Her gaze landed on the huge Christmas tree we’d gone out and chosen together. She glanced down at the gifts under the tree that were slowly accumulating. It was only mid-October, but I was Christmas ready. I was a holiday person and wasn’t ashamed of it.
“Maddox didn’t like all the Christmas stuff,” I confessed. “Because he doesn’t really care for the holiday since you and Brad were never big on Christmas. But since this is my favorite time of the year, I know I went a bit overboard, but he lets me do whatever I want. He’s starting to like the Christmassy stuff. He says he finally has a home.”
Okay, maybe I was taking a dig at her. I was pissed with the way his parents treated him. True, maybe I was trying to make Savannah feel shitty about being a shitty mother.
She swallowed and ducked behind her hair. I saw a flash of shame in her eyes, before she looked down at her knees. “I’m glad. You make him happy.”
My heart swelled in my chest. “I do,” I agreed.
She cleared her throat, and I watched as she pulled out an envelope from her purse. It looked like an invitation. “Brad’s birthday is in two days. He thought it’d be the perfect time to throw an early winter gala. We’re also holding a charity event.”
Oh. I took the envelope from her. “Maddox didn’t tell me.”
He barely spoke about his parents. In fact, he never mentioned them anymore. “That’s because he refused to attend the gala. I called him a few days and…”
His mother broke off, sounding dejected. If she called him… that meant Maddox ignored her calls and never got back to her. There was an enormous divide between Maddox and his parents, so much pain and hatred. They had failed him, over and over again. And Maddox? He was stubborn, and he hid his real feelings behind a carefully put together mask. There was a wedge, so deep between them, that I didn’t know if they’d ever be able to cross it.
“Brad wants him there,” Savannah said quietly. “It’s his 50th birthday, and he wants his family present. And that also includes you.”
“Does he?”
She blinked, looking shocked at my blatant response. “Excuse me?”
“Does he really want Maddox there?” I questioned, feeling the anger rise inside my chest, coursing through my veins. “Or does he only want us to show up, so we look like the picture-perfect family… since Brad is running for Senator.”
I resented them for hurting Maddox the way they did… and if I had to keep him away from them, so they’d never hurt him again, I would.
Her eyes widened, and she was already shaking her head. “No, no. That’s not true. Yes, Brad is running for Senator, but he truly does want you and Maddox to attend the gala. For his birthday. Nothing more.”
Savannah actually looked sincere… and my lungs clenched. She was giving me a pleading look. I didn’t understand it or her motives.
“Why didn’t he ask Maddox himself?” My voice was barely restrained.
She gave me a pained smile, looking so different from the Savannah Coulter I knew. “You know him better than us. Do you think he’d let his father get even a word out?”
No, she was right. Maddox barely spoke with his father, and whenever they did, they were fighting about something. I didn’t think Maddox and Brad ever had a real conversation.
Savannah reached forward and clasped my hand, squeezing. Her eyes silently pleaded with me. “Please. Maddox needs to be there. It’s very important for Brad. And me. Please bring him to the gala. It might be our last…”
What?
My back straightened. “Sorry?”
Her throat bobbed, as she swallowed hard. “I mean, Maddox never attends any dinners or parties that we invite him to. Maybe you can convince him to come to this one. Please.”
I mulled her words over, chewing on my lip. She was asking me to do a hard task, and I worried I was about to cross over an invisible boundary between Maddox and I. “Maddox is stubborn. What makes you think I can convince him?”
Her eyebrows quirked up; a small smile painted on her pale face. “Because you’re Lila.”
Because you’re Lila.
Because I was Maddox’s Lila, she meant.
With my heart in my throat and sweaty palms, I waited for Maddox to come home. Things were good enough between us, after the time in the library. But I knew something was still wrong with the way his eyes would cloud over. Some days, he was quieter than usual.
But it wasn’t the peaceful quiet, the type that soothed you.
It was the type of silence that waged war inside him. I could tell he was battling something fiercely, and he wasn’t letting me stand next to him, to fight with him.
I told myself that maybe he really was worried about his exams.
But then I realized… Maddox was distracted. He was drinking more, smoking more cigarettes than usual. That was my first clue that something was terribly wrong. Most days, he walked around like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I couldn’t wrap my finger around it, but I didn’t push. I waited for him to come to me, waited for him to confess his secrets – whatever they were.
The new Maddox worried and scared me.
I inhaled a ragged breath, as the door opened and Maddox walked in, looking like a beautiful, avenging god.
Smoothing a hand down my olive tulle gown, I got to my feet and waited for him to notice me.
He did, slack-mouthed. His eyes widened and then they turned into dark slits. “Where are you going?” he questioned, carefully, pointing at my dress.
Savannah sent the gown this morning when I told her I wouldn’t be able to get one of my own in such short notice. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and gave him a tight smile. “Your mom invited us to the gala.”
He knew… and he didn’t need me to elaborate. Maddox threw his backpack on the couch and angrily pulled off his jacket. “You’re not going.” His voice brooked no argument.
My throat bobbed with a hard swallow, even though I had been expecting this response. “Why? Your mom personally came over to invite us yesterday, and she was sweet about it,” I said, trying to pacify him.
His head snapped up, and he glared. God, that look was threatening. “You didn’t tell me she came.”
“I didn’t have a chance. You were so busy, and we barely saw each other,” I argued. With both our exams clashing together on the same days, we barely even saw each other in the last twenty-four hours.
I grasped his arm. “Maddox, please. Just this once. We have to go. In the last four years, your mom never–”
He cut me off with a low snarl. “I don’t care what she said. You. Are. Not. Going.”
You… Me? Wait, what?
My brows pulled together in a frown. “I don’t understand.”
“We’re not going to the gala, Lila. Take off that damn dress.”
I stood my ground. “I want to go.”
His left eye was twitching, as he scowled. I had seen him give others this look, but it was never directed at me, until now. “Why?”
“Because your father wants you there and because your mother actually looked sincere when she asked me.” My fingers curled around his bicep, and I squeezed. “I know they’ve hurt you, but just this once… maybe…”