Page 58 of Quarantined with the Billionaire

I picked up the mug of beer and downed what was left, immediately regretting it as gas built up in my chest, making me uncomfortable. But I wasn’t about to belch in front of this man. Especially considering what I was about to tell him.

“My mom never finished high school. So she’s spent her entire life drifting from one crappy job to another. The first job I remember her having was at McDonald’s. Her manager pissed her off somehow and she quit. Without notice. She did that with a lot of jobs. She’d get angry for whatever reason and just quit. I’m pretty sure she got TANF and food stamps because of that, because I remember being at the Social Services building one day when I wasn’t in school. It was so crowded there and I remember playing with some kids in a lobby where there were toys in a corner—and my mom calling me back to her, telling me not to play with those dirty kids.”

Maddox raised a brow, but his eyes told me that nothing I’d said so far was shocking. Not that I had expected it to be.

“Anyway, that was my entire childhood. She’d miss parent-teacher conferences. And every once in a while, she’d call my dad and scream at him. But there were so many times she couldn’t make rent. Or I’d have to sleep on the kitchen floor with the gas oven on low to keep me warm, because the electricity had been turned off. And we were constantly moving.

“Until the place on Stout Street. I was thirteen, I think. The landlord there was more than happy to have us live there forever—so long as mom would sleep with him whenever he came calling. More than once, I’d come home from school and leave right after. It’s disturbing hearing the sounds of your mom pretending to enjoy sex.” I dropped my head, not wanting to look him in the eyes. I hadn’t talked about this stuff since I’d decided therapy wasn’t helping. Apparently, those wounds still hadn’t completely scarred over.

Especially the part I didn’t intend to talk about.

But when Maddox sat in the chair beside me, touching the bottom of my chin, he wiped away a tear and held me for the longest time—long after my tears stopped. After I took a sip of water, I began talking again—but I couldn’t look him in the eye for now.

“It was uncomfortable, but I managed. I’d skateboard around the block a few times or hang out on the steps, but there were some weird people who lived in the same building. I was better off skateboarding, as long as I stayed away from the drug deals. One day I came home from school, and mom was nowhere to be found. I think she was working as a CNA at the time. The landlord was there, asking me when mom was planning to pay the rent. I can’t remember exactly how it went down, but he got his payment out of me.”

Maddox’s arm around my shoulders felt warm. Loving. Protective. After a while, he spoke. It sounded like a question, but it wasn’t. “He raped you.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t tell my mom about it, but she wondered why he wasn’t asking about the rent. I just went straight to bed that night before she even got home. I was a virgin, and he ripped me apart. Mom didn’t even notice that I didn’t go to school the next day, either. By the time I could walk without a limp, she’d forgotten all about it.

“I started carrying a knife with me. He never tried again but that didn’t matter. I slept with that stupid knife under my pillow and my dresser pushed against my door.”

“That’s why you have the nightmares.”

I nodded, resting my head against his chest.

“You were right, Bailey. I don’t have anything like that in my past. I’m…sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything.”

“I know, but—I know this. A lot of men in positions of power use those positions to take advantage of women. Both you and your mother were taken advantage of by that guy. Do you happen to remember his name?”

“No. And I don’t plan to spend my life seeking revenge. But I’ve had a hard time throughout my life forgiving my mother.”

“I never would have guessed that. You sounded like a dutiful daughter on the phone.”

“It’s easier over the phone. But it’s going to take a long time for me to be able to let it all go. Maybe I’ll never be able to.”

“The last thing you need right now is preaching—but I can tell you letting go is the hardest thing to do. If you can, though, you free your own soul.”

“I wish I could.”

“It’s easier said than done.” He squeezed my shoulder, holding me close, but my tears had dried up. I refused to give that monster in my past any more of my energy.

Taking a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and turned my head to look Maddox in the eye. “So…swimming is out of the question. I’m not much of a dancer, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Where in this place do you dance?”

“In the gym, of course. It’s got those beautiful floors and lots of space. There’s a little space to move by the piano upstairs. It has the perfect ambience but not as much room.”

“A guy like you should have a ballroom.”

“Yeah. Maybe in my next home.”

If anyone could afford it, it would be Maddox.

“I’d been thinking about dancing to work off all that food, but I think we need something different. I like the idea of dancing upstairs.”

“Should I wear my workout clothes?”

“No. I like the idea you gave me. Ballroom dancing.”

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