Page 64 of The Two Halves of My Heart

“Never gonna happen. Mark my words.”

“Well, I’d like to see you try another way. My price is her.”

Maddison’s face turned ruddy before he looked at me. He stalked forward, grabbed my wrist just as hard, and tugged me out of the kitchen and house.

“Slow down, Mads. Mads, wait. Stop… you’re hurting me.” I tried to slow down, but he didn’t stop, pulling me behind him like I was a naughty child being taken home from a party. My feet tried to keep up, stumbling a few times in my Converse.

We were nearly at the car before Mads finally let go, but he kept walking, shoving his arms up through his hair. “Fuck!” he shouted.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, confused at what the hell was going on. That guy was moments away from trying something, or worse, assaulting me, and now I felt like I was the one in the wrong.

“Jay. The fucking prick, that’s what.”

“Well, I got that. What did he mean by his price being me?” Although having that explained didn’t really make the list of top explanations I wanted right then, I needed to hear what Mads thought.

“Nothing. He just said that to wind me the fuck up.”

“Well, it worked. Can we just go?” I rubbed at my wrist, now throbbing from the abuse. I gingerly approached the car that Mads was still pacing around and waited for him to open it up. “Mads?” I prompted.

“Why him. Of all the fucking guys, it had to be him?” He turned to look at me, his eyes narrowing as if he was waiting for an answer.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything. It was that jerk who came on to me. Jeez, Mads, listen to yourself. Open the car. I want to go home.” I pointed to the door with my eyes, my frustrations and hurt seeping into my voice. Luckily, the pain radiating from my wrist kept my tears at bay, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide them all night.

When we arrived home, I unlocked the door and marched straight to my bedroom, furious at everything that had happened tonight. We’d been sleeping in Maddison’s room since we got together, except the nights he was out too late, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now. I pushed my door wide open, checked that Bob was in his usual position, and then slammed it shut.

“Come on, Grace. I’m sorry. I was mad.”

“Well, you can be mad on your own. I’m not ready to talk to you right now.” I kept the pissed-off tone going. There was no way he got to treat me like that.

The thud on the other side of my door made me jump.

“I’m sorry,” he offered, in a much calmer voice. But I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

I stripped off, found a comfy t-shirt and buried myself under my covers. Bob came to comfort me, snuggling in under my chin. My true safety blanket.

The morning light trickled through my curtains and slowly woke me. Bob stretched as I moved and disturbed his slumber. My sleep had been sound, considering the events of the night before. I’d imagined nightmares of ogres with bad teeth would be sure to visit me.

At the door, I listened to see if there was any sign of movement, before creeping out. As the night replayed over and over in my mind, I knew I wasn’t ready to talk to Maddison. Or how to even start that conversation.

The feeling of betrayal was new for me, but it hurt just like any other kind of pain—hallowing out a place in your chest and spreading like poison.

I cracked the door and looked across the landing. Maddison’s door was still ajar, but that didn’t mean much. I eased out, heading for the stairs, when I saw him, slumped over against the wall outside of my bedroom. It looked as if he’d fallen asleep there, and now the thud made sense.

Dashing for the stairs, I made it before he woke.

I filled the kettle and put it on, staring at the appliance as if it had all the answers I needed. Why did Maddison think this was my fault? Why couldn’t he see this as anything but his ‘friend’ being an arsehole? My hand shook as I reached for a mug to make my morning coffee.

“I’m sorry.”

I ignored Maddison as he appeared at the door, carrying on with my chores.

“That’s not enough, not for what you said to me, or how you made me feel. You blamed me.”

“And I’m sorry. I was a jerk and clearly wasn’t thinking.” He inched closer towards me, and I suddenly didn’t want to be trapped like I was last night. I stood up straight and shook my head. At least he could read what I was telling him.

“Why? Why couldn’t you have just made sure I was okay and been pissed at him like anyone else would be. Why was it such a big deal?” The ache in my chest summoned the tears I thought were in my past, and they misted my eyes. A part of my heart clung to the hope that Maddison would only have reacted like that for a good reason, but I was terrified of what that reason could be.

“Because Jay is one of the guys I’ll have to beat in the future.”

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