Finding Maddox (The Road to Truth Book 3)

by Quell T Fox

​“I can change that.” Lenny says, sauntering towards me. He stops when our chests are just about touching. His hand snakes around the back of my head and ducks his head to pull me into a kiss. He backs me towards the bed and crawls on top of me. He kisses me tenderly, softly. He’s gentle with me, loving. This is a different side of Lenny, one that I don’t think anyone has ever seen before.

  CHAPTER 34

  Friday

  -THURSDAY-

  ​I wake to the worst hangover of my life, and I don’t think it’s from the alcohol. My body is sore and achy, like I was at the gym for hours, working every muscle in my body beyond what it can handle. I hope I didn’t catch whatever Alec was getting. Lenny’s tea seemed to help him, and I wonder if he’d make some for me. Of course he would. All I need to do is ask. I roll over, not sensing him next to me, only to realize that he isn’t there.

  ​Hm.

  ​I glance at the clock and note that it’s late in the afternoon. “What the hell?” I ask myself. My voice is raspy, like I’d spent the night screaming. I didn’t go to bed late enough to have slept this long. Yeah, Lenny and I went at it once… or twice, but I went to bed earlier than I normally do. “Why didn’t Alec wake me for work?” I also say out loud. My first week at work and I’ve already missed two days. I’m a horrible employee. I rub my eyes with the heel of my palms and massage my temples for a moment. The pressure relieves some of the pain, but the moment I remove my fingers, it’s back.

  ​I get out of bed slowly, my body stiff and unwilling to cooperate. I walk to the bathroom and turn the taps for the tub, making the water as hot as I can handle, hoping it will help to soothe my muscles. As soon as I plug it up, I undress and step in letting the water fill around me.

  Callan is spoiled. The shower in this bathroom could fit me and the guys, plus have room for more. This tub? At least two of the guys could squeeze in here with me. Three, if they squished. The thought of Maddox and Alec squishing their large bodies into the tub makes me laugh, and I instantly regret it because it hurts, but I laugh anyway. The image of a Saint Bernard sitting in a tiny kid’s pool pops into my head, making me laugh harder.

  ​Lenny comes around the corner quickly, startling me. My hand flies to my chest, trying to calm my pacing heart.

  ​“You’re awake.” He’s out of breath, his words full of worry.

  ​“Yeah? It’s late. Why didn’t you wake me? I missed work,” I pout. Sliding my hand across the top of the water.

  ​“We tried to wake you and you wouldn’t get up. We were all worried as fuck. Callan even called Evenia and it seems she – conveniently, I might add – forgot to mention that the spell makes you sleep because it puts a strain on your body. But with everything going on we were still worried, not sure if we could actually trust her or not.”

  ​“Would that be why I feel like I was run over by a truck?” I settle down into the tub further.

  ​“Possibly,” Lenny walks in and sits on the toilet. Lid down, of course. After a moment he stands and walks over to me, shutting the water off. He rolls the sleeves of his baseball shirt up (why is that so fucking sexy?), grabs the loofah, soaps it up and kneels by the large tub. He washes me, starting with my shoulders and back. He washes my chest and my feet, and everything else. When he’s finished, he pumps shampoo onto his hand and lathers it into my hair. “Lean back.” I do as he says and he rinses the soap from my hair, he then conditions it and repeats the same process. When he’s done, he cups my face in his wet hands. “I love you. So much.” He kisses the tip of my nose.

  ​I reach my hand up to touch his face, “I lo–”

  ​“Where are we going?” A small boy follows a bigger boy. Brothers? Maybe they’re brothers. He sniffles and wipes the tears that are falling from his face.

  ​Where am I? How did I get here?

  ​“To my house. You’re going to stay with me,” the tall boy answers, slowing down and taking the small boy by the hand. “Come on, it’s getting dark.”

  ​When their hands connect, a small spark ignites from their interlocked fingers, which confuses me. What is that all about? They walk for only a few minutes as I watch from a distance. They enter a small two-story house and close the door behind them. I follow the path they took and reach for the door handle, but when my fingers don’t grasp the expected cool metal, I look down and find that my hand is through the door. I pull it back, shocked. I turn my hand over a few times, freaked out about what just happened. I reach my hand through the door again and it goes as if there was nothing there at all. No friction, no pain.

