“What’s up, Coop. Where’s Hendrix?” I ask him, already knowing Hendrix isn’t beside me. The reason I know that is because the woman slept in the cradle of my arms, head on my shoulder, getting as close as she possibly could well throughout the night when I wasn’t buried deep inside her. I push the comforter back, hand going to my hair to run my fingers through it, and reach for my boxer briefs to slide them on before searching for Hendrix. That’s also when I see the bite marks she’s left along my chest. Fucking woman is a hellcat, wild as all get out. When her cunt clamped down on my cock, that’s when her teeth sank in. Coop doesn’t respond, just whines in a way that tells me he needs to go outside, and fast. I stand up, pull my boxer briefs on, keeping my eyes peeled for Hendrix as well as for any noise she could be making. Not that this place is so big it’d be hard to find her.
I glance at the nightstand on the side I slept on, then to hers. No note. We walk out the bedroom door. “Hendrix!” I call out. Zero response, just as I figured. It shouldn’t shock me that Hendrix would come, cut, and run. The woman is a pain in my ass. Why I chase after her, I’ve got zero fucking clue. What I do know is that enough is enough.
“Come on, Coop, let’s get you outside first. We’ll call or text Hendrix, then I’ll get dressed and head home,” I tell Coop as I open up the sliding glass door that leads to the small backyard Hendrix has, standing while he takes care of business, not that it takes him too long. This reminds me that I need to get home and take care of Coop in the breakfast department. I almost didn’t bring him to Hendrix’s seeing as I have a neighbor who will let him out when I text him. My boy has done a complete one-eighty-degree turn around since he’s gotten fixed, and we’ve been working on the reward system. So much so that he’s not running off. I’d say that he’s finally settling in. When Coop is finally done, we walk back inside. I close and lock the door, then head back into Hendrix’s room after taking another sweep across the apartment, coming up empty. I know she’s gone. That still doesn’t stop me from moving towards the pile of my clothes, picking up my jeans, and fishing my phone out of the pocket. I let the facial recognition open up my phone. There’s a slew of work calls and emails I’ve missed. Those can wait. It’s the fact that not one single thing in the form of communication is from Hendrix. I bring up my contact list, scroll to her name, hit it, and then bring the phone to my ear, listening to it ring once, twice, a third time before being sent to voicemail. I don’t hang up. Instead, I wait to hear Hendrix’s voice, “You’ve reached Hendrix Drake. You know what to do.” I hang up, not wanting to leave her a message.
I do one last thing, texting her.
Me: Hendrix, where are you?
If the woman is crazy enough to leave me in her home without a backwards glance, I guess she’s capable of turning any and every thing off. Message received. I throw my phone to the bed and grab the rest of my clothes. Dressing in yesterday’s clothing isn’t my favorite thing to do, but sometimes it’s what’s necessary. I guess I’m the fool who thought something would come out of this. Clearly, I was wrong. It’s time to refocus on the not so crazy aspects of my life, which right now aren’t easily attainable. I know the minute I leave Hendrix’s place, I’ll be back to helping my family, working, and taking care of anything and everything I can. It doesn’t take me long to get dressed, but during that time, my phone doesn’t chime either, and that says plenty enough to me
“Let’s go boy,” I tell my chocolate lab. He’s sitting in front of me, big eyes wondering what the hell is going on, and has me doing much the same. I take another glance around as we walk through the small place. “I hear you boy. I’m done, fucking done with the psychosis that is Hendrix Drake. If this is the games she likes to play, she can play them alone,” I tell Coop. At least he'll listen to me even if he doesn’t respond.
TWENTY-FOUR
Hendrix
I endedup leaving Journey’s house shortly after breakfast. I stole an outfit that would be better than the sweats and oversized shirt I slipped on before leaving like a thief in the night. Only it was broad daylight. No walk of shame was happening, since I was running away from my own damn house. The best thing was that Journey didn’t say a word, and neither did Nico. Sure, there were instances where I could tell they both had something to say, certain looks that were telling me what they were feeling, but thankfully, they kept quiet, giving me time to wrap my head around everything that is Madden Hughes. Which is not an easy task. The man is pretty freaking perfect from what I know of him. Admittedly, that’s not a lot. Besides the fact that he rescued a dog and said dog was a horndog, he kind of sucks at dog ownership but not, since he was looking out for Coop much the same as I was for Jolene. The man can kiss, and he didn’t shy away from the way I practically attacked him. Instead, it only made him hungrier to consume me. And then there’s the tenacity. If there’s one thing about Madden Hughes that stays consistent, it’s that he never gives up.
