by Riley Ashby
“Open your mouth,” he commanded. I did, along with my eyes, just in time to see him pump himself twice before he began to come on my face, the salty liquid splattering across my lips and tongue and cheeks as he moaned his release. I leaned closer, fighting against his hold, to put my tongue against the tip, and it earned me two more bursts of hot cum in my mouth. He palmed my cheek as he collapsed backward, eyes closed, and I licked my lips clean before crawling up next to him.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Yeah.” I guessed My dad was just shot in the head by my surrogate mother sex was the best kind of sex there was. Not one you could repeat too often, though. “Are you okay?”
“I am.” He opened his eyes and looked at me as he kissed me on the lips. “I needed that.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be here to give you what you need. Whatever it is.”
He smiled as he kissed me again and I thought, for the first time, he might have believed it.
After we showered and I bandaged up his arm, we dried off and set about preparing for bed like any normal weeknight. I dug up some ancient face cream in the cabinets and mixed it up, spreading it across my skin with relief.
“God, my skin is dry.”
“I hadn’t noticed.” He kissed my forehead. He couldn’t stop doing that, leaving kisses everywhere on me he could find. I didn’t mind the extra attention, but it might make things weird when my dad showed up. “We’ll have to deal with family tomorrow, you know.”
“Shit.” He slapped his hand against his forehead, then winced and rubbed gently at the same spot. He’d hit a bruise. “Anita is locked up in the bathroom at my house.”
I couldn’t help snorting in laughter. “Are you serious?”
He grinned, almost hesitantly, as if he were afraid to feel joy at her misfortune. “Yeah. She tried to pull my own gun on me earlier, but she didn’t know Conrad had sabotaged it. She actually probably saved my life.”
“I guess we should send Joshua to go get her. Make sure she’s secure.”
With a shrug, he pulled a comb out of a drawer and ran it a few times through his hair. “I’m sure she’ll be fine until tomorrow. We can take care of it after we’ve had a good night’s sleep.”
The wind howled outside the window, reminding me of the steadily falling temperature. I pulled my towel tighter across my chest, wet hair clinging to my back. “I hope she doesn’t get cold.”
He paused, hand still pushing his cheek to the side as he looked at his stubble in the mirror. He caught my eye, and it was my undoing. I started to giggle. And amazingly, he threw his head back and laughed.
It was the sweetest sound in the world.
Meyer
I sat on the edge of my childhood bed and stared at the wall until the tiny imperfections in the paint started to swirl before my eyes. I was fading, and fast. I’d barely slept, barely eaten, for days. I’d lost more blood than I cared to admit. My entire body throbbed in pain. And despite the relief I felt, despite the comfort of knowing Eva and Maddie were both secure, one thought continued to bounce around my head endlessly.
My dad is dead. My dad is dead. My dad is dead.
It was as if I was seeing the world through two sets of eyes. On one side everything seemed brighter, more vibrant, more colorful than ever before; on the other, it was all shades of gray. I hadn’t realized until the moment I saw that bullet enter his head just how much I’d hoped that, one day, Conrad would realize just how much he’d fucked up. How badly he’d hurt me every day of my thirty years of life; the way he’d tried to kill me much more than I had ever tried to kill myself. That he would apologize. But that had never really been an option. I had a chance now, an opportunity for a real life, and maybe, just maybe, the woman I loved would be there beside me for it.
I set aside the plate that had appeared outside my bedroom door like magic, having devoured the sandwich in three quick bites. Madeline ate hers a little slower, but not much, and when we were done she put the plates back outside the door and disappeared into the bathroom briefly before returning with a tube of antibiotic. She rubbed the ointment over the raw burns on my chest, then placed a large bandage over them. I caught her arm as she started to walk away, tugging up the bottom of her shirt to look at the cut on her stomach.
“We should clean that again,” I said. I was unable to put any inflection into my voice, but I didn’t want it to get infected.
“I’ll take care of it,” she whispered, kissing me on the forehead like I was a child. “You sit here.” I tilted my chin up to look at her.
“I want to.”
She considered me for a second, running her thumb over my bottom lip. “Okay, then.”
I followed her into the bathroom, and she sat on the edge of the counter while I put the same ointment on her cut, then dug another bandage out of the first aid kit to put over it. I let my hands linger on her skin, still dewy from our time spent in the shower.
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine.” She grabbed my hand and tilted my chin with the other, bringing my eyes to her. “You can relax now, Meyer. I’m going to be okay.”
I swiped my fingers across her chin, checking for any stray marks of blood that might not have been washed away in the shower. “Force of habit, I suppose.”
“Kids?”
We both looked up to see Eva standing in the doorway to the bathroom, wearing different clothes than when we’d last seen her.
“Mom,” Maddie breathed and jumped down to meet her halfway. I watched awkwardly as they embraced for several seconds.
“Come here, Meyer,” Eva said, and they both stepped to the side to make room for me. I hesitated, not wanting to intrude on their moment, but Maddie held out her hand to me with a smile, and I had no choice but to take it. She pulled me into their grasp, placing her head on my shoulder while Eva kissed my cheek.
