Page 62 of All the Ways You Save Me
Thank God.
I stagger over to the couch and sink down next to her. “You scared me to death.”
“Did I?” she asks.
My emotions dart around, and all I can do is breathe out a shaky laugh. “I’m happy to see you but I thought you’d be with your sister.”
“She went to bed early.” Her voice is cold, flat, which drags me from my own ragged emotions.
I take in her pale face and bright eyes. Has she been crying? My heart seizes again. “Did something happen? Did you run into that creepy guy again?”
“No.” Her hands twist on something in her lap. I reach down to still them, and my palm comes to rest on cold metal. A framed photo. She flips it over, and I stare down at her face, ten years younger. Jason’s face. And Adam’s face.
My face.
“I planned to tell you,” I blurt out, wincing at the hollowness of the words.
“Did you.” There’s no rise in inflection, and it’s not a question. She doesn’t believe me. Why should she?
“I was going to tell you tomorrow.” I reach for her hand, but she recoils, sliding back against the arm of the couch.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry.” I hold up my palms helplessly. “Madeline, please…”
“I can’t believe you’re alive. That Adam is alive.” Madeline lets out a slightly hysterical laugh. “I mean, I know I came here looking for Adam—for you—” She shakes her head as if she’s trying to get it straight. “But it’s still completely unbelievable.”
“I know.”
“How did you survive that crash? And then—where did you go?” Her breath hitches and she whispers in a broken voice, “Why didn’t you come back?”
I ball my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her.
Madeline presses her palms against her temples like her head is throbbing. “I keep going over and over it in my head. And all I could come up with is that you had some sort of amnesia and didn’t know who you were, who any of us were. But you have this photo.” She stares at me. “You recognized me immediately that day on the beach, didn’t you?”
I nod.
“So, what happened? Did you survive the crash and see your chance to get away from us? To start a new life somewhere else? If you didn’t want to be with me, you could have told me. Not left me to agonize over you for a decade.”
“Madeline, it’s not that. It was never that.” I can’t help it now, and I slide for her end of the couch, taking her by the hand. I need to touch her, to reassure her. “Ineverwould have left if I’d had a choice.”
“So whydidyou leave? And why couldn’t you tell me you were going?” She grips my palm, digging her fingers into my flesh. “Adam…” She closes her eyes in anguish, but a tear escapes and rolls down her cheek. “Garrett. Whatever your name is. I just need the truth. For once, just tell me the truth.”
THIRTY-SIX
TEN YEARS AGO
Adam
I enter the basement through the garage after walking Madeline to her car. I hope she manages to get home before dinner, since the lingering kisses we exchanged before she climbed into the driver’s seat went on longer than I’d planned. Not that I regret them. I’ll only regret it if it means Madeline gets into trouble and she’s not allowed to come around next time.
I sink onto the couch and turn on the TV, but nothing holds my interest until Madeline texts that she got home safe and all is well with her mom. Madeline’s mom is pretty cool as far as parents go but certainly more protective of Madeline than my dad ever was. But I guess that’s not saying much.
Madeline texts me a kiss emoji, and I groan, remembering the feel of her lips on mine, the taste of her tongue, the press of her breasts against my chest. God, what I would have given for her to be able to stay. Especially with Jason out of the house making a delivery for work, and Jason’s parents at a hospital banquet.
I can’t wait until next year when we’ve graduated from highschool, I have my own place, and Madeline can stay as long as she likes. She’s still deciding on a college, and she’s planning to live in the dorms. But we agreed that wherever she goes, I’ll rent a place nearby. Thanks to the job that Jason helped me to land, I’ll actually be able to afford it. I’m making deliveries four or five nights a week and saving thousands of dollars a month. If this keeps up, I’ll be in great shape to support myself by the fall, and maybe I can even take a couple of college classes wherever we land.
I’ve got to hand it to Jason, he might have given me shit about the autobody shop, but he was right that I needed this job. The pride I feel at knowing I can go out on my own, that I can support the girl I love, that I’m not going to be that poor kid from the trailer park for the rest of my life, is the best feeling in the world.
