Page 14 of Madden

Her eyes are sad as they look at me. "I'm so sorry, Madden. I wish you hadn't dealt with any of this, but please expand on what you mean about being physical?" She raises her eyebrows. "He's eight."

I throw my head back, laughing as I figure out what she's hinting at. "No, back then I ran, played basketball and baseball, and took up boxing. Now? I wouldn't say no to getting physical with you." I flirt.

She smirks, her eyes glistening in the dim light. "Let us get to know each other a little, and I don't think I'll say no."

My chest vibrates with hope and excitement I've never had before. She's given me this. "Then let's get to know each other. What does your schedule look like over the next few days?"

"I'm rotating to day shift for the next three months, starting tomorrow. It'll take some getting used to, but I'm excited that I won't be sleeping all day."

I shoot my shot, throwing out what I want to happen, and doing my best to manifest it. "I take Donut for walks in the afternoon when the weather's nice. Would you and Mick like to join us tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I think we'd enjoy that."

"I'll come pick you all up at five? We can plan to get dinner, too."

She presses her lips together, but reaches out to grab my hands with hers. "There's a part of me that worries we're moving too fast, but I recognize how much Mick needs this. So do I. I've never counted on anyone in my life since I moved out of my parents' home. Since they've gone no-contact with my brother, and ‌Mick, I've done the same with them. Mick never asked for any of this, and he needs more support than all of us combined. I don't agree with what they've done, and I've left myself without support besides Steph."

I reach out, cupping her cheek in the palm of my hand. "If you'd let me, I'd love to be a part of your support system."

She closes her eyes against my touch. "I'll let you. Please don't disappoint me."

Never.

CHAPTER 10

BECCA

I letmyself into the apartment as quietly as possible, hoping I don't disturb anyone. What I'm not prepared for is Stephanie sitting on the couch, watching something on TV, waiting up for me. "Hey." She grins, picking up the remote and pausing her show. "How did it go? I watched as you left and got a good look at him. He's hot, Bec."

"He is." I grin. "We're friends on Facebook. Do you want to see another picture of him? One where you aren't trying to look through a window from a high vantage point, and can see what he really looks like."

"Yes, because what I saw from up here was nice. I can only imagine what he looks like without all this space between us." She wags her eyebrows.

"Steph, don't get your hopes up. You know I don't have the best track record with relationships, and I come with all of this." I gesture around me. "Who wants a woman that's taking care of a kid who isn't hers? I don't know what my future looks like. Is it going to be taking care of Mick for the rest of his life? Is Trey," I mention my brother. "Ever going to get his shit together?"

"What I'm going to say to you will hurt, because I know who you are, and the persona you present to everyone." She leansforward, elbows on her knees. "You don't have to worry about all of that right now. You and Mick, you'll figure it out. Who knows, maybe I'll still be your roommate in five years. The fact of the matter is, we don't know what the future holds, and we aren't mind readers. Don't borrow trouble, you don't have to. Enjoy what you have."

"It's hard to enjoy it." I admit. "I think about what's going on with Trey, how Mick's being affected, not having the support I always assumed I would when I would become a mother. It's fucking with my head. But I agree with you, I'd like to enjoy being a twenty-three-year-old for once. I don't know where this is going to end up with Madden, but I want to thrive in it while I can."

"Thrive girl, but first, let me see what this man looks like."

I get on Facebook and navigate to his page, thumbing through the pictures of Donut and the other members of the LSERT, until I get to one of Madden with a smile spread across his face. "Here ya go."

Stephanie takes my phone, her mouth dropping open when she sees him. "What I want to know is, what are the tattoos under the shirt?" She grins. "Get it, girl."

"I've never seen him without a shirt on, and he doesn't post pictures without it. I'm hoping maybe one day I'll know."

She licks her lips, giving me a shit-eating grin. "I hope you know so that I can be the bearer of the knowledge, too. Like is he hiding a disfigurement, why keep the tattoos sticking out from under his shirt so close to the chest. No pun intended."

I shake my head."I don't know, maybe it's something having to do with being a cop? Maybe he just wants to keep it to himself, or perhaps he got drunk one night, and did something he can't take back."

"God," she tilts her head back onto the couch. "Haven't we all? To this day I can't stand the smell of Fireball."

"Same." I groan along with her. "I wasn't even legal to drink when it happened either. So anyway, that's Madden. We had a good time, and he's coming to pick me and Mick up tomorrow for a hike and dinner. He says he understands the home life that Mick is coming from and wants to help."

Steph stretches her arms over her head. "That would be good for everyone. I know Mick has struggled with what he can tell you, and worries that he's putting too much pressure on you. He's told me that before, and I'm sure there are things he feels he can't share with you. We still don't know what happened to him before Trey was called to pick him up either."

My vision clouds as I think about the situation Mick must have lived in before he was placed with my brother. From what I understand he was living with his mom, Katelyn. She'd gone on a binge and purchased what she thought was pure heroin, but it was laced with fentanyl. As soon as she'd taken the hit, she'd started overdosing. Mick was six, and had been in the home with her deceased for a few days before he'd been found and Trey had been called in. "Yeah, none of it is good, and I don't know if I'm doing the right thing with him. Sometimes I think maybe I should give his care over to someone who has the training to deal with his mental state..."

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