Maddox

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “I’m telling you, it’s that new bloke she’s got,” Mark puts in.

  “We’ve not met him,” Paisley admits.

  Even though his attention is still on the door where Charlotte left, Landon says, “Because she knows I’ll wring his fucking neck.”

  For some reason, Amelia comes to mind, followed by the cryptic words from her mum and Jasmine. I’m not stupid. Her ex did something to her. Her mum practically said as much. But her mum also doesn’t seem like the type of person who would sit back and let her child get abused.

  But Amelia… Amelia is the type of person who would do anything for those she loved, even keep secrets.

  Charlotte is a romantic with a huge heart. If some guy was playing her, she might not even know it until it was too late. And she would do everything to keep someone she loved. Hell, she kept her cat even though it tries to kill her every night.

  “You don’t think he’s hurting her, do you?”

  Landon slams his fist down on the table. “I would know. She would tell me.”

  I grimace. I don’t want to make him feel like shit—he looks like crap already—so I keep my mouth shut.

  Mark, however, doesn’t care. “No offence, but you’ve been kinda busy lately. I hate to say it, but would you know?”

  I cough into my hand, shifting my gaze away from Landon. “Never start a sentence with ‘no offence’. Ever.”

  “Fuck off,” he mutters.

  “No, I’d know. She’s just adjusting. She isn’t used to change. She likes things how they are. You know Charlotte.”

  “We do, which is why I know something is going on with her. But then again, I pay attention.”

  His lips twist as he snarls at me. “Like you paid attention to Lily? Oh no, wait. She had a relationship behind your back.”

  I throw a breadstick at him, growling. “Stop bringing up the past, Landon. It’s not me you’re pissed at, it’s yourself.”

  “No, it’s definitely you.”

  I grin, flashing my teeth. “No one can be pissed at me. I’m the fucking bomb, baby.”

  With an aggravated sigh, he turns to Paisley, looking torn. She smiles, squeezing the duck closer to her chest. “Go. I’ll get someone out to look over the car.”

  He nods, bending down to kiss her cheek. “I won’t be long.”

  Paisley leaves with the duck, Rex following behind obediently, like he knows he’s going to get a treat.

  “Wait a goddamn minute,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. “She might be your boss in your personal time,” I comment, to which he just snorts, “but today, I’m your boss, and I need you on the rendering.”

  “Get Spencer on it,” he retorts. “You knew I was going to be doing less shifts since I bought into the gym.”

  He leaves without another word, and my attention is brought back to the kids screaming again. This time, the chubby kid is trying to rip a toy gun out of the little lad’s hand, the one who stuck up for his sister earlier. He’s holding his own, refusing to be intimidated by the kid twice his size and probably three times his age.

  I lean into Mark, still watching the kids, as I pull out a twenty. “Twenty the little kid wins.”

  Mark chuckles, slapping a twenty over mine. “Nah, the ginger is being a little dick and doesn’t look like he plays fair. I reckon he’ll win.”

  “Game on,” I tell him, sitting back and watching it play out.

  When the parents come to pull the little guy off the ginger kid, I turn to Mark in triumph, holding my hand out for the money.

  CHAPTER NINE

  AMELIA

  My feet are dragging along the pavement. Asher isn’t settling, and normally, a walk or a drive will get him off to sleep. Since going for a drive was out of the question because I’m beyond exhausted, I decided to walk up and down the street.

  It’s keeping Jasmine occupied too, as she rides her scooter next to me. I’m not sure if I can make another trip up and down the street, but Asher won’t settle, and every time I stop, it makes him worse. He isn’t hungry, and he isn’t wet. He’s tired.

  And it’s because of the music playing all night across the road. I can’t keep doing it. I’ve reached a point where I’m contemplating looking for another place. I haven’t been this exhausted since I started my temp work at the hospital and began doing late shifts. And the music will start again soon, since it’s getting on. I’ve noticed they sleep until five-six each evening, then party like the world is going to end tomorrow for the rest of the night.

  It needs to stop.

