by Kait Rose
“What else did you fucking do?” Chanel just shrugged and I went to get up in her face, but Abby beat me to it.
“You better tell him right now before I make the rest of your face look as ugly as your mouth!” Chanel had both of her arms held back, but managed to kick Abby in the stomach. Abby then went to swing again, but Declan grabbed her before she could.
“Enough! Tell us right now what the fuck you did or you won’t be seeing tomorrow.” I was a cold heart bastard, but I never thought I go this far. My gut was screaming that something bad was about to happen to Madison. I would do anything for the girl I love.
Chanel must have understood by my tone and the pure look of hatred in my eyes because her eyes went wide and she swallowed nervously before saying, “This wasn’t just me ok. You two did a lot of things that pissed off other people.”
“Get to the point.” My fear for Madison was growing more and more with every second Chanel wasted.
“First, never stab a best friend in the back. You see Knox anywhere? Well hate to break it to you, but he was the one who tricked Madison into coming here by switching your note out with his. He wasn’t happy that you stole his girl and the fact she lied about it to him. Second, the past always catches up with you. Madison ruined Mr. Montgomery by putting him in jail. His reputation was ruined, his money was finally all dried up, and his wife was sleeping with every man in the country club looking for her next ride. He ended up hanging himself weeks ago. Suicide means no insurance money. Mrs. Montgomery is broke, lost her country club membership, and her house is foreclosed. She realized it all points back to Madison.”
“What’s your part in this because if this is about us, I told you a million times it was just one night and nothing ever more after.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. To make a long story short my parents burned through all our money. That means after school, I am starting from zero which isn’t happening. She promised me a spot at her country club.”
“So you’re telling me you went through all of this for a spot at a country club?” Rem asked completely confused and the rest of us were with him.
“Her country club is where young single girls like me find filthy rich husbands. It’s a top club where another member has to get you in. That deal alone had me jumping, but to be honest adding in the fact Madison wouldn’t be around was just the cherry on the top.”
“You’re more of an idiot than I thought. If she lost her money, house, and membership, how in the hell do you think you’re getting in?” I thought Chanel was a little bit smarter than that, but by the look of her eyes widening I guess she never figured that part out.
“That bitch!” I had no more time for Chanel’s theatrics and I was ready to head out until one of her cronies spoke up.
“I saw her parked out front in her car. When Madison left, she started to drive off in that direction.” If Mr. Montgomery was capable of raping Madison over and over again while Mrs. Montgomery turned a blind eye to it, I don’t want to know what else she is capable of.
“Make sure she doesn’t leave and call the cops.” Chanel better pray that a single hair wasn’t touched on Madison’s head. In my eyes she is as guilty as Mrs. Montgomery since she helped orchestrate this.
~.~
I didn’t care about speed limits. I didn’t care how many laws I was breaking. What I cared about was getting to Madison and making sure she was safe. I had the same gut feeling I had when Mr. Dolan wanted me to go down the basement. I have no idea what that pill popping bitch is capable of and I don’t think Chanel does either. If she did, she’s a sicker bitch than I thought.
As soon as I pulled up to Madison’s house, I saw an odd flicker of light coming from the front windows. With my mind focused on what was going on, I didn’t even realize I drove my car right on to her lawn. All I knew was I needed to get inside and get to Madison.
Right when I got out of my car, flames rushed out of the windows. I ducked quick from the glass that rained down. My heart was racing knowing there was a good chance of Madison being inside. I knew I had to think quick, so I rushed towards the back of the house hoping I could get in.
When I got to her back door, I was able to see Madison wrestling with Mrs. Montgomery on the floor. I tried to get in, but of course the door was locked. It was one of those moments where every second counted, but I was a second too late. As soon as my fist connected with the glass, the sound of a gun firing went off. My heart stopped at the sight of Madison laying on the ground in the white dress I picked out for her that was slowly turning a dark shade of red.
I opened the door and silently went in. Mrs. Montgomery didn’t even realize I was standing behind her. She didn’t even seemed bothered by the fact she just killed someone. I knew I had to get the gun off of her before I was next. The fire was spreading fast and the smoke was getting dense. I only had a few minutes to disarm her and get Madison out of here.
“Took you long enough.” She had her finger on the trigger and I felt the clock ticking down in my head.
I had no words for this cold hearted psycho. I didn’t have time to make a plan, so I rushed her. She fired the gun and the bullet skimmed my shoulder. We rolled around on the floor with my hand on the gun and her finger still on the trigger. Then she did something that will forever shock me to my core.
Mrs. Montgomery stopped fighting me while the gun was pointed in her direction. She looked over to Madison and then look at me while saying, “I’ll tell her you said hi.” With a sadistic smile, she pulled the trigger.
Bang
I watched her cold dead eyes stare up at me while the blood from her forehead dripped down. It was a sight that will haunt me for a long time. For Madison to see that happen to her mom as a little kid makes me realize she is a lot stronger than she looks.
