Chapter Fifty-One
Maddie
Two weeks after my car is vandalized, my fridge officially gives up on life.
It doesn’t die, but it might as well pack it in, because it’s as barren as a wasteland, with only a single bottle of half-drunk water, three sad little pickles floating in half a jar of juice, and several condiments I don’t even like.
I’m pretty sure those belong to the guys, meaning my fridge situation is actually sadder than I originally thought.
I stare at the shelves in silence, then close the door slowly, keeping my shame tucked away next to the pickles.
“Mayhem?” Rayne calls from the couch, peering over the back of it to search for me.
Cringing, I lean against the fridge and grumble, “I think we accidentally became raccoons.”
“That bad?” he asks, lips twitching, because I’m confident he knows it’s that bad. We’ve been living on takeout for the past two weeks, and I can actually feel the desperation of my fridge that yearns to be filled. If I listen closely enough, I can hear it screaming, “Fill me! I beg of you!”
Nodding with a childish snort, my mind turning straight to the gutter, I drum my fingers against the fridge and mutter, “It possesses nothing more than questionable condiments and half a jar of emotional support pickles. We need to go grocery shopping, babe. Like, before we waste away to nothing but skin and bone.”
Rayne snorts from the living room just as Bax appears beside me like a fucking ghoul, scaring the crap out of me just before he opens the fridge and witnesses the barren land that my fridge has become. “Jesus.”
“Don’t bring him into this. He’s not the one who ate everything,” I argue playfully, one hand going to my chest while the other shoves my tatted hunk.
I snicker when he playfully glares at me over the fridge door with those sparkling ocean-blue eyes.
What is with these guys and their stunning irises that make me want to fold like a deck chair every single time?
It’s so unfair. There are four of them and only one of me, damn it.
“We only have mustard and Marmite,” Bax mutters, shutting the door much like I did. “Who even eats mustard or Marmite?”
Oh. Guess the condiments aren’t his.
“Don’t disrespect the M&M’s, Wobbles. They’re all we have left,” I sigh pitifully, making him laugh and groan simultaneously.
Reaching out for my shirt, Bax tugs me toward him, wrapping his arms around me the moment my front is pressed against his.
“How about we go to the store and pick up a few things to cook tonight? I’m pretty sure Caid is getting fat.
We can’t keep doing the takeout, or else he’ll start struggling to fit through the doorway. ”
“It’s all pure muscle, you sassy bitch. And the scales told me themselves that I don’t weigh any differently since last week, so suck my ass with your jealousy,” Caid calls from somewhere in the apartment, and I shove my face into Baxter’s chest as I laugh.
I nod in agreement. “Sounds good to me. Anyone else want to come?”
Rayne throws his hand up, heaving himself from the couch and disappearing into my room, likely to retrieve a hoodie from a selection that has appeared in my closet.
And his clothes aren’t the only ones that have appeared in my closet.
Or the bath products that have found a home in my bathroom cabinets.
Or the little knickknacks that make a house a home that have started appearing all throughout my apartment.
I love every second of it. I love seeing their things mingled with mine, seeing them all comfortable enough to consider my place theirs. We’ve barely spent any time at their apartment, and I’ve soaked in every second like a water-deprived sponge.
Ten minutes later, we’re heading out the door, leaving Ryan and Caiden to argue about whether or not Caiden could live off the excessive amounts of protein bars I now house in one of my cabinets.
“You can’t go without chicken for a single day, and you’re trying to tell me you could survive on those shitty bars? I don’t believe you,” Ryan debates just as we leave.
“I would literally survive and thrive,” Caiden argues with a huff.
“You’d barely survive without a protein shake, you buffoon.
I’m pretty sure you almost passed out trying to tie your shoelaces last week, and that was only after missing lunch.
There’s no way you’re thriving on protein bars.
You’re as delusional as Maddie is when she tries to cut down her caffeine intake,” Ry volleys.
“Hey! Don’t drag me into your domestic,” I call, right before the door shuts and I catch Caiden flipping Ry off.
I’m grinning like a lovesick dope all the way down to the lobby, my hand clutched in Rayne’s where he’s tucked it into his hoodie pocket, and Baxter’s arm resting casually over my shoulder as he fills the elevator with small talk.
