“Ms. Ellis, you have a call on line one,” Susan said over her intercom.
“This is Ms. Ellis, how can I help you?” Madison stated in her professional voice.
“Madison, I have spoken with Mr. Caldwell as well as Mr. Sawyer, the attorney they have on retainer,” Elias immediately began.
“It’s bad news, isn’t it?” Madison asked trying to brace herself for the worst.
“I’m looking at the rental agreement you signed and section F does state that, 'the complex reserves the right to terminate a lease should you and/or any of your guests behave in a manner that the complex deems unacceptable', they are stating that Andrew being on the registry constitutes unacceptable behavior. It is a very gray area and open for interpretation but they have a case,” Elias replied nonchalantly.
“So, we have to move by the end of the month because I won’t live there without him,” Madison stated fiercely.
“I understand completely, Madison. I was able to convince them to allow you two until the end of April to find another place,” he said and Madison could almost hear his smile.
“They were okay with that?” Madison asked incredulously.
Elias laughed. “Well, I threatened to sue them for discrimination and advised them that although they would win the case it would be all over the news which would not look so good for them overall.”
Madison could definitely hear the smile in his voice. “Thank you so much, Mr. Bennett,” Madison stated sincerely.
“You’re welcome, Madison. You let me know if you run into any problems with them,” he said as he hung up.
Madison set her phone down. Her sadness about the situation slowly subsiding as a smile crept over her face. She couldn’t believe that Mr. Bennett had managed to get them another two months before having to move out. That was definitely a plus because there was no way in hell she was kicking Andrew out and she meant what she said to Mr. Bennett, she would not live there without him. She did worry, however, about how Andrew would respond to this news as he seemed to be holding on by a thread lately. She also hoped that he was wrong about them not being able to find another place to live. She reasoned that she had exceptional credit and a good paying job and thought that, in the end, that would outweigh anything else. At least she hoped it would.
After lunch, the day seemed to fly by for Madison and before she realized it, it was after six thirty. She sighed and looked at the mound of paperwork she still needed to complete. She hated having to work late but with Monday being a Holiday and having left early the past three workdays she needed to get back into the swing of things and desperately needed to catch up. She decided that she would work for another thirty minutes and then head home.
“Good evening, Ms. Ellis,” the security guard said as she walked past him towards the exit.
Madison smiled at him and then hurriedly made it out of the building. She and Andrew had a lot to discuss tonight. She had come to the conclusion that they needed to consider moving somewhere else; preferably back to California. She couldn’t leave yet though; she wouldn’t leave Grayson empty handed through the busiest time of the year, especially since she would need his reference. She quickly made her way to the parking garage and headed home, excited to see Andrew, lightened by her decision and feeling strongly that it was the right thing for the both of them.
“Where’s the Harley?” Madison said to herself as she parked.
Madison started to panic as she called the elevator. It wasn’t like Andrew to leave without word and if someone had stolen his bike, there would be hell to pay. Madison feared that would be the straw to break the camel’s back. There would be no consoling him if he lost his Harley on top of all the other things that had happened.
“Andrew?” Madison called out to him but got no response.
She kicked off her shoes and flung her jacket into the closet. She tossed her phone on the counter and flicked on the light as fear started to set in. He wasn’t in his typical spot and the house was utterly quite.
“Helios?” she called again hesitantly.
That’s when she saw it. Her hand went to her mouth as she started shaking her head. On the dining room table laid his phone and his key on top of a white sheet of paper that looked as if it came from his sketchbook. She reached for it, still covering her mouth, as tears immediately fell from her eyes. She was breathing hard as she picked up the paper and read the two words that would shatter her world.
I'm Sorry
“NO!” she screamed into her hand. “NO! NO! NO!”
She dropped the note and ran to the closet, swinging the doors open, shaking her head and sobbing when she didn’t see his backpack and duffle bag. She made a beeline to the bathroom where she quickly threw up the contents of her lunch. Splashing water on her face, she stumbled to the toilet seat and plopped down, her head between her knees as a new round of tears made their presence known. After twenty minutes of non-stop crying, Madison was finally able to remove herself from the bathroom and walked back to the kitchen.
She picked up her phone, gripping it tightly and then walked to the dining room table. She stared at the note lying there for longer than she probably should. She wasn’t able to make herself move, she was frozen in place. With a deep sigh, she picked it up. She felt tears stinging her cheeks as she traced her fingertips over his sloppy handwriting. With a heavy breath, she turned the paper over and scrunched her eyes shut, trying to stop the next wave of tears from coming. She tried desperately to control her heart rate and realizing that would not happen, she opened her eyes again, coming face to face with a drawing of the picture that Callie had taken of them during their visit. She didn’t know he had actually sketched it. She smiled slightly as she remembered him teasing her relentlessly when she made it her iPhone background photo. She clutched the picture in her hand as she walked into the living room in a tear-induced stupor. She plopped into his chair, breathing heavily. She brought her phone out, staring at the picture before she started dialing.
“Hello?” Aaron answered.
“He left, I don’t know what to do,” Madison said defeated.
