Page 23 of Asphyxia
I felt like a complete idiot when Dean called me out on my shit last night. Finally seeing all of the things that I had overlooked the entire time Madison and I had been screwing around.
How did I not fucking see any of the signs? Why did I never even think of asking her why she always chose me?
Fuck, I never hated myself more—and here I was wishing that she would love me, and I never truly even saw her—not like Dean.
Dean had been with her for less than forty-eight hours and already saw everything I didn’t.Fuck me…
As I lay in bed next to her, with the early morning sun peeking through the blinds, I mindlessly stared at the ceiling.
Dean had every right to be disappointed with me and for calling me out on my complete fuck up. I may lead a comfortable and relaxed life, but he was never one to let me get away with ignorance—at least not if he could help it.
Was I hurting Madison more than helping her?
Madison stirred and rolled over to wrap herself around me, her leg now draped across my hips and arm stretched out across my chest as her hand gripped onto my shoulder. I let my hand rest in the dip of her side, feeling the rise and fall of her ribcage as she breathed, nuzzled up against me.
I would be better than I was before all of this. She needed someone like Dean, and I wasn’t going to sit idly by leaving him to be the only man she deserved. I was up for the challenge of meeting that same expectation—time to grow the fuck up, Marcus.
“Why’s your heart racing, baby boy?” Madison mumbled sleepily, her eyes still closed as I peered down at her.Jesus Christ, even she was more observant than me.
“What happened last night?” I asked before allowing myself to lose my nerve and avoid the issue entirely.
“What are you talking about?” She opened her eyes and frowned up at me.
“Marcus is referring to you smashing your way into our apartment like she-hulk covered in another person’s blood.” Dean yawned as he stretched out on the other side of her, rolling his wrists above his head.
Madison gasped as she rolled to her back, realizing that she was sandwiched between us, wearing nothing but one of Dean’s white T-shirts.
“You two were serious?” She gawked as her eyes bounced between us. “We’re actually—”
“Don’t change the subject. Answer the question.” Dean hummed, casually resting his hands behind his head on the pillow. “But yes—”
“As long as no one is playing favorites,” I added, glancing over to Dean, who nodded his agreement.
Madison lay there in silence, studying us as she chewed on her lip and cheek.
“Fuck…” She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “Where do I start?”
She didn’t have to give in to our prying, but she did, which spoke volumes about how she saw Dean and me—that she could trust us enough to talk about her problems.
“The blood.”
“The sex.”
We asked simultaneously, looking at each other before refocusing our attention on Madison, who was already rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands with a grunt of frustration.
“Jesus Christ, you two… it’s way too fucking early for this.”
“We’ve got all day, darling.” Dean teased as he took her hand and kissed the back before rubbing over the same spot with his thumb.
“It’s Sunday,” I added with a cheeky smirk, and she rolled her eyes at both of us.
Madison reached for my hand and pulled it up to rest on her chest as she stared up at the ceiling. I could feel her heart beating rapidly against my palm.
“The blood was from a man who felt that he could sexually assault a woman and get away with it—and before either of you say anything, what the police would have done wouldn’t have even come close to justify his actions…”
“He couldn’t possibly have deserved whatever bloody mess you left him in.” Dean countered empathetically.
I never saw the amount of blood she had on her when she showed up at our apartment, but the look on Dean’s face when I got home said more than enough.
