I can’t respond. Can’t even muster a smile at her amusing words, even if I do find them funny, because I’m busy staring at the bruises that now wrap faintly around her wrist. It’s one of several injuries she gained last night. I don’t even want to talk about the bruises on the back of her arm that are shaped the same as a person’s nails.
“I’m fine, Bax,” she assures gently.
“You got assaulted,” I remind her, finally looking up into those icy-blue eyes that always seem to melt when she looks at me or the others. It’s the only thing that calms me, and I raise an eyebrow at her.
She only shrugs. “And he got arrested not even an hour later.”
“That doesn’t make things all better, Sunshine,” I tell her, and her expression softens slightly at that, which somehow makes things feel worse. Because she’s acting normal, too normal. She’s editing photos in one of my shirts she slept in,cracking jokes like always, stealing food off my plate anytime she passes. I’m pretty sure she’s doing that one on purpose, finding ways to walk by and steal a fry or two as a form of Maddie Tax. She’s existing like her day didn’t end with blood on her mouth and me one bad decision away from catching a fucking felony. It was close, for sure, but I somehow got through the night without ending up behind bars and joining that fucker who hurt her.
Meanwhile, every single protective instinct I have has been vibrating like a live wire. I’ve been on edge all damned day, thankful that it’s the weekend so I can actually watch over Maddie without worrying about her at work.
By noon, things somehow get worse. I didn’t think it was possible, but Maddie always likes to remind us the universe has a funny way of humbling a person. I’ve heard countless times how convinced she is that the universe is out to get her, and I understand exactly what she means when Caid scrambles up from his lounging position on the couch across from me and says, “Uh, guys? You might want to take a look at this.”
Maddie looks over her laptop at Caid, eyes questioning, and he stands and takes his cell phone to her. I watch her expression closely, watching every change with intense focus. When only shock stays plastered over her beautiful face, I stand and walk over to her, looking down at Caid’s phone.
And then I freeze when my eyes take in the photos.
Photos of us.
Me and Maddie leaving the apartment last week. Ryan kissing her forehead outside Static. Rayne holding her hand while crossing the street outside Blackline. Caiden carrying her over his shoulder like a damned caveman outside his gym.
Of course, the internet is doing what it does best.
Shitting itself and losing its goddamned mind.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but seeing Maddie splashed across several headlines and popular tabloids throws me for aloop. I often forget she’s the daughter of two famous actors and owns a heavy dose of fame from her own career, so seeing our photos plastered over the internet is a brainfuck of a magnitude that somehow calms me down from a Toby-induced fury.
“Wait, what?” Maddie blurts, reaching for Caid’s phone and scrolling through several articles. “Oh my God, someone has been busy. Who the hell has been following me close enough to gather so many photos? I mean, at least we look cute, right?”
She shakes her head, right before her eyes widen. And then she bursts out laughing, and I worry, not for the first time, whether or not my woman has finally lost her mind. Because it’s not just a normal chuckle, but a full-body laugh that has me blinking down at her in shock.
“Sunshine?” I cautiously question, eyeing her and then the phone before my eyes go back to her again.
“Sorry,” she wheezes, wiping a finger beneath her eye. “I’m just reading the comments. Someone wrote, ‘She’s collected dudes like the Infinity Stones.’ That shit is funny.”
Caiden’s lips twitch, and I have to close my eyes at the sudden swell of amusement that breaks through every other emotion I’ve been feeling since last night.
“‘Biblically impressive behavior,’ another has said, and honestly? I’m pressing the like button on that one,” she reads, actually pressing the thumbs-up and nodding like she’s done her civil duty for the day. And then she reads on. “This one is gold. ‘Girly is collecting men like she’s building an army of Pokémon. I respect it, but damn, leave some for the rest of us.’ Whoever that commenter is, I hope her pillows remain cold on both sides and may her Coke never lose its fizz.”
The three of us are quiet for a moment while we continue reading, Maddie chuckling every now and then as we go through comments. Some are hilarious, some are downright vicious, and some are simply trolls vying for attention. But we read throughthem all, finding more amusement in them than I would have imagined.
feralforfeet:Imagine needing four men to tolerate your personality lmao
garlicbread:four guys? in THIS economy? Can’t tell if she’s brave, stupid, or both
inmyrottingera:I’m out here choosing the bear while she’s getting railed by four dudes. gross.
yournanswheelchair:one of those dudes absolutely barks during sex, can’t tell me otherwise.
duckwithwifi:Absolutely diabolical. Where can I sign up?
anxiousspoon:Can’t imagine signing up to have my peace ruined by four separate men. One is bad enough wtf
toasterbath:I’m not saying her vagina is a revolving door, but I know those flaps have parted more times than she can probably count.
deadinsidelol:Are these live, laugh, love conditions?
sneakingsockstosurvive:Bro, how do they even argue? Is there like a queue or something? Take a ticket? Damn.
