Page 86 of Forever Home

Every bit of me shatters when my mind slowly trails back to a conversation he had with me earlier today. He asked me how long I planned on staying and wanted to let me know about the schedule he had in the New Year. At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it.

But now…

Glancing at him once more, his eyes meet mine and then shift to the woman beside me who waves at him casually with a smile. “Why don’t you save us both the trouble and just go home. It’ll be less embarrassing.”

“Caitlin?” Jaxson says as he approaches us, glancing between me and the woman as confusion fills his face. “What are you doing here?”

“Aww,” she coos, stepping towards him to wrap her hand around his arm. “Only telling her the truth, of course. She should know.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Before Caitlin can open her mouth, I beat her to it. “Were you two together… and engaged?” I ask, swallowing back the explosion of anger simmering beneath the surface.

“Madison. She and I aren’t together.”

“Stop lying to her…” Caitlin groans. “I’ve already shown her that you have been calling me.”

“Shut up,” he snaps at her, before turning back to me. “Madison, it isn’t like that—”

“Just stop,” I reply quickly, shaking my head. “I—I can’t do this right now. It’s clear you two have things to work out.”

I’ve always been the kind of girl to be strong. To stand up for myself, but this. This situation is too much. Shaking my head, I push past the girl, bumping her shoulder as I make my way towards the exit of the terrace. My mind races with doubt and emotion as I step into the elevator. I swear I hear Jaxson calling my name, begging me to stop.

But I can’t. I can’t focus on anything but the internal sound of my heart breaking.

I’ve been nothing but a fool.

And I won’t let it continue any longer.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Jaxson

Three weeks. It's been three fucking weeks, and no matter how many times I call Madison, she refuses to talk to me. Hell, I even tried to reach out to her mom after she left to make sure she was okay, and her mother kept it brief and wouldn't go any further. I'd never expected Caitlin to show up at the New Year's Eve bash like she did. I was told she didn't have an invite to the party, a private function. But I should have known better.

I should have known that she would show up, especially if I was there.

The problem is, whatever she said to Madison changed everything between us. It didn't matter how much I begged her to stop as she ran off from the party. Or how much I yelled at Caitlin for once again trying to insert herself into my life. Madison left. And by the time I got back to the apartment, she was gone. All her stuff packed as if she'd never been there.

I'd felt heartbreak in thepast, but it took Madison walking out of my life that day to realize how much I care for her. The fact that she so quickly jumped to believing Caitlin, to leave me after everything we've been through…

I will never want Caitlin again. Not now, not ever. And Madison should know that.

“Honestly, I don't know what to tell you,” Knox says with a sigh over the phone. “I've tried talking to her for you, Jaxson, but she doesn't want to hear it.”

“There's got to be some way for me to get through to her. It's been weeks.”

“Yeah, and she can hold a grudge better than anyone.” He laughs softly. ”You, of all people, should know that by now. I mean, look how long she held a grudge against you for eating her burger on the sixth-grade field trip.”

My mind drifts to that day and how red her face had turned when she came back to see I'd taken three big bites of her burger. It was an honest mistake that day, my food being placed in the wrong spot, and I'd mistaken hers for mine. But she didn't let it go. She reminded me for months until I finally made it up to her and brought her six burgers as a replacement.

“I remember. But this is different. She didn't even give me a chance to talk to her about what was really going on. She jumped at the first chance at fucking leaving as if everything that happened between us meant nothing at all.”

Moving about my home office, I stack the paperwork away for another day. It took weeks to get everything in order for the reopening of one place and the event setups for the others. But overall, I couldn't be prouder of myself for being able to make a grand comeback after a hellish year.

Now, if only I could fix things with Madison, things would be perfect.

“Have you tried coming back to Willowcreek? Talk to her in person.”

I stop in my tracks, my mind playing over in my head like it has the past few days. I'd thought about going back, but things were so hectic that I wasn't able to go. And honestly, I was worried that if I did, I'd only makethings worse. Plus, she was the one who left me. I didn't even do anything wrong. She didn't give me a chance to explain.

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