“No they won’t.” Ashleigh’s voice was strong. “Because there’s nothing funny about it, Maddie. What he did wasn’t just immoral, it was illegal. He recorded you and uploaded it without your consent. None of this is your fault. Not one single bit. People are worried about you. That’s all.”
“Jessica looked pretty smug about it.”
“Yeah, well she’s a bitch. And if I hear her saying anything I’ll pop her one.”
Maddie sniffed. “I don’t think I can do this again. I’m not strong enough.”
“Yes you are. And there’s a guy back at my car wanting to see how strong you are. I had to practically restrain him from coming with me.”
“Gray’s here?” Maddie frowned.
“I couldn’t keep him away.” Ashleigh rolled her eyes. “And I tried, believe me. I think that guy might really like you.”
Yeah, well the feeling was mutual. Maddie liked him too much. The fear of getting hurt – again – pulled at her, making her want to curl in a ball like an armadillo, leaving only her hard armor for the world to see.
Life was easier if you didn’t expose yourself to hurt. So much smoother when you let yourself be hard to the world. For one reckless moment, she’d exposed her tender flesh to it, and the knives had stabbed in.
She was an idiot. Because she knew this would happen.
“I want to go home now,” she whispered.
Ashleigh took her hand. “Okay.”
“And I want to eat my own body weight in ice cream.”
“We can do that.” Ashleigh nodded.
“And once that’s gone, I want to open a bottle of whiskey and drink until everything disappears.”
“From what I know of you, that’ll only take two shots.” Ashleigh stood and pulled Maddie with her. “Come on, let’s take you home.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ashleigh turned her car onto Mulberry Drive, slamming her foot on the brake and forcing Maddie and Gray to lurch forward. In the passenger seat, Gray automatically braced his hands against the dash, and winced as the pain shot up his injured arm. He was in the middle of typing a message to Becca, asking her to pick up Maddie’s car. He’d offered to drive her home, but Ashleigh had argued they’d all be safer in her car. In the end, Gray couldn’t be bothered to fight.
“Goddamn.”
“Do you see them?” Ashleigh asked, staring straight out of the windshield.
Maddie leaned forward from the backseat. “Who are they all?”
“The press.” Gray let his head fall against the seat. “They’re fast. Must be local. Nobody could get here from New York or L.A. this quickly.”
“Mom’s in there,” Maddie said. Gray turned to look at her, taking in her worried expression. “We need to go help her.”
“I’ll call her.” Ashleigh leaned over to pull her phone from her purse, opening it up with a swipe of her finger. “Mom?” she said as soon as the call connected. “You okay?”
“I assume you’re referring to the circus outside the house. They’ve tried knocking a few times but I ignored them. “ Her voice echoed over the loud speaker. “Is Maddie with you?”
“I’m here and I’m fine,” Maddie lied. There was no way she wanted to cause her mom any more worries.
“Reverend Maitland called. Told me not to go online or watch any videos. I told him I have no idea how to surf the world wide web. Anyway, he’s coming over and bringing a few friends with him. Said he’d talk to the press for us.”
Maddie’s eyes met Gray’s. They were still watery. But for the first time since she’d come back to the car with Ashleigh, he could see something other than sadness there. Maybe humor. And a little bit of anger. He liked the change more than he could say.
“Ma’am, I’m going to take Maddie somewhere safe,” Gray told her.
“Well don’t take her to your house. Gina called to say there are folks banging on the door there, too.”