This is a PG-13 work of fiction as told from the perspective of Margaret, a love interest of Lucas’ from the series, Monterey Valley (WARNING! Link=NSFW)*

I could. But… Then I’d have to kill you…
I’m kidding of course! I… I can probably do that.

Uh…
Right.
Love.
Well being loved.
I… Had a boyfriend that I thought loved me. Does that count?

Ugh…
I suddenly don’t like this question very much.

When I was a kid… My parents died. At least that’s what I’ve been told. I’ve tried looking for them, but never found any sort of proof that might indicate what really happened. My parents are a mystery to me… It’s perhaps cynical but I believe they cut and run. Dropped me at the proverbial fire station door and made like a tree. The other suspicious thing to me is that they left me nothing. There was no house, no clothes, no other family, note, nothing. So really, no love from them.

I was a foster kid for a long time. Not the best. I bounced around. Several families, several group homes. Some of the adults were nice and a few of the kids. So I was loved, I guess, by many different people that helped to raise me, each giving me their version of it. It never felt completely genuine though. Never felt real…

I aged out of the system. Got a job. Got a place to live and a roommate. She’s fun, in an eclectic sort of way. Independent and quirky and pretty and… Yeah. She’s fun. Does she love me? I think so. A little bit. As much as you can love a friend when you’ve only known them a short time. I wouldn’t call her family but I don’t know what that looks like.

But yes. There was a boy. A man. He said he loved me. But after we… After we were together, it changed. He got bored and despite my, erm, assets, left. It was always the same story. They liked my body. But as soon as I opened my mouth, I was dumped to the curb. I fell for it every time. I guess I didn’t know any better. I just wanted that thing I felt when someone paid attention to me, kissed me, held me. It felt good. That’s love isn’t it? That feeling you get when you like someone enough to sleep with them?

I want that but… At the same time… It’s disappointing, this idea of love. It’s not very strong. Not like they make it out to be in the movies. If love is like this, maybe I should worry less about it, and more about feeling good.

Frustrating!
…

I have a date tonight. The first one in a while. I told my roommate where I was going to be because she taught me to always have a back up. It’s nice how she cares for me. I’m going to wear my favorite yellow sundress, even though it’s gotten a bit tight, and roomie is doing my hair.
And…
I’m going to have fun. I’m going to make sure I have fun!

Authors Note.
I’m getting back into my writing. It’s going slow but at least it is steady.
I’ve wanted to circle back to Margaret for a long time now. When I created her, she meant little to me and the story in general. She was designed as an expendable character. But over the years, I have thought about her a lot and what she is like and where she comes from. When we first met Margaret, there she was going to this blind date with her friend Holly. Meeting Lucas. I wanted to explore what her date prep was like. I decided it was writing in her daily journal. Each day has a prompt. There were many things I had to leave out because I hard set this piece at 500 words as a challenge, but I hope I left enough in-between the lines to stir the thoughts of my readers when it comes to unanswered questions.
Lucas has his problems. Because I often find in life that people with problems attract each other and because I want to see more of Lucas together with Margaret, I wanted Margaret to also have problems. So today is the day her tragic backstory was born.
Enjoy!

© O.L. Vale 2025