“WHAT?” Madison stood, shaking her head. “Thank you, Callie, I love you.”
“I love you, too Now go, please. I can’t stand the thought of him being in a place like that.”
“I’m on my way,” Madison said hanging up.
Madison wiped her eyes and quickly dashed out of her office. “I’ll be back, Susan, I have an emergency.”
“Okay, call me if you need me to cancel your afternoon,” Susan stated with concern.
Madison nodded as she entered the elevator. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, like one of those movies where the people and places seem to be standing still while the protagonist runs haphazardly through them in their desperate attempt to right a wrong. That was most definitely the case with Madison. Unfortunately, she felt like everything was conspiring against her getting there, as she hit every light, then missed her turn, then was stuck behind an accident. She almost felt like getting out of the car and running frantically over there like they do in the movies, except this wasn’t the movies and in real life, people didn’t do that, not if they wanted their car left in one piece.
As she pulled into the parking structure, she carefully looked for signs of his Harley. Not finding it, she worried that maybe Callie was wrong and this wasn’t the place. She walked across the street to the large building, noting several men lingering about outside. Unfortunately for Madison, all she could see was Andrew’s face on all of them. She took a deep breath before pushing through the door. Her heart broke just a little bit more as she took in her surroundings. The place resembled a low rate prison rather than a shelter, and a part of her sincerely hoped that Callie was wrong and this was not where he was. She swallowed thickly as she approached a woman at the counter.
“Ma’am, I am looking for a resident that may be here. It’s an emergency,” Madison urged.
The woman looked up and eyed her up and down. “We don’t give out information on the residents of this facility,” she stated indifferently.
“I understand that, ma’am, please, his name is Andrew Harrison. He’s 6'1'', tall and lean, beautiful brown eyes, his hair is dark and has a tendency to stick out all over the place,” Madison involuntarily giggled and then became serious again. “He has a tattoo of a phoenix on his left forearm and a large tribal tattoo...”
The woman raised her hand to stop her description. She knew exactly who she was talking about. “Look, lady, I can’t confirm or deny if someone like that is staying here,” the woman arched her brow slightly, “or whether someone like that was here.” She cocked her head just slightly as she emphasized the word was.
Madison nodded, picking up on what she said. “If someone left this facility where would be the best place to start looking?” Madison asked hopeful.
“It depends on if they were going to another shelter or if they were...” she glanced around to make sure she wasn’t being monitored and she then leaned forward a smidge, “picked up by a family member or friend.”
Madison breathed in deeply and nodded again. “Thank you.”
The woman smiled. “Good luck finding him,” the woman said as Madison turned around and made a beeline for the door.
Madison looked up and down the street before walking towards the parking structure, assessing what she had subtly been told. He wasn’t there and he was picked up by family. She reasoned that had to be Aaron, but she wondered why he hadn’t called her to tell her he had done so. She quickly dialed his number but it went straight to voicemail. She then dialed Olivia but that also went to voicemail. Finally, she dialed Callie again.
“Well?” Callie asked quickly.
“He wasn’t there. The lady wouldn’t straight out tell me but she hinted that he left with family. I figure that has to be Aaron, but he isn’t answering my phone calls and neither is Olivia. Since you talked to Jay this morning, it wasn’t him. He doesn’t have any other family or friends that he would leave with,” Madison said frustrated.
“That’s odd. Let me call around and see what I can find out. Where are you going to be?”
“I’m going back to my office. If I’m with a client I won’t be able to pick up but send me a text and I’ll call you back, okay?”
“That sounds like a plan,” Callie replied hopeful.
“I can’t thank you enough for this, Callie,” Madison said filled with emotion.
“You’re welcome, Madison. We're friends and I know you would do the same for me.”
“I would,” Madison said assuredly.
“Alright, I am going to start my search here. I will get back to you.”
“Okay, bye, Callie,” Madison said hanging up.
Madison sat in her car for a long while, mulling over everything and trying to make sense of it all. In just one week, everything had gone completely haywire. Her life had been turned upside down. She desperately wished she understood why he left like he did. She reluctantly started her car and pulled out of the parking garage.
“Where are you, Helios?” she thought as she merged into traffic.
21 Shattered
Aaron, Olivia, and Andrew spent almost the entire week in the hotel. Andrew did not want to leave and Aaron and Olivia refused to leave him by himself. They were not there for a social visit but to help him. The only time Andrew would leave the room was to attend daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings with Aaron by his side. The only calls he took were the ones that came from Jayden. Jayden had wanted to fly out as well but Aaron had talked him out of it. Andrew didn’t want any more attention than he was getting.
Andrew had spoken with Cortez when he arrived at the hotel on Friday afternoon and was told he had to re-register with another police precinct since he would be at the hotel for more than forty-eight hours. He was also informed that he would be allowed to fly to California with his Aunt and Uncle after their meeting Thursday morning. That only left the Harley unresolved but after a tiring amount of research, Aaron arranged for a moving company to transport Andrew’s Harley home for him. Although Andrew was hesitant about this, Aaron insisted, as the drive was too tedious.
