I check my cell again and shake my head as Ryan’s text comes through.
RYAN:If we wanted to make you swoon, we’d buy you dinner, trouble.
The smile on my face disappears in an instant, slipping from my face like melting wax, and a cold feeling creeps up my spine.
AJ notices first, tentatively asking, “Maddie?”
No card. No name. Just… gifts.
My eyes drop to the chocolates I used to love, eyeing the box while I try to remember the last time I ate them. The only memory that comes to me was a year and a half ago, when Toby was apologizing… for…
Toby.
Oh my fucking God.
“Hey,” Henley says softly, instantly picking up on the shift of my expression. “You okay? What’s going on?”
Swallowing hard, I shake my head and force a smile, lying automatically. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I just remembered I have to get to work a little earlier than I thought, but I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?”
They all agree, sounding mildly worried, but I end the call and tuck my cell into my pocket before retrieving my purse and camera bag. When I head back to a concerned-looking Tanner, my stomach now feeling so sick I might expel the toast I barely ate, I ask him, “Do you think you could help me carry all of this to my car?”
His expression sharpens, and he nods once. “Sure. Absolutely.”
I throw everything out into the dumpster behind Static less than an hour later. Every damned thing. The flowers, the poor innocent teddy, the chocolates and wine, hearing a harsh smash of the bottle the moment it hits the bottom of the dumpster.
I thought I’d feel a little better watching it all disappear, knowing deep in my heart that the sender was Toby. But I don’t. In fact, I spend my entire day looking over my shoulder constantly, spacing out during shoots, and staring mindlessly at my laptop instead of checking over emails I should be responding to. It’s as though my brain has checked out, replacedwith a renewed wave of worry that Toby is genuinely going insane.
By the time I’m actually done editing, the process lasting far longer than it should have, I realize the studio is almost completely empty, only a couple of stragglers loitering in the lounge and Freya seated behind her desk. Only a few lights remain on, the reception desk dimmed to a warm glow, casting shadows across the parking lot outside.
I wait for the stragglers to leave first, waving them on with a tired smile, and Freya walks out with me, waiting as I lock the doors. Together, we leave Static, and I wish her a good night before watching her walk to her car.
Once she’s tucked away inside, I head to my own car. My keys jingle softly between my fingers as I walk, my hand tucked in my pocket as I look around, finding nothing but quiet darkness. It’s almost too quiet, too dark, and the hairs suddenly rise on the back of my neck moments before I hear it.
“Maddie.”
The blood in my veins turns to ice, but I barely have time to turn before Toby grabs me suddenly, his hands gripping my wrist and upper arm with a strength that hurts. He slams me backward against my car so aggressively my head rattles against one of my windows. Pain bursts through my head, my vision distorting for a moment before everything comes back into violent clarity.
Toby stands close enough that I can smell the overpowering stench of his aftershave, hair spray, and fake tan. His dark eyes look crazed in what little light highlights the parking lot, but it’s the baggy hoodie and sweatpants that really throw me off. At least, until his hands tighten on me, and I wince when his nails bite into the skin of my arm.
“What the fuck?” I blurt, shoving against him immediately, that flare of panic turning into an explosion whenhe doesn’t move. Not even a little. In fact, it has the opposite effect, Toby stepping closer until I can feel the heat of his body against mine.
“You threw them away?” he snarls, eyes wild. “You threw my fucking gifts away?”
I recoil from the smell of alcohol that wafts over my face, swallowing against a gag, and I realize the situation is a lot worse than I originally thought. Because if there’s one thing I know about Toby Moore, it’s that he can’t handle his drink at all. I know only one other person who turns into an aggressive drunk, and that’s Toby’s father, so this isn’t looking so good for me.
My heart starts hammering violently, fear now building inside me. I have to take a steadying breath to control my voice before I say, “Toby, let go of me. Now.”
He’s obviously not listening, because he snaps, “After everything I did for you? You won’t even talk to me? What the hell is your fucking problem, Madison?”
“You’re insane,” I breathe without really thinking about it, fear loosening my tongue too much.
And boy, do I pay for it.
Toby’s face twists right before his hand catches my jaw roughly, slapping me so suddenly that I don’t have time to register what the hell just happened. It takes a second for the pain to explode across my mouth, my lip splitting against my teeth, and I can do nothing but blink in stunned horror.
“You think those guys even care about you?” he growls so close to my face I feel spittle land on my cheek. “You think they fucking know you like I do? They don’t, Madison. You’re wasting your time sharing your cunt between them. I never took you for the easy kind.”
Adrenaline slams through me hard enough that my body shakes, and an anger like nothing I’ve ever felt before roars up inside me like an unleashed beast. Fueled with energy, I kneehim suddenly, landing a shot to his tiny dick before he can utter another word.
