Chapter 7 #3
Maddie tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression warm but shy. “Thank you so much for lunch and for letting me join. I had a really great time.”
“Anytime, sweetheart.” Mom hesitates, then adds, “I know you’re eager to live in New York, so if you ever want to visit, you’ll always have a place to stay with us.”
Maddie offers a polite smile, but I can see the flicker of hesitation behind it, the way she subtly shifts her weight like she’s trying to hide her embarrassment. “I don’t think I’d be able to afford that. But thank you. Maybe one day.”
Mom’s eyes widen, instantly realizing the awkward position she’s put her in. “Oh no, Maddie Grace, it wouldn’t cost you anything. Javier often travels to Atlanta for business, visiting one of his hotels, so you can easily fly with him. It’s a company plane, no expense to you.”
And that right there is why Rosa is my mom.
There’s no company plane.
Hell, I’m not even sure if Javier has a hotel in Atlanta. But she’d lie through her teeth if it meant making Maddie happy. Not just because it makes me happy but because she’s an honest-to-God saint.
That’s why, no matter what, I will always choose her.
“Thank you for the offer,” Maddie replies, her smile soft, almost sad. “I’d have to check with my parents.”
“I can always speak to them—”
Before Mom can finish, Camila bounces over, saving Maddie from the conversation. She presses a small slip of paper into Maddie’s hand with a conspiratorial grin.
Maddie, ever the polite one, turns back to Mom, offering another smile. “Thanks again, Rosa. I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”
“What are you keeping in mind?” Camila asks.
“Don’t be nosy. Mind your business.” I hip-check Camila, and she retaliates with a quick punch to my arm.
“Whatever.” She points to the paper in Maddie’s hand. “That’s my number. You better call me when you get home. I have so much dirt on Nate.”
Maddie’s eyes light up mischievously as she glances at me, waggling her brows. “I’m calling you the second I get back to Georgia.”
I groan, “Oh, please. I’m a damn saint compared to the rest of this family.”
Dad calls out for Camila, signaling that it’s time to leave.
Maddie gives her one last hug, and we stand side by side, watching and waving as they head off.
And just like that, family time is over, but something about today feels permanent, like an unspoken promise that things are changing, and she belongs in my world.
I slide my hand into Maddie’s, lacing our fingers together. “It’s free time. Do you want to go find Addie, or do you want to take a walk with me?”
Before she can answer, my brother’s voice cuts in, “Wait up, losers.”
“You’re not invited,” I tell Leo flatly.
“Ohhh, come on. Free time is so boring.” He wedges between Maddie and me, draping an arm over our shoulders. “Plus, besties do everything together.”
Maddie giggles, shaking her head in disbelief.
Leo grins but drops his arms as his gaze follows Bethany heading toward the cafeteria.
Without another word, he takes off.
“See ya,” I mutter under my breath.
Maddie cups her hands around her mouth. “Way to ditch your best friends, traitor!”
He’s running so fast that I doubt he even hears her.
I take the moment to slip my arm around her waist and spin her around. “Alone at last.”
She squeals in surprise, her laugh bubbling out light and effortlessly.
Her laugh is a giggle so sweet that it tugs at something deep inside my chest. I want to bottle it up and keep it for the days we’re apart.
The sound is heaven and hell to my ears. It’s my favorite, one I’ll miss when camp ends.
A stark reminder that our time is running out.
Maddie tilts her head back, eyes bright with mischief. “What now, Romeo?” she teases, her arms tightening around my neck.
I grin, committing every little detail of her face to memory. “Now?” I pull her closer, my voice barely above a whisper. “Now we make every second count.”
We’ve been relaxing by the lake since Mom and Dad left. Maddie is lying between my legs, her back to my chest, her head resting against my shoulder, as we look over Lake Horizon when she asks me the question I’ve been dreading.
The one I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold off for much longer, though I was hoping we could have at least gotten through the rest of camp before she asked.
“Why don’t you talk to your parents?”
It’s not like I didn’t see this coming, especially after lunch with the Morales family.
But I hate talking about them…more than anything.
I let out a slow breath. “There’s not much to say.”
But that’s not entirely true, and I know she deserves more than that. So, I give her as much as possible without tearing open old wounds.
“For as long as I can remember, Harrison and I were a burden. Our “parents” didn’t want kids.
They had Harrison because it was expected of them.
Anderson and Caroline Davenport, the perfect high-society couple, had to maintain appearances and uphold a certain statute, and that vision included children.
Their legacy and their inheritance depended on having at least one child. Then I was born, the accident.”
Maddie’s body tenses against me, but she doesn’t speak.
I’m grateful because I don’t want her pity.
