“Madison, I know that looked really bad, but it’s not what you think. We literally had just left Church and Diamond threwherself at him. You walked through the door seconds later,” Sara tells me.
“He’s slept with her. Hasn’t he?” I ask them.
Everyone is quiet and their silence is all the confirmation I need. My tears spill over, and Bianca and Sophia wrap an arm around me.
“I know this is a lot to take in, but he doesn’t want any of them. Just you,” Bianca says.
“How am I supposed to be okay with knowing he slept with her and probably every one of those women? Why are they even here?” I spat angrily.
“They’re called club bunnies. They’re here to sleep with the guys.”
I turned to Cara in shock and outrage. “How the hell are you all okay with your men sleeping with those women?”
Cara’s eyes flash with anger before she blinks it away. “Our men haven’t slept with any of them since we came into their lives. Not one of them even looks their way anymore.”
“And you’re okay with being around a group of women who have been with your man?”
“Everyone is different, Madison. Me, personally, I couldn’t care less. My man is sexy as hell. I would be a fool to think he didn’t have a past before me. That doesn’t matter to me. What matters is everything that transpired once I was in his life. Yes, those women have been with him, but I have something they could never get. No matter how hard they tried.”
“What’s that?”
“His heart.” Cara smiles.
Wow. I didn’t think of it that way. She’s right. The ladies are nodding at her with small smiles. It’s still a tough pill to swallow and I personally don’t know if I can handle it. I don’t want to see women who know what he looks like without clothes. They’ve had a piece of him.
When I hear footsteps approaching, I turn to see Jonah standing a few feet from the table. The ladies get up and head back inside the clubhouse. Jonah looks hesitant to come any closer. I nod, letting him know it's okay. He takes the seat next to me and I gaze into his sky-blue eyes. I can see the fear swirling in them.
“Maddy—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“Jonah, I didn’t expect you to have been celibate all these years, but I don’t think I can be around those women every day. As much as this hurts, I need some time. I’m not saying it’s over. I just need some time to think.”
Jonah gives me a shaky nod before lowering his gaze to the table. I kiss his cheek and head back to Cara’s place. Each step I take, my heart rips in two. I fell so hard for him again. My emotions are all over the place and I don’t know how I truly feel about this. Only time will tell. It feels like the end for me and Jonah, and that’s not a reality I’m willing to face right now.
It’smy fifth day here at the hospital and I love it. As much as I miss Jonah, working fills me with joy. I love helping people. It’s a great distraction from my heartache. I haven’t been back to the clubhouse. It’s too hard. I also haven’t seen Jonah. I have four brothers escort me to work every day, including Doc. The guys told me as much as it’s killing Jonah, he’s giving me my space. I don’t want to hurt him, but this world is foreign to me.
Jonah has always had women after him. That’s nothing new. But back then, I didn’t have to deal with the fact that any of them had been with him. It was only me. Each day that goes by, my heart pleads for me to go back to him. I feel incomplete. I just don’t know what to do.
Approaching the nurses’ station, I take a seat. Doc walks up to me with a chart. “Madison, you have a patient in Room 14. Alice Langley. Possible broken arm, split lip, and a gash on her forehead. I suspect domestic violence so tread lightly, okay?”
“Okay.” I grab the clipboard and advance toward the room. When I enter, there’s a police officer standing over her. The exchange looks heated. I clear my throat to gain their attention. Alice’s eyes fall to her lap. The officer folds his arms across his chest, watching me with an unimpressed expression.
“Hi, Mrs. Langley. My name is Madison. I’m your RN today. From your charts I see you might have possibly broken your arm. How did that happen?”
Alice’s eyes never leave her lap. “You don’t need to know anything,” the officer sneers. “Just get her checked out.” His raised voice causes Alice to jump, and her heart monitor speeds up.
“Officer, I’m going to need you to leave so I can speak with my patient.”
“She’s my wife! I’m not going anywhere. Just do your job!”
“With all due respect, Officer Langley, asking how the injuries occurred is my job. We have to make sure?—”
“Make sure what?” he sneers.
Alice closes her eyes and her breathing picks up more. She’s on the verge of a panic attack. Doc comes barreling through the door, headed straight for Alice. “What’s going on in here? Alice, I need you to calm down. Your heart rate is spiking to a dangerous level.”
Alice nods shakily. Doc makes a move to touch her and the officer snaps, “Don’t touch her. I specifically told them I wanted only women in here. Have her do whatever it is she needs to do to fix her up so we can leave.”
“Alice, are you okay? If you’re more comfortable speaking alone, we can do that.”