“I’m scared, though,” she mutters, placing the breakfast platter on the floor. “She and Abel were a force. They were what love should look like, you know? That young teen love. The kind you find when you’re not like us and choose psychopaths.”
I chuckle.
Tillie chokes on her grape, banging on her chest.
Madison sighs. “But they were very co-dependent. Bishop is going to pull him in when we get back tonight. Do all of the things he should have done instead of chasing after me.”
“What happened when he came to get you?” I ask, tilting my head.
Madison winces. “It wasn’t pretty. It was the foundation being laid of a ruined castle, but we’re here. We still have a long way to go, but that’s who we are as people, as a couple. I think that’s something I need to come to terms with.” I lean back in the bed and draw my legs up to my chest. It has been almost two hours since I woke up and Brantley still hasn’t made an appearance. I’m thankful that the girls don’t ask about why he isn’t in here. I know he needs space, but how much does he need?
“All right! I have a meeting with The Lost Boys before we leave.” Tillie rolls off the bed and moves toward my door. “Honestly, I just want to be home again so we can send off our friends.”
I smile up at her. “Me too.”
Brantley
The first time I figured out that my parents weren’t like other parents, I was probably around five years old. I don’t remember much from that age, but their toxicity was something that poisoned my view on things like marriage and starting a family. I knew from a young age that I didn’t want any of that. Then I grew to be who I am and knew without a shadow of a doubt that I did not want to carry on the Vitiosis last name. It was to end with me.
Now I’m met with the reality of not getting something I firmly wanted.
“Hey.” Madison sits on the empty chair beside mine. I’m glad we got the fuck off that island ASAP. I’m desperate to put Cash and Bailey to rest, and we have the issue of pulling Abel out of a dark fucking tailspin. Since leaving Saint in bed this morning, I’ve made it a point not to have anyone approach me right now. I can’t. I know I should talk with Saint about why I’m feeling so apprehensive about things, but will she really understand? Has she ever really understood me? No. Because I’ve made damn sure that darkness didn’t touch her. That’s on me, not her.
“Mad, I don’t want to talk right now.” I clench my jaw and sip on the whiskey as the jet jolts when we hit turbulence. “Well, I don’t fucking care.”
Her words shock me, but I’m impressed. Madison and I didn’t have a surface friendship. Ours went deeper than that, but it wasn’t by choice, it was by the unfortunate events we went through together as children.
“Man, if I knew swearing at you would be all I needed to do to get a smile out of you all those years ago, I would have had a field day.” She crosses her legs at her ankles.
I glare at her. “Would you have?”
She sighs. “No. No, I wouldn’t have.”
I chuckle, my lip curling.
“You’re going to be a great father, Brantley.”
I shift in my chair, turning to face her. “How do you know that, Madison? Did you find a time machine while you were in New Zealand that could show me my future?”
She fake laughs, her eyes dead. “So funny. No, I know this because you know exactly how not to be a parent. They make some of the best, you know. The ones who didn’t come from a good home.”
“Well, I don’t have a choice now, do I?” I snap, resting my head back on the headrest.
“Well, you do, technically speaking. Saint could have an abortion.”
My fists clench on top of my knees. “The only thing that would anger me more than having a kid is killing it.” I run my fingers through my hair, covering my mouth. I bring my eyes up to hers.
Madison leans forward. “Brantley. We are all in this together forever. You having a child is probably a good thing because it’s in the window for this generation.”
I divert my eyes to Saint, where she’s sleeping with her head resting on Bishop’s shoulder. She has an earbud in one ear and him with the other. “Why the fuck are they like this?”
Madison turns over her shoulder to follow my sight. Her shoulders relax and her mouth breaks into a smile. “She brings out a side to him that I’ve not seen.” She turns back to face me. “Has that happened before?”