Chapter Twenty-Five
Cannon
Madison and I aren’t able to leave my parents’ house right away. We have to spend some time convincing Hannah to wait there, since we weren’t sure how long shit would take at the police department. Madison and I got her cell number and promised to keep her and my parents up to date on any news.
It’s a good thing Hannah stayed behind too, because Madison and I were left to sit around, waiting and pacing for hours. Goddamn Bailey! I’m so angry I can’t breathe.
Finally, around ten that night, we’re told that my brother has been processed, but that we wouldn’t be given a chance to post bail until he sees the magistrate tomorrow morning.
“That son of a bitch did this on a Sunday to make sure he couldn’t get out!” I yell in frustration at the officer behind the glass.
“Cannon,” Madison says softly when she grabs my arm. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing else we can do tonight. There’s no point in getting angry when the officers are just doing their jobs.”
“Doing their jobs? Bull-fucking-shit! They’re still doing whatever Bailey tells them to do!”
“Cannon!” Madison says more forcefully as she grabs my face and makes me look at her. “Calm down before you get yourself arrested. Conrad needs you out to help Hannah, remember?”
I cover her hands with mine and take a deep breath. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Then let’s go. Hannah’s going to try and get some sleep at your parents. She asked if we could go by the beach house and get their things for them.”
“Okay,” I agree. It’s not much, but at least it’s something to do to keep me busy so that I don’t think about what could be happening to Conrad at the moment. Are the other guys in lockup hurting him? Are the cops? Who the fuck knows? There’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it right now!
My hands are nearly shaking in anger as I drive us to the beach front property. At least I don’t have to worry about tracking Roman down to get a key. There’s an electronic keypad where you enter in a code to unlock the door, so we just had to ask Hannah for the most recent one.
The kitchen and living room are filled with just the basic furniture the house comes equipped with. I don’t see any of their personal items, so we head to the master bedroom.
“If you want to start packing up their clothes, I’ll get everything from the bathroom,” Madison suggests.
“Yeah,” I agree as I toss the luggage on the bed and open it up to start throwing things inside. I start with the bottom drawer of the dresser, grabbing handfuls and tossing it all in, trying not to pay any attention to the panties or lingerie owned by my future sister-in-law. I’m making good progress when I reach the top drawer, and then I notice the black and white photos sitting on top. They’re ultrasound pictures. I didn’t even know Hannah had been back to the doctor. I pick up the top photo, which shows an image of the baby that is so clear you can see the rounded shape of the head, even its tiny nose and its hands raised to its mouth. My eyes water with emotion at the sight and it’s not even my kid. I’m just it’s uncle, but I can’t wait to meet him or her.
Since I don’t want to cry or be sad, I let my anger rise to the surface, pissed that Bailey is so heartless that he would take away the father of his grandchild, when his daughter needs him around the most.
Turning around, I know I need to let some of the rage out or I’m going to explode and break shit. The luggage is the lucky winner of my wrath when I sling it across the bed so hard that it hits the opposite wall with a loud thud before it falls to the floor, spilling some of the clothes from inside.
“What’s…oh.” Madison’s standing in the bathroom door holding a hairbrush.
“Fuck!” I shout to the ceiling before I hang my head and brace my hands on the mirror dresser as my eyes fill with so much moisture that I know it’s a losing battle. “I want to kill that bastard!” I exclaim.
From the corner of my eye, I see Madison still standing frozen. I wish she would just go back in the bathroom and give me a few minutes to get myself together. But she doesn’t. She comes over and puts the hairbrush on the top of the dresser and then wraps her arms around my waist, pressing the side of her face to my upper back.
Her trying to comfort me is the last thing I expected but exactly what I didn’t know I needed. The mountain of anger inside of me falls away, leaving nothing but a vast chasm of sadness that I have to figure out how to cope with. Right now, there’s not a damn thing I can do to help my brother. I’m sure he knows that. Deep down, I know that, but I fucking hate feeling so…helpless.
I use the heel of my hand to dry my face right before Madison lifts hers and looks at me in the mirror, her arms still wrapped around the front of my body. That works as a decent distraction because it reminds me of when I watched us in the bathroom mirror at the dealership. Now our positions are just reversed. That night I was giving her what her body needed to relax and find her confidence. Now, she’s offering me what I need.
There has been so much going on that I haven’t yet had time to think about what we were doing when Hannah came
