“Put the bags in first,” Madison said as she wrapped up each of the paintings and then carefully set them in the trunk.
“Thanks for the help guys,” Andrew said, tapping them on the shoulders.
“Good luck, Andrew.”
“Work the program.”
Andrew smiled. “I will, you guys too.”
“We will.”
He waved and slipped into the vehicle at the same time Madison did. She grinned as she pulled away from the facility.
“I invited everyone over tonight. I hope that’s okay,” Madison said as she merged on the freeway. She glanced at him sheepishly. “Connor really wants to see you. I should have brought him up more than I did. I feel really selfish about that.”
“Has he been getting my letters?”
Madison laughed as she swerved around a slower driver. “Yes, I swear he’s framing them.”
“I highly doubt that.” Andrew chuckled. “I thought he might like that, and I write for shit, so I figured it would do me some good, too.”
Madison rolled her eyes and glanced his way. “You write wonderfully.”
“I’m not putting myself down, Madison. I just never got the hang of writing. I didn’t finish school so I didn’t do the things people do to become good writers.”
“Alright, I can see your point.” She smiled at him. “It was an extremely sweet thing to do. Connor loved it. It made him feel so special. You taking the time to write him and tell him the things you were doing was the highlight of his day.”
“I’m glad Jayden suggested it.”
“I am too,” Madison said with a smile.
“Anything new happen this week?”
“Well,” Madison began with a sigh.
“Well, what?” Andrew asked, turning in his seat slightly so he could face her.
“Apparently, Nolan was convicted on Tuesday.”
“Well, that’s good, right?”
“Yes, it is. Monique called me and told me that he was sentenced, so I did some research and found a video of Nolan leaving the courtroom and I don’t know...” Madison sighed again and jumped ahead of another driver. “He just looked so smug, as if going to jail was not a big thing.”
“Maybe he thinks he won’t be there long. How much time did they give him?”
Madison shrugged. “Three years.”
“Three years, that’s it?”
“Yep,” she replied angrily. “It pisses me off.” She turned his way slightly. “Like all the things he did, how he hurt us, how he stole all that money. And even though he couldn’t be tied to Grayson, I just know he killed him, and here that asshole is just walking out of court like he won the lottery or something.”
Someone honked and Madison realized she had swerved slightly. She righted herself and shook her head. She still couldn’t believe Nolan had gotten so little time. She had called Elias right after viewing the video. He had told her he would look into it and that she shouldn’t worry. Madison was surprised by that as she wasn’t worried at all. She was angry. She still was. She picked up speed and breathed out deeply before eyeing Andrew again. He was watching her but not saying anything. She turned back to the road and changed lanes again before she began speaking once more.
“You served eight years for a crime you didn’t commit and this bastard gets a fine and has to serve three years in a minimum security establishment where he can probably watch cable television and eat real food.” She glanced at Andrew again. “It isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair.”
Madison sighed and faced traffic again. She was still so upset about the situation, and more than that, she was frustrated that no one else seemed to be. She had told Liam the next day at work and he didn’t seem upset either. She distinctly remembered going into his office and ranting for a good thirty minutes before he sort of set her straight, at least temporarily, by basically telling her that Elias was handling things. She wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but Liam seemed completely confident in that statement. She just wished she could do something, that justice would somehow be served. But, according to Liam, there wasn’t anything they could do. They just had to wait it out.
“Madison.”
She felt Andrew touching her shoulder and then wiping the tears from her cheeks. Tears she hadn’t recognized she had been shedding. She had tried to find out more, but Liam didn’t answer her. He just reiterated that things would work out and that she needed to be okay with whatever happened, even if it wasn’t what she wanted.
“I know it sucks but we can’t change it, and really, it doesn’t affect us anymore. We are free of all of it.”
“Are we?” she asked flustered.
“Baby, I've spent my life watching people get away with things while I suffered and I don’t want that kind of burden anymore. I’ve accepted that there are people in the world, like Nolan and Senator Bowers, who will always find a way to get out of things, people who will find shortcuts and ways to manipulate the system. They will never really know or care about the pain or suffering they afflict on others, but you know what else they won’t know?” Madison shook her head slightly as his fingers gently traced along her cheeks. “They’ll never know true love or friendship. And those,” he smiled that infectious smile of his, “are two things that we have in abundance.”
Madison smiled. How could she not? He was right. She needed to let this go. She had given Bowers and Nolan too much space in her head already. They needed to go! He cupped her cheek lovingly, letting his thumb ghost over her lips.
“I say screw it!” he said with a playfulness that didn’t quite fit the situation. “Let’s just focus on us, our friends, and our family. I don’t want to waste another single minute being pissed off and angry at Bowers and Nolan for all their bullshit, especially when we can’t do a damn thing to change it.”
Madison smiled slyly. “So what you’re saying is that we need to accept the things we can’t change, change the things we can, and have the wisdom to know the difference.”
