Helios Exposed (The Helios Chronicles #2)

by Tawa M. Witko

  “Andrew,” Sonny called to him.

  “Yeah,” Andrew looked up from the hood.

  “Why don’t you come back Monday morning at nine?” he said simply and then walked away.

  Andrew smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Sonny.”

  “Congratulations,” a man named Leroy said nearby.

  “Thanks,” Andrew replied, unable to stop smiling.

  He worked for several more hours before they closed up the shop and he headed back home. He was excited and couldn’t wait to tell Madison. He was actually surprised that he made it to the apartment before she had. He went to the fridge and made himself a quick sandwich. He knew she would be cooking when she got home but he wasn’t sure he could wait. He inhaled half of it before he heard a knock and set his sandwich down, wiping his hands on his thighs before opening the door.

  “Can I help you?” he asked.

  A woman who appeared in her mid to late forties was standing at the doorway. She was very beautiful with long brown hair and dark eyes. The woman was impeccably dressed with what appeared to be expensive jewelry on. She was eyeing him up and down and did not seem to be impressed by what she was seeing. He immediately felt like shrinking away from her. She placed her hand on her hip, arched her brow, and he immediately knew who she was.

  “Who are you and why are you in my daughter’s apartment?” she said with a tone that made him feel unworthy and insignificant.

  Andrew’s eyes widened. “Mrs. Ellis?” he asked, shocked.

  She sighed. “And you are?” she said, tilting her head to emphasize her annoyance.

  “I’m Andrew.”

  Now it was her turn to appear shocked. “I see.” She shook her head and walked past him. “I can’t believe she brought you with her. Let me guess, you’re living here?” she asked as she sat down on Madison’s sofa.

  “Um, yes, I am.” He walked into the living room and started to sit down.

  “Do not sit on my daughter’s furniture with those greasy clothes on,” she screeched and Andrew stopped suddenly.

  “Sorry, ma’am, um, I’m going to change,” he said quickly and darted into the bedroom.

  Andrew slipped out of his soiled clothes and threw on a clean t-shirt and jeans. He looked at the clock in the bedroom and wondered where Madison was. He needed her to get home and quick as he didn’t want to be alone with her mom. He took a deep breath and returned to the living room.

  “Can I offer you anything?” Andrew asked, hoping for a distraction.

  She huffed and eyed him speculatively. “I find it humorous that you are offering me something that is not yours to offer.”

  Andrew stared at her, he wasn’t certain but he felt as if she was insulting him in some way.

  “A Greyhound would be fine,” she said, clearly annoyed, and then turned to eye a ring she was wearing.

  Andrew stared at her, unsure what a Greyhound was. He was not a drinker and generally only had beer aside from the wine that he drank with Jayden’s family. She turned to him and rolled her eyes.

  “It’s a shot of vodka with grapefruit juice. I know she has both. Can you manage that?”

  “Uhh, yeah,” he replied quietly.

  He washed his hands over his face as he tried to control his emotions. He couldn’t fathom how this woman could have raised Madison. He opened the refrigerator looking for the vodka but didn’t see it. He then started rummaging through cupboards praying that it would magically materialize as he could feel her lethal gaze upon him. He heard her huff again and reluctantly he glanced her way.

  “In the freezer.”

  There was no denying the irritation in her tone. He closed his eyes and opened the freezer, pulling out a bottle of Grey Goose and dropping a few ice cubes in a glass before pouring the vodka and the grapefruit juice into it. He hesitantly walked into the living room, handing her the glass, hoping it was adequate for her. He took a seat and watched her sip her drink.

  “So, do you have a job or are you planning on living off of my daughter?”

  “I have a job,” Andrew replied proudly.

  “You’re not what I expected,” she continued. “Tell me about yourself, Andrew?”

  “What would you like to know?” he asked concerned, unsure what Madison had actually told her about him and his past.

  “Don’t be coy, Andrew. It’s not amusing. Why are you here with my daughter? What can you possibly contribute to the relationship?”

  “I love Madison.”

  She rolled her eyes yet again and took another sip of her drink, “Andrew, love isn’t everything.” She leaned forward and eyed him. “My daughter has worked extremely hard.” She waved her free hand around the apartment. “All of this is not cheap, she has a plan for her future and I don’t want her to throw all of that away because of her... fascination with you.”

  “I won’t let her do that,” Andrew said with conviction.

  She leaned back and narrowed her eyes at him. “Well, we shall see about that.”

  She sipped her drink and Andrew breathed in deeply. Andrew was beginning to panic as he hated being alone with her mom. His mom was crazy but there was something else going on with Madison’s mom. She hated him and she didn’t know him at all. When the door jiggled and opened, his heart leapt.

  “Andrew, sorry, baby, I got a call right when I was about to leave and...” Madison stopped mid-sentence when she saw her mother on the couch and the distraught look on Andrew’s face.

  “Mom,” Madison said, walking in and kissing her on the cheek. “I wasn’t expecting you.” Madison turned and smiled at Andrew before taking a seat in her other chair.

  “Well, you didn’t return my call.” She smiled and turned back to Andrew, “But Andrew and I were getting to know one another, weren’t we, Andrew?”