Things were lined up well. The only problem Olivia could see was Madison. Madison had called her every day like clockwork, leaving tear-filled messages for Andrew. Andrew was still refusing to talk to her or about her. Olivia understood his reluctance as the mere mention of her name caused his face to morph in pain. This left her with great concerns that once they returned home tomorrow that Madison’s calls would continue and the heartache her nephew was experiencing would continue or get worse. She presumed, based on Madison’s messages, that this was true of her as well. Olivia looked at the clock. She knew she had about ninety minutes before Andrew and Aaron arrived back at the hotel, so with a heavy sigh, she grabbed her purse.
~*~
Madison sat in Andrew’s chair, gazing at the lights from the building across from her. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Before Andrew, she had her life planned out and she was well on her way to achieving all of her objectives. She had worked diligently in high school and college, bypassed partying and relationships because it interfered with her goals, she now had the apartment of her dreams, the promotion she had worked three years to obtain and was very close to being able to travel the world, something she had always wanted to do. The reality was that now, she didn’t care about any of those things. She didn’t realize how true her words had been to Andrew last week when she told him she would give it all up, that it was all meaningless without him in her life.
“I miss you so much,” she whispered as her head rested against the chair.
Today marked a week, one whole week without seeing him or hearing his beautiful laugh. One week without holding him close, one week without her heart. Callie had been a godsend to her. She called her daily, making sure she was okay. She had also found out that Aaron and Olivia had arrived in New York on Friday morning and had taken Andrew out of the shelter less than an hour before she had arrived. Callie had been irate because Jayden wouldn
’t give her any more details than that. She sighed as she remembered the conversation.
“Can you believe that?” Callie stated angrily.
“Why won’t he help me?” Madison pleaded, not understanding why Jayden was so reluctant.
“Oh, Madison, he rambled on and on about how Andrew was his friend and that he was suffering too but he didn’t want you to know and that no one ever stood up for Andrew, that he wouldn’t break his confidence. So I told him if you knew where he was then neither one of you guys would be suffering because you would be together. He’s just, oh, I don’t know, unwavering on this. I’m about to kill him, I swear, it’s so infuriating,” Callie finished with a huff.
“What should I do? I feel so lost,” Madison replied sadly.
“Jayden said you should give Andrew time but I say go for it, Madison. Andrew’s being stubborn and needs to see that love is always worth fighting for.”
"I just wish I could talk to him, let him know that everything is alright.”
“I told Jayden that but he said it doesn’t matter right now.”
“How could it not matter?”
“Reach out to, Olivia, go through her. She’s a woman, she would understand,” she suggested.
“Do you think she could help?” Madison asked, almost hopeful.
“It couldn’t hurt, that’s for sure.”
“Okay, I’ll try that.”
Madison had done what Callie had suggested, and called Olivia every day, but every day she didn’t answer. Madison would leave her messages urging her to have Andrew call her so they could talk, but, at this point, she felt like some desperate teen in a bad movie of the week. She knew he was leaving soon and she wondered how much time she was supposed to give him. Time suddenly had new meaning for her. It used to mark the moments they were together, now it only served as a reminder of what will never be.
Knock, knock, knock.
Madison blinked a few times and turned towards the door. No one came to visit her. The knock came a second time so she slowly rose; having a hard time motivating herself to go answer when it dawned on her it could be Andrew. Tears flooded her eyes as she ran the short distance, swinging the door open only to find... Olivia.
“Olivia?” Madison questioned. “Um, come in,” she said, stepping out of the doorway.
“Thank you, Madison,” Olivia smiled as she walked through her door.
Olivia started walking towards the living room while Madison peeked outside the door, hoping she would see Andrew. When it was clear he wasn’t with her, she followed her into the living room. Olivia sat on the couch as Madison sat in the chair near the window. Olivia glanced around the room. She had Madison’s address already but never imagined how lovely her apartment would actually be. She could imagine how Andrew must have felt in the beginning. She was feeling somewhat self-conscious in what she imagined was a very expensive place to live. She cocked her head slightly as her eyes were drawn to one of Andrew’s sketches on the small table beside the chair Madison was sitting in. She quickly looked away.
“Can I get you anything?” Madison offered cordially, although what she really wanted was to ask her how Andrew was.
“No, I can’t stay long.” Olivia looked down at her folded hands. “Andrew doesn’t know I’m here.” She looked up at the distraught woman before her.
“Is he... okay?” Madison stuttered as she brought her legs up, folding into herself.
“He’s as good as can be expected, Madison. We,” she paused and took a deep breath, “We are leaving tomorrow and I wanted to ask you something that I know will be difficult.”
Madison nodded. “What is it?”
“I came here because I care about both you and Andrew, so please do not take me being here or saying what I am about to say in the wrong way. I mean no disrespect at all,” she began.
Madison swallowed. “Say what you need to say, Olivia.”
