Maybe.
With him, I could be.
“Well, this is all fine and dandy, but what the fuck is going on?” Lenny blurts, and Kane bursts into laughter even thoughhe’sthe one that got punched in the face.
“Everyone, meet Mads’s boyfriend. Boyfriend, meet Lenny and Collin. We’ve already had the pleasure of meeting,” he says with a bloody grin, and I wince, eyes darting toward Cedrick.
His eyes are still glowing, but he sticks his hand out for both of them to shake. “Sorry ‘bout the misunderstanding. Needed to see Madison.”
“So, you just barged in here?”
“Yes,” he deadpans, and I giggle. It’s really not funny, but I mean… c’mon…
“Well, let’s give them some space. They’ve got loads of shit to work out,” Kane says, and I wince, but Cedrick just nods his thanks as they all leave the room and close the door behind them.
Cedrick turns toward me and crosses his long arms over his chest. “I don’t like this room,” he says after a moment of blandly perusing it.
“I know.”
“You were in bed with him.”
“I know.”
“But it wasn’t…” he trails off, and I watch his throat bob with a swallow, and my heart constricts. I rush toward him, not thinking twice before wrapping my arms around him.
“No, of course not. He’s just a friend, and he was there for me last night when I needed him. It was just comfort. He helped a lot, actually. And helped me see a lot of clarity.”
Cedrick’s arms tighten around my waist as he speaks into my hair. “Clarity?” he asks.
“Yeah. About… everything.”
Cedrick breathes me in, and I let my eyes fall closed as I fall into him, allowing myself, for the first time, to reallyfeel.
“Care to shed some light on me?”
I swallow thickly, already feeling the inevitable tears building up. “I’ll tell you everything. But…”
“But what?” he asks, pulling away with a frown.
“But first, I think I need your help with something.”
“You sure youwanna do this, darlin’?” Cedrick asks as we round the driveway, and I nod.
“I need to. It’s a chapter I need to close. And… and you’ll stay, right?”
“Of course, I will.” He reaches across the console and squeezes my hand, and I immediately feel better.
“You know this could get pretty ugly, right?” I tell him, just to make sure he knows.
“I know, treat. It’s all right. I’ll be fine,” he reassures me for the tenth time in the last hour.
“Okay… just making sure.”
“Madison Thomas!” I hear my name screeched from the top of the stairs, and I wince.Well, that didn’t take long.
“Ready?” Cedrick asks, completely ignoring my mother ashe stares into my blue eyes. And while we haven’t talked fully yet—we have plenty of time for that—I have given him a lot about what happened that night at Mayhem and what I discussed with Kane. I had to tell him, so what we were doing here made sense.
And he’s been so good, so understanding. And I know I don’t deserve it. But I’m grateful to him, nonetheless.
