Chapter 23
WINTER he’d kick his ass for that.
I let him go. Maddox does better with some space when he’s angry.
“God!” Abbi rants. “He’s being a real prick at the moment.”
I turn to her. “What’s happened?”
She throws her arms up in the air and I see all the frustration and hurt that’s sitting behind her anger.
“Leia slept with Todd Harrison at a party on the weekend. Todd told everyone at school, because he’s an asshole like that.
Maddox heard about it and lost his absolute shit at Leia today.
Told her she deserves a guy like Todd and that he hopes they live happily together for life.
She regrets it all. Mostly because she realised how much she wants Maddox back, but also because everyone at school is treating her awfully.
” She exhales a long breath. “It’s a fucking mess, and if Maddox could pull his head out of his ass for one minute, he’d see that Leia didn’t actually do anything wrong. They were broken up for God’s sake!”
“Language, Abbi,” I chastise while I quickly try to process everything she’s told me.
Maddox and Leia broke up just over two months ago after dating for eight months.
He’s been moping around since the break-up and I know he’s wanted to put the relationship back together.
Leia’s a beautiful girl, inside and out, so it surprises me that she told Maddox she wanted to work through things with him and then slept with another guy.
But then, I shouldn’t be surprised by too much that teens do; I remember what a turbulent time in a person’s life it can be.
“Sorry for swearing,” Abbi says. “I just can’t believe how awful Maddox is being to Leia.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but surely you can see that Maddox doesn’t have his head up his ass so much as he’s hurt by what she’s done.”
Abbi exhales another long breath and I watch as a whole lot of fight leaves her body. “I can see that. I can also see how hurt Leia is. I hate being able to see it all from everyone’s shoes. Shit is so much easier when you can only see one side.”
“So true.” I pause for a moment. It’s been two weeks since she came to me unsure of whether she should tell Maddox something about Leia. “Has this got anything to do with the stuff you were conflicted over telling Maddox about?”
“What stuff?” Maddox demands from behind me.
Shit.
I didn’t hear him come back in.
Abbi’s eyes dart to Maddox’s.
When she doesn’t answer him, he comes closer and demands again, “Tell me.”
“Well,” Abbi starts, “it’s all pretty irrelevant now, but I knew you were feeling guilty for that kiss with Bri that Leia broke up with you over, and I wanted you to know that you weren’t the only one flirting with someone else. I found out that Leia’s been flirting with Todd for a while.”
I stare at Maddox stunned at this news while he flattens his lips and says darkly, “I wasn’t flirting with Bri. You know that.”
Abbi waves him off. “You might think you weren’t, but as far as a girl is concerned, what you were doing was flirting.”
“It fucking wasn’t,” Maddox says, his tone low and dark again.
I hold up my hand and say very strongly, “Can we please stop with the swearing?”
Maddox looks suitably regretful at that. “Sorry.”
I nod. “Apology accepted. Although, if you ever tell me you don’t care about something I say again, you won’t like the consequences.”
More regret as he nods his understanding.
“Right,” I carry on, looking at him questioningly. “You kissed Bri?” Bri’s the girl who has spent most of this year tutoring Maddox in maths. As far as I knew, he thought of her only as a friend. A nerdy friend who he really liked but had no interest in.
“No, I didn’t kiss her,” he says, using the tone he takes when he’s adamant you listen carefully to what he’s saying. “She kissed me. And I told Leia about it.”
I put two and two together. “And she wasn’t happy? So she broke up with you.”
He nods. “Yeah. But hey”—he turns angry again—“it turns out it’s okay for a chick to mess around behind your back while acting like she’s all perfect.”
“I didn’t say she was sleeping with him, Maddox,” Abbi says.
Maddox looks at her. “You didn’t have to. I get it. She’s probably sleeping with half the fucking guys in our year.” With that, he smacks his hand against the wall and yells, “Fuck!” before striding out of the house again.
This time, I go after him. “Maddox!” I call out.
He stalks across the front lawn towards his car that’s parked in the driveway, refusing to stop and answer me.
I call out to him again right as Winter pulls his bike into the driveway.
Abbi joins me as I make my way across the yard. “Do you see what I’m dealing with?” she says. “I mean, as if Leia’s sleeping with other guys. She loves Maddox and made a mistake. Once. She made one freaking mistake and yet he’s acting like she’s the worst person alive.”
Winter gets off his bike and frowns at me as he pulls his helmet off. His eyes shift to Abbi before coming back to mine. He then looks at Maddox who has gotten in his car and has turned it on. God knows what he’s doing; Winter has parked behind him, so he can’t go anywhere.
When Maddox reverses the car as much as he can and then turns it so he can drive forward onto the lawn, I realise he fully intends on going somewhere.
Making wide eyes at Winter, I say with urgency, “You need to stop him. He’s angry and upset, and should not be behind the wheel.”
Winter moves without hesitation, making his way to the driver’s door. Yanking it open, he reaches inside and stops Maddox from going anywhere. They argue for a minute until Maddox finally turns the car off. Winter then lifts his chin and orders, “Out.”
Maddox unleashes his anger in a torrent of words I can’t decipher. I’m unsure if Winter figures them out or not, but I’m relieved when he somehow gets Maddox out of the car.
“What’s going on?” Winter asks Maddox as I move closer to them.
“Ask Abbi,” Maddox snaps. “She knows all about it.” With that, he storms back inside, leaving us staring after him.
“Oh my God,” Abbi says. “I’m seriously done with him today.” With that, she also storms back inside.
Winter’s eyes come to me. “Why do I feel like I just walked into a war?”
I release all the air in my lungs. “Because you did.” I stare at him with all the bewilderment I’m feeling. “I quit.”
His lips slowly curl up at the ends as he reaches for me. Pulling me close, he says, “It’s too fucking late to quit now, baby.”
“I beg to differ. I’ll stay on as your wife, but I quit as a mother. The job description wasn’t clear enough when I took on the job. In fact, I think I should sue for being misled. Deceived, even.”
His arms come around me and he brushes his lips over mine. “Where’s Amelia?”