Page 105 of Cross To Bear

“Don’t have time for me?”

The door cracked open, and I sucked a breath in, catching that sweet perfume that made my mouth water. Maddie peered in through the gap before I yanked her inside.

“Babe…” I touched her face, her hair, as if to reassure myself she was here, because it felt like she’d slip away any day now. “I didn’t know you were coming down. You should’ve said… I would’ve picked up lunch.”

“Done.” She waved a paper bag filled with something that smelled amazing. “Can you ask the boss if you can take a break?” My girl looked around the room before smiling at me.

“The boss says anything for you…”

But right as I pulled her into a hug, the phone started to buzz rhythmically.

Mum was calling me again. As I saw the screen light up, the spirits that had soared when Maddie arrived quickly plummeted back into the abyss I was stewing in.

“You know it’s customary to answer a call,” Maddie said, her face smooshed against my chest.

“It can go to message bank,” I ground out, but she fought her way free of my grip. One look at my face had her reaching for the phone and tapping to answer the call. My protest was choked off as she said hello.

“Nelly?” Maddie looked up at me with a slight frown. “You’re after Bjorn?” I shook my head sharply, making clear I didn’t want to speak to her. “He’s just stepped out, but I can leave a message… You what?” When Maddie took a step away from me, my heart sank further. I wanted to follow her, but the tense set of her shoulders told me not to. “You said what?”

That pain in her voice, it was why we’d decided not to tell Maddie what had gone down at Mum’s that night, because she didn’t need the steaming shit pile my family made, dumped on her. My eyes locked with hers, pleading for her to hang up on Mum and turn to me instead. But I watched my girl’s lips thin as her brows jerked further down.

“No, Nelly, I don’t think anyone could call something like that a misunderstanding. Look, I…”

Maddie jerked her ear away from the phone then stabbed her finger on the screen to end the call.

“Hey, I’m sorry…” I started to say, but my mate stopped me cold, rushing towards me and wrapping her arms around my waist. My hands went up, hovered in the air, and then hugged her right back. “We didn’t want to burden you with Mum’s bullshit.”

“Nelly tried to split us up.”

Her words were muffled by my stomach.

“I know. She—”

“No, she came by my office and laid out all the reasons why I was not a good fit for you guys.”

“I know.” I stroked her back over and over, just for the pleasure of feeling the warmth of her body. “It all came out on the night of your accident. I made clear that we were going no contact, and Mum hasn’t taken that well. I put my phone on silent when I’m at home, because I wanted to save you that bullshit, but—”

“That’s not how relationships work.” She pulled back to stare up at me. “I don’t want or need you to protect me from shit. You’ve been fussing around me because of my leg, while you…” Her eyes creased, as if looking at me hurt her, but I was fairly sure it was something else. “You’ve had her haranguing you all this time, haven’t you?”

I forced myself to nod.

“And you thought you needed to carry this shit all on your own, didn’t you?”

Another grudging nod. I was convinced it was the right way to go, right up until Maddie squeezed me harder.

“Would you expect me to have kept quiet when my parents started in on me?”

I let out a little trickle of a growl, remembering their bullshit in the hospital room all too clearly.

“That’s diff—”

“No, it’s not.” She shook her head for emphasis then grabbed my hands and hung on. “It’s not. Why did you guys stand up for me that day?”

That question was easy at least, so I answered without thinking.

“Because you’re my girl…”

“And you’re my guy.” She pushed me towards my drafting chair and then stepped between my thighs when I was seated. Maddie was right back in my arms, allowing something in me to settle. “Tell me what happened, Bjorn. Tell me what’s been going on.”

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