’s when he walked out of the room. Spencer was left sitting in the office staring out the window for a long time after that lecture. His dad was wrong. Spencer grew up in this life, he knew what he had to do. He also knew what he wanted. That was Maggie, only Maggie. Bridgette wouldn’t give him any satisfaction. And all Spencer wanted was satisfaction. Maggie would come home, and she would learn that all of Spencer’s wants and needs were the only thing she would ever care about again.

“Maggie, you’re not that smart. I will find you. You will learn not to ever disappoint me again.” Spencer said aloud. He got to his feet and marched out of the office.

It took two weeks to find all the train schedules out of their station. He studied every route, knew every city there were stops in. He also tried to get inside Maggie’s head. What was the best choice if she was running on desperation? What if she was just trying to get him turned around? What if she thought she was smart? Every possible scenario was mapped out. He researched every domestic violence center, homeless shelters, women’s clinics, hospitals, police stations, and fire houses. Everyone has a price; there would be nowhere for her to hide before long. Finally, four months after Maggie disappeared, Spencer picked a route and started his search on his own.

He took his time. He played the part of the man grief stricken with a missing fiancé. He has his thousands of fake missing persons posters, and a convincing story of Maggie losing her mind after her parents died. He talked to everyone. Security guards, ticket masters, janitors and train conductors. Anyone who could have possibly seen her that night or the days following.

Spencer lost track of how long he had been out looking. He never answered his mother’s or father’s messages for updates. He would just invite his father’s anger. Every small lead that turned into nothing would just give his father more reason to make Spencer come home and marry Bridgette. But dead ends just gave Spencer more fight. He was down to his last couple of routes to try. He boarded a train that only left the station once every few days. It had been on a delayed run that night, so Spencer had made it low priority thinking that they had cut off thicket sales. But the timing of the departure had left it on his list of potential. He bought a newspaper from the station before boarding and looked at the date for the first time in a while.

It had been six months since Maggie had escaped. He had been refusing to think about what he would do if he couldn’t find her. But with his list of leads depleting he would have to face consequences eventually. He stepped off the train and was shocked at what he was seeing.

Maggie, walking out of the bookstore and heading to the diner. He sent his first update to his dad since he left. Simply saying “found her.” Spencer smiled to himself and checked into the inn. The next week was spent stalking Maggie. He needed to learn her every move and learn what her temporary life was like without him.

He was quiet, he didn’t bring attention to himself. He made friends with the young nurse at the medical clinic, and he was charming to the waitress at the diner. The receptionist at the inn he was staying at was standoffish, but Spencer never gave her any problems, so she had no reason to be that way.

Three weeks later Spencer finally decided it was time. He followed Maggie to the small place she was staying in and sneaked up on her just as she opened the door.

Maggie thought she was having a nightmare again. But the ear-piercing shriek she let out was cut off too quickly by Spencer’s hands around her throat. For the rest of the night Maggie prayed she could black out. Between the chocking the beating and the rape, Maggie just wanted it to end. When dawn broke Spencer finally stopped and left her tied up while he got some sleep.