Her brows lift slightly. “Jealous?”
“Well, yeah,” I say with a half shrug. “I want that too, you know? A home with someone I’m utterly obsessed with, someone I want to spend every waking second with because it hurts if I don’t.”
Madison’s expression softens, the excitement dimming from her eyes. She reaches over, resting her hand on my arm. “You’ll find that person. She’s out there and waiting for you. One day, you’ll have it all,” she says.
What she doesn’t realize yet is that sheisthat person. She’s the one I’m waiting on. To give my everything to. So we can have it all. I can feel the pull between us. I just have to be her friend for a little longer.
16
LOVE IS SCARY
MADISON
“What are you doing there, sweetie?”
“Hmm?” I blink, finding Mom shuffling in, wearing her soft pink pyjamas, hair pushed back with a headband.
She leans down, pressing a kiss to my forehead before settling in next to me on the couch and plucking the remote out of my hand.
“I’m overthinking everything, Mom.” I sigh, tucking my legs beneath me.
It’s been two weeks since Hunter showed me his mom’s letters, and he still hasn’t given Halle hers. He hasn’t asked me to be there when he opens the next one either. It feels like we haven’t spent much time together at all. I still get hisHi friendtext every morning. We still see each other at work, sure, but it’s in passing. Quick smiles, quick jokes with the guys, and quick goodbyes. I can’t tell if he’s holding back because I saidfriendsone too many times and he’s respecting that, or if life is just busy. He’s throwing himself back into Whiskey Cove, helping Sarah and Remi get settled into a new town, new routines, with new people, and I’mhere working, helping Halle where I can with Studio Joy, and volunteering at the hospital more. Everything between us right now feels surface level, like we’re too scared to go deeper.
“Well, that explains the trashy TV and why you’re curled on my couch at one in the afternoon while I was sleeping.”
She shuffles over, grabbing the blanket draped across the back of the couch. Without a word, she spreads it over us and gently pulls me into her side until my head rests in her lap. The room falls quiet, the TV muted, as she strokes my hair, waiting for me to speak. Her touch is slow, patient, soothing the knots in my chest. This is one of the things I love the most about her. The unwavering support. The way her presence alone settles the noise in my head. No matter what happens in my life, I can always come back home. She’s my calm. My logic. My haven. She doesn’t judge me, and she always listens. My heart pinches as my thoughts drift to Halle and Hunter. What they never got, what they’ll never get. Moments like this. A mother’s protection, understanding, and love. They’ve missed out on so much without their mom.
“Talk to me, sweetie.”
I let out a long breath. “I… I miss him, Mom.”
Her hand pauses for a second before continuing its slow, comforting sweep through my hair. “Hunter?”
I nod, pulling the blanket to my chin. “I thought I needed space. I thought I needed to find myself without him.” My voice wobbles.
Mom doesn’t say anything; she gives me the time I need to find the right words.
“I’m starting to realize I feel the most myself when I’m with him,” I say, my voice gaining strength the more I speak. “He makes me feel safe, like I can be me… all of me, you know?”
“You two have always been drawn to each other,” she says quietly.
“He doesn’t judge me. He sees me,” I add.
I stare at the muted TV, blinking back the sting behind my eyes. “I’ve forgiven him… for leaving. He told me his reasons, and I get it. Everything he’s faced, he was just trying to protect me in the process. In his own stupid way.”
“But?” she prompts, tracing her thumb along my temple.
“What if I’m not ready to let him all in?” My chest tightens. “What if I leap and he doesn’t catch me. What if he disappears again and decides to never look back?”
She exhales softly. “Sweetie, you two have been playing hot and cold for years, and when you came to me and finally said you’d had enough and told him no more, I asked you what he said back… Remind me again what that was?”
I close my eyes, replaying that night. The gravel in his voice. The way he looked at me, like I was the only certain thing in his whole messy world. “He said… ‘One day, I’ll give you all of it. One day, I’m going to beg for you to give me the chance to show the world you’re mine.’”
“Do you think maybe that one day is now?” she asks gently. “Maybe this is him asking for that chance to prove it to you.”
“Maybe, but I’m scared.” My fingers curl in the blanket.
Her hand squeezes my shoulder. “My beautiful, independent girl… Love is scary. It’s consuming. It’s everything we hope for. If you’re scared, it means you’re afraid to lose them.”
