by R. M. Lynn
“I hate that you hang out here,” Maddox muttered when I passed him the joint, my eyes closing at the sensations floating through my body. “I don’t get why you do. Especially at night and alone.”
“Well, if you wait a minute, you’ll see,” I shot back and smiled up at the sky.
I knew he was shaking his head at me without even looking at him, and for some reason, that made me smile even bigger. The sound of the train coming grew louder, and I could hear the whistle blowing.
“We’re too close to the tracks, Daisy,” Maddox warned, and I opened my eyes when I heard him shift up onto his knees. “We should move back off the hill.”
“No way,” I laughed and yanked on his hand. “Lay down. Quick. It’s coming.”
He let out a curse, took a hit from his joint, and laid back down next to me. When the train flew past us, the ground shook like a mini earthquake, and the passing train cars blurred past my vision while the whistle blew loud. I heard Maddox let out a laugh, and the sound muffled by the train sounds made me laugh in return. I finished off the joint he handed back to me just as the train continued down the tracks into the night.
“See? That’s why I hang out here,” I laughed and sat up as he did.
“I get the thrill of it but for real?” He bit back a grin as he shook his head. “What if someone finds you here and hurts you?”
“Don’t worry about it, Maddox,” I huffed. “Nobody is going to hurt me. I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
He smirked and brushed my wild hair away from my face. “I know you are. But I can’t help wanting to look out for you. You can’t fault me for it.”
“I don’t,” I whispered.
The more my eyes searched his, the more I wanted to just get it out there and ask him for some sort of fuck buddy arrangement. I couldn’t think of anybody better to do it with. Honestly, I liked the idea of giving away most of my firsts to Maddox. He was the best guy in the world, and I knew he’d take care of me like he always had.
“You excited for the game tomorrow?” I asked instead of what I really wanted to ask. I couldn’t ask him such a loaded question the day before his first game of the season. I’d have to wait until after. “Is the team you’re playing any good?”
“They’re alright,” he muttered with a shrug. “I’m just anxious to get back on the field, you know?” He smirked at me. “I bet you’re pretty anxious to see me out there, too, huh? I know you secretly like the uniform.”
His uniform did things to me, I’d admit it but never out loud to him. “I don’t know. I think maybe I like Colt’s ass the best in those pants.”
“Bullshit,” he laughed out and gave my shoulder a playful shove. “I see you watching me at practice, Daze. Those eyes are for me, not Colt or anybody else. Go ahead and lie to me.”
I rolled my eyes and bit back a grin. I couldn’t lie to him. Well, I could, but he’d definitely know. He threw his arm over my shoulder and pulled me to him with another laugh.
“It’s okay, Daisy. I know you think I’m hot. Just admit it.”
“You’re so full of yourself,” I countered and stood up from the grass. “Let’s go home. You think I can stay at your place?”
He stood up next to me with a frown on his handsome face. “Your parents fighting again?”
I shrugged and sighed out, “Yeah, but what else is new? They won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Just let them know anyway,” he insisted and walked us to his parked car down the hill. “I don’t want to be responsible for harboring a fugitive.”
I let out a breath, but I did what he asked as we got in the car and drove off. I sent a quick text to my mother, knowing I’d likely not get a response. I let Maddox know, and soon, we were pulling into his garage. He opened the door for me, and we headed inside the dark house with no signs a family actually lived there. There weren’t any photos on the wall of his childhood, no magnets on the fridge. The walls were bare, the place spotless of any sort of clutter, and I knew the only people that ever walked the property on a normal day were Maddox, the housekeeper, and landscaper. I knew it bothered him, it hurt him, but he also never wanted to talk about it, so therefore, we didn’t.
“Your dad home?” I asked softly as he led us up the staircase to the second floor.
“He was around when I got back from practice, but he left shortly after. I think he’s fucking this new paralegal they got at the firm.” He said it so flippantly, it made my chest ache for him and the fact that this was his normal. “He said something about getting dinner in the city and staying at the penthouse. Bet she’ll be joining him.”
