Saved (Tempted #2)

by Heather Doltrice

  Grace’s face turned every shade of red.

  “That’s a lie, Grace. Pregnancy really made you sweeter. Didn’t it?” Ethan asked, looking beyond embarrassed.

  “Bite me,” Emma said, before turning her head away from him.

  Roman and West had to stifle their laughs.

  “I take it back. Maddie’s not the most beautiful girl in the room,” West announced and I felt my heart drop.

  A feeling I was getting used to these days.

  “Thank you for finally coming to your senses. It’s me right?” Emma asked, eating her fifth cupcake.

  “No, it’s clearly me,” Grace said, reapplying her lipstick.

  That girl and her lipstick.

  “Either one of you can have that title. We’ll throw you a pageant and let you battle it out. Maddie is the most beautiful girl in the world,” West said, not taking his eyes off of me.

  “That’s it. Get out, West. I’m the queen of this castle, so if I say I’m prettier than Maddie that’s just the way it is, okay? I mean do you know how hard is was to have a best friend that is so perfect. It’s really hard and now I’m going to cry because I’ll never be as pretty as Maddie. I’m going to my room,” Emma said, walking toward the stairs.

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry!” West yelled up the stairs.

  “I hope you feel real good about yourself!” she yelled back.

  I loved that group of people. But I wished I could have invested more time into joking around with my friends that night instead of trying to get my head and my heart to agree on West.

  My head was telling me stay away but my heart was telling me go all in.

  And as for my body. Well, it was saying jump on him and ride him like Scott Eastwood rode that bull on The Longest Ride.

  I ended what should have been a fun night feeling confused.

  I didn’t know what to do. I had a lot to think about. But first I had to get the dirty thoughts I was having about him out of my head. All they would do was cloud my judgment.

  And get me all hot and bothered.

  I was screwed.

  Chapter 13

  Sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall, I watched Emma, Grace, and our moms talking about something. I wasn’t really sure what they were talking about. But I did catch something about someone coming back to town.

  Why did they keep looking at me like that? Couldn’t a girl be depressed in peace? Was that too much to ask?

  I wasn’t really interest. All I wanted to talk about was West, I wanted someone to tell me what to do. And I wanted a replay of that night.

  It had been days since I had seen him. Or even heard from him for that matter.

  That was why I shouldn’t have gave in to him again. Because it seemed like as soon as he got what he wanted and whispered sweet nothings in my ear, he was out the door. I couldn’t keep up with his mood swings.

  He had them like he was on his period.

  I should have felt like what happened at Emma’s was a mistake but for some unknown reason I didn’t.

  “Earth to Maddie. Hello?” Emma said, munching on a cookie.

  “What? I’m sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.”

  That was an understatement.

  “How do you feel about that?” My mom asked, rubbing my hand.

  “About what?”

  “West’s parents got back last night,” Emma answered, checking her phone.

  I needed to be with him. His parents were the reason he couldn’t open up to me. He blamed them and so did I.

  Studying her face, I saw her emotion change from sad to concerned.

  Something was wrong.

  “Emma, what is it?”

  “Roman just texted me. West didn’t show up for work and his grandparents haven’t seen him.”

  His parents coming back must have set him off. Pulling out my phone, I dialed his number.

  No answer.

  I called again.

  I got his voicemail again.

  The calls kept going directly to his voicemail, so that meant his battery was dead.

  Jumping to my feet, I started to walk toward the exit of the mall. No one tried to stop me but I guess they knew they couldn’t.

  Rushing to my jeep, I opened the door and climbed in. The engine purred to life and I drove to West’s house.

  His grandmother had to know where he was. He would have never scared her like that. When I found him I was going to do two things. First, I was going to scream at him for doing this to everybody and then I was going to throw myself in his arms.

  Stopping in front of his house, I opened the door and ran to up the steps of the porch. Pushing the door open, I saw Marion and Frank sitting on the couch.

  “Maddie, have you heard from him? Is he with you?” Marion asked with a shaky voice.

  “No, he’s not. I tried to call him but his battery is dead. I wanted to see if he was here or if you had heard from him,” I told her, kneeling on the ground beside the couch.

  “Think, Maddie. If anyone knows where he is it’s you,” Frank said, rubbing his head.

  They didn’t need to go through that. He was their entire world.

  “Who are you?” I heard a woman ask from behind me.

  “Lilly, this is Maddie,” Frank said, looking back and forth between us, “Maddie, this is Lilly. West’s mom.”

  They had the same eyes. That’s the only resemblance I noticed.

  “Why would she know where my son is?” she asked, snidely.

  “Because she saved him,” Frank said, smiling at me.

  That wasn’t true. Was it?

  “Well, then do you know where he is?” she asked, looking me up and down.

  “I have a few ideas,” I told her, raising to my feet.

  I didn’t wait for her to reply. Running out of the back door, I made my way to the storm shelter.

  “West!” I yelled, walking inside.

  He wasn’t in there.

