“Baby,” my own voice feels strained.
What’s happening?
What’s bothering her?
Is it the age difference?
Or… fucking hell… are they abusive?
“I don’t know why I’m being like this.” She turns her face enough for me to hear her.
“You don’t have to tell me,” I tell her, even though I don’t mean it.
My mind is racing with the worst possible scenarios. If something’s wrong, I need to know. Because I need to help.
“My parents-” she takes another deep breath, “they passed away a long time ago.”
The hand rubbing her back stills.
No.
Pain fills my chest and I close my eyes against the discomfort.
Except instead of blocking out the horror or her statement, my vision is filled with photos of a happy Maddie and her smiling parents.
I thought I’d imagined the worst scenarios, but I was wrong. I hadn’t even considered…
A small sniffle snaps me out of my frozen state and I release my hold on Maddie just long enough to change my grip, lifting her into my arms.
She lets out a small noise of surprise, but her arms automatically loop around my neck, her legs circling my hips.
I move us through the living room and drop onto the couch with Maddie in my lap.
“I’m so sorry,” one hand slides up her spine, cupping the back of her head. The other stays locked around her body, keeping her firmly against me.
“I’m okay. Really.” Maddie does that cute nuzzling thing she does, brushing her nose against the side of my neck. “I don’t know why I got so upset just now.”
My fingers rub against her scalp, “It’s a big deal. The biggest.”
She sighs, “I know. But it happened so long ago. I really am okay, I promise.”
“Want to talk about it?” I ask, not sure if that’s the right thing to say or not.
Her body relaxes against mine and we lean into each other, her legs still around my waist, her feet on the couch behind me.
“It was a car accident, when I was 18.”
“Eighteen?” I croak.
Her lips graze against my skin in a movement that comforts us both. “Yeah.”
“Were you…” I can’t finish the question.
I feel her shake her head. “I wasn’t with them.”
“Good,” I whisper, more to myself than her.
Maddie’s in my arms – safe, alive – but I still needed to hear it. And thinking about her being there.