Andrew grinned and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I love you,” she replied with a wink.
“I love you, too,” he said with a tender kiss on her cheek.
The rest of the drive home was spent talking about their week, they had a lot to catch up on. Before they realized it, they were in front of their house. Andrew barely gave Madison a chance to park before he was outside the car and opening her door. He immediately picked her up, anxious to get her inside. She didn’t hesitate as she latched her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He smiled as he continued to kiss her. They made it haphazardly to the door, laughing as they stumbled along. He pressed her against the door as he snatched the keys from her and fumbled with the lock. Once inside, he set her down and immediately shed his t-shirt.
“How much time do we have?” he asked as he kicked off his shoes and began to unbutton his jeans. He didn’t want to waste any time.
“Huh?” Madison replied, momentarily stunned by his magnificence.
Andrew smirked, slipping his jeans and boxers off at the same time. He stepped out of them and began walking towards her while she continued to stare at him. As Andrew pulled her shirt over her head and dropped her bra on the floor, he was blatantly aware of how much she meant to him. It wasn’t the beauty she possessed on the outside, because that was unparalleled, but it was what she carried on the inside that mattered most. She loved him unconditionally and that made her breathtaking. He began to gently caress her shoulders and breasts before finally picking her up again. Madison giggled as she laid her head in the crook of his neck. Her happiness at him being home was surpassed only by her desire to make love to him. He adjusted her up his waist and carried her into their bedroom where he laid her on the bed. Andrew breathed in deeply as he nestled himself between her legs. His mouth gently touched her neck.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Madison hummed as her hand went into the back of his hair.
Madison brought her hand down and allowed her fingers to slowly move along his strong shoulders. She could feel the many scars hidden beneath his ink, a constant reminder that people can be cruel. As both her hands now caressed his back, stopping at areas that bore the remnants of his past, she wondered if her touch could heal him in some way. Could her fingers take away the pain those scars represented? In her heart, she believed that to be true. She remembered how he used to flinch when she would touch them, but that no longer occurred. Her hands worked around his sides, feeling the deep gashes there. She was thankful that his tattoos covered his marks as she often felt she would never stop weeping should she see what was done to him. No child should ever have to endure what he had.
“I love you, Madison.”
He lifted his body up as she looked upon him. Her hand immediately went to his chest where her fingers gently traced over the scar hidden by the moon. It was a scar that hurt her the most because of its horrific history. The fact he had the capacity to love after what his parents put him through only reinforced his tremendous strength and spirit. He moved off her completely and lay on his side watching her roll to her side as well.
“You’re my center, Madison.”
She smiled as her hand touched his face. “You’re my center as well.”
“I know that my center should be within me but,” his brows furrowed as he tried to find the right words. “I realized that it was impossible to imagine my life without you, which terrifies me. When I left New York a few years ago.” He sighed. “You know, when I was an idiot after we got the eviction notice and all the stuff with Kurtis and Nolan went down. I had thought you would be better off without me.” He looked down, shaking his head at the mistakes he made that day.
“I remember,” she replied sadly.
“The whole time I was miserable. I couldn’t focus. I was going through life but I wasn’t alive. When you came looking for me, I knew the only way I could live was through you, but,” he now sat up as did Madison. “That wasn’t right either. I should live my life with you not because of you. Does that make sense?”
She nodded slightly. “It does.”
“So being in treatment the past three months made me see things a lot clearer, and even though I didn’t want to be away from you, I wasn’t miserable being gone.”
“I hated you being away, but it was good, for both of us. It wasn’t some forced separation. No one was interfering in our lives. I knew you needed to be there and every time I saw you I saw how well you were doing and it made me feel so good inside. I missed you so much but we had to be apart so that we could really be together.”
He smiled. “Yes, exactly. I thought of you all the time and I was angry at Craig when he said I shouldn’t talk to you during the week, but he was right because I think I found myself in there. It’s hard to explain, but I had to figure out who I was without you or Aaron or Jayden by my side. I couldn’t just define myself by you guys.”
“And you did that?”
“What I realized was,” he picked her up and brought her onto his lap. “I realized that I’m your Helios.” She smiled as he continued. “I’m also Jay’s best friend, Aaron and Olivia’s son, Connor’s big brother, Ellie’s uncle, Jeff’s mentor,” he smiled brightly. “I’m an artist who tells stories through my paintings but I don’t want to do that professionally. Professionally, I’m a mechanic. I love working on bikes. I love hanging with Jay and Connor. I love spending the days with them and coming home to you every night.” Madison continued to smile. “And I’m just waiting to become two more things.”
“What’s that, Helios?”
He touched her cheek. “Your husband and...” he pecked her lips softly, “a father.”
Madison’s eyes got wide. “You want children?” she asked hesitantly, unsure if she heard him correctly.