  As soon as I have the energy, I’m going to look online to see who I need to speak to about the noise. The police certainly aren’t doing anything.

  We’re nearing our house when I spot Jasmine getting too close to the curb again. “Jasmine, baby, move away from the road.”

  “Yes, Mummy,” she calls back.

  "Please, Asher, go to sleep for Mummy,” I plead, tucking his blanket back in. He keeps kicking it off, and it’s a little chilly.

  “Oh no,” Jasmine whispers, coming to a stop beside me.

  Lifting my head, I spot the woman who lives across the way, storming across the road. I inwardly groan.

  I don’t have the time or energy for this.

  “Shut that fucking brat up,” she snarls, coming to a stop in front of the pushchair.

  “Excuse me?” I’m worried I heard her wrong, but if the twisting of her lips is anything to go by, I’m not hearing things.

  “You heard me,” she yells, as Asher’s wailing gets louder.

  I rock the pushchair back and forth. “I did. And I’m sorry if it’s bothering you, but your loud music kept me up all night.”

  She snorts, getting a fag out of a packet before lighting it up. “Are you trying to blame me for this?” I open my mouth to reply, when she blows smoke my way. I move Asher out of the way, trying to grip on to my last bit of patience. “Because my kids slept through music just fine.”

  “Can you step back if you’re going to continue to smoke in front of a new born?”

  She begins to laugh, stunning me. I don’t see what’s funny here. “Look at you, thinking you’re all prim and proper. My kids weren’t hurt by any smoke either.”

  Her kid is also an alcoholic, probably a druggie, and doesn’t know how to tie his shoelaces. But she’s right; it probably doesn’t have anything to do with inhaling smoke.

  “Maybe if you kept the noise down, he wouldn’t be so unsettled during the day,” I argue, praying she keeps it down tonight. I’m not sure how much more I can take.

  “Now, listen here, you little—"

  “What’s going on here?” Maddox asks, and the sight of him has me sagging against the pushchair.

  Although he’s made me nervous by always showing up, his attendance right now is welcome. In fact, he has a habit of turning up whenever I need another adult to make me feel human again. Being a single mum is hard, and keeping your identity when you’re responsible for two living souls is harder. It’s nice to have someone to remind me.

  “This has nothing to do with you, pretty boy.”

  He stares at her unnervingly, before, as quick as lightning, he snatches the fag out of her mouth and chucks it to the ground, stomping on it. “Don’t smoke around the kids.”

  “Hey! That was my last one,” she snaps.

  “Then go get another,” he growls, gesturing for her to leave.

  She looks from him to me, her face tightening. “Shut that fucking baby up during the day.”

  “Leave,” he rumbles, a lethal air about him.

  When she stomps back across the road, I watch as his entire personality changes. His shoulders relax, his facial features soften, and he grins. “Miss me?”

  “Loads,” Jasmine squeals.

  He frowns into the pram, and like he has every right, he unstraps Asher and picks him up. I go to take him, but I’m stunned by the silence. After listening to his wailing for so long, the silence is deafening. Asher cuddles
into Maddox, suckling.

  “How did you do that?” I breathe out.

  He winks. “Magic.”

  I don’t even care. I’m just happy Asher is finally calm. And it’s as if his silence gives my body permission to finally relax. A yawn escapes me, and I try to fight back the exhaustion.

  “Are you coming to watch a movie?” Jasmine asks.

  He has been coming over a lot lately, and although it isn’t a bother, I have to wonder why. He must have better things to do than sit with two kids and a single mum.

  But he’s there. Always inviting himself and asking personal questions. I’d ask them back to get to know him a little more, but he never gives me a chance. He just volunteers the information without being asked, revealing his life story.

  It’s unnerving at times.

  I’m intrigued by him. The stories he’s told me about his siblings and family… they’re crazy. However, he tells them with love and affection. He really cares for them all.

  “You bet’cha,” he answers, before turning to me, watching me closely. “I’ll order pizza to give your mum a break from cooking.”

  “Good. Because your cooking isn’t very nice,” Jasmine admits in a sweet voice.

