4. Chapter 4
Chapter four
Ashton
Being friends with Maddox has always been a blessing. But lately, he’s been on a downward spiral, and I’m unsure how to help him. I can’t keep holding his hand when shit goes south. He needs to figure some shit out for himself, and I know with Jinx blocking herself from him again doesn’t help. But he can’t always count on other people, either.
And by the state of his body lying on the bathroom floor tells me everything I need to know. Another bender, and he breathes an additional day. I’m not sure how much I have left in me to keep picking him up day after day. I’m afraid one day will be the last.
Gently rolling him onto his back, I tap his cheek. “Hey, Mad. Rise and shine, beauty queen. The birds are singing, so it’s time to wake up.”
He babbles something, his eyes never twitching.
“Seriously, Maddox. Wake the fuck up,” I snap, losing what patience I had. I haul him up by his arm into a seating position. His head falls forward like a broken limb, and his face crumples with pain.
“Ash?” he asked with a rough sigh.
“Yeah, man, it’s me.”
He cranked his neck, locking our eyes. “I went and saw her. I shouldn’t have.”
I’m confused by who she is. I know a lot of women, and so does Maddox; he isn’t leaving me much to go on. I know it wasn’t Jinx. A visit from Jinx wouldn’t have caused a downfall. There is no way in hell he would’ve visited my mom.
“You went and saw your mom? Why, Maddox?” I don’t want to sound disappointed, but you can hear it. That woman is nasty.
“I’m a sucker for pain, I suppose. I know it was stupid; save the lecture.” He swings his arm, looking for the counter.
I grab his arm, helping him up. “I won’t lecture you, but Mad, that woman isn’t healthy for you. I thought we talked about this. She can’t be in your life anymore. Every time you see her, you end up like this. She plants seeds of doubt, and you allow the roots to take hold, embedding you deep. Only you hold the power to cut them off.”
His shoulders slump, losing what fight he had. “She tried to kill me when I was a kid, Ash. That shit is embedded for life. No wonder why I’m such a fuck up. I couldn’t even die then.”
That fucking bitch, a sense of dread rolls through the pit of my stomach. I can’t leave Maddox alone, but I can’t let her get away with this, either. Fortunately for her, my priorities are Maddox. Her time will come; she doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as him. He needs to be set free from that life.
“Come on, big guy, let's get you into bed. You need to sleep off some of this booze. You smell worse than the brewery.”
“I feel like shit.” Shuffling slowly into his room, he ungracefully falls onto the bed. “Leave me.” He points his finger into the air.
Maddox is carefree only when he’s almost sober; a spark of joy runs through his body, and the child emerges. My heart breaks for him. At least Atticus and I had a decent childhood, but it wasn’t until years later that mine crumbled. With the help of Maddox, I made it through, but now I need to help him. Once I hear his snores, I close the door.
When I step back into his kitchen, I finally look around. Garbage lines the small countertop, liquor bottles fill the sink, and there is absolutely no food in this place. I get busy cleaning. It’s one thing that’ll help keep things off my mind and make me not leave this place and go hunting the fucking bitch down.
That reminds me of my pest problem. Mommy Dearest.
She called after the will reading, complaining that she got nothing. It’s not like she didn’t have notice, Jinx told her. I wish Ace and I could’ve been there, but since we were only the stepsons, we weren’t allowed inside the lawyer's office. It took me hours to calm her down, and she kept saying the stupidest shit. Mom, can’t sue Jinx for the school; it belongs to a board and Jinx. She’ll never succeed. It’s all a scare tactic to see if Jinx will cave. It won’t work.
My next goal is to get Jinx talking again; we have the cold shoulder again for some reason. Her mood swings are getting out of hand. I’m trying to be understanding with the passing of her dad and all, but like fuck. Why are we all getting punished all of a sudden? It came out of nowhere.
I toss the liquor bottles hard into the trash can when I think about it. Leave it to my mom to go after something she can’t have. That woman drives me up the fuckin’ wall. I’m halfway through cleaning when my phone rings. I take a deep inhale, praying it isn’t the witch calling.
“Ace, what’s up?” Thank fuck it’s him.
“Where the fuck are you? I’ve been looking everywhere.”
I snorted a laugh. “You didn’t look very good. Use those woman eyes, Atticus. I’m over at Maddox’s place.”
I can hear a door close and heavy footsteps.
“Are you running?” I ask.
“What the fuck does it sound like, a gentle breeze in the park?” The line goes dead.