He let us into his room and immediately went to his dresser to pull out a pair of sweats and a white t-shirt. Handing them to me, he gave me a small smile, and I smiled back before heading to the bathroom to change. I brushed my teeth with the spare toothbrush he kept next to his just for me, and combed my fingers through my hair before heading back to his room. When I got there, he was lounging on his bed in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. He was drool worthy. God, I hated him for it.
“You coming or what?” he asked me, making me jump slightly as I hoped he didn’t see me staring.
Thankfully, his eyes remained on the TV displaying the sports channel, and I forced out in the most casual tone I could muster, “Aren’t we kind of old to share a bed now? I mean… You have a ton of guest rooms.”
He looked at me with a smirk and a raised brow. “Too old? I slept at your place a couple of weeks ago, but now we’re too old?”
I couldn’t tell him that a couple of a weeks ago, I wasn’t thinking about proposing to sleep with him. Now, it just seemed weird to get into bed with him when he was half naked.
“Will you c’mon?” he laughed out at my hesitation. “I got to get to bed. You know, rest up for the game to tomorrow and shit. What’s your deal?”
“I have no deal,” I insisted and to prove it, I climbed into bed with him as he pulled back the covers for me.
He shifted so that he could get under them as well, and I involuntarily sucked in a breath when I felt the heat radiating from him and his skin brushing mine. I turned onto my side to face him, and he did the same. The light from the TV screen was the only thing illuminating his features.
“Tell me something,” I whispered and bit my lip.
We’d played this game since we were little. It started as a way for him to distract me if I ever got upset or vice versa. We’d share something silly to make the other laugh. But as we’d gotten older, we started sharing deeper, genuine things. It was a way for me to stop thinking about my own issues and focus on his. I think he played it for the same reason any time he asked me.
“I’m scared,” he murmured and let out a breath as his eyes searched mine.
My brow furrowed. “Scared of what?”
“I don’t know.” He swallowed and shook his head slightly. “I guess this season. There’s a lot riding on this year, you know? I got scouts coming to almost every game. To see me. And more than that? Other teammates. Guys like Colt and Dash need me to perform well so that they can do the same and then the scouts looking at them see how valuable they are. I’m afraid I’ll fuck it up for myself, for them… And then there’s dad. I’m afraid that even if I get that offer from Stanford, will it be enough?”
Maddox’s dad always wanted him to go to Stanford like he did and study pre-law before going to law school and joining the firm. For most of his childhood, he seemed okay with this plan. He lived to make his dad happy, and I think it was because if he showed an interest in law and his father’s career, his dad actually paid attention to him. In junior high, though, when Maddox really began taking a real interest in football, things changed. By our sophomore year, he was adamant that he wanted to play football at the collegiate level, specifically at Granite Coast University in the Savannah, Georgia area, in hopes of getting drafted to the NFL. His father was not pleased, even with the fact that Granite Coast University was at the top
of the NCAA.
“What about GCU?” I asked softly. “I know that’s a dream of yours.”
“I want him to be happy, too. I mean, I can play football and do pre-law.”
“You can do that at GCU.”
He shrugged weakly. “I know. And I want to. I’d just like him to be proud of me for once. If Stanford is the way to do that, then I’ll do it. My grades are good, and he’s a big benefactor there. I’d have a chance. They’re also a good team, too.”
“Maddox,” I whispered. “You shouldn’t base such an important decision in your life on what your father would want.”
“I know,” he insisted quietly. “You’re right, and I hear you. I just… I don’t know. I’m feeling a lot of pressure from a lot of different sources. I’m stressed about it, I guess.”
“I don’t want you to be stressed.”
I absentmindedly lifted my hand and brushed away some hair on his forehead. His eyes ran over my features, and I felt myself blush as I quickly pulled my hand away and cleared my throat softly. He smirked just barely, but I noticed it, and I nibbled on my bottom lip.
His eyes followed the movement, and they remained on my mouth as he said, “Tell me something.”
“I can’t,” I countered immediately.
