“That’s him, Officer,” the woman cried, pointing at me.
Lila was shaking her head, holding onto me tighter. I had Landon’s blood on my hands; I broke into his house… there was no getting out of this. And I wasn’t the least bit sorry for turning Landon into my punching bag.
“Colton will take you home, Lila,” I rasped in her ear.
She gave me a stubborn shake of her head. “I’m coming with you.”
“No,” I deadpanned, with my hand gripping her chin. I made her look at me. “Colton will walk you home, and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“But–”
“No, Lila.”
Her face hardened. “You don’t tell me what to do.”
“I am, right now. Do as you’re told.” She glared. Lila was stubborn, and I knew she’d sit with me in jail if I didn’t get her home. There was no goddamn way I was letting her spend the night in a cell, even if it was with me. “Please.”
I placed her back on her feet, and her chin wobbled. She turned to face the cops. “It’s only a misunderstanding, officers. It’s my fault.”
“Misunderstanding or not, you’re under arrest.” One of the officers was staring directly at me. I nodded, compliant. There was no point arguing with them.
Colton had to drag Lila away from me as I was handcuffed, my hands behind my back.
“Please,” Lila pleaded. “Can I just… hug him?”
The officer who handcuffed me beckoned her over. She slid closer to me, pressed her nose against my throat. “I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Lila sniffled, and my heart twisted. My lips brushed against her forehead, and she hugged me tighter. “I’m sorry.”
“I got you,” I said again.
Her teary eyes were the last thing I saw as they pulled me away from her. Lila brought her hand up and she touched her dreamcatcher necklace at her throat, as though it soothed her.
It gutted me, because she was crying for me.
30
Lila
I couldn’t sleep, there was no way I could when Maddox was in jail, and here I was, in my nice and cozy bed.
He was locked away in a cell because of me. My gut twisted with guilt, and I stared at the ceiling through the darkness. Colton had to drag me home with Riley right on our heels.
After convincing me to get in bed while he handled the matter, Colton left.
Why didn’t he stop Maddox from getting into a fight?
Why wasn’t I fast enough to stop him?
Why… why… why?
I always knew that as much as Maddox was laid-back and easy-going most of the time, he was also short-tempered and easily triggered.
The guilt became harder to bear because if I only had put on my big girl pants and didn’t cause a scene, Maddox wouldn’t have run off to beat the shit out of Landon.
But I had been hurt and embarrassed.
Not that I cared much about Landon. I wasn’t heartbroken, but I felt… used.
Used and discarded after he had his fun with me.
If Landon didn’t want to be with me, he could have easily walked away. I wasn’t clingy; I had no expectations. But he cheated on me, after I let him inside my body.
That hurt me.
And I had been furious.
I wasn’t ‘crying’ because he broke my heart. They were angry tears, at him… and myself, because I trusted the wrong guy.
I felt foolish, but I didn’t think Maddox would react the way he did. Everything happened so fast, and before I could have grabbed him, he was already out of the door.
Then I walked in on him beating the shit out of Landon, not that I cared if my ex was hurt or not. But Maddox was wounded too and that guilt became much harder to bear.
When the cops came, it took everything in me not to beg them to take me with them. Goddamn it, I’d sit in a dirty cell with Maddox if it meant he wasn’t alone behind those bars and I was with him.
Landon was pressing charges. His precious girlfriend attacked me after the cops left and her sharp nails have left a nasty mark on my arm. I returned the favor by punching her boobs before Colton pulled me off her and dragged me out of the apartment as I cursed them through their next lives.
My door creaked open, snapping me out of my thoughts, and I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a relieved sigh, and I peered at the door from behind my comforter.
“She’s asleep,” Riley said softly to the person behind her. Probably Colton.
I was right, because a second later, his hushed voice came through. “Good. It’s been a long night for all of us.”
The door closed, and I sank back into my soft mattress. My body was still tense, and I couldn’t find a comfortable position.
It was a long time before I fell into a restless sleep.
Hours later, I jolted away when my bed dipped under a heavy weight. Someone settled behind me and a strong arm slid around my hips, pulling me back into his body. Hard and familiar… warm and solid… strong and safe.
Maddox.
He curled his body around mine, and my ass was nestled indecently against his groin. He didn’t shift away like I expected him to. He kept me there, my back against his front, so close not even a string could fit between us. We’d laid in bed many times, but this was… different.
More intimate, less ‘friendly,’ and there was an unspoken tension between us. I licked my lips and cleared my dry throat, feeling the way my stomach dipped and fluttered as he touched me.
Maddox pushed his other arm under my neck and tucked the back of my head against his shoulder. I released the breath I was holding and inhaled his familiar scent, also catching a whiff of alcohol. Did he drink before coming home?
“Landon dropped the charges?” I asked in the dark.
I felt him shake his head. His arm tightened around mine, as if making sure I couldn’t escape or maybe he was scared I would.
Little did he know…
“Then?” I pushed for more.
“My father handled it,” he confessed, his voice a raspy croak.
Ah, so his father bailed him out. Shit. He found out. Bad. Bad. Bad. Colton and I thought to keep this incident lowkey and hoped Brad Coulter wouldn’t find out his son was in jail.
I guess Maddox’s father had eyes and ears everywhere.
“Was he pissed?”
“He didn't message me, didn’t call me either. Didn’t even talk to me. He handled everything behind my back and without talking to me. I only knew he did it after I was released, and Colton came to pick me up.”
Oh. So, his father hadn’t even bothered to speak to him, to ask what happened, why it happened or how his son was even doing.
I snuggled deeper into his embrace and slid my hand into his, the one on my hip. I squeezed his fingers. “I'm sorry.”
He expelled a long breath. “I’m not. He deserved every punch I threw at him. I think I broke his nose. Nobody makes my Lila cry. No one. I won’t fucking allow it.” He slurred his words a bit. Yeah, he was definitely a little drunk.
My eyes filled with tears. I didn’t peg myself to be an emotional person, but Maddox made me feel so many things at once.
Sorrow… fear… anguish… hopelessness…
My heart thudded in my chest