Page 123 of Fake Love

There is so much anger flowing through me that I don’t know what to do with it.

A part of me hoped, wished, that after the street festival that the urges would go away, that us being together would help him walk through recover more easily. I guess I was just being me wishfully being hopeful.

If this is his reaction to Nora’s doctors telling her that they found a new tumor, what would the reaction look like if they tell her it’s cancerous?

Will Dante’s men say no to him then?

I want to say yes, but I have no idea anymore.

“Can I see him?” I ask Dante.

He nods. “If you want. He was still drinking a little bit ago. That’s definitely not enough time for him to sober up.”

I’m already shaking my head. “I don’t care. I want to see him.”

Dante looks at me for a quick second before he nods and stands up from his seat on the couch. “Follow me.”

I do as he says and follow him through the house to the second floor, where he leads me to a set of wooden doors that open up to an office.

My brain wants to take every second and explore the space because it’s just as spectacular as the rest of the house, but I try to push that down.

Instead I try to force my brain to concentrate on the man that is slumped in a chair with a bottle in his hand that resembles the man I love.

In all the time that we’ve known each other, I’ve never seen Maddox like this.

He looks defeated and ready to give up.

Nothing like that man that is determined and won’t stop until he’s at the very top, just to show people is worth supporting.

The Maddox sitting in that chair is one that I never want to see again.

At the sound of the door opening, Maddox turns.

Much like his body is, his eyes are distant and definitely don’t have that spark that I’m used to seeing every single time he looks at me.

Something I noticed that happened from the very beginning.

I give him a small smile. “Hi.”

He continues to look at me, not saying a word. After about a minute of just staring at each other, Maddox lets out a sigh.

“Let me guess, you’re pissed off at me,” are his first words.

I guess we are going to get confrontational right away. Awesome.

“If the roles were reversed and I was sitting where you are, I’m pretty sure you would be too. Especially if o had left my mother when she needed me most to go look for a high. ”

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what? Call you out?” I’m surprised just how even my voice is right now. I thought I would be screaming at home the second I saw him.

“I know what I did today was wrong.” He says, his voice steady but from the look on his face, he wants to puke.

“Do you? Because if you did you wouldn't be halfway to the hospital to get your stomach pumped. You would be with your mom, telling her that she has nothing to worry about.”

He’s silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “I’m sorry, okay?”

Three words.

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