The fire was now surrounding us, but luckily the back door was still open and clear for us to get out. I crawled over to Madison and my heart stopped at the sight of her. She was laying there pale and soaked in her blood. She had the faintest pulse and I knew the clock was ticking down. I was terrified to move her, but I had to get her to a hospital fast. I slid her body across the kitchen floor and once we were by the door, I picked her up and ran her towards the front of the house.
“Help! Someone please, she’s dying!” There were cops, firemen, and EMT surrounding the house. Once they heard my pleas, the cops were shouting towards the EMTs to come to us.
“What happened here?” The cops eyed me suspiciously and I couldn’t blame them, I was covered head to toe in Madison’s blood.
“Our old foster mother, Mrs. Jane Montgomery, abducted Madison. I heard she followed her home and came rushing over her to check on her. I had to go to the back door because of the flames and that is when I saw Mrs. Montgomery shoot Madison.”
“Where is Mrs. Montgomery?”
“We got into a scuffle when I tried to save Madison. She shot herself in the head. If the flames didn’t get to her yet, you will find her in the kitchen.” The cop eyed me weary, but I had no time for this.
“Look I had no…” Before I could finish my sentence, my friends came storming over with Chanel.
“He’s innocent and we have the proof right here!” Rem yelled over.
“What in the hell is going on!” The cop was losing his patience with the mess going around him.
“We were all with Jude when this was happening and she can tell you everything that Mrs. Montgomery was planning.”
“Is this true?” He looked at Chanel and she nodded her head. I don’t know what my friends said to make her cooperate, but I’ll be forever grateful.
“Where’s Madison?” Declan asked and I didn’t care how weak I looked, I dropped to my knees and just started crying.
“No!” Declan screamed when he saw Madison was on a stretcher soaked in blood. She was hardly recognizable with her face swollen and covered in soot and blood. I was seconds to late to save her, but I wasn’t going to miss a second of being with her if thi
s was it. I rushed over to the ambulance and screamed over to Ezra to call Stella and Delilah.
We pulled up to the hospital and they rushed Madison into the emergency room. I was escorted to another room to have my arm bandage up from where the bullet grazed me. I was so focused on Madison, I didn’t even realize I was bleeding everywhere. Well between being covered in Madison’s blood, I don’t think any of us realized I was bleeding. Afterwards, I was told to wait in the waiting room, but all I wanted was to be by Madison’s side. Eventually everyone arrived besides Stella and Knox. I would honestly be surprised if Knox even showed his face here.
“Excuse me, are any of you family?” We all looked up at her wanting to say yes, but technically we weren’t.
“Hi, I’m her boyfriend Jude. We are waiting for guardian to come, but is there any way you can let us know if she is going to be ok?”
“I’m sorry, but we will need to wait until her guardian is here to give out any information.”
She went to turn away, but I needed to know if Madison will be ok. I can’t sit here for another minute thinking she could be possibly dead. “We understand, but please we almost lost her back there and right now we just need to know something.”
She turned around taking an eyeful of my bloody clothes and soot covered skin. You can tell by her expression on her face she was fighting with herself internally on what she should do. Lucky for us, she took a deep breath and whispered, “The most I can say is your girlfriend is in surgery as we speak. There was a lot of blood loss, but you will have to wait for the doctor to let you know the results. That’s all I can say and not another word.”
She turned around and walked away without saying another word like she said. I fell back in the chair and just held my head in my hands. I couldn’t stop replaying everything that happened tonight. When that got to be too much, my brain decided to punish me with every cruel thing I did to her these last few months. The worst thought that haunts me though is Madison seeing that video play in front of everyone. Her last memory was thinking I was behind it. How the fuck did tonight go from me wanting to tell her I’m in love with her to this?
I got up to get some fresh air, but that had to wait since Stella came rushing into the hospital. “Where’s Madison Bloom! Nurse, someone, please tell me where my friend is!” Stella was shouting at anyone and everyone. Nurses were telling her to calm down while I noticed security making there way down to us.
“Stella!” I shouted and she came running towards me. I was never an affectionate type of guy, well besides to Madison, but here I was holding her best friend while she bawled her eyes out on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry. I was late getting to her and now she is fighting for her life.” I felt my throat starting to close and that sickening feeling returning to my stomach. I know Chanel and Mrs. Montgomery were to blame for this, but I couldn’t help feel guilty also.
“Stop! Don’t think for a second any of us, especially Madison, would want you to blame yourself. My brother on the other hand has a lot of apologizing to do. He’s waiting outside and knew you may want to talk to him.” She let go and walked into the waiting room. Ezra held his arms open and she went to him. They held each other while she cried and I wished more than anything I could just hold Madison again, even for just a second.
I headed outside to have a word with someone I thought was my best friend. I understood I stabbed him in the back for taking back my girl and lying about it, but what he did in return was over the line. He was leaning against the hospital wall with his head bent down and once again I saw red. I stormed over shouting, “Yo! What the fuck did you do tonight!”
Knox was taller and bigger, but knowing my girlfriend might actually die tonight took any type of sense left in me out. I grabbed onto his jacket with my left hand and cracked him in the face with my right fist. I then proceeded to slam him into the wall. Knox wouldn’t fight back. Hell, he wouldn’t even look at me. He just took whatever anger I had in me and accepted it.