  He mocks outrage. “I thought you loved my toast?”

  I chuckle at her expression. We bumped into him one morning and he had half a piece of toast in his gob and another four slices in his hand. He gave Jasmine one like a granddad would give their grandchild a pack of sweets, before patting her on the head and telling her to have a good day. It was pretty funny. And sweet.

  “It was kind of burnt,” she whispers, scraping the toe of her foot along the pavement.

  “Lies,” he cries out, before turning to me, his face turning serious. “Just don’t tell me you have pineapple on pizza because I’m not sure we can be friends if you do.”

  I shiver. “God no!”

  His shoulders drop dramatically. “Thank God, because I’m starving.”

  With a blink, I realise what’s just happened. “Um, don’t you have other things to do?”

  His eyebrows pull together. “No.”

  I’m learning he doesn’t do subtlety, so I decide to be straight. “You keep coming around and you hardly know us.”

  “Of course I do. You’re Amelia Taylor, and you have two kids. You’re a good cook, it’s still debatable about your music choice, and you work in a care home. You aren’t a B.I.T.C.H., and you can cook.”

  My lips twitch. “You said ‘cook’ twice.”

  He shrugs. “It was worth mentioning twice.”

  “I just don’t get it. I really don’t. Do you push your presence on everyone you meet?”

  His lips twist and his eyebrows pull together. “I don’t push my presence on anyone. They love me being around.”

  I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  He exhales heavily, rocking Asher side to side. “Can I be honest?”

  “Why, have you been lying this entire time?” I ask, ignoring the rapid beat of my heart.

  “Ha, ha,” he mumbles. “I need a friend.”

  “And you don’t have any?” I ask, arching an eyebrow. I thought for sure someone like him would have plenty of friends.

  He snorts at my reply. “Of course I do. I’m an amazing friend to have, but I need a best friend.”

  “A best friend?” I repeat, at a loss.

  He nods. “Yes.”

  “And what does that have to do with me?”

  He looks at me like I should already know. “Because you are that new BFF.”

  “Me?”

  “Are you always this difficult?” he asks, watching me curiously.

  I wipe the tiredness out of my eyes. “So, you come around a lot because you want to be best friends with someone you hardly know, who has two kids that take up all of her time?”

  “We’ve already covered this,” he groans, exasperated. “Jasmine doesn’t have an issue being my best friend.”

  “She’s six,” I argue.

  “He’s the best, Mummy,” Jasmine helpfully adds.

  Maddox grins, winking down at her before addressing me. “Plus, I’ve learnt you can be best friends with someone and not really know them at all.”

  He has that right. I thought I knew Scarlett until I found her fucking Cameron. “I guess.”

  “It’s true. Look at Lily. I thought I knew her. I thought what we had was tight as fuck. I thought I knew who she was. Now, I’ve not got a clue. She’s dating the enemy, a guy who doesn’t let me stay over in my bedroom at hers, or lets her feed me. Who does that?”

  I let out a chuckle at the redness rising up his neck. “Alright, deal. It’s not like I couldn’t use a friend.”

  He wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I’ll be the bestest friend you ever had.”

  And that’s what I’m afraid of.

  He’s hot. True. But there’s something about his personality and charm that draws me to him.

  The one thing I can’t do is begin to have a crush on him. I’m not even sure I have the head space for that.

  “Can we have pizza, Mummy?” Jasmine pleads.

  I roll my eyes. “Yes. I need to feed Asher too.”

  Maddox suddenly perks up, and his smirk is devilish. “Let’s hurry up then.”

  Jasmine rides up the path, and once I know she won’t hear, I lean in closer and say, “I hate to break it to you, but my mum bought me a shawl.”

  “What’s that?” he asks, as a frown creases between his eyes.

  “It’s to cover up the baby while they feed.”

  He hums under his breath, not looking too happy. “Let’s order pizza.”

  I chuckle, clicking the breaks on the pushchair so I can open the door. Jasmine dumps her scooter by the door before running inside. “Can we watch Moana?”