  There was one other place that he would be. Running to my jeep, I jumped inside. Driving down the road, I headed straight for my parent’s house.

  My dad was gone to a business dinner and my mom was with the girls. No one was home to let him in but he knew the key was under the floor mat.

  Pulling up in my driveway, I got out and ran to my door. It was cracked it open. Rushing inside, I made my way up the stairs.

  “West!” I yelled, pushing my bedroom door open.

  I saw him lying on my bed.

  “I hope you don’t mind that I’m here, Angel,” he said, giving me a half smile.

  “Not at all. I’m glad you’re here. Scoot over,” I told him, lying down beside him.

  He started running his fingers through my hair.

  “I’m sorry for breaking into your parents’ house but you’re my safe place. My battery died and I didn’t know where you were. So, I came here. I wanted to feel close to you,” he said, looking at me.

  That made my heart smile. I loved the little moments when he let me in.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Not good. They have a son, Maddie. A twelve year old son and they got clean for him. They completely changed their lives. Why couldn’t they do that for me?”

  I wished I knew what to tell him. I wanted nothing more than to take away the hurt.

  “They didn’t deserve someone as amazing as you, babe.”

  He needed me and I was going to be there for him. Why should I fight what I feel for him?

  “They didn’t love me. They didn’t love their own kid. It sucks not being loved,” he said, closing his eyes.

  He wasn’t unloved. I loved him more than anything. And so did all of our friends. His grandparents were crazy over him.

  It was impossible not to love West and it made me dislike his parents for making him believe he wasn’t loveable.

  “I love you, West. Always have. Why won’t you let me prove that to you? Prove to you that your worthy of love. They shouldn’t be allowed to have
this kind power over you,” I told him, rubbing my nose against his.

  “Why?”

  “Are you kidding? You’re the love of my life, West. How could I not love you?”

  I laid there looking at his face. I didn’t expect to hear those three words back, I knew better. But watching his eyes light up, I had a feeling I had really broke through his walls. He kept opening his mouth to speak but he couldn’t get the words out he was trying to say.

  “I love you, Angel,” he said, barely above a whisper.

  He said it so lightly that I wasn’t sure if I heard him right.

  “Did you say what I think you said?”

  “I love you,” he said louder this time.

  He said it. He actually said it. The boy of my dreams. The man that I wanted more than anything just told me he loved me. After years of wanting to hear it from his lips and waiting patiently he finally said it.

  And it was as glorious as I had hoped it would be.

  “Say it again,” I told him, smiling.

  I was literally smiling so huge my cheeks were starting to burn.

  “Do you want me to pull a Tom Cruise?” he asked, jumping up on the bed.

  “That is something I have to see!”

  Hoping from the bed to the chair in the corner of my room, he started yelling.

  “I love Maddie Thomas! I love this woman! Oprah, I love her!” he yelled, throwing his fist in the air.

  Throwing my head back laughing, I felt him hovering over me.

  “Are you mine again?” he asked, kissing my nose.

  “I always have been.”

  He leaned down and kissed me with passion like I had never felt.

  It’s strange how some of the worst moments turn out to the best.

  You have to go through the rain to get to the sunshine.

  And right now the sun was beaming.

  But there was another raincloud looming.

  Chapter 14

  Our bliss didn’t last long. Marion and Frank called worried sick about West. I wanted to hog him for myself and make him keep repeating that he loved me. But I couldn’t’ do that.

  It would be happening later though.

  “West, this is a family matter. Your friend needs to leave,” Lilly said, pursing her lips.

  In case you had forgotten she was mother of the year for 15 years and running.

  “Her name is Maddie. She’s my girlfriend and she’s staying. After you left I walked around like a zombie, until she brought me back to life. She was my angel through all of this. She loved the lost little boy you left and she made me the man I am. She makes me want to be better. So, if anyone is going to leave you know where the door is. Or do you? I mean the last time you were here you were drugged out of your mind. Remember? The day you dropped me off here so you and that excuse for a father could leave without even giving me a goodbye kiss,” West said, locking his jaw.

  “Don’t talk that way to your mother, boy!” West’s father, Brad, yelled.

  “Real cute. You wanna play daddy now? It’s too late. I can talk to her anyway I want and there’s not shit you can do about it. She’s not my mother. She gave away that title when I was five. “

  I had never seen him so mad. But the hurt was there too. It was written all over his face.

  He had every reason in the world to be angry with them. They left him fifteen years ago because they loved drugs more than their own son.

  But the kicker was that they had a twelve year old son that they chose over drugs. They had been clean all this time and never even gave West a phone call.

  “Andy, come in here please?” Lilly called to West’s brother.

  Watching him walk in the room, I felt my breath hitch. He looked just like West. Feeling West tense up beside me, I gently rubbed his back.

  “What was the difference between me and him? Why could you turn your life around for him but not for me? I’m your son too,” he said, placing his hand on my knee.

  “We were at a bad place in our lives when we had you. And we wouldn’t change a thing,” His father said, sitting beside his wife.

