Chapter Thirty #2
Maddie chuckles in the background, which confirms she heard the whole conversation.
I groan at the thought. “If you weren’t saving my ass, I’d be kickin’ yours.”
“You have nothing to worry about, man,” he reassures me, but Tyler would never betray me.
“Can I talk to her?” I ask eagerly.
Tyler laughs. “I’m surprised it took you this long to ask.”
He takes me off speakerphone, then I hear her sweet voice that calms my racing heart.
“Hi.”
I nearly fall to my knees in relief.
It takes everything in me not to bombard her with questions. “Mads, are you okay? I’ve been worried sick about you.”
“Never been better. Your friend has been taking good care of me.”
“Hopefully not too good,” I quip, causing her to laugh, and the sound is music to my ears. “God, I’ve missed you so damn much. You have no idea, Mads.”
A second passes before she speaks. “I’ve missed you too, but I’m still pissed at you for keeping secrets from me.”
“I don’t blame you, and I more than deserve it after this fucking shitstorm I got us in. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to prove to you how damn sorry I am.”
“It might take that long,” she says. “I’ve been concerned about you too, hoping you were okay with the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Knowing she was thinking about me makes me smile. “We’re gonna get out of this, baby. I’m so goddamn relieved you’re out of there and with Tyler. He’ll keep you safe. You can trust him.”
“Yeah, considering he bought me tampons and chocolate, he seems like a good guy.”
He laughs as if there’s an inside joke between them. I’m jealous she’s been with him and not me, and while I shouldn’t feel that way, I’m envious of anyone who gets to spend time with her that isn’t me.
“He didn’t,” I deadpan.
“Yep, he did, but he’s the chump who fell for it.”
“Tell him what else you asked for…” Tyler prompts, but Maddie laughs and tells him to stop eavesdropping. Considering they’re in the same car, I chuckle.
“Do I even wanna know?”
“Probably not. It was when I was trying to get under their skin because I was bored as hell,” she admits. “Don’t worry, Eric got the brunt of my sarcasm and annoying remarks.”
Memories flash of when Victoria let me see Maddie on camera for the first time, and she and Tyler looked like they were having a great time.
I’m glad he was able to ease her fear of being there and let loose a little, but the regret I have fills me deeply.
She shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
“Good. He looked like a douchebag.”
“Even more than Hunter when I first met him.” Maddie cackles, and I do too.
It’s so easy chatting with her as if nothing’s changed between us, but I know better. We’re not out of this yet.
“Maddie, I’m really fucking sorry about this, for lying to you and ultimately getting you involved. I never wanted this to happen, and I’m kicking myself for not staying away from you, but I fucked up. I don’t think I can apologize enough—”
“I know you are,” she interjects. “I was upset and hurt at first, but after processing everything, I understand why you couldn’t tell me.
If the positions were reversed, I would’ve done the same thing to protect our relationship.
I trust you, Liam. You’ve always had my best interests at heart, always tried to keep me safe and protected me.
I can’t fault you for any of that. I do hate the way things ended between us the last time, though. ”
My emotions get the best of me, but I tuck them away as usual. “I’ve only always wanted the best for you, and there are times when I felt like that wasn’t me and would never be good enough regardless of how much you insisted I was. Doesn’t help your sisters are scary as hell,” I admit.
“Trust me when I say they already want to castrate you,” she slyly mentions. “Especially Sophie.”
“I can’t wait to tell them everything and clear the air. They deserve to know the truth. I’m sick of lying to them, and I hate the way they looked at me like I’m a monster.”
Maddie snickers. “You’re not the monster. You’re just married to one.”
I sigh. “That much is true.”
“You’re breaking up a bit,” she says, and Tyler mentions they’ll lose service soon. Considering they’re more than likely traveling down remote mountain roads, it doesn’t surprise me. While I want to talk to her all night long, our time is coming to an end.
“Alright. I’ll let you go then.”
“Okay, please take care of yourself. As long as you’re in Vegas around that psycho, you’re not safe.”
I grin at how adorable she is for being concerned about me. “I can handle her especially now since Tyler got me a Get Out of Jail Free card. Be careful, and listen to him, as hard as that might be for you.”
She snorts. “Whatever you say, Hulk.”
I grin at her sassy tone. Classic Maddie.
“And Mads?”
“Yeah?”
I hesitate for a moment because I imagined a much better way for telling her this for the first time, but if I’ve learned anything this past year, I can’t take anything for granted.
“I love you,” I tell her softly. “I love you so fucking much.”
The other end goes silent, and for a moment, I’m scared she didn’t hear me because we lost connection, but then she sniffs.
“Says the man who thought he was incapable of love,” she says. “I love you too. I always have.”
Hearing her say those words back means more than she’ll ever realize. It means everything.
“Good night, sweetheart. We’ll talk soon.”
“Okay, good night.”
I sit on the edge of my bed, my body buzzing with relief and nerves.
Every text message and call from that number is deleted before I place my phone on the charger.
There’s no way I’m leaving any sort of evidence behind for Victoria to find.
I’m filled with shock and awe, and I’m so damn grateful for Tyler.
The man is honorable and loyal, and without him, I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten us out of this mess.
After a while, I lie on my bed, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I figure out what to do next.
Somehow, I have to break away from Victoria’s hold and go to Tyler’s to get his laptop.
The only problem is time because it’s running out fast, and she’ll want to retaliate any way she can once she discovers Maddie is gone.
Eventually, I’ll have all the cards in my hand, and she’ll have nothing. It’s about damn time.