“Wait, Andrew left,” Aaron responded, in shock.
Madison started crying again, unable to answer.
“It’s okay, Madison, just take a deep breath and tell me what’s going on,” he said soothingly.
“I got home about thirty minutes ago and he wasn’t here. His bike is gone. He left his phone and his key to the apartment and...” Madison started crying loudly again, unable to speak, but Aaron didn’t push her. When she got a hold of her emotions she continued, “He left one of his drawings of us and on the back it said 'I’m sorry'...” Madison breathed in deeply. “Has he tried to call you?” Madison asked, numb from her pain.
“No, he hasn’t. Madison, can you please talk to Olivia, I am going to call the Bennetts,” Aaron said, handing the phone to his concerned looking wife.
“Hello, Madison, what happened?” Olivia asked in a near panic.
“Olivia, I’m so sorry,” Madison said through fresh tears. “Everything just got crazy. I tried to take care of him but he wouldn’t let me, he just left, oh God! Olivia, he just walked out with a note that said sorry, he didn’t talk to me, he just left me... Why would he do that without talking to me first? I don’t understand,” Madison stopped, unable to control her sobbing.
“Shhh, it’s okay, Madison, it will be okay, shhh,” Olivia said, praying it would be.
Aaron hurriedly walked to the other room. He had a bad feeling about everything. His daily talks with Andrew had gotten shorter and shorter over the past several days. When Andrew didn’t call him on Thursday evening like he normally did, he had called him only to reach Madison instead. She reported that his friend had passed away and that he was taking it hard. She said he had just fallen back to sleep. Aaron hadn’t wanted to disturb him so he waited until Friday to call him again. They had talked only a minimal amount Friday through yesterday and he hadn’t called tonight. He diale
d the Bennetts’ number but he suspected that Andrew would not have contacted them.
“Hello?” Liam answered.
“This is Aaron Montgomery. This is probably going to sound strange, but I was wondering if Andrew had called by chance? He, umm, left Madison’s house,” Aaron asked trying to stay calm.
“Oh, well, hold on, Aaron, I just got home, let me check with Jayden,” Liam said, holding the phone by his side.
He walked towards Jayden’s room with his heart in his throat. He knew if something happened to Andrew that Jayden would not take it well. He gently rapped on the door even though it was open. Jayden looked up and smiled but when he saw the expression on his father’s face he quickly rose and started walking towards him. Liam looked down for a moment, which caused Jayden to stop in his tracks.
“What happened?” Jayden asked worriedly.
“Andrew’s missing, he left Madison’s apartment. Aaron is on the phone. Has Andrew tried to contact you?” Liam asked as calmly as possible.
Jayden shook his head, feeling his chest heave in response. He backed up until his legs hit his bed and then dropped down on it, his hands going into his hair as his head lulled between his knees, worse case scenarios filling his head with despair. Liam sat down next to him and ran his hand up and down his back.
“He hasn’t called here. Let us know when he makes contact and we will do the same. I need to go, Aaron,” Liam said hanging up to attend to his son.
Aaron sighed and came out into the living room, shaking his head at Olivia. Olivia’s face contorted as she tried to control her emotions, knowing that Madison did not need her to break down as well. She swallowed hard as Aaron motioned for the phone. She reluctantly handed it to him and sat down on their couch. He sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her.
“Madison, he hasn’t contacted Jayden. Now that doesn’t mean he won’t contact him or myself and once he does we will let you know. Andrew has come a long way and even though he is upset, we need to keep an open mind and trust him. I don’t think he left New York. He knows if he did that a warrant would be issued and he would be sent back to prison. I don’t believe he wants that.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Madison said quickly. “What should I do? If I report him missing, won’t he get in trouble?” Hurting him was the last thing she wanted to do.
“Yes, he would get in a lot of trouble and we don’t want that if he just needed to get away for a day to think about things,” Aaron said, trying his best to reassure not just her but himself as well.
Aaron squeezed Olivia closer to him, hoping to soothe her evident distress.
“But what if he’s hurt?” Madison started to feel the panic rise again.
“Madison, Andrew can take care of himself,” Aaron said consolingly. “He has been on his own before, he will be okay.”
Madison exhaled loudly. “I know, but... I never thought he would be alone again. I just want him back here,” she closed her eyes, not wanting to cry anymore.
Madison talked to Aaron and then Olivia for a while longer before finally hanging up. She wasn’t sure what she should do. Andrew meant so much to her and she was having a hard time understanding how he could just leave her like that, without giving her the benefit of a discussion. She thought they were on the same page but obviously they hadn’t been or he would have stayed and told her what he was thinking or at least left her more of an explanation for his leaving other than just a note that said 'I’m sorry'. What was he sorry about? Was he sorry he left, sorry he hurt her, sorry that her world had no meaning anymore. She looked down at the drawing once more, tears filling her eyes again.
“I love you, Andrew, please come back to me,” she whispered to herself as she curled up on his favorite chair.