“Please don’t call anymore.” Madison gasped and Olivia reached her hand to touch her leg. “This has been very difficult for him … and you, of course. He needs some time to sort things out but he can’t do that if you are calling every day. I understand how much you love him. I truly do, and although I might believe he is acting irrational, I have to stand by him and help him the best way I know how.”
“You want me to ... not try to contact him?” Madison asked, trying to mask the hurt seeping through every vein in her body.
“I want you to allow him to figure out what he thinks is best for him. I have no doubt that you love each other but maybe things moved too fast and you both need some time to step back and re-evaluate everything. Please understand, Madison,” Olivia pleaded.
Madison closed her eyes and then stood abruptly. “Thank you for stopping by, Olivia.”
Olivia sighed and rose. “I truly am sorry things didn’t work out for the two of you.”
Madison winced and swallowed thickly before finally nodding. “If he doesn’t want me, he doesn’t.” Madison tried to put on her mask of indifference but feared she was failing miserably at it. “If he wants to break contact with me, I guess I have to be okay with that.”
“Madison...”
“No, I get it,” Madison interjected. “I don’t want to be rude but can you please leave. I, umm,” she pinched her eyes shut. “I want to be alone.”
Olivia watched as Madison turned and walked away from her, entering a room down the hall. She looked down again at the picture Andrew had drawn; a picture of happier times, and wondered how things had gotten so bad so quickly. Her heart was burdened as she walked out of the apartment to make it back to the hotel before Andrew and Aaron returned.
~*~
Madison hadn’t been able to sleep. Her life was strangely off kilter, so much so that she wasn’t sure what was up or down, left or right. Her life was chaotic and meaningless. Olivia’s words had wounded her deeply. It appeared to her that she was being cut out of everyone’s life. She had Callie, who she was sure would always have her back. She only hoped that it wouldn’t be at the cost of her relationship with Jayden. Callie was Madison’s only ally, but unfortunately her information train had been thwarted as well since Jayden refused to tell her anything. She was at work but her mind was elsewhere. She stood at her office window, unable to focus, her concentration shot. When her phone rang, it startled her, but what shocked her even more was that it was Aaron’s number. In a panic she answered.
“Aaron, is Andrew okay?” Madison reacted immediately but there was no answer.
“Hello?” No response.
“Andrew, is that you?” Madison asked hopeful.
“Helios, baby, talk to me, please, everything is okay. I have a plan, and Mr. Turner, he doesn’t care about you being on the registry.”
“Helios, I thought we were going to do this together,” Madison cried.
“I’m sorry,” his voice came out low and gravelly, almost unrecognizable, “I know that it’s, umm, selfish, but I needed to hear your voice again before I left.”
“Andrew, please don’t do this.”
“I need to,” he mumbled. “I know that you don’t understand and I can’t really explain it very well but trust me, Madison, it’s better this way. I can’t keep causing problems for you and I won’t let you give up everything for me. I won’t!” he said with anger.
“None of it matters without you,” she pleaded. “Please, let me come with you.”
“NO!” he stated firmly. “You have everything here, everything you have always wanted...”
“You are everything I have always wanted,” Madison said, cutting him off.
“I have to go, please don’t do anything stupid like quitting your job to come after me.”
Madison was flabbergasted by it all. “Andrew, I love you. I don’t want you to go.”
There was silence and Madison worried that he was no longer on the line.
“I love you, too, but ... it’s over,” he said before hanging up.
Madison felt her he
art shatter into a thousand pieces. She stumbled to her chair, tears streaming down her face as she called the number back immediately. It went straight to voice mail. She couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. She had thought that if she could talk to him that he would see that he was making a mistake, but now, her world was falling apart all over again. Her chest heaved and her breathing became erratic as his words played in her head like a record unable to move past the chorus. It’s over.
22 Reunited
Three Months Later
Andrew sat on his bed in his aunt and uncle’s home, listening to the song on loop. The hardest thing he had ever done in his life was tell Madison it was over, but he knew he needed to be rash. If she just up and left with him that would have defeated the purpose of what he was doing; the sacrifice that he was making. After all, where would they live, he had no real job or job opportunities. She could probably find something, but they would be poor, with very little. He knew what that was like. He had no problem accepting that for his life, but refused to accept that for hers.
Madison had only contacted him once in the three months that they had been apart. As the song started again, he glanced at the worn piece of paper that had accompanied the CD. It had arrived six weeks ago. There was no return address but the envelope was postmarked from New York. He had stared at it for a week before he finally opened it, and when he did, he found the new album from Myles Rayford in it, along with the lyrics for one particular song.
He breathed in deeply before flipping the repeat off to listen to the rest of the songs on the album. He never kept track of how many times he would listen to the song she had highlighted before taking it off repeat; sometimes it was only a few times, others over twenty. It depended on how he was feeling at the moment and how much torture he was willing to put himself through. He ran his fingers along the words on the page. He could see the starting and stopping on the sheet and the depth she made on some of the words. Doing this had been hard for her, which made it more difficult for him.
Helios Exposed (The Helios Chronicles Book 2) Page 21
