“I take care of people for a living, remember? Even the stubborn ones.”
“And here I thought you just yelled at interns and looked brooding in scrubs.”
“Also that.”
A real smile, small but genuine, touches her lips. Ihand her one of my T-shirts and lead her to the bedroom.
After she crawls under the duvet, I slide in beside her, and she immediately gravitates toward me, her head finding the hollow of my shoulder.
“Beckett?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
I pull the covers up and kiss the top of her head. “Get some sleep.”
Within minutes, her breathing levels out into the deep, rhythmic pull of sleep. She’s out.
I lie there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, feeling the steady beat of her heart against my side. Madison doesn’t lean on anyone, but tonight, she came to my door.
And I realize, with a clarity that should probably scare the hell out of me, that if there really is a storm coming, I’m not letting her face it alone.
Fifty
Madison
I’m in the middle of a high-stakes conference call, but when I see Dad flashing on the screen at 10:00 a.m., the air leaves my lungs. My father doesn’t call unless the world is ending.
“I have to go,” I interrupt. I don’t wait for a reply before I slide the bar to answer. “Dad?”
His voice is thin with a terror he can’t mask. “It’s your mother. She’s been up since yesterday. She’s moving the furniture, Madi. She says the walls are the wrong color for the new arrival. She won’t sit down.”
The ice water of adrenaline hits my veins as I grab my keys. “Is she safe? Dad, did she hurt herself?”
“She’s just… she’s frantic. Piper and Rowan are here, but she’s scaring them. Please, Madison. She only listens to you when she’s like this.”
“I’m coming. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Do not let her leave the house.”
∞∞∞
The house is ablaze with light when I pull into the driveway. Every window is glowing like a beacon of mania in the quiet neighborhood.
I burst through the front door, and the smell hits me first. It smelled clean when I checked in three days ago, but the bleach is so overpowering it stings my eyes. The living room is a disaster zone. The sofa has been pushed into the center of the room, and my mother is on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floorboards, which are already spotless.
Piper and Rowan are in the kitchen, looking like small, terrified children instead of grown women. Piper is shaking, her face ghostly pale, and Rowan has her arm around her.
“Madi,” Piper whispers, her voice breaking.
“I’ve got it,” I say, though my heart is frantic against my ribs.
I walk toward my mother. “Mom, stop. Look at me.”
She doesn’t stop. Her movements are jerky. “The nursery, Madison. We didn’t prepare the nursery. The baby is coming, and the floors are filthy. Arthur won’t help. He just stands there, but it has to be perfect. Everything has to be perfect.”
“Mom, there is no baby. Piper’s wedding is soon,remember? There is no baby.” I reach down, grabbing her shoulders to pull her up.
She snaps and lunges for me, her fingers digging into my forearms with surprising strength. Her eyes are dilated, darting around the room as if she’s seeing a version of reality I can’t access.
