And yet, if he were to be totally honest with himself, he was still a little hurt and wanted her to feel some discomfort for hurting him—just a little bit. He would’ve never admitted it to anyone, but a small part of him thought she should face the consequences of what she had done. He knew it was mean-spirited. But why should he be the only one who had suffered? Even though he knew that it must have been very hard for her to leave and he understood now why she had done it, he wanted to drive his point home to her that leaving him was the wrong decision. So he reasoned that now was as good a time as any to break the news that they were back together.
Adam said, “We’ve got to come up with a story about where you’ve been and why you’re back.”
“Well, as you know, I’ve gotten pretty good about making up stories about my life and hiding the truth. Let me think.”
Wincing, Adam said, “Well I may have made matters worse when I told them that you broke up with me because you had to leave for a job assignment and you didn’t know how long you would be gone.”
“Really?! A job assignment?” Maddie said incredulously. “They think I broke up with you and left you in the hospital because I had a job assignment? Wow. That really makes me look like the girlfriend of the year.”
“I was a mess,” he said quietly. “They put me on the spot, and I couldn’t think quickly enough. It was the best I could come up with under the circumstances since I had no idea why you really left.”
Now it was Maddie’s turn to wince. She paused, squeezed his hand, and said, “Okay, so we can say that I was really traumatized after the accident and I couldn’t stand to see you in pain. And then I found out that a close relative with cancer was given only a couple of months to live and was being put in hospice care, and my family needed my help. So, with all of the stress and being torn between staying with you and helping my family, I freaked out and made up the story about having writing assignment because I needed to escape reality. The first part wouldn’t be a lie.” She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand tighter.
“And why are you back?” Adam said, playing along with the story.
“Because while I was gone I missed you terribly and realized how much I love you.”
It melted his heart to hear her say those words. But he knew that was not really why she came back. She came back to get the book, and he caught her in the act. Otherwise, he probably would’ve never seen her again. He chose not to point that out at the moment. He wished that he could just trust her again. He was really going to have to work at it. He had built up walls around his heart to protect himself from the possibility of her deceiving him again, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t like that they no longer had complete trust between them. But how could it be otherwise? She had lied about her entire life to just about everybody.
But now he understood why. It wasn’t because she was a bad person or because she was a liar at heart. She was a good person who lied to protect herself and the people she loved. He understood it, but he didn’t think his friends would. They couldn’t understand RTP. They would think Adam and Maddie were both crazy if they told them the truth.
He said, “Well, I can’t think of a better story. If they ask, we’ll just have to go with that and see if they buy it. Otherwise, it might be better not to explain it at all.”
Chapter 30
When Maddie and Adam arrived at the club, he held her hand as they walked in the backstage entrance. He sensed her apprehension when she squeezed his hand just a little too tightly. He could feel his own heart beating rapidly with dread about what was about to happen. Although he had originally wanted her to feel some discomfort when she had to face Zach and the others, he had since changed his mind. He didn’t want her to feel any pain. He knew his friends could be brutal when they were standing together to protect one of their own. He wished that there was a way he and Maddie could be together and he and Zach could remain best friends. He wished the band could go on as usual, and no one would have any hard feelings.
But what if they never accepted her back into the group? What if he was forced to choose between her and his friends?
Adam knew what he would choose. There was no doubt in his mind. He had expressed it to Maddie the night before. He would be willing to give up his life as he knew it to be with her. It would be the hardest thing that he had ever done, but he would do it.
Still, he knew Maddie would not want him to give up his friends, the band, and his dreams. She would probably rather leave him again than to make him choose. He knew deep down that if his friends never accepted her, she would eventually leave. He didn’t want to give her a reason to leave. So he tried to think positive thoughts. He didn’t know a thing about RTP yet, but he visualized the outcome that he was hoping for. He knew it might take some time, but he hoped it would all work
