Maddox

by Lisa Helen Gray

  “I don’t know how to be,” I admit, feeling my lower lip tremble.

  She gives me a small smile, her eyes filling with unshed tears. “You’re part of the family now. We can be strong for you.”

  Her words hit me right in the chest, and I nearly buckle at the force of them. She means it. And looking around at the sea of faces, the others stand by her words too.

  They don’t hate me.

  The door bangs open, and I spin around, clutching Asher tighter in my arms. Harlow has tears streaming down her face, and for a moment, a split moment, I picture the worst. But then she smiles, and sniffles through her tears.

  “He’s going to be okay,” she cries out.

  Everyone stands, hollering and cheering. “I knew it,” Madison cries out, clutching her chest. Hope hugs her, crying along with her.

  When Harlow’s gaze meets mine, an uneasy feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. “Can I see him?”

  “Honey, I let him know you were out here. He’s going to be a while still, and he wants you to take the kids home.”

  My stomach bottoms out, and there’s a loud ringing in my ears. “He wants me to go?”

  “He wants you to go home and rest,” she explains, but all I hear is that he wants me to go.

  I jerk my head into a nod. “Okay. Okay.”

  Mum steps up beside me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “You need your rest. It’s been a long day.”

  “She’s right. You look worn out and tired,” Harlow adds.

  “Okay. Okay,” I repeat, although my heart yearns for Maddox.

  When I turn to leave, Harlow grips my bicep. “I’m glad my son has you and those beautiful children in his life. He’ll be okay.”

  “Thank you,” I reply, before clearing my throat, feeling a ball in the back. “Will you… will you tell him I’m thinking of him. And that I’m sorry.”

  Her expression softens. “He already knows, but I’ll pass it along.”

  “C’mon, darlin’,” Mum calls gently, pushing the pushchair next to me.

  “I’ll carry him,” I tell her.

  “All right, Amelia.”

  *** *** ***

  Mum pulls the car onto the drive. The lights are all off, giving the place an eerie feel. We hadn’t expected to be gone this long.

  “Honey, I truly am sorry for what happened today,” she tells me as the lights of my car light up the house.

  “It’s really not your fault,” I tell her tiredly. “I hate them, Mum. I really hate them.”

  “The police have them now, and hopefully they won’t come near you again.”

  “Yeah,” I tell her, just as I hear Dad’s booming voice.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

  I startle, glancing at the house. Sitting on the doorstep is the person I least expected to see. My blood runs cold at the sight of my ex best friend, Scarlett.

  “I’ll get rid of her,” Mum bites out.

  “It’s fine. Will you help Dad get the kids in for me?”

  Mum pauses with her hand on the door handle. “Are you sure? You’ve been through a lot today already.”

  I push open my door, grumbling, “Might as well get the rest over with.”

  “I just need to speak to her,” Scarlett tells my dad, then spots me. “Amelia, please, just hear me—oh my God, is that blood?”

  “Scarlett,” Dad snaps.

  Her eyes widen, looking from my hands to my dad, then back again. “What’s going on?”

  “Dad, help Mum,” I order gently, before turning to her, noticing nothing has changed. Not her hair, not her Botox, lip fillers or fake lashes. Nothing. She is the same old person. “And what is going on has nothing to do with you. What are you doing here?”

  She rears back like she’s shocked that I actually spoke to her. “You’ve changed.”

  I let out a tired sigh as Mum and Dad pass, getting the kids inside. “What are you doing here?” I repeat.

  She crosses her arms over her chest, bouncing on the balls of her feet as her gaze darts around the street. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

  “And it took you the better part of a year to do that?” I ask, not holding back the bitch in me.

  “Look, what happened… I’m sorry,” she tells me, as tears gather in her eyes.

  I snort, stepping past her. “You slept with my boyfriend,” I snap.