“It’ll be okay, baby,” she whispered in my ear.
Just like that, the grief I had been holding back, the guilt that I’d been forcing myself not to feel, both broke free and flooded my body like a broken dam. All at once I was sobbing, incapable of speech.
“I … I let him…” I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t inhale past the cement that had settled into my lungs and was making its way up my throat. Maddie shifted and hooked both arms around my middle, putting pressure on my chest that somehow worked to alleviate my pain rather than add to it. I pressed my face into her neck and sobbed. Eva ran her hand through my hair, tousling the strands in a soothing motion.
“You saved us both, darling.”
I shook my head in the crook of Maddie’s shoulder. I could have ended it all so long ago.
“It’s true. Meyer, you’re a survivor of the highest caliber. I would know. It’s thanks to you and my daughter that all three of us are alive right now.”
I wiped at my eyes. “Joseph will never forgive me.” How could I be a part of this family going forward if he deemed me unworthy?
“I already spoke to my husband. He’ll be here in a few hours. A good idea, by the way, to put some security on him to keep him up there. Once he arrives, we can all talk about what to do next. But until then, I think you both need to sleep.”
I nodded vigorously as I raised my head, staring at Maddie as she wiped at my tears. “What happened to…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Her voice was clipped, and she seemed to force herself to soften her face before speaking again. “Joshua and I have taken care of everything.”
Eva walked ahead of us out to the bedroom, then pulled back the blankets on my bed for Maddie and me to slip in to. My eyes closed the moment my head hit the pillow, eager to sleep, though my mind still raced. But then I felt the warmth of Maddie’s small frame against mine, her arms and legs encircling my body as if to hold me together. The blanket covered us both, and the light flipped off. I never even heard the door close before I fell asleep.
*
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the col
d, the absence of another body against mine, and I shot up in bed so fast my head rang.
“Maddie?” She wouldn’t have left after all that, would she?
“I’m here!” she called, popping her head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. “Give me one second.”
I fell back onto the pillow as she spit and rinsed her mouth, and then she hopped back into bed and snuggled against me as she kissed my cheek.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m fucking freezing,” I muttered, and it was true. I’d never been so cold, not even when I had been forced to sit outside in the middle of winter because I’d been locked out of the house for misbehaving or dive in to a near-frozen lake to rescue a drowning woman.
Maddie released me briefly to grab the blanket and pull it over our bodies, then covered as much of my skin with hers as she could manage. “You thought I ran out on you?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever not be afraid of that.”
She kissed my cheek, then my neck, any available place that wasn’t wrapped up in her or buried in the blankets. “You’re stuck with me, Meyer. I’m not going anywhere.”
I hugged her fiercely, ignoring the tightness in my chest from the repeated Taser burns. "No one has ever stayed before."
She placed one hand against my cheek, guiding my face toward hers to look me in the eyes as she kissed my lips, softly, like dew on the petals of a dying flower. "What would it take to make you believe?"
I wanted to marry her. I wanted to take her last name in the court of law, raze this house to the ground, and forget everything about my life prior to this moment. But I couldn't say that, not yet, not when we'd only known each other a little over a month and had both risked our lives multiple times. So I didn't say anything. I just kissed her back.
"I need to brush my teeth," I said. "My morning breath feels insecure against your minty freshness."
She smiled as I disentangled myself from her and climbed out of bed. "Are you making a joke?"
"Trying my best." My heart still felt like a heavy rock weighing down my entire body, hunching my back, threatening to drop out of my chest and leave me broken and bleeding on the floor. At the same time, there was a lightness that seemed to seep throughout my entire being, the knowledge that everything had changed last night in the flash of a gun. Somehow I made it through the motions of brushing my teeth and washing my face, and when I came out of the bathroom, Madeleine was dressed again in my old clothes and sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled shyly as I crossed the room to her and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Better."
She smiled wider.
We went downstairs when I was dressed, walking straight for the kitchen and avoiding even looking in the direction of the office where I had last seen my father's body. Every cabinet door in the kitchen was flung open. Eva stood at the stove with a pan full of batter, and a plate stacked high with pancakes on the counter next to her. She looked up as we entered, smiling softly at both of us.
“Did you sleep—”
“Dad, no!” Maddie interrupted her mother and suddenly pushed me behind her. Coming across the room like a missile, the look of pure hatred on his face, was the man who’d called himself Madeline’s father for her entire life. And he was staring straight at me.
“This boy and I need to have a talk,” he growled, spitting the words like a curse. Eva moved between us as well, holding her husband back with both hands.
“Joseph, I’ve told you how things are going to happen with Meyer.”
“He nearly killed both of you.”
“He also helped save us.” Madeline pressed back against my chest. That look in Joseph’s eyes was too familiar to me, even though I’d only met this man twice. “Dad, you need to stop.”
