Page 45 of Between Dusk and Dawn

"I assume you dressed me?" I asked. "Well, undressed, then dressed me again."

He nodded as he walked toward the small kitchenette, grabbing a pan and cracking a few eggs from the tiny fridge.

"What kind of place is this?" I asked, rising from the bed. Walsh's shirt hung mid-thigh as I approached the small window, hoping to identify our location.

"We're in the woods," he stated.

"No kidding. So my kidnapping theory is spot on."

"You don't even want to know the full extent of it," he grumbled, scrambling some eggs and adding salt and pepper.

"Then tell me, damn it," I demanded, practically running to his side. "Just spill."

He only glanced up, his haunted eyes appearing exhausted.

"For once in my goddamned existence, I wish someone would just tell me the truth. Do you know what it's like to live with parents who find joy in torturing you, ruining everything you could have wanted—a family?"

Hot tears exploded from my eyes. "I had to live with my grandmother after my dad lost custody and my mother died from an overdose." I wish I could have told him the extent of it, but the words never seemed to form.

"Madison." His voice was soft as he clicked off the burner.

"Please don’t give me any sympathy. I am telling you this because I cannot have you hiding the truth from me. I need to know what's going on because just last night, I thought I'd never see you again. Although, I was an idiot because somehow, I knew I'd end up right here."

"That's why you weren't shocked."

"No. I am surprised I'm standing here, but shocked? No. I knew someone was desperate for us to be together, and we'd keep finding ourselves back in front of each other until we realized it."

I walked into the small bathroom, trying to get a reprieve from the tension in the room. The mirror told a different story. I looked…rested. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and brushed my teeth with an extra toothbrush before going back out into the main room. My stomach grumbled at the smell of bacon cooking. "I guess I figured you'd probably want one more fuck in before you got married."

"Eat." He put some eggs and bacon on the plates and poured some warm coffee into a mug. Then he gestured to thesmall, homemade table in the corner with two chairs. I nodded, knowing there would be no resolve with him until I appeased him.

"Is this your place?" I asked, shoving eggs into my mouth. My stomach was grateful he was forcing me to eat, because I was starving after drinking all night.

"No." I sighed at his response. I guess I was only going to get one-word answers this morning.

"Whose is it?" I asked, my tone teetering on the edge of annoyed.

He huffed out a breath as he looked down at his plate. "It’s Ember and Rain’s."

"What the fuck?" I threw my fork, and it clinked against the plate. "Does she know I’m here? She’s going to be livid you brought me here."

"She doesn't know you're here, chill." He lifted a piece of bacon up to his thick lips and took a bite.

I hated the fact I was in her house. It felt like an invasion of privacy. I was a total bitch to her, but I’d spent the last few years trying to put—and maintain—my distance between us. When she slapped me across the face, I was shocked, but I deserved it, if not more. I should have been a friend, but treated her like a road to get the revenge I felt I needed on her brother.

But look at me now, wearing nothing but her brother's shirt inside her cabin.

"So, we fucked. And now you are leaving to get married."

He let out a low chuckle.

"I got married." I paused, letting his words sink into my head.

As I gazed at him, the words echoed in my mind, each repetition raising more questions than answers. A swirl of confusion danced in my eyes, trying to decipher the puzzle that was Walsh Solis.

"Wait a minute…you got married?" I let the words hang in the air, seeking clarity.

He met my gaze, his expression unreadable. "Yes," he affirmed, but the simplicity of his response felt elusive, leaving me to piece together a narrative that made sense.

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