I finally pulled his head up so we can face eye to eye, but what looked back at me wasn’t the Knox I knew. His eyes were filled with tears and had a haunting look to them. “I deserve much worst Jude.”
“I’m not going to lie, you do. I don’t want a sob story from you right now, I want the truth. What in the hell happened tonight?”
“After I caught you two in the woods, I was the angriest I have ever been in my life. She was my girl and you were my best friend. When I invited you to her house and I saw the way you two looked at each other, I knew I lost her then. So I asked her not to hook up with you and you know what she couldn’t even promise not to. I wish I just let her go, but after I stormed off, I met up with Chanel. I ended up getting drunk and fucking her. It felt like a big fuck you to the both of you. After I told Chanel why I was so bent out of shape, she told me she felt the same because of you. She mentioned she had a plan to get back at both of you and all I had to do was throw a party at my house with Madison and not you. I saw the opportunity when you asked Ezra to drop off that note.”
“Ok so far you’re a total scumbag, but continue.” I shook my head in disgust that he worked with Chanel on this. This was not the Knox I knew.
“The original plan was for me to fuck Chanel’s friend in the pool house while she screamed out your name. Chanel was going to get Madison out there to hear it and make her believe it was you. I swear Jude, I never knew about what happened with Madison. Even if I did, I would never show that video. I…” I didn’t let him get another word out by punching him in the face. He’s lucky he didn’t know about the video or I don’t know what I would have done to him.
“You’re real lucky you had no part in showing that video, but it’s fucked up that you would attempt to hurt Madison like that. I’ll be a man and say I’m sorry for lying to you, but know one thing, she was always my girl.” I shook my head and headed back inside the hospital. I hope there will be a day where I can forgive him, but right now my mind needed to be solely focused on Madison.
We sat in the waiting room until early morning. Delilah and Scott got here about a hour after we arrive and we were all still waiting on an update. None of us slept a wink for the rest of the night. We all had eyes that screamed they were haunted by what happened tonight. Knowing what Madison went through with Mr. Montgomery was awful enough, but to actually see it was devastating. For Chanel to be that cruel to show that video to everyone was sickening. To make matters worst, Madison was alone with that psycho Mrs. Montgomery.
“Can I speak to a family member regarding Madison Bloom?” The doctor I saw take Madison into the emergency room said.
Delilah rushed over and told him he could let us all know since we are her family. He nodded his head and said, “The good news is that the bullet went right through on her side missing the major organs by a hair. It was touch and go, but we managed to stop the bleeding. The bad news is that between the blood loss, a few broken ribs, smoke inhalation, and there was minor swelling of her brain from trauma, we had to put her in a medically induced coma.”
“Will she be ok? When will she wake up?” Delilah asked while shaking.
“Right now Madison has been through a lot that would kill most. We need to give her time to heal and only time can tell.” The doctor looked at all our worried faces and whispered to Delilah, “Have faith, your girl is one hell of a fighter.” We all took that breath we have been holding since we saw Madison. It wasn’t the best news, but it was hope that we needed.
“Thank you doctor. When can we see her?” Delilah shook the doctor’s hand while he informed her we can see her one at a time.
We all sat back knowing Delilah was going to go see her first, but surprisingly she came up to me and said, “If it weren’t for you going to look for Madison she would be dead right now. I can’t thank you enough for saving her. She may not be my blood, but I consider her my own. I know you mean a lot to her too and I think you should go see her first.”
“Are you sure?”
/>
“Yes dear, go and see our girl.” I hugged her tight and thanked her before running off to Madison’s room.
When I got to Madison’s room, I started to get nervous to go in. I took whatever fear I was feeling and put it aside because Madison needed me to be strong. When I walked in, my heart felt like it broke all over again. Madison looked small and fragile laying in the bed all hooked up. The side of her face was dark purple while her fingers were red and scraped from her struggle. There was still dry blood caked in her hair and soot spots on her skin from the fire.
“Baby I’m so…I’m so sorry.” I barely could get the words out. I don’t know how long I just laid my head on her lap and cried. I was never a crier and honestly can’t tell you the last time I did. Not even when the Dolans had me locked in their basement did I ever shed a tear.
“Madison I need to let everyone else come and see you, but know I’m not leaving you. I’ll be down the hall and I’ll be right here when you wake up, I promise.” I kissed the top of her head and made my way out to the waiting room to let everyone else have a chance to see her.
~.~
We were going on almost a week and luckily her brain swelling went down. They were able to get her off the ventilator yesterday since she’s been able to breathe on her own. They think it could be any day now that she wakes up. I haven’t left the hospital and refused to do so. I left Madison once before and I swear I would never again.
“Good morning Jude, how’s our patient?” Nancy, the head nurse, came into the room.
“Morning Nancy. Nothing yet, but today is the day I know it.”
“I hope so dear. Here, a young man dropped this off for you.” She handed me a bag with a change of clothes, a coffee, and a breakfast sandwich. Everyone has been trying to get me to leave to rest, but I refuse. Delilah even tried sending Scott in to convince me it was alright, but I’ll never break another promise to Madison.