I’d thought I wouldn’t have to suffer under it anymore. I was wrong. But I couldn’t let the fighting continue, couldn’t stand the shouting between Maddie and her father. There had been enough bad blood between family members for a lifetime.
Which reminded me…
“Anita’s still locked in my bathroom,” I blurted. Joseph looked at me like I was speaking jibberish, but Eva sighed in relief.
“That’s good. Conrad wouldn’t tell me where she was.”
“I don’t think he knew. She killed Shawn and went into hiding. She probably would have resurfaced once it was pretty clear he was going to be blamed for the whole mess.”
Joseph pointed his finger at me over his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I’m not, I swear. Someone should go get her, though.” And it’s not going to be me.
“I will,” Joshua said. The four of us turned our heads in unison to see him standing in the entrance to the kitchen. “I might as well. Been cleaning up messes all night.” He looked like it, too. His jacket was gone, and his rumpled shirt was open halfway down his chest.
“And whose fault is that?” Maddie snapped. “Go get her and lock her up in that same room where her father kept his slaves chained to the wall.”
“As you wish,” he muttered, and turned to go.
I looked at Eva. “Can we trust him?”
She bit her lip. “I’m not really sure. I’ll go along.”
“Eva, no!” Joseph tried to keep her from following Joshua, but she was already gone. He leveled a glare at me. “We are not done here.” Then he followed her out the door.
Maddie sighed heavily, her face in a grimace, before it changed to an expression of mild panic as she ran to the stove. She yanked the skillet off the burner and tipped the smoking contents into the trash. “I think that’s enough pancakes for now,” she said, turning off the heat and picking up the larger stack. She looked around the kitchen, mystified. “Um, where do we eat?”
“Here is okay.” There was an island in the middle of the room, meant for food prep, but bar stools hid under the edge on the far side. With some hunting, we found utensils, butter, and syrup, and sat down to eat.
We ate silently, still famished from the night before, and demolished most of the stockpile my mom had accumulated. We were washing our dishes in the sink when we both jumped at the sound of a door slamming open, and less than a moment later we heard the unmistakable sound of Anita’s screaming. I backed up against Maddie, pushing her away from the door, as Joshua walked in holding Anita around the waist, looking completely unamused by how much she was fighting. Joseph and Eva were close behind him.
“Meyer!” Anita struggled harder to break free. “Don’t let him put me up there. I deserve better than that.”
“Fuck off,” Maddie snapped, and I shushed her while staring down my sister.
“It’s only temporary, Anita. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
“What the fuck do you mean, enjoy it?”
“You’re going to jail, dear sister. Shawn isn’t taking the fall for this.”
“No!” She began kicking, then put her legs against the door to Conrad’s rooms as soon as they got close enough. Joseph ran around to pull open the door, and then Joshua, Eva, and Anita all disappeared up the stairs.
We stood and listened as her protestations grew more and more faint, but eventually, they faded altogether, and we were left with a silence that grew heavier with each passing minute. When I finally looked at Joseph again, the look on his face told me he was barely holding back from attacking me.
Maddie saw it too. “Dad, we—”
“It’s okay,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Joseph, let’s go talk.”
His expression slipped a fraction, surprised by me taking control of the situation, but it smoothed back into his his mask of anger quickly enough. He nodded curtly and preceded me out of the room, but halted when he realized he didn’t know where to go in the house.
“This way,” I said, gesturing toward the front, and leading him to a sitting room that looked out over the front drive. It was the opposite direction of the room where I’d last seen my father.
I
stood in front of one of the large windows, biting my lip as I gazed out at the trees blowing in the wind. They still held a lot of their leaves, but more fell with every gust. I tried to put my hands in my pockets, assumed the relaxed pose I would take if this were a business meeting and I was trying to talk down someone who wanted too hefty a price cut on our products. But my pockets were not where I expected them to be, far too low on the sweatpants I was wearing with Saint Agnes Prep running up the sides in red.
So much for intimidating him. But that was the wrong track to take. I didn’t need to throw my power around with this man. I needed to throw myself at his feet and beg his forgiveness, not for anything I’d done to him but for what I’d done to the two people he loved the most.
“You wanted to talk? Start talking.”
I finally turned to face him, and found he had adopted the pose I had been trying to take on. I cleared my throat.
“There are a million things I wish I could do different. Starting with the night I brought Madeline here.”
He glared at me, not moving.
“I should have taken her home. I should have called you and had you come get her, then given you as much money as you needed to get out of the country and away from my father. It would have saved everyone a lot of heartache, myself included.”
I scrubbed my hands across my face, wishing I had a razor to shave with. My face itched, and I looked like a bum. If I’d known I’d have to defend myself to Madeline’s father today, I would have tried to clean up a little more.
“But I can’t apologize for it. I can’t because if I hadn’t brought her back here I never would have fallen in love with her. More importantly, she never would have fallen in love with me. She wouldn’t have shown me that there was a life beyond the bars of the gilded cage I’d lived in for thirty long years.”