  “It was a one-time thing, Amelia. You need to believe me. I—”

  I whirl on her, crossing my arms over my chest. “Don’t patronize me. It was more than once. It was on and off for the majority of our relationship. Cameron told me everything after he knocked you out. You were supposed to be my friend, Scarlett. I don’t know how you had the nerve to come and sit at my table and eat my food, play with my kid and let me talk about what was going on at home, and actually answer like you were on my side. I trusted you.”

  She takes a step back. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I had no idea what he was like.”

  “Yes, you did,” I scream. “You knew exactly what he was like, and you didn’t say anything. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you left us. You left me and my daughter on the floor to die.”

  She flinches, taking a step back. “I panicked. I had never seen him like that, and I was badly hurt and scared. And I didn’t leave.”

  I snort, glancing at her in disgust. “Only because he stopped you outside.”

  She shakily lifts the strap of her bag, pulling it higher over her shoulder. “I’ve come a long way to say sorry, Amelia. I miss you and want a chance to make it up to you. If this is because you’re with him again, it’s fine. I just want to fix what is wrong between us.”

  “Back with him?” I ask, unable to keep the fear out of my voice.

  She points to my hands. “You have blood. I thought… and you have a new baby.”

  “You disgust me. I never want to see his face again, and I never want to see yours.”

  “But I’m sorry. I miss our friendship, our chats. I miss Jasmine.”

  It then it dawns on me. “You miss having a family. Because that’s what we were to you. We replaced the family you no longer have. It isn’t because you’re sorry at all.”

  “I don’t have anyone, Amelia. No one. Please, let me prove how sorry I am.”

  I stare at her for a moment, wondering where she gets off demanding this stuff. “No.”

  “Please, Amelia—”

  “No!” I snap. “I have a beautiful life here. I might have crap going on, but it doesn’t wash away or undermine the good I have. I have a wonderful man who loves me and the kids. I have two parents who love and adore me. They’ve been a rock through all of this crap. And my friends,” I get out. “You have no idea what a relief it was to know that not all friends are like you. They are so kind, so giving, and they are here for me, as I am for them.

  “Today has been the second worst day of my life, and I come back to this. I don’t want it in my life anymore, Scarlett. I don’t want you in my life. You are toxic. What you did was unforgiveable, and I can’t believe you have the nerve to come here. If you were sorry, you would have said it in the hospital.”

  “He hurt me too,” she cries out. “He hurt me, and I had no one. No one to support me.”

  “I’m sorry he hit you. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone,” I admit. “But it doesn’t excuse anything. You made your own bed. I told you time and time again what he was doing.”

  “I thought he did those things to you because he wanted to be with me and he was angry he was stuck with you because of Jasmine,” she blurts out. Her eyes widen, and she takes a step back. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

  “Leave,” Mum demands.

  “I didn’t mean to—”

  “Leave,” I demand. “I’m surrounded by good people. I’d be a fool to let you back into my life, even if I wanted to.”

  Her bottom lip trembles. “I really am sorry.”

  “Me too,” I tell her, before turning and taking
Mum’s arm. We head inside, and I lean back against the door, panting heavily.

  “Are you okay?” Mum asks.

  I open my eyes, staring at her and Dad. “There’s something I need to do, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

  “What?” Dad asks, before sharing a look with Mum.

  I run over what I need to do and why I need to do it. Mum bites her lip, and Dad’s face is turning a shade of red I have never seen before.

  “Amy,” he calls out softly, using a nickname for me he only ever uses for moments like this.

  “I need to do this,” I affirm.

  Mum takes his hand, tears gathered in her eyes. “We understand, and we will be with you every step of the way.”

  I leap into her arms, holding her close. “Thank you. Thank you for always being the best parents to me.”

  Dad holds us both as he kisses the top of my head. “Always.”

  Mum breaks the hug and wipes under her eyes. “We’re going to let you get some rest. We’ve put Jasmine in your bed. We knew you wouldn’t want to be apart from them. Asher is in his cot.”