“For them, it was easy to pretend they cared about one child. But they realized their pretty life wasn’t so easy once I came along.
So they left us at home with nannies, or we stayed with our grandparents on my dad’s side, which happened more often than not.
It would have been a lot worse if it weren’t for them.
When we got a little older, so did our grandparents.
My grandmother died of a heart attack, and it was rough for my grandfather.
He passed away last year, but he did his best to give us a semi-normal life until he couldn’t.
But what saved us from being totally fucked up was Rosa and Javier, and I’ll never be convinced otherwise.
” I pause, accidentally letting my voice harden.
“I’d be surprised if my parents even know I graduated. I haven’t seen them in months.”
Maddie doesn’t respond right away. Instead, she tightens her hold on my arms as if trying to anchor me to her.
“What language were you speaking to your brother earlier? When I accidentally eavesdropped.”
“French.”
“Wow. Can you speak any other language?”
“German and Spanish. Harrison and my friend Matteo are teaching me Italian.”
Maddie wiggles between my legs. “Could you teach me? I’d love to learn French…or honestly, any language.”
I smile against her hair. “Of course. Hopefully, you’re better at that than swimming.”
“I’m ignoring that,” she grumbles, then sighs after a moment. “Nate. Can I ask you something else?”
“Go ahead.”
“Well…two things.”
That earns her a small chuckle. “Yes, babe. Ask away.”
“The first day I met you, you told me sailing was your perfect escape. That it was calming.”
“Didn’t let that one slide past you, huh?”
Maddie rubs my arms, refusing to let me deflect. “An escape from your parents?”
I should probably be worried about how easily she reads me, but it’s the same for me with her.
“Yeah. Being out on the water is like instant therapy.” She stays quiet, letting me continue at my own pace.
“There was this older man who lived next door when I was a kid. He mostly talked nonsense. He had dementia, and it was sad, but every single day, without fail, he would talk about his time at an ashram in India. He said it healed him in ways nothing else ever could. Tranquility. He repeated that word constantly, like it was the answer to everything.” I pause, bracing myself against my terrible childhood memories.
“There was one particular day when my parents were worse than usual. Harrison wasn’t there, and both my grandparents and the Moraleses were on vacation, so I left home and walked further than I ever had.
I found a flyer for a sailing school, it was downtown on the west side.
Nowhere near where I lived, but I begged my grandma to sign me up, and she didn’t hesitate.
The flyer read, ‘Set sail and set yourself free on the open, tranquil waters.’ That afternoon, I found out my neighbor had passed away. I think maybe it was a sign from him.”
Maddie lets out a soft, broken sound, her body trembling in my arms. I press a kiss to the top of her head, hating that her tears are for me.
“What was his name? Your neighbor,” she gets out between hiccups.
“Mr. Patel…Parth Patel.”
She nods, acknowledging the man who gave me something special that I’ll never forget.
When her tears don’t stop, I prompt her gently. “What was your second question, Mads?”
She hesitates, then shakes her head. “It’s okay.”
“Take a breath. I want to know.”
A few moments pass before she speaks. “Your brother mentioned you moving in with him. If your parents don’t care…why haven’t you? Or at least with Rosa?”
I huff a humorless laugh. “My parents force me to stay so people don’t talk.
If I moved out officially, the press would have a field day.
The headlines would read something like, ‘Anderson and Caroline Davenport’s Son Moves in with Hotel Mogul Family.
’ It’d be a scandal, and even though I don’t care, I wouldn’t drag Rosa and Javier into that mess.
But I have a bed there. Leo and I share a room, so I’ve always had a place to stay. ”
“Ugh. They disgust me.” She immediately clamps a hand over her mouth like she hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. “I’m sorry. People idolize the rich and famous, but they never see their greedy, nasty side. And I hate your parents, Nate. I really do.”
“You and me both.”
“Lord, are all the upper class like that?” She pauses. “Well, no, they can’t be because look at Rosa and Javier. They’re incredible.”
“Jackson and Sadie, friends we grew up with, unfortunately, had a similar upbringing as Harrison and I, so they spent a lot of time after school at the Moraleses’ house, avoiding their own home.
But besides them, most of my friends had normal, loving families.
And you’re right, Rosa and Javier are incredible.
Not only because they were there for me, but also because they gave me three siblings I love deeply and would do anything for. ”
That’s all I’m willing to share for now, or maybe forever.
She doesn’t need to know what happened when Harrison got older and wasn’t around to shield me anymore.
She doesn’t need to know the extent of what my parents did to me, how they almost rewired my whole damn existence, or how I’m only who I am today because of the one night Rosa broke into my family’s home to save me.