  Madison narrowed her eyes at her. She knew her mother well enough to know that she probably brought out her full-fledged ice queen persona just for the special occasion of meeting the man she deemed unworthy of her daughter. Madison turned to Andrew.

  “Andrew, can you give my mother and I a minute.”

  Andrew jumped out of the hot seat. “I’ll just be in the bedroom.”

  Madison watched him walk away and then turned to her mom. “What did you say to him?

  Jacqueline laughed. “Oh don’t be dramatic, Madison. Now, why didn’t you tell me you were bringing back something from California?” she said with a grin.

  “He’s not a 'something', he’s a 'someone', and he’s very important to me.”

  “For now, Madison, but... what could he actually offer you that would be of value?”

  “He loves me,” Madison answered firmly.

  Jacqueline chuckled. “Yes, that’s what he said when I asked him. Madison, you are wasting your time with this... relationship. You need to be with someone that will advance you in some way. What about that man at your office? He had promise.”

  Madison was seething, so much so she wasn’t able to respond, afraid she would explode.

  “I hate to see you sell yourself short,” her mother continued, seeming unaware of the powder keg before her.

  “Promise me that you will try to get along better with your mother. She wasn’t always like she is now. She was once in love, as much as you are with Andrew. Your father’s death destroyed her. She was never the same afterwards. How would you be if something happened to Andrew?”

  Madison closed her eyes as her grandmother’s words echoed in her head. Madison tried to find it somewhere deep inside of her not to unleash the fiery bitch that always seemed to come out whenever her mother was around. She opened her eyes to see her mom watching her with a confused look on her face, obviously anticipating the retort that hadn’t come yet.

  “I understand why you feel that way, Mom, but...” Madison took a deep breath, “I’m not you and he’s not dad.”

  Her mother rose quickly. “How...” Her face twisted as if she was in pain and then Madison saw her expression change. “You know
nothing about my relationship with your father,” she huffed angrily. “So go right ahead, Madison. Throw your life away but when he leaves you, or worse, when he stays and destroys everything you have worked so hard to achieve; I don’t want to hear about it,” she said, raising her voice.

  “You know nothing about him.” Madison stood as well, “You are judging him based on what, exactly?” she asked raising her voice another octave. “Can’t you just be happy for me, happy that I found someone to love and who loves me too?”

  “Madison, you’re being ridiculous. Of course I want you happy, but at what cost?” She glared at her. “At the cost of your career, your future. How much are you willing to sacrifice for him?”

  “Everything,” Madison whispered.

  “I see. Well, I hope he is worth it then,” she said, shaking her head.

  Her mother turned and started walking to the door. Madison wanted to fight with her, to scream at the top of her lungs that Andrew was everything to her and that a life without him would be pointless but she wasn’t able to say or do anything. She was breathing hard, her heart racing uncontrollably. Her mother stopped at the door and turned around.

  “I’m glad you're home, Madison. I know you think I’m being a bitch but I only have your best interests at heart,” she said with a sigh before walking out.

  Madison dropped back in the chair, bringing her head into her hands. She felt the sting of her tears and was flustered that she was allowing her mother to get to her so much. She didn’t understand why everyone in New York was acting as if Andrew wasn’t good enough for her. She couldn’t comprehend how someone who made her so unbelievably happy could be considered a bad fit for her. She felt his hands move into her hair.

  “Madison,” Andrew said softly. “Are you okay?”

  She looked up at him. His eyes were soft and caring, full of love and devotion and it made her cry, uncontrollable sobs. She didn’t understand why people couldn’t see him like she did. He immediately pulled her close to him, letting his embrace comfort her weary heart. He laid several light kisses atop her head; letting his hands move up and down her back.

  “Was she mean to you?” Madison mumbled against his chest.

  “She was a mom worried about her daughter. I can’t fault her for that.”

  “Did you hear what she said?” Madison asked, looking up at him.

  He nodded slowly. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter. How she treats you absolutely matters,” Madison said with tears flowing again.

  He ran his hands through her hair and held her in place. “In time, maybe she will change her mind about me.”

  He kissed her lightly on the lips and pulled her close to him until she stopped crying. He laid a soft kiss on the top of her head and then nuzzled into her hair.

  “I got hired today,” Andrew whispered.

  Madison smiled, raising her head. “Really?”

  “Yeah, Sonny told me to come back on Monday.”

  “Oh baby, that’s wonderful news.”

  He ran his fingers through her hair again. “How about I fry up those steaks,” he traced his fingers along her face, “and maybe we can throw a salad together.” He smiled as his forehead touched hers. “We can have a couple of beers and hit the bed early.” He licked his lips and smirked. “Since neither of us has to get up early tomorrow we can...” he kissed her softly, gently tugging on her bottom lip, “stay up as long as we like.”

  Madison giggled and smiled. “I like that idea, a lot.”

  “I thought you might.” He kissed her again and then stood up.

  Madison watched him walk into the kitchen and stood herself, heading to the bedroom to change clothes. Once she slipped on a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitting tee, she joined Andrew in the kitchen and started piecing together the salad. It seemed so natural being with him like they were and, in spite of how her mother felt or Kurtis for that matter, she loved Andrew and would not give him up. They would make it work.

