Page 8 of Fought and Freed

He rubbed his mouth with his hand. “My senior year of high school, I was studying at my house with the football captain when he suddenly kissed me.”

He took a few minutes to himself, biting his nails as he remembered what had happened. “My dad walked in right then, and all Hell broke loose. The guy who kissed me told my father I initiated it.”

His hand shook, and he curled it into a fist. “I’ve never seen my father so angry before. Do you have any idea what you just did to my reputation?” Grant glanced at me. “That’s what he yelled. And then he grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to my room. He said a sinner wouldn’t live in his house and told me to pack a bag.”

Grant stared straight ahead, his eyes dry as if he’d already cried out all his tears. "My mom was there, too, and I looked at her, hoping she’d stop him, but all she did was cry."

Maddy’s lips parted in shock. “They kicked you out?”

“Yep.” Grant’s legs dropped so he sat cross-legged. "I had some money saved from birthdays and stuff, and I got on a bus, not caring where I was going. At the first stop where I got off, I met two guys who said they’d take care of me, and like a fool, I trusted them."

He gave a bitter laugh. “I was a virgin before I met the Coppola brothers. Frankie broke me fast, and a week later, I was on a street corner, turning tricks or picking pockets to make my daily quota. If I didn’t bring in a certain amount of money, Frankie would come after me.”

Grant looked away. “Some of the things I had to do to survive on the streets turned my stomach, so I did the only thing I could and took drugs to help me get through the day.”

Maddy reached out to touch his arm. “There’s no shame in surviving. And being here means you want to do more than that now. You want to make your life better.”

He nodded and grasped Maddy’s hand. “Thank you. I don’t think I’d make it through this without you.”

3

MADDY

The worst of the withdrawals ended after two weeks, and Maddy asked for permission to call the guys.

Dr. Hayes gave his approval, and when she turned her phone on, there were tons of text and voice messages.

Skylar: I miss you already.

She searched for the date and laughed when she saw it was three minutes after she first walked through the doors. That was just like him.

Jace: I’m so proud of you. You can do anything you set your mind to.

Maddy smiled.

She listened to the first voicemail, which was from Skylar. “Princess, you need to come back. Cody won’t cook, and I’m hungry. If I keep eating all this takeout, I’m going to be fat when you return.”

The next voicemail was nothing but silence for a while before Ryder came on. “I miss your voice.”

There were a couple like that.

Maddy hadn’t realized how much she truly missed them until she got her phone back. At the beginning of rehab, she was sick, and all her free time was taken up by therapy. All that talking wore a person out.

But now she desperately wanted to talk to one of them.

She started to dial Ryder but stopped when she remembered it was the middle of class time, so she waited until later that night.

After dinner, Maddy dialed Ryder first, but it shuffled to voicemail.

She left a message telling him how much she loved and missed him.

She called Jace next.

He answered on the second ring. “Baby girl?”

She smiled at the shock in his tone. “Hi, Jace.”

“It’s so good to hear your voice,” he said.

---