  I couldn’t believe that had just came from his father’s mouth. How could anyone leave their child and not regret it? But most of all how could they break his heart all over again by saying it?

  “You could have been better for me but you didn’t want to,” West said.

  Marion was sobbing uncontrollably, so Frank took her to the kitchen to try to calm her down.

  “We had a second chance at a good life with Andy. We could do everything with him that we missed with you,” his mother said, rubbing Andy’s hair.

  “And that’s supposed to make everything okay? What about my second chance? What about my childhood? I don’t get that back and that’s your fault! I used to cry myself to sleep because you made me feel like I wasn’t good enough,” West said with tears pooling in his eyes, “But I stopped crying when I realized something. I realized that you loved yourselves more than you ever loved me. And that you weren’t spending your time crying over me.

  They stayed silent because they knew he was right. Looking at them, I didn’t see one tiny bit of sympathy or concern for their son. Or his feelings.

  West looked so down. Anyone that made him feel like that was on my shit list. And his so called parents were about to feel the wrath of Maddie Thomas.

  “You should be ashamed of yourselves! You completely ruined his childhood. Because of you he built up walls around his heart and was too scared to let anyone in. But you know what? He doesn’t need you. He has wonderful grandparents who always put him first, amazing friends who consider him family, and he has me. I love him and unlike you I’ll never abandon him,” I told him, jumping up from my seat, “People like you make me sick. He’s your son too, you know?”

  “Raising West put a lot of stress on us and at the time we weren’t ready for that. We had to escape. If we would have stayed with him we couldn’t have lived our lifestyle,” his father said, trying to make me see his side of things, “But with Andy we were ready to have a child.”

  “Really? Three years made that much of a difference for you two? And stop trying to blame your mistakes on him. He was five years old! All the blame here goes on you and your wife.”

  “What does any of this have to do with you little girl?” Lilly asked in an overly bitchy tone.

  And let me tell you she took resting bitch face to the next level.

  “Get out,” West growled.

  “You heard him, Maddie. He wants you to leave,” his mother said, smiling like she had just won the lottery.

  I wonder what she would have spent it on. Any guesses?

  “Are you sure you’re clean? Because you couldn’t be in your right state of mind to think I would put her out of here. I was talking to you,” West said, eyeing his mother down.

  “How could you kick your mother and father out?” she asked in a sugary sweet tone.

  “How could you leave your kid?” West fired back.

  With that they sped out of the door. I had heard about West’s parents but actually seeing them in action made me respect my own parents so much.

  I was lucky to have parents that put me first and would never dream of leaving me.

  Climbing in West’s lap, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “Babe, are you okay?”

  “No, but I will be. Will you promise me something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Promise you’ll never give up on me. I’m gonna do some dumb shit and I’m get on your nerves but I love you. Don’t ever forget that.”

  Could he have been any more perfect?

  “Will you promise me something?’ I asked, running my hands through his hair.

  “I’d promise you the moon and the stars if I could.”

  Nope, there was no way for him to be any more perfect.

  “Promise you won’t run anymore. If you’re scared talk to me,” I told him, feeling my heart jump from the way he was loo
king at me.

  “Run from a face like that?” he said, tipping my chin up with one finger, “Angel, I’m not running but don’t you know by now that when I run it’s not for long. I always come back. There’s no way I could leave you alone. Believe me I’ve tried.”

  Moving my mouth closer to his, I gave him chaste kisses.

  “You can do better than that, Angel.”

  “I know but your grandparents are in the next room. You’ll just have to wait,” I told him, hopping of his lap.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m not sure but I sure hope you follow me.”

  “Old people! I’ll be back tonight. Wait, scratch that. Judging by the look on Maddie’s face she wants her some West and I won’t home until tomorrow,” he yelled, winking at me.

  He was such a goofball and with West no subject was ever off limits. The boy had no filter.

  “West Anderson! You don’t talk that away about a lady!” Marion scolded him.

  “But she’s not really a lady. She’s really kinky,” he said, biting his lip.

  Walking over to him, I started swatting at his shoulder.

  “Asshole.”

  “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. She’s a lady in the streets but a freak in the sheets,” West said, nudging my arm.

  “Shut up,” I told him, folding my arms.

  “There’s no shame in that, Angel.”

  Without answering him, I walked out of the door. Running toward my jeep, I heard the front door slam.

  “Maddie, you just told me you wouldn’t give up on me. I told you I was going to stay stupid shit. You promised you wouldn’t give up on me,” he said with the saddest look on his face.

  He shouldn’t have joked around like that. If he would have done it in front of our friends I would have laughed. But I didn’t want his grandma to think I liked to tie her grandson up and do bad things to him. I did but she didn’t need to know that. She was old, stuff like that could give her a heart attack.

  But as I watched him run toward me, I felt silly for letting that worry me after everything we had been through today. Good and bad.

  “I’m not giving up on you, babe. I’m sorry for being a drama queen. You’ve been through enough today. I’m sorry.”