Page 61 of The Ruckup
“Maddie.” Her name rushes out with all the air from my lungs.
“Leo, I?—”
Whatever she’s trying to say is cut off by a weird hiccuppy sound. Almost like she’s…
Crying.
I’m across the room, grabbing my keys, before she manages to get anything else out. “What’s wrong? I’m on my way to you right now.”
“Drake’s posting”—another hiccup—“pictures of himself a block away.”
The door slams behind me as I run for my car. “Keep your door locked. Close all the blinds. I’ll be there in five minutes.” It’s a stretch, but I think I can make it happen.
I have so many questions, but she is in no position to answer them right now.
Like how in the fuck is Drake out? He wasn’t supposed to even have a bail hearing until next week.
And why is he so fucking stupid? He’s got to know this is going to end badly for him. I get that he’s hired an attorney who’s doing their damnedest to make it look like I’m the problem, but publicly posting himself getting as close as he can to the woman with a protection order he’s previously violated twice is only going to hurt his case.
I peel out of my neighborhood, running red lights and breaking speed limits in my haste to get to her as fast as possible. I stay on the line with Maddie the whole time, listening to her cry, each soft sniffle a punch to my gut.
“Everything is going to be okay. I promise.” As I close in on Sweet Side Apartments, I scan the sidewalks around me for any sight of Drake.
Because if I see him, I’m gonna run his ass over.
I don’t know if the universe is punishing or protecting me, but there is no sign of him. I continue searching as I jerk to a stop next to PAPI69, not even bothering to turn off the engine when I get out.
There’s no reason to. We aren’t staying long.
“Open your door for me, Miss Miller. It’s time for you to come home.”
I stalk up the sidewalk, unable to fully breathe until she opens the door and I see that she’s okay. Red eyed and tear streaked, but unharmed.
As soon as I’m near enough to reach, Maddie collapses against me. I pull her close, getting both of us inside before locking the door. Her apartment looks just as I remember it, but it’s not going to look this way for long.
“Pack everything you need. You’re not coming back here.” I know I said I’d never tell Maddie what to do, but today I’m making an exception.
I know she thinks my life is going to be ruined if we stay together, but it took less than twenty-four hours for me to confirm my life will be ruined if she’snota part of it. And I’m not leaving her any more room for doubt or second-guessing.
To my relief, Maddie doesn’t argue with me. She nods her head, cheek rocking against my chest. “Okay.” The word is shaky and soft, but the spasms of her diaphragm seem to be subsiding, which I’m taking as a good sign.
Together, we quickly dump clothes, toiletries, and anything else she points out into any sort of carrying receptacle she owns. In the weeks Maddie stayed with me before deciding she knew what was best for me, she’d only accumulated a small number of items at my house. I thought it was strange more of her stuff didn’t make its way over, but now I know why.
She was always afraid a breakup was coming, so part of her always held back. Stayed prepared for an eventuality she knew might be breathing down her neck.
And she did it for me. Because she wanted to protect me even if it risked her own safety.
If that’s not an indication Maddie accidentally fell in love with me, I don’t know what is.
It makes me feel way less bad about what I have to do to keep her safe. And I’ll be damned if I let her put my life above hers.
Because Maddie might have accidentally fallen in love with me, but I fell in love with her entirely on purpose.
21
Home is Where the Hanky Panky Is
Maddie