It’s cute, and one of countless moments we’ve shared over the past two weeks that make my heart fuller than it’s ever been before.
It’s one of those moments that make me realize just how lucky I am to have found the four of them, my soul always at peace when they’re near.
The only thing that would bring me more peace would be if the police actually offered an update on this whole Toby situation.
It’s the only outstanding worry I have in my life, but Ryan likes to assure me that no news is good news.
The jury is still out on that one, but I’m willing to go on with my life as though Tobe the Chode doesn’t exist.
So that’s exactly what I do. With a little pep in my step, I wave over at Callie as we pass through, and she smiles widely in return, always so chipper and cute.
We head outside, the evening air still warm from the beautiful day we’ve had.
The city glows gold and orange as the sun begins to set, dipping lower behind buildings, and I tilt my face up toward the last rays of sunshine spilling over us.
“Oh, shit,” Bax suddenly blurts, and my eyes pop open as I look over at him.
“What? Is it the—” I start.
“It’s not the fucking Autobots, Sunshine,” Bax interrupts with a loud laugh, and I roll my eyes at him even as my lips twitch.
It will happen one of these days, I’m telling you.
And I’ll be the only one laughing when everyone scatters in fear the moment a sentient robot lands on the first car their metal bodies can find.
“It’s only a matter of time,” I grumble, hugging Rayne’s arm against my chest with a small pout that makes my brooding man snort.
Bax shakes his head with a diabolical smile before he says, “I left my wallet in the car. Go on ahead and I’ll catch up with you guys.”
“That’s just old man behavior,” I tease, despite the man only being three years older than me. He’s the oldest of our little group, so it seems only fair that he takes up the mantle of our resident pensioner.
“Watch your mouth, Sunshine,” Bax warns, flashing another grin before he disappears.
Rayne laughs quietly beside me as we step out onto the sidewalk, squeezing my hand comfortingly. I drop my head against his arm and ask, “What takes your fancy for dinner tonight, good looking?”
“I dunno. What are you—” Rayne begins to answer, but then I freeze, my entire body turning rigid as my eyes land on a sight I never would have anticipated.
I don’t hear anything else after the first few words, my mind turning blank while a ringing appears in my ears that makes my heart drop to my stomach.
Rayne’s arm yanks against mine as he continues walking, jerking to a sudden stop that has him turning to face me with a pinched brow.
I only see it from my peripheral, my eyes solidly stationed on the man who steps out of the car I didn’t recognize, his hand loaded down with a gun that fills my entire body with a sickening rush of dread, fear, and undiluted horror.
My body grows cold, so fast that it physically hurts, as Toby slams his car door shut with far more force than necessary, and it captures Rayne’s attention as quickly as the gun did mine.
I feel him turn to stone beside me within the next second, clocking the situation with a rapid pace that sadly doesn’t make me feel better.
Locking eyes with me, my stomach cramping at the crazed look in his eyes, Toby takes two steps forward before he drawls, “There she is, the star of the hour.”
His words are a little slurred, his clothes a disheveled mess that makes me wonder if he’s been drinking.
There’s an almost glassy tinge to his eyes that has me swallowing hard, my fingers clutching around Rayne’s hand even tighter than before.
He squeezes back with what I imagine is reassurance, but it does nothing to stop the roaring terror that now fuels my body.
And it’s not even terror for me.
Because even though Toby holds the gun up suddenly, pointing it at me with scary accuracy for someone who doesn’t look to be of sound mind, knowing Rayne is directly beside me and could get hurt sends a shattering dread directly to my heart.
“Oh my God,” I vaguely hear from a passerby somewhere behind me. I can’t take my eyes off Toby long enough to check, heart hammering at a dangerous rate that makes me feel violently sick.
Toby smiles, and there’s something completely wrong about it. There’s no anger, no heartbreak, just a bone-deep wrongness that has the hairs on my body standing on end.
“I don’t know why, but you’ve been real hard to talk to these days, Madison,” Toby says, and the sound of his voice is just as unnatural as the look on his face. There’s something wrong with him, something more than alcohol, and that dread in my chest only grows.
Rayne notices, too, and he steps slightly in front of me automatically. He’s guarding me from my unhinged ex, and if I wasn’t so scared out of my fucking mind, I’d consider it romantic. Even if I want to smack him for putting himself in more danger than he already is.