  7 Enemies At The Gate

  SEPTEMBER

  The next couple of weeks had been highly stressful for Madison. The past week in particular marked a difficult time in her life. She found herself feeling overwhelmed both at work and at home. Unfortunately, her employers had only given her a week to get up to par with everyone else, which meant working a little later than expected each night. She was significantly behind with her clients, and on top of that, she spent countless hours studying Kurtis’ client files. But that wasn’t the worst of it; the worst had been that Kurtis had gone back to flirting tirelessly with her, making sure to mention all he had to offer and all that Andrew apparently lacked. It didn’t matter what she said to him, as he didn’t seem to listen, and would end up becoming more relentless than normal. To top off the already crappy day she was enduring, was the fact that today just so happened to be her birthday, something she abhorred celebrating. She hadn’t always despised this day, but over the years her birthday became something to loathe. Of course, Andrew, who knew nothing about this, wanted to take her out, to do something special for her, to celebrate. In spite of Madison’s pleas to the contrary, he was insistent, which had led to the argument they had that morning.

  Madison was almost in tears as she looked at the clock, it was after seven and she still hadn’t left. She hadn’t talked to Andrew all day and she felt horrible for how she had left that morning. She needed to see him and explain, but she hadn’t gotten the chance. Between Kurtis’ unreasonable demands and Mr. Turner’s added research he had asked her to do for one of his Wall Street clients, she had absolutely no time to do anything. An hour later, she was walking through the door to her apartment.

  Madison brought her hand to her mouth immediately and tried to fight the tears that were threatening to fall. The soulful sounds of Miles Rayford were filtering through the room. She saw that Andrew had set the table with her good plates and silverware as well as candles that she knew he must have bought for the occasion along with a beautiful bouquet of roses in her crystal vase. She glanced in the kitchen and the oven door was open; she could still smell the scent of some type of poultry in the air. On the top burners were a couple of saucepans, but she wasn't sure what was in them. Then, she turned and saw him. He was in a pair of slacks and a button down shirt with the shoes Aaron had bought him; he had dressed up for her, which only magnified her guilt. He was asleep on the couch with one leg on the floor and his arm over his eyes. Madison walked to him with tears streaking her face and kneeled down beside the couch.

  “Helios,” she whispered as her fingertips ran along his arm.

  His eyes shot open and he turned to her. He quickly sat up and glanced at the clock on the wall. He had just fallen asleep, having tired of waiting and worrying. He let out a deep breath and touched her face tenderly, wanting to ease her distress.

  “Happy Birthday, baby. I know you didn’t want anything but...”

  She placed three of her fingers over his mouth and shook her head before kissing him softly. “Everything is perfect. I’m so sorry for how I acted earlier, well, this whole week really,” Madison said remorsefully.

  He gave her his signature smirk and pulled her up on his lap. “I made you dinner since you wouldn’t let me take you out.”

  She smiled. “I see that,” she glanced down ashamed. “I’ve really been awful about this whole birthday thing.”

  He brought his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. “So, are you going to tell me what the deal is with you and birthdays?”

  Madison knew this was coming and cradled her head against his chest. “It’s not birthdays in general because I think I would like to throw you a big bash,” she said with a half-smile and then sighed. “My father’s birthday was a week before mine and well, my mom was so out of it when he died that she actually held his funeral on my birthday.”

  Madison felt his breath on her hair as he laid a gentle kiss there.

  “The only person that seemed to care was my Grans, s
he pulled me aside when we were at the house after the services, she had made me a little cake,” Madison looked up at him. “You know the cakes that are only for like two people and she had a candle in the middle. She sang happy birthday to me.” Madison smiled and then frowned. “My mother forgot all together. We never celebrated my birthday after that. After a while, it was as if the day never existed. When I got a little older, I would always pick a fight with my mom to ensure that she didn’t get the bright idea to suddenly start acknowledging my birth.” Madison sighed. “I guess that’s what I did with you this past week. It’s just that now...” she looked away from him as tears made a trail down her cheeks. “Well, now, my birthday isn’t mine anymore, it’s the day I buried my father.”

  Andrew held her tight. He could feel the sadness emanating from her. He had never really celebrated his birthday because they had always been on the streets and half the time they didn’t know what day it was, let alone mark any special occasions. But to have a mother forget all together and, worse yet, pick that particular day to bury her child’s father, Andrew couldn’t comprehend what Madison’s mother was thinking. There was definitely something wrong with her. When the song changed, he smiled and stood up, taking Madison in his arms. She looked at him confused and he spun her before pulling her back to him. Madison smiled against his chest as he began singing the song she had sung to him at the concert in Lake Arrowhead.

  “I love you, Andrew,” she whispered through her tears.

  He kissed her tenderly on her forehead as he continued to sing. He had listened to this particular CD a lot since they got it at the show and at one point he had this song on loop until he knew every word and nuance of it. He thought it fitting that at a time where she was feeling down that this song would come on, giving him the opportunity to possibly uplift her as she had done with him the first time he heard it. When the song ended, he kissed her softly on the lips.