“Didn’t you kinda do that? Take her?” Brick looked too smug for my liking when he asked that question.
“No. Well… yeah, but—”
“Sounds like stalker syndrome to me,” Ace said, giving me a halfhearted shrug.
I looked to each of them, waiting for any one of them to tell me they were joking, but all they did was shake their heads, as if they were disappointed in me, like I did something wrong where Maddie was concerned.
“Fuck you guys!” I shouted, walking away from them before I ended up hitting all three of them. Well, two of them. I wouldn’t strike Trigger. He was an old man. Okay, maybe only one, since my hit wouldn’t do much damage to Brick. Fuck those guys.
I thought I heard one of them laugh behind me, but my focus was now on my mom, who had just come into the clubhouse. She told me earlier she’d be back with the test results from Maddie’s physical, and while I wasn’t sure what kind of scene was gonna erupt with her being back so soon after scolding my ol’ man, I needed to know if Maddie was gonna be okay.
As I opened my mouth to ask her what she knew, my dad barreled through the door, his sights set on his wife and no one else. He’d disappeared into Chambers immediately following their fight, but while I was gone, it appeared he’d gone outside somewhere because I hadn’t seen him until right then.
He rushed up next to her and reached for her hand, but she stepped away before he made contact. “Addy.” His tone was filled with warning, but if he knew anything at all, it was that my mom wouldn’t cave because his voice was stern. If anything, he’d probably pissed her off more.
“I’m not doin’ this right now. I have to go see Maddie.”
He stepped in front of her, blocking her each time she tried to move around him, not a care in the world he had an audience. “I’m not stayin’ here just because you’re mad at me.”
“You don’t have to stay here.” My attention bounced back and forth between them, my ol’ man’s expression softening when he heard that. “I’m sure Marek and Sully will let you stay with them for a while.”
His eyes popped open, and he looked like he was ready to spit nails. “If you think for one second I’m gonna let you tell me—”
“It’s done, Lincoln.” She said Lincoln with such disdain, it made me feel guilty for having the same name. Then she turned her sights on me. “I need to talk to you.” Her tone relaxed when she addressed me. “Come with me.” She pulled me into one of the corners of the large room, not once glancing back at my dad to see what he was doing. I didn’t dare look because, honestly, I didn’t want to get involved.
“What is it? Is Maddie okay?” My pulse quickened at the thought there could be something wrong with her.
“She has a bladder infection, which is what I thought. I have some antibiotics for her, so she should start to feel better soon.”
“Is there anything else?”
The way she looked at me made me nervous, but when she responded, “No,” I released some of the tension I’d been holding onto. The possibility Maddie could’ve potentially been dealt more of a raw deal had weighed on me more than I thought possible, and even though I had no idea what those options could’ve been, my mom’s words erased the worry.
Now I could focus on helping her heal emotionally from the trauma she’d suffered.
25
I heard voices next to the bed, and it took me a moment to realize I wasn’t dreaming but instead had company. Prying my eyes open, a more difficult feat than I thought considering I’d only been resting for close to an hour, I saw Lincoln and his mom. They’d been talking low, but when they realized I was awake, they both stepped toward the bed.
Sitting up, I leaned against the wall behind me because there was no headboard.
“Hi, honey.” Addy sat on the edge of the bed and patted my hand. She looked up at Lincoln before returning her focus onto me. “So, it was as I thought. You have a bladder infection, but that’s easily taken care of.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a pill bottle. “These are antibiotics.” She handed them to me. “You’ll start to feel better within a day or two.”
Clutching the bottle in my hand, I said, “Thank you for helping me.”
“Of course.”
“And, now I have to use the bathroom.” Addy stood, allowing me room to get up. “I’ll be right back.” I caught Lincoln staring at me as I walked away. I really hoped he didn’t hold my earlier boldness against me. I didn’t know what I’d do if he started to ignore me, or worse, view me as a problem.
After I reemerged, I noticed the two of them huddled close and whispering, Lincoln’s voice stern when he responded to whatever his mom said. I cleared my throat when they continued talking, not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation but wanting to thank her again for tending to me so quickly.
Addy wandered a few steps closer, resting her hand on my shoulder.
“Is something else wrong?” I asked.
“No. I wanted to tell you that since your periods aren’t regular, you can start taking the pill to fix that issue. You can be put on a low-dose estrogen, and if you have any issues, we can always switch you. If this is something you’re interested in, you’d have to have an exam first. Have you ever had one before?
While I was naïve in many factors of life, I realized the exam she referred to was a gynecological one. “No, I haven’t.”
“Well, let me