We’re out in the open air, the beauty of nature surrounding Jolene and me. Mother Nature is once again showing off in all its glory. I even did something totally unlike me—I left my phone behind in the car. It’s a major no-no when you’re out here by yourself, away from a lot of people, and I could have potentially put myself in danger. Some days, though, you need the silence. The calm and tranquility today seemed more than necessary with my head rattling around with life. I know what I was after when I stole away to the trails, and when silence also comes from friends who are more like your family, that’s when it’s time for a reflection of sorts. And while I should be absolutely appalled with my behavior, sadly, I’m not. If my mother only knew the half of it, she’d no doubt give me the one word that rips my world to shreds. The “D” word, code fordisappointed, a word that can cripple me to tears in a matter of seconds. Another reason why I haven’t been going to their house recently like I’d usually make a point to do? My mom is one of my best friends, and not telling her what was going on lately is not something I could do face-to-face. So, I’ve made sure to keep calling her like I usually would without causing an alarm while also using Jolene as an excuse as to why we haven’t been over like we normally are. I guess that’s going to have to end because Jolene is getting back to normal and can do light trail walking, which sucks because we’re both used to longer walks, but it’s only for the time being.
“Alright, Jolene, it’s time to face reality. I’ve taken enough time off work, hidden from the world, and now it’s time to put a few things to rest,” I tell her after our thirty-minute hike. It’s not our usual length, but I also wasn’t prepared either, kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. Okay, fine, I’ll admit to myself what I clearly am not communicating out loud. That song, the one where it goes, “She’s a runner, she’s a track star,”that is most definitely me in this scenario.
We’ve just made it back to the car. I’m pulling my keys out of my pocket, knowing I’ve decided two things. One: I have to let things go with Madden. Sure, the man can dole out orgasms like no other, but I’m not ready to get into a relationship. I love my freedom, not having to answer to anyone, to come and go as I please. That’s why I declined Madden’s call this morning, going so far as to put his alerts on silent so I wouldn’t receive notifications. The second decision, well, it’s time I do some soul-searching of my own to figure out where I want my life to go. To stay in the past, allowing it to dictate my future, or to let shit go and see what happens in my future. Those thoughts are firmly in place when I unlock the door, open it for Jolene to hop into the back seat, close her door, and do the same to the driver’s side. I start the car and pick up my phone to see what’s been going on and what I need to deal with.
There’s no phone call, only a notification in my iMessage settings alerting me to a text. I open it. It was Madden asking where I was hours ago. I go back to my call log and see he texted right after I sent him to voicemail and silenced his alerts. I think of something to say now that it’s hours later, realizing I should have put a stop to whatever the hell this was way earlier than right now.
Me: About last night. It was fun, and while it was fun, that’s all it can be.
I put my phone down and turn the air conditioning on full blast, click my seat belt into place and, being the idiot that I clearly am, I glance down at my phone that I left the display open to. The bubbles appear that let you know someone is responding.
Madden: Keep your line of bullshit to yourself, Hendrix. You got yours, I got mine. Figure life out or grow up, whichever comes first. Until then, lose my number.
This is what I wanted, right? Then why does it feel like I just made the biggest mistake of my life?
TWENTY-FIVE
Madden
One WeekLater
I could only wishthat life has resumed back to normal, but that’s not the case, at least not with the Hughes family. It’s been a clusterfuck, to say the least. Krissy was released from jail and attempted to return to Forest’s house while my parents are there with the kids. Another nightmare with the cops involved has me shooting out of the office in the middle of a meeting. Not my finest look when I own the multi-billion-dollar company, but when family calls, you move your ass. Especially when there are kids involved. Forest is on the other side of town giving a proposal for a new job, and there is no way my dad can put a leash on my mother while keeping the girls at bay.
“Uncle Mad!” Cammy calls out the second I’m able to skirt around the two cops talking to Krissy. My dad is standing off to the side with another one, and my mother is currently pacing back and forth with Piper in her arms, who’s crying.
“Hey, sweet pea.” I swing her up until she’s on my hip, my forearm going under her small body so she doesn’t have to do a lot of the work as she loops her arms around my neck.
“Mommy is here. Piper won’t stop crying.” Her lower lip wobbles.
“I know. We’ll let Nanny take care of her for now. Are you okay?” I ask. Where Piper isn’t scared to let her emotions flow, mostly because she’s younger and doesn’t understand the enormity of the situation, Cammy holds it in, not showing anything until it’s built so deep, she’s ready to explode.
“I want Daddy.” I press my hand into her back, giving her a hug that I know she wants from my brother, who is on his way. Traffic is managing to fuck with him when we all know there’s no other place he’d rather be than with his two girls.
“He’s coming, I promise.” My mother looks over at us, worry and pain written all over her face, along with being spitting mad. It’s a good thing I got here when she did, or I know two girls who might have been inside by themselves watching their Nanny pummel their mom to the ground. Then there would no doubt be two women who the girls care about in the back of a cop car. Definitely not an ideal situation.
“Okay, will you color with me?” Cammy asks, coming unglued from where she was hugging me.
“Of course. Think Piper will want to as well?” Piper must have finally realized I was here. Her little head whips around, legs wiggling, letting her Nanny know she wants down.