  “Go ahead, sweetie,” I tell her, letting Maddox go first before bringing the pushchair in after him.

  “Go sit down. You look dead on your feet,” he tells me, handing over Asher. “I’ll order pizza.”

  I nod before grabbing his wrist, stopping him. “Thank you for intervening outside, by the way. That woman scares me.”

  “I think she scares everyone,” he admits. “One way or another, I’ll get them evicted. I’m starting a petition tomorrow. My cousin is going to print out the forms.”

  “Really?” I ask with a little too much enthusiasm.

  He chuckles. “Really.”

  “Let me go up and change Asher, then I’ll be back down to feed him. Help yourself to a drink.”

  “Do you still have my beer from the other night?” he asks.

  I chuckle, remembering him turning up the other night with four cans and a puppy dog expression. “It’s in the fridge.”

  He nods, leaving to head straight for the kitchen. I hear Jasmine tell him about Moana and how cool Maui is, and I chuckle to myself.

  Smiling, I head up the stairs, pushing through the exhaustion so I can at least get Asher fed in case I pass out.

  *** *** ***

  I jolt awake to the sounds of singing. In my fog, it takes me a minute to realise I fell asleep during Asher’s feed.

  I pat my chest, realising everything is back in place and Asher is no longer there. Sitting up, eyes wide, I glance to the floor, where Maddox is sitting. He has Asher laying on a blanket between his legs.

  “And when you get a chick to—”

  “Um, what happened?” I ask, although I already know the answer.

  Maddox jumps, turning to me. “Hey, you’re awake.”

  “Um… I was breastfeeding Asher.”

  “Three hours ago,” he reveals, picking Asher up. “I think his nappy may need doing again. Jasmine and I tried. Well, I did. But I dunno; it didn’t look right. Mum said it was piss easy, but she wasn’t here—”

  I hold my hand up, rubbing my eye with the palm of other. “Maddox, I was breastfeeding Asher. I was—”

  Realisation dawns and he rubs the back of his neck. �
��Oh, that.”

  “Yes, that,” I tell him, feeling a little vulnerable.

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything. He was making wheezing noises and I kind of panicked. Then you wouldn’t wake up and I… I lifted him off and kept the blanket thingy over you.”

  “My top is up,” I remind him. He must have touched me.

  He grins. “I’m a skilled guy, but I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d pull off putting clothes on a chick.”

  “Maddox,” I groan.

  He holds his hands up. “Jasmine helped me.”

  I look around the room, my mind still foggy. “Where is Jasmine?”

  “Asleep in bed.”

  “Oh God, I’d better go check on her and get her changed,” I announce, getting up.

  “Stop,” he orders gently. “I got her some clothes out because she said she wasn’t allowed to touch the drawers.”

  I nod. “They aren’t screwed into the wall yet. I don’t want them tipping over on her.”

  His eyes widen a tad. “Jesus. I didn’t even think of that.” He pauses for a moment before continuing. “I grabbed what I could and left the rest to her.”

  I sag back against the sofa, feeling utterly devastated. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I fell asleep. Then you fed and looked after them, and I’m being a bitch.”

  “You aren’t. In fact, you took it better than I thought you would. When I realised I had to get Asher off you, I kind of had a meltdown.”

  “A meltdown?”

  He grins sheepishly. “Yeah. I didn’t want to invade your personal space. You wouldn’t wake up, and Jasmine wouldn’t get Asher, so we kind of had a whispered argument on who should do it, and then, if you can believe it, she threw the adult card at me.”

  “The adult card?” I ask, my lips twitching.

  He blows out a breath. “Yeah. And she drives a hard bargain.”

  “Oh dear,” I murmur, more relaxed now.

  “You’re telling me. She took twenty quid off me just to lift your top back up after I grabbed Asher. Poor guy’s mouth was stuck in an ‘O’ shape.”

  Laughter spills out of me. “I’m sorry for falling asleep.”

  “It’s okay. There’s a first time for everything,” he teases, winking.