Chapter 18
Madden
MY ARMS CUT through the water, propelling my body forward.
The momentum picks up, and my legs kick with exact precision to put me in the lead.
Our college is currently on top of the leaderboard, and this last race of the afternoon will cement that win, even if we don’t place higher than third in the relay.
Except Heath and Aero both do the relay and I trust that they’ll have no issues taking first place in that race as well.
My muscles are starting to burn and my lungs are feeling the impact from the day.
My mouth feels cottony, I’ve definitely taken in too much pool water throughout the different events.
Once this win is in the bag, I’ll finally let myself think about what I’m going to eat after to get that taste out of my mouth.
The horn blares in the distance, and I know we’re under the minute mark.
I kick faster, longer strokes. Now’s the time to take less breaks for air and really put my breathing techniques to work in order to get more momentum under the water.
The thrill of winning chases up my spine.
With one last twist of my body and push off the pool wall, my body glides and rolls toward the finish line.
Even with the distortion of being under water, I can hear the crowd cheering.
I can hear my name chanted despite the sound of rushing water a lane over from me.
And when I finally bob up for air, slamming my hand against the pool deck, the crowd erupts.
Three times now I have caught him with Skully.
No amount of telling myself I’m over the past stops me from wanting to tear him apart each time.
To punish her every time as well. She said he’s the one bothering her, but I don’t know if I believe it.
I’ve heard her lies before and we all burned because of it.
I know I reacted harshly in the library by refusing to help her learn our job at the Gate, and I’ve been paying for it with Gavin even further up my ass asking questions.
When I heard from Aero that she was at the party last night, I left my post just to find her.
For a split second I had planned to apologize and see if she wanted to go back with me, then I saw Killian behind her, touching her, and I lost it again.
“Hey, drinks after, we’re celebrating!” Aero cheers with the team.
“We’re going to The Deck,” he adds, and I feel my resolve slipping.
I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t be this desperate for another sight of her.
It’s like I can’t stay away, and the more time I spend in her presence, the more drawn to her I am.
I grab my towel and sling it over my shoulders before following the rest of my team to the locker rooms. The hot water from the showers runs over my back and eases some of the growing tension. I’m able to drown out most of the talk from the locker room until I’m getting dressed.
“Well, we can’t go right there. Someone has to bring her home if she won’t go with,” Heath tells Aero, who pinches the bridge of his nose.
My brows furrow. “Who?”
Heath avoids my gaze and grabs his shirt from the locker. Aero shifts on his feet, shoulders shrugging. “Lily. She came to the meet but has no way to get home.”
“Why would she get a ride two hours away to see us if she can’t get home?”
Heath raises his brow at me and glances again at Aero. My friend this time is giving me the same incredulous look. But it’s Killian who disrupts the moment with his low whistle. All three of us turn in his direction.
“You do realize that the girl is in love with you, right? Or are you just that blind?”
My chest locks up and something sludgy inside of me runs down my spine. Not Lily. We’ve been friends for years, and I’ve never seen her as anything more.
Killian’s stare runs over my face, and he lightly chuckles. “Fuck. You don’t see it? Even your little bestie Aero has seen it.”
A deep flush hits Aero’s jawline, and he averts his eyes from me. I tilt my head, glancing among the three of them. “What does he mean?”
Aero clears his throat, and Heath rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, at the party last night, Lily confronted Skully to stay away from you.”
“From us. She knows what happened, how Skully played us all,” I argue.
“Madd, Lily was upset for us, but she gets on another level when it comes to you. Haven’t you noticed she won’t be without us lately?” Heath asks, his eyes watching me closely.
“You know she’s always been kind of fearful of Skully. She thinks Skully has always hated her and wasn’t nice to her before,” I remind them.
Killian full-on laughs and throws his jacket on before grabbing his gym bag. “Seems like you’re as set on rewriting the past as she is. Maybe you two are made for each other like she always said.”
He leaves the locker room and the silence surrounding us is deafening.
My jaw clenches, and my mind wanders over bits and pieces of what I remember from the past and up to the present.
Lily has never once shown anything more than friendship to me.
Sometimes she can be a little clingy, but she has no one else besides us.
It’s always been us four and Heath when he got older.
“You guys know her. We’ve been friends for a long time. ”
Aero closes the locker and glances again at Heath. My little brother drops his head before groaning. “Fine. I’ll bring her home. You two save me a spot at the Deck.”
“Good man.” Aero grins and thumps him on the back.
Ten minutes later, we’re on the coach bus; Heath’s been excused to bring Lily home and we’re all on our way back to River Falls.
The Deck is crowded by the time we get there later in the evening. The bar is full, and music is playing. The various races are on replay on the TVs, and the names on the chalkboard with the leading numbers have already been updated. My name is still at number one where it’s meant to be.
“Let’s grab a table in the back.” Aero waves me behind him before we plunge into the crowd.
We’re met with various pats on the backs and a few girls stop us to take pictures.
Aero drinks that shit up while I force myself to play nice.
Other supernaturals know to give us a wider birth, but humans never seem to recognize when predators are amongst them.
Either that or they’re drawn to the danger.
Despite all the reasons I shouldn’t, my gaze skims the crowd, looking for the object of my obsession.
Without my permission, my shadows leak out into the space, searching her out, feeling for her in little pockets where I can’t get a good visual.
Within seconds they slam back into me, and my lips tilt up in a small smirk.
Her own magic tangles with mine, a clear sign she used her powers to shove mine back, probably irritated that mine wanted to surround her.
“What are you so happy about?” Aero chuckles, and I shrug.
Truthfully, I have no idea if I’m happy or just looking forward to another chance to get under Skully’s skin.
I don’t want her, but I like playing with her.
Aero looks around me, and his eyes narrow slightly.