17 Lonliness
Andrew left the apartment, unsure what he should do. As he pulled out into oncoming traffic, his mind was all over the place. On one side was indecision and fear, questioning whether he was making the right choice, while the other side was operating on pure instinct which was pushing him forward and off of the Godforsaken island that obviously didn’t want him. He drove for what felt like hours, but he knew it was closer to thirty minutes. He eventually pulled over and took a deep breath, allowing the sounds and energy of the city to ground him enough to permit common sense to level things out and find some sort of middle ground. Although he desperately wanted to start driving again, out of New York, out of her life, away from everyone, he knew that he couldn’t do that. He looked around the neighborhood he had stopped in, which was called ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, noting several diners. With a sigh, he drove down the street and found a spot to park. He needed to think before he found himself taking the tunnel out of New York and straight into prison again. He decided to eat first and then map out a plan.
He sat on his bike with his eyes closed, mulling things over. He wondered briefly if he should get a room somewhere, but then quickly dismissed that idea. The cost outweighed the convenience. He couldn’t think like a normal person anymore, motels in New York still cost more money than he was willing to pay. He needed to conserve what little he had. With a sigh, he got off his bike and walked inside the diner, assessing the environment. He found himself moving towards a section where a young waitress was already eying him. She instantly smiled as she saw him sit down at one of her tables. She sauntered over, flipping her hair and biting on her lower lip, a gesture that immediately made him think of Madison.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked flirtatiously.
Andrew smiled the crooked grin he knew always worked in his favor, “I’ll take your special and...” his tongue swept over his lips. “You wouldn’t happen to have a phone I could borrow do you?” Andrew asked as his fingers ghosted over her hand. “I dropped my phone on my way over here and I really need to check to verify where I am meeting my friend.”
“Um,” she swallowed and her breath hitched. “I, umm, hold on,” she said unable to stop the blush from moving up her neck and cheeks.
She turned and he could hear her let out a nervous giggle as she went into the back to place his order. He washed his hand over his face; he hated having to resort to flirting to get what he needed but he had few options. In all his time in New York he had never seen a phone book at any of the phone booths and half of the payphones didn’t work, that is if you could find one. It was one of the primary reasons Madison had insisted that he let her get him a mobile phone. He winced as his thoughts went to her again. He closed his eyes and shook his head, willing her images out of his mind.
“If the call is local you can use this,” the waitress said.
Andrew opened his eyes and smiled at her as she handed him a cordless phone. “Thank you so much,” he allowed his finger to move along hers for a moment causing her to gasp. “And don’t worry, it will be local.”
“Ooookay,” she stuttered, spellbound yet again.
When she walked away, Andrew dialed information and a couple of calls later he had what he needed. By the time he was done with the phone, the waitress was bringing him his food. Although he wasn’t particularly hungry, he ate everything on his plate and unfortunately, even though he didn’t encourage it, his waitress continued to flirt with him throughout his meal.
“If you have time after meeting your friend you should come back and see me,” she said, handing him a slip of paper with her phone number on it.
He smiled. “I might do that,” he said, rising from his chair.
As he left the diner, he tossed the phone number in the trash before making the trek clear across town. When he finally arrived at his destination, he pulled to the side and sat on his bike, eyeing the large building on 30th and First with trepidation. It had been a long time since he had been in a shelter and didn’t like the prospect of doing it again. But he only had $148 on him and he wasn’t going to blow any of that on a motel. With hesitation, he pulled into a parking structure nearby and paid the nightly amount.
The 30th Street Intake Center
didn’t look like any shelter he had ever been in. It was actually huge and from what Andrew could tell it seemed like it might be connected to Bellevue Hospital. If not, it was really close to it. He hadn’t realized last week when he was there for Randall that the main homeless shelter in the city was located next door. Of course, at the time Andrew never imagined that he would ever be in need of a homeless shelter. He swallowed thickly as he walked inside. There were already a lot of people around and several disinterested workers mulling about. He walked up to a woman in her mid-forties behind a counter and smiled. She barely looked up at him before she began speaking.
“If you have been to a specific shelter in the last twelve months please go to that one, if not, sign in and one of our intake workers will be with you shortly, although not required some form of identification is useful...” she continued to drone on, not looking up at him.
Andrew brought his backpack to the counter and dug out his information as she finally looked up at him.
“Hmmm, did your girlfriend kick you out?” she asked with a slight smirk.
“No,” he replied with furrowed brows. “I was told you guys offer emergency shelter. Is that true?” he asked, trying very hard to control his anger.
“Yes, yes, we do. Just take a seat and an intake worker will call you back and take your information,” she said with her disinterest firmly back in place.
Andrew sighed and grabbed his things, making his way to the waiting area. Close to three hours later, he was in a very small room with a bed that resembled a cot and a small dresser that was bolted to the wall. As the light flickered above him, he eyed his new surroundings. There were no clocks anywhere, no phones, no radio or television. There was simply the cot, which appeared to have seen better days, with a plain white sheet and what looked like a hospital blanket over it. He set his bag on top of the three-drawer dresser and then tossed his backpack on the bed, hearing it creak and shift. He walked to the window and sighed as he peered out the bars onto the street below.
Helios Exposed (The Helios Chronicles #2) Page 17