  “Thank you.”

  We say our goodbyes, and once I’ve locked up behind them, I drag my feet up the stairs. I reach my room, and the first place I go to is the cot. I pull Asher out, careful not to disturb him, and carry him over to my bed. I lay him down in the middle of the bed before leaning over to flick the light off.

  The curtains are still open, letting the moon light up the room. I stare at my two beautiful children, grateful I have them in my life. As the day’s events catch up to me, my thoughts on everything that happened, and on Maddox, I burst into tears.

  I cry until I fall into an exhausted sleep, my last thoughts on Maddox and hoping he’s okay.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  MADDOX

  Limping up the path, I inwardly grimace at the ache in my side. It’s still numbed by the local anaesthetic, but that will soon wear off. My dad always drummed it into our heads to never turn our backs on the enemy, and I feel ridiculous for doing it today. I’m never going to live this down.

  I tilt my head up at the house, closing my eyes briefly. What she saw today must have been a lot. I lost my cool, and I don’t want her to be scared of me because of it. She needs to know I’d never hurt her. Which is why as soon as they released me, I made Dad drop me back here.

  It’s now one in the morning, and although I need sleep, I need to see her more. I need to touch her. Hold her. When I saw Amelia’s bedroom light on, I had to come over.

  I also had to check on Asher and Jasmine. The ache in my chest hasn’t abated since the minute I realised he was taken. It didn’t even leave when Dad told me he was safe. It’s an empty feeling inside of my chest, and I can’t get rid of it. I don’t understand it. All I have is this driving need to see him.

  I was glad when the police took my statement and told me they had been charged. Although this will eventually go to court, it’s certain they will get a sentence, hopefully a long one. She will never have to worry about them again. On top of assault charges and kidnapping, they were also charged with possession, amongst other things. I guess having a cop in the family comes in handy when you want all the details. When the police wouldn’t give us much information, I had Mum bring Beau in, who was all too willing to fill us in on what he could.

  I rap my knuckles on the door for a minute before limping away a few steps. The landing light flicks on, and my heart begins to beat wildly against my chest.

  The door opens, and there, hair tussled and wearing her pyjamas, is Amelia. Her mascara from yesterday is smudged under her eyes, and her eyes are still swollen from crying. She flinches when she sees it’s me, and not in a bad way but like she can’t believe it’s me.

  “I know it’s late, and I’m sorry if I woke you,” I tell her. “I saw the lights on and—”

  She rushes at me, bursting into tears. I grab her before she can hurt me and gently pull her into my arms. “You’re really okay.”

  My arms relax around her, and I press my lips into the crook of her neck. “I’m okay.”

  She sniffles, pulling back a little. “You didn’t wake me. I had just got changed after feeding Asher.”

  I tense at his name. Mum said he was fine, but I had to know for sure. “Is he okay?”

  She melts against me. “He’s completely fine,” she assures me. “What you did—”

  Her eyes close to mask the pain, but I see it. “I’d do it again, Amelia. I’m just sorry I’m the reason you weren’t with him. I distracted you, and—”

  She presses her finger over my lips. “I’m done with the blame game. It’s not our fault. It’s theirs. We could have done a million things differently today and it could have been a worse outcome. I’m just grateful you are both okay,” she tells me. “You are okay, right?”

  “I am. It didn’t do any serious damage.”

  “I’m sorry this happened.”

  “Not your fault,” I assure her. “It’s so good to see you.”

  She bites her lip, her gaze darting over my shoulder. “I didn’t think you wanted to see me. You asked me to leave.”

  “I was worried about the kids being around so many germs, and it was getting late. I wanted you to be at home resting, not waiting around for a doctor to come and treat me.”

  “Why are you here and not resting?” she lightly scolds.

  “Because I needed to do this,” I tell her, before leaning down.

  “Go! Go!” Cassie screams across the road.