My head swivels to find Heath cutting his way through the crowd to us.
“You got here fast,” I tell him, my hand hitting his shoulder.
Heath frowns slightly. “Yeah, well, Lily wanted to come with.”
Lily steps around my brother and up to my side. I manage to keep my face blank but slide Heath a glance. He lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “Is it okay that I’m here?” her soft, timid voice asks and a part of me feels bad.
“Of course,” Heath tells her, holding his hand out to usher her to the table. “I already told you on the way here.”
Aero’s eyes widen slightly when he sees Lily, and he quickly masks it with a smile in her direction.
Tension lingers in my chest and shoulders.
An undercurrent of feeling I don’t understand passes through me.
One look at my best friend and brother and I can tell they’re feeling the same.
Something in the dynamic feels wrong, different.
The ease from a few minutes ago leeches out of me.
Conversation at the table becomes stilted.
The effect seems to reach past me, Aero and Heath and down to our other teammates and friends.
“She really likes to cause problems,” Aero mutters under his breath, his hand running through his hair, his eyes caught on something or someone behind me.
My heart pounds and I know instantly who has caught his attention.
Everything inside me tightens with anticipation, my head snapping in her direction.
Her long dark hair is pulled back with two braids.
Her shoulders are square, her chin lifted while she laughs with a table of customers.
My hands tighten on the table top, my gaze raking over her, noting the black leggings that look painted on and settling on the black t-shirt tied at her waist, baring a sliver of her moonlit skin.
My shadows surge in my veins, begging to be let out while blackness creeps into my vision.
She turns and for the first time I see the front of her race day work t-shirt, and another man’s face stretches across her chest.
I see red, blood-fucking-red. Heath reaches for me first, then Aero calls my name, as they try to stop me.
No one can contain me. Shoving anyone in my way to the side, I reach Skully before she can drift off to her next table.
I can tell the minute she senses me near, her head turns in my direction, and her eyes widen at the look on my face.
Fury flares in my gut once I’m in front of her, and before I can think better of it, I’m yanking her by the wrist until her body collides sharply with mine.
“Madden.” Her voice comes out raspy and stern, which does nothing to calm the raging storm inside me.
“Take it off,” I demand, leaning down until my forehead brushes hers.
She pulls back, a look of determination in her eyes. A fire that only sparks when it’s us, when we’re pushing each other. “It’s for work. It means nothing.”
Her words should placate me. Deep down I know this, I’ve seen it before.
She didn’t choose mine though. She chose to put some random man’s face over my body.
A growl builds low in my throat, and that’s the only warning she gets before my hands wrap under her thighs and I haul her over my shoulder.
Cheers and cat-calls follow us while I bulldoze my way into the back area by the bathrooms and the employee locker rooms.
“Put me down!” Skully hisses, her little fists banging on my shoulders. I set her on her feet, and she wobbles slightly. Turning to face me, her lips smash together before she uses both hands to push me away. Doesn’t she know that wanting space only makes me want her more?
“Take it off now, Skully,” I warn her one more time, my hands fisting at my sides.
Her eyes blaze and she makes the fatal step of moving toward me. “It’s a work shirt, Madden. Don’t be a fucking psycho. Plenty of other girls here have your face over their tits already. You don’t need mine as well.”
Darting forward and using both hands, I grip the shirt she’s wearing by the collar. My fists pull, shredding it from top to bottom, forcing it from her skin. Skully struggles with me until the material lies in a pool at her feet.
“I hate you. Happy now?” She scoffs, her cheeks blushing as she stands there, chest heaving in only a basic black bra. My blood heats and the urge to cover her while also taking in every inch of what’s mine wars within me. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her this way, felt her this close.
I push my body into hers, plastering against her front, so she can feel my warmth.
My hands lift my sweatshirt off, and I drop it down over her in the next second, covering her in me, my scent, my colors.
Her nostrils flare, and her eyes flutter.
I run my nose up her neck and over her jaw.
“You can hate me all you want but you’re still mine. ”
She shakes in my hold, her body vibrating with anger and want. Feelings we’re both familiar with. “I’m not yours. I never was.”
“You don’t have the memories I do, Angel,” I tell her, my fingers gently brushing her hair off her cheeks. “You’ve always been mine even when I hate you too.”
She shakes her head, one of her hands landing on my shoulder to push space between us. “But you’ve never been just mine, right?” There’s an edge of sadness in her voice, and my fingers grip her chin, bringing her eyes to mine.
I search her gaze. “Your memories?”
A tear escapes down her cheek and she rushes to brush it away. “No. I don’t need my memories to know that then, now, the future, there is no way you’ve ever been just mine. I can feel it.”
“Madden,” Lily’s voice calls from the opening of the hallway, the disruption like an ice bucket over the moment.
Any clarity I had is instantly washed away.
Aero and Heath are also waiting, both of them keeping their eyes averted, but they also look like they’re ready to dive into the middle of a brawl if needed.
“You don’t want another man’s face on me, but you have no claim on me either. Not when someone else is clearly your priority.” Skully’s eyes harden on Lily before sliding back to me. “Go back to your friends, Madden.”
My brow pulls together, and my chest tightens almost painfully.
I should leave her here to deal with the mess I created, but my shadows are pulling at me to stay.
To stay with her. Something about what she said gnaws at me, pulls a feeling or a memory from before that I’d pushed down since she’s been gone.
Each step I take away from her feels like it’s a mistake.
“Thursday. Meet me at the Gate. You’re weak and you need to train,” I throw over my shoulder at her.
Her spine straightens, and her arms hang down, hands balling into fists.
Fire lights in her eyes and sears right through me.
With one last appreciative rake of my gaze over her in my clothes, I saunter over to where my friends are waiting.