I hate when he does that, tucking my phone back into my pocket, and the door opens. Looking at my brother is almost like looking in a mirror sometimes, but this douche had to go out and cover himself in tattoos. I don’t blame him—our entire lives; we have been battling for our own identity.
“Where’s Maddox?” He asks, closing the door behind him. The further he walks into the small space, the more energy I can feel him suck up. He’s pissed about something.
“Sleeping. Why?”
“Has he talked to you?”
I watch him pace around the dorm. His blue eyes flash dangerously when they turn to the bedroom.
“Ace, talk to me. What the fuck is going on?”
He turns back to me. “You know what that asshole did?”
I shrug. It’s the reason I asked dickhead. He glares because he knows exactly what I thought.
He points to the room. “That asshole almost killed a professor.”
My brows snapped together. “Oh, come on. How the fuck would you know?” I move in front of him, wanting to kick the shit out of him for saying such crap.
“Little does our offender know, the staff parking lot has security cameras. They caught everything, Ash. The worst part is we don’t have Prescott here to bail him out. The evidence is clear as day.”
“Shit,” I spoke lowly. “So what now?”
Atticus leans forward, pressing his palms on his thighs. Staring at the ground, he says, “I’m not sure, but it won't end well for him. You think Von is going to let this slide.”
I push a hand through my hair, and every scenario runs through my head. We can’t do a fuckin’ thing, I’m not even sure Jinx can pull any strings if the cops are involved. Maddox dug himself a hole that even he can’t get out of.
“Have you told Jinx?”
“She won’t talk to me.”
This time, I kick his shin. “What the hell did you do?”
He glares at me, rubbing his leg. “Ouch, you prick. I didn’t do shit.”
“I’m not fighting, but you must’ve done something. You’re the asshole, anyway.”
Atticus always fucks something up, so this doesn’t surprise me. He can’t keep a cool head even if you pay him. Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy, but fuck. How often do we have to go through this before this entire relationship ends? I’m almost at my melting point. The ups are amazing, but I can’t handle the downs, and I’m nearly ready to walk away from them.
Being in the dorm is suffocating me, and it’s only going to piss me off if I don’t leave soon. If I don’t distract myself quickly, I’m going to blow my top. Without saying a word, I head out. I doubt Maddox will wake up while I’m gone. I head for the stairs, taking them to the laundry room. If anyone is in there, I guess they’re getting high with me because I don’t give a shit.
Fresh and dirty laundry fills the air as I enter the laundry room. But fortunate for me, it’s empty. No one to pester me as I get high. There’s something about hanging out in this room that almost calms me without lighting the joint, almost being the keyword. Spinning the joint between my fingers, I recall a conversation between Atticus and me when we were still in high school.
Ace takes a puff of the joint before holding it out for me to take.
The thing about Atticus is he buries his emotions. He’s been this way since we were little kids when the sperm donor walked away from us. It’s hard to break the shell that he carries. I’ve tried breaking the doors down, but it’s useless. No one can get through to him.
“Pass it here and shut up. What’s pissing you off, anyway?”
He leans back in the seat on the boat I randomly bought; that’s what happens when I’m fuckin’ high as a kit. Random ass purchases. I also lost my spending cash since.
“Jinx is what’s pissing me off.” He stares at the cloudy sky and sighs. Atticus sighing is never a good thing.
“Why? Got a hard-on for stepsis?” I shoot him a knowing grin. He can’t keep that to himself. It’s hard when he stares at her constantly.
“I swear she does shit just to piss me off. Do you believe someone stole her cello, or do you think she wanted us to get into trouble?”
I think he’s lost his goddamn mind. Jinx is not conniving for one thing, and secondly, I’ve heard all the girls in that school hate Jinx for some reason. So, I believe that they did steal her cello. The bitches in this school are insane. I hate high school. I can’t wait to leave.
“Ace, you’re getting insane again. You’ve seen everyone in that school. Trust me, she isn’t lying. What is this really about?”
“I shouldn’t have made that stupid bargain with her. But I also can’t let her walk away.”
“So, what, you lay claim on her, and that’s that?”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “I know you want her. I’m sure Maddox does, too. I don’t mind sharing. But I swear to the devil himself that if anyone touches her first, I will kill them.”
“And how do you think you’ll stop that from happening? We’re going to different colleges.”
He never told me how he would keep it from happening, and honestly, I never wanted to know. Jinx and Atticus’ relationship has always been rocky. It’s one thing I never understood. That’s why I think he fucked it up again if she isn’t talking to us, but why punish Maddox and me? We didn’t do dickshit.
Maddox is going to need her more than anything.