“Why not? I told you. That’s the game, remember?”
“I just don’t know if it should be said… what’s on my mind, I mean.”
He scowled and brushed his thumb along my jaw. “You can tell me anything, Daze. You should know that by now.”
As if God were looking down at me in that moment and knowing I needed to break away from this conversation as soon as possible, Maddox’s phone began to ring on the nightstand next to him. He muttered a curse, rolled away from me, and snatched it before putting it to his ear as he sat up in bed.
“What’s up, man?” he muttered lowly and glanced to me. “You alright?”
“Who is it?” I whispered and bit my lip.
He ignored me and focused on the phone call. “Come over, man. I’ll wait up for you… Yeah, I got it… Daze is with me, though.” He glanced to me again. “Yeah, okay… Sure, yeah. See you soon.” He hung up and put his phone back on the nightstand before getting out of bed and running a hand through his hair. “Dash is on his way over. He asked me to tell you not to ask any questions.” I scowled as I sat up, and he stepped up to me, his hands smoothing my brow. “Don’t be mad. And don’t take it personally.”
“Does this happen a lot?” I asked as I got out of bed and followed him toward the door.
“Maybe you should stay up here,” he replied, ignoring my question.
“Dash is my friend, too, and I want to help him if he’ll let me. So, let him make that decision.”
He didn’t argue with me, just sighed and gave a lift of his chin to the hallway. I followed him down the stairs just as a knock on the front door sounded. Dash must’ve already been on his way over when he called Maddox, and I wondered just how serious the situation was. Maddox gave me a quick look before opening the door. I held in a gasp so not to anger him as I looked over Dash’s face. He had a fresh bruise under his eye, and his lip was split down the middle.
“Daze, baby, don’t look at me like that,” Dash demanded and forced a tight smile. “It’s bad for my ego.”
“Let me clean you up,” I insisted quietly and put my hand out.
He took my hand in his, and I immediately took him to the half-bath before the kitchen. I knew a first-aid kit was under the sink there after the many of times I’d have to get patched up after a fall off my skateboard or if I skinned my knee running on the beach with Maddox. While I brought Dash to the bathroom, Maddox muttered something about going to the kitchen to grab him a water bottle, leaving us alone.
I pulled out the kit while he sat himself up on the countertop next to the sink, grabbed a sanitary wipe and began dabbing at the small amount of blood running from Dash’s lip. He winced at my touch, and I pulled back while nibbling my lip.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Just my heart, you know… No big deal,” he tried to joke, but it fell flat.
I dabbed at his lip once more before pulling back and looking at his eye. “We should get some ice for your eye. It’ll keep the swelling down.”
“Daisy?”
My eyes lifted, and I tried not to let my eyes fill with tears. I didn’t know what happened, but I was upset that he was hurt. The funny, happy-go-lucky Dash I knew wasn’t there in front of me. This was a side of him I never saw.
“I usually fight back, but I… I just let him do it this time. He was hitting my mom, and I thought…” He looked down at his lap when his voice broke with emotion. “I just wanted him to stop. If I fought back this time, I knew I’d kill him.”
“Oh, Dash,” I whispered as he broke down then, letting out a strangled sob and dropping his head to my shoulder when my arms went around him.
I slid my hand to the back of his neck while the other slid up his chest. He cried silently for another moment before easing out a shaky breath and giving my hips a squeeze. His head lifted, and I swiped my thumbs under his eyes, careful of his bruise, and pressed my lips to his jaw. Just then, Maddox appeared in the doorway, and I stepped back slightly from Dash to look up at him. His eyes were on me, and his jaw was tense, but when he looked to Dash, he softened some and handed him the water bottle from the fridge.
“You going to need some ice?” Maddox asked him quietly.
“It’s fine,” Dash assured him and cleared his throat before slipping down from the countertop. My arm brushed his abs with the movement, but I didn’t move. “I might just head to bed if that’s okay. Any preference on what room I take?”
It took me a moment to realize he was asking me, and I glanced to Maddox and then to Dash again before mumbling, “Oh, no. Whichever room you want. I’m in Maddox’s room.”