“That is, if you want to have kids. I know we haven’t talked about that before but...” he stopped suddenly, realizing that maybe Madison didn’t want children and what that might mean for him.
Tears slipped from her eyes. “I want children with you.”
He smiled and chewed on his lip just slightly before both hands went to her face and he kissed her, long and hard as their passion for one another flared to unprecedented levels. He laid her back on the bed, not once breaking their connection. He wanted his mouth to move passed her lips but he simply couldn’t. He was lost in their kiss, lost in the way she made him feel. His lips worked over hers, pulling and tugging as he worked her pants off her, never removing his lips from hers in the process. When her pants were finally off, he slipped inside her, his home, his life. Generally, they both liked it fast and hard, but today he would make love to her. He would savor her. He would show her in no uncertain terms that she was his life. He felt oddly at ease. The insecurity that often plagued him were no longer present. At some point in the last twelve weeks, his fear of losing her vanished. He knew that one day she would be gone, that was inevitable, but she would never truly be gone because she would always be firmly placed within his heart and soul.
31Hope Eternal
Madison tossed the remaining dirty clothes in the washer and then walked back to Andrew’s studio. She watched him at the doorway as he readjusted his recent paintings on the wall. He wanted to share his artwork with their friends who were scheduled to arrive very soon. They had made love and showered and made love again before they realized they needed to get things in gear. Luckily, Madison didn’t have to cook anything as everyone was bringing something. As she observed the room, she noticed that he had something covered, so she walked over to it.
“Why is this covered?”
“Don’t be so nosy, woman,” he said over his shoulder and then winked when she raised her brow at him.
“Excuse me?” she said, turning completely around and placing her hands on her hips.
Andrew laughed and blew her a kiss. “Love you.”
“Uh huh, it’s a good thing you’re good in the sack,” she said with a laugh.
He thrust his hips a couple of times and grinned at her. “I knew it would come in handy one day.”
Madison laughed and came up behind him, running her hands over his jeans. She felt him start to rise at her touch. He moaned softly as she touched him. His head tilted back as she leaned up and kissed him. He turned around and faced her as their kiss deepened, as it generally did. The sound of the doorbell stopped their impromptu make out session from turning into them having sex once again. She pecked his lips and stepped back.
“To be continued, Helios.”
“You bet that pretty ass of yours it will be.”
“Such a sweet talker,” she replied, sticking her hand in his back pocket.
“I have my moments,” he winked as he led them out of the room.
The doorbell rang again and Andrew laughed. “Who do you think? Connor?”
When it rang a third and then fourth time she laughed. “Yep, definitely Connor.”
Madison opened the door to see Connor and Jewel. Jewel was holding what looked like a pie while Connor bounced on the balls of his feet. Madison smiled and gave Jewel a hug before taking the pie from her. Connor, meanwhile, dashed inside and immediately gave Andrew a hug. Much to his surprise, Andrew hugged him back and then smiled at him before giving Jewel a hug.
“It’s good to see you home,” Jewel offered.
“Thank you. Hopefully I can get this guy out of your hair soon,” he said while he tousled Connor’s hair, making it look even more unmanageable.
Jewel laughed and nodded.
“Hey, I’m right here, ya know.”
“Come on, Connor. I know you’re hungry,” Madison said, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen where he immediately grabbed a bag of chips.
Within twenty minutes, everyone important to them was in their house. There was a lot of laughing and
hugging and a ton of great food. Everyone had brought things they knew Andrew enjoyed, which really moved him. He was surprised that people paid attention to something like that. Once dinner was finished, everyone gathered in the living room to visit and give Andrew the scoop on life in Bakersfield while he was gone. Olivia looked so happy and carefree as she held Andrew’s hand on the couch, which made both Madison and Aaron very happy.
“Andrew, when did you want to show them your new paintings?”
“You have new paintings?” Olivia asked excitedly.
“Yes,” he replied, squeezing her hand.
“They did art therapy at his treatment facility and,” Madison smiled and made eye contact with Andrew before looking at everyone else. “He did some amazing paintings.”
Andrew stood up. “Come on, I’ll show you guys.”
He led them all into his art room and you could hear a collective gasp as they witnessed all that he had done. Everyone started walking around as if they were in a museum while Andrew explained what was going on in each of the paintings and their significance to his healing. Olivia was moved to tears as he told the story behind Phoenix Rising.
“Why is there a candy bar in this picture?” Connor asked, standing in front of a large painting.
Andrew laughed. “That was the last one I did. It’s called Hope Eternal. Carol had asked us to paint something that made us feel good about life, something that gives us hope.” Andrew walked over to it, as did the others. “This painting reflects my vision of hope. My therapist in there used to always give me these little Snickers bars after therapy so I figured that would serve as a reminder of the things he and I talked about.”
Helios Renewed (The Helios Chronicles #3) Page 32