  I groan, narrowing my eyes. “One more person interrupts us and I’m going to take you and the kids to a remote location. Once they are in bed, I’m going to kiss you so hard.”

  She grins, but the yelling across the road gets louder. “What on earth,” she whispers, and we both watch as Cassie trips over the black bag in her hand, causing it to split. Clothes go everywhere, and she begins to scrape them into a pile, picking them up before dashing to Kayne’s car. He comes running out next, green dye covering him from head to toe.

  “I can’t stay here anymore,” she cries out.

  “What about the rest of our stuff?” Kayne yells, throwing some stuff into the car.

  A loud roar comes from inside the house, and they both freeze before racing to the front of the car.

  “I don’t give a shit. The council can sort it.”

  “Mum, I’m scared,” Kayne cries.

  “Kids,” Cassie screams.

  Her other kids come racing out, and I’m shocked by the sight of them. I’ve never seen them before, or if I had, I put them off as friends.

  “Mum, something touched me,” the teenage girl screams. “On my ankle.”

  “Get in the car!” Cassie screams.

  They all squeeze into the small car, the tyres squealing as they spin on the tarmac.

  “Fucking hell. He did it,” I murmur.

  “Who?” Amelia asks.

  “My uncle Max. He’s been hiding out in my loft, eating my food,” I grit out. “But he’s finally got rid of them.”

  Amelia forces out a chuckle. “Surely not.”

  Max decides to come outside, wiping green powder off his hands. He’s grinning to himself, and jerks to a stop when he spots us. “And the trash is out,” he calls out. “Now, I’d best be getting back to the wife. I’ve not had sex in days.”

  “She said you aren’t getting any,” I remind him.

  “She could never resist me,” he calls back as he reaches his car. “And I’m glad you weren’t too badly gutted.”

  “Thanks?”

  He grins wider. “You’re welcome. Haven’t had this much fun in years.”

  “He says that every few weeks,” I grumble, and wave as he pulls out.

  Amelia gapes at the space where Max’s car once was. “Holy crap.”

  I grimace. “Look, you can’t judge me by my family. The rest aren’t like him. Well, Hayden is, but she’s a little more psycho, although if you see Charlotte mad t
hen you really see the definition of—”

  “Maddox, I love your family. I love you.”

  I slowly turn in her arms, gripping her waist. “Say that again,” I whisper.

  “I love you.”

  I close my eyes, letting the words soak in. Although I always knew she’d love me, hearing it is another matter.

  “I love you too,” I tell her, before leaning down and capturing her lips with mine. They are softer than I imagined, and her taste explodes in my mouth as I massage my tongue against hers.

  Tingles shoot up my spine as I deepen the kiss, tilting her head back to get better access.

  She pulls back, breaking the kiss, her pupils dilating as she stares up at me. “You should be resting.”

  I smirk down at her. “I will after.”

  “After?” she whispers, still breathless.

  “After I fuck my girlfriend.”

  Her eyes darken as I reach down, capturing her lips once more. I lift her up easily, ignoring the slight pinch in my side as I carry her back into the house. I kick the door closed behind me before moving into the front room.

  I stop a foot in front of the largest sofa and place her on her feet, and press my lips to hers. Her silk top is soft against my fingers as I grip the edge, lifting it up and over her head.

  Her tits bounce free and I inwardly groan. “Fuck!”

  “Now you,” she replies hoarsely, and slowly—careful of my wound—she slides my jacket off my shoulders, running her hands over my biceps.

  I watch as fascination lights up her face, as she watches her fingers trace over the muscle. When she reaches the bottom of my top, her breathing picks up, and she slowly lifts my top up. I bend down a little, giving her help to pull it over my head.

  I wince a little when I straighten, but it doesn’t stop me from bringing her flush against my chest, revelling in the feel of her bare skin against mine as I bend down to kiss her.

  She moans as I slide my tongue against hers, whilst cupping her tits. The sound of her moan has my dick painfully hard.