Page 75 of Asphyxia
My attention was split between Madison and Adrian, trying to figure out the missing pieces to the puzzle.
“Of course, love is real, darling,” Dean jumped in at my silence, raising a hand to caress her cheek as I held her close, as if afraid that she would lose her mind if I let her go. “Why would you even consider otherwise?”
The two of us were just as confused as the other by her desolate question.
What the fuck did Adrian say to her?
“Can we just go home?” Madison’s eyes flicked between ours, pleading with every blink as tears built within them. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, but not right this second. I need to get out of here. I need air.”
I released her waist, pulling my phone from my back pocket as Dean took her hand and escorted Madison out of the cell.
I made a quick call, my eyes catching on the blood that had pooled underneath the cot.
“Is it done?” Drake’s voice could be heard from the other end of the phone.
“Yeah. Less bloody than expected, but it’s done.”
“I’ll send clean up. Shut the door to his cell and say nothing to anyone as you leave. I’ll be in touch.”
The call disconnected as quickly as he answered, and I did as instructed, taking one last look at the fucker who finally got what was coming to him, at the hand of the woman he nearly destroyed, before shutting the door to his cell and following Dean and Madison out of Oak Park.
Madisonwasquiettheentire drive home. Dean drove her car back to our apartment while she rode back with me.
I wished I had been in that cell with her instead of waiting outside.
To have known what was said that left her hanging in this fragile state of mind.
Adrian always seemed to know exactly what to say to break her—the fucking monster.
I tried to keep myself from breaking the silence as best I could, waiting for her to start the conversation when she was emotionally ready.
Upon entering the apartment, Madison made a quick beeline for my bedroom.
It seemed to have become the one place she defaulted to whenever she wasn’t feeling like herself—or on her period.
I waited in the kitchen for Dean, giving Madison her space before the hard part started—the part where we attempted to get her to open up to us without causing further damage.
“Has she said anything?” Dean probed, shutting the door with a heavy, exhausted sigh.
I shook my head, pressing my lips together in contemplation.
“Nothing. We sat in silence the entire drive home.”
It wasn’t a short drive, either. Oak Park was almost an hour’s drive from where we lived, giving her plenty of time to open up to me.
“What do you want to do then? Leave her be or… What?” Dean gestured in question, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered down the hall.
“I’d suggest leaving her alone, but a part of me believes she wants us in there with her. Whether she talks or not, that is up to her, but I think it’s up to us to be true to our feelings and show her that we aren’t going anywhere regardless of what was said in that cell.”
Based on what Madison had muttered back at the prison, it’s undeniable that Adrian had suggested something to make her think we didn’t love her—that our feelings for her were nothing more than a white lie—which was far as fuck from the truth.
I was obsessed with Madison, more than I’d care to admit, and I could guarantee Dean felt the same; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stuck around after she killed Amber.
Madison was ours, and we were hers in every aspect of life...including love.
“By all means.” Dean tilted his head towards the hall, and I pushed off the kitchen counter, taking quick strides to my room before gently pushing the door open.
The lights were off, but I could easily see her balled-up figure in the middle of the bed. She had tucked herself under the duvet before curling up on her side, facing the window, where the blinds had been left open.