Dash gave a small nod, his eyes flicking from Maddox and back to me, before moving to the doorway. He gave Maddox’s shoulder a squeeze, and Maddox put his arm around his shoulders, pulling him close and muttering to him lowly. I watched Dash nod twice before he was released, and once he was headed up the stairs, Maddox grabbed my hand and took me up as well. We crawled back into bed, and I looked at him with a sigh.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered.
“I didn’t know either until two years ago,” he whispered back and sighed as he turned toward me. “I guess it’s been happening since we were kids. Only recently, though, the marks have been visible. His dad probably assumes everyone will think it’s from football.”
The tears I was holding back since Dash first showed up at the door finally emerged, and I felt the hot, wetness of them slip down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Daisy,” Maddox murmured and pulled me into his bare chest. “He’ll be so pissed if he finds out you were crying for him.”
“He doesn’t deserve that,” I cried and felt his arms tighten around me.
“Of course, he doesn’t. You’re right. But… There’s not much we can do, okay? I’ve tried getting him to move out. I’ve told him a million times to just come stay with me, but he won’t do it because of his mom and sister. I told him once I’d call the police for him, and he said if I did that, he’d never talk to me again.” He smoothed my hair away from my face and pressed his lips to my forehead. “We just got to be there for him like we were today.”
“Does Colt know?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, Dash doesn’t talk much about it. At least not with me, but not for a lack of trying on my part.” He shrugged. “If Colt knows, he hasn’t said anything. And I’m not going to say anything either. That’s not our place. Not our story.”
I nodded against his chest, and his hand slid down my back in a comforting manner. Once he knew I’d calmed down, he shifted onto his back and grabbed the remote from the nightstand before handing it to me. My head moved to the crook of his arm, and he let out a yawn as his e
yes closed.
“Put on whatever you want,” he mumbled. “Just keep the volume down, yeah?”
I gave a small nod and flipped on HGTV. I watched an episode of Property Brothers before turning off the TV and shifted over him to put it on his nightstand. When I did, my chest brushing over his, Maddox’s arm tightened around my waist, holding me to him, and I held my breath. My cheek slowly rested against his chest as my body relaxed. My tired eyes closed and with the sound of his soft breathing and heart beating in my ear, I fell asleep.
◆◆◆
In the morning, I woke up in Maddox’s bed alone, and I sat up, stretching my arms over my head. I climbed out of bed, headed to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and dug through the drawers of the vanity until I found a comb before trying to yank it through my wild hair. I headed downstairs quietly, the sound of low voices coming from the kitchen and the smell of bacon in the air. Hitting the turn to the kitchen, I poked my head around the corner to see Maddox and Dash standing around the island shirtless. They were too attractive for their own good, and I bit my lip as I looked them over.
As if he felt my eyes on him, Maddox’s stormy eyes left Dash and shot over to me, where he gestured for me to come to him with a small jerk of his chin with a smirk on his face. I slid in front of him at the island to snag a piece of bacon from the plate and looked up at him with a smile.
“Morning, Daisy,” he murmured, that smirk still on his lips. “Sleep good?”
I gave a small nod and looked to Dash. I tried to keep my smile in place, but I knew it slipped as I saw the deepened coloring of the bruise under his eye.
“You’re prettier when you smile, you know,” Dash muttered, and I bit my lip. “Stop feeling bad for me. I hate it.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Let’s move on. But just know I love you and I’m here.”
He smirked and looked to Maddox. “Hear that? She loves me.”
Maddox rolled his eyes and put a hand to my shoulder. The rest of the morning, we lounged around until it was necessary for me to head back home. An hour before the football game started, Logan came to pick me up so we could get a good seat. We got to the school and to the field as the teams were beginning their warmups. Marcus spotted me at some point when he stopped to grab a drink from the sidelines, and he tossed a small wave and a smile my way when he found me in the crowd beginning to form. I gave a wave back, and Logan nudged me with her shoulder as she laughed.