  ​I step through, and just like that, I’m inside.

  ​“…not home right now. Are you hungry? Get some cereal, I have to call Alec.”

  ​Alec? This must be… no. How is that possible? This is Lenny and Maddox? How could this be happening? How am I here? Is this their memory? I’m in their memory?

  ​The older boy, who I now figure is Maddox, walks into the other room and picks up a cordless phone. (Yep, that old.)

  ​“I need you to come over. We have a bit of a problem. Tell your mom that you’re sleeping here. Yeah, that’s fine.” He hangs up, runs his hands through his hair and lets out a sigh. He turns to face me, causing me to freeze. I fear that he can see me, so I don’t move. Not sure why I suddenly turned into a goat, but it’s a problem. I quickly realize that he can’t see me at all. If he did, he’d be freaking out, I’m sure. No child is going to take to a stranger being in their house. Other than that, I notice that he isn’t looking at me, more like he’s looking through me.

  He looks the same. Like if Maddox had a son, this is what he would look like. His hair is shorter and kind of boring, and his eyes are lighter, but his face structure is mostly the same. And his skin… it’s bare. No tattoos. Wow. He’s tired, with dark bags under his eyes. He’s much thinner than he is now, not only from the lack of gym, but from the lack of nutrition. His clothes are at least two sizes too big, but I bet if his shirt were off, his bones would be showing.

  ​I peak back into the kitchen to see little Lenny pulling open the fridge. He so small, and helpless. My heart aches for him. This must be the night that Maddox found him. Lenny is tiny, I think they said he was around seven or eight, but he looks smaller than that. His mom mustn’t have been taking care of him properly and I don’t blame Maddox for wanting to keep him, now that I see the state that he’s in. He’d probably be dead otherwise. I never would have recognized him if I didn’t know the story here. This boy, his hair is the same shade, but short. Too short, like someone who doesn’t know how to use a pair of clippers just threw on a random taper level and had at it. His eyes, they’re just as crystal clear blue as they are now. Even though they are red from the tears, he’s lacking the sadness that I now know he carries around with him today. But his face? It’s round and thin. Now, Lenny’s face is longer and chiseled. He grew up to be pretty, angelic even, with his soft and defined features. There is nothing wrong with a pretty boy. Especially, with my pretty boy. He’s perfect.

  Little Lenny finishes gathering his cereal and carries it to the table after putting the almost empty gallon of milk in the fridge. Maddox walks in at that moment, the same time that the front door opens. In walks a tall boy, that’s a bit larger than Maddox, with a head full of hair and a clean face. A small boy following closely behind. A boy that looks exactly the same as Alec. It must be his brother. I know he has a brother, but I don’t know much about him. I narrow my eyes at Alec, deciding that if his head was shaved and he had a beard, he’d look exactly the same as he does now. His eyes… those eyes are bright golden brown. Nothing about them has changed. Which tells me that Alec has always been troubled.

  ​“Mom is not having a good night. I told her I’m staying, but I can’t leave Aaron there. What’s going on? Why is that kid here?” He tips his head towards Lenny, who is shoving a spoon that is way too large for his mouth into his mouth. Milk dribbles down his chin, and he ignores it like it isn’t hella annoying when that hap
pens.

  ​Aaron… where have I heard Alec use that name before? This is the oddest sensation. It’s like I know I’m here, but not, yet the only things I can seem to remember about not being here, are the guys. I can’t remember what I was doing before I got here, or how I got here at all. But I know Lenny, Maddox and Alec. I also know that Callan is missing. He must be home.

  ​“That kid is Lenny, I tell you this all the time. And his mom left him.”

  ​“What do you mean?” Alec asks, dropping his backpack to the floor by the door that leads to the living room.

  Where is Maddox’s mom? I know there is a reason she isn’t here. He mentioned something about it. Fuck. I can’t remember!

  ​“Exactly what I said. She just left him in the house. I found him on my way home from work. He was wondering the street. I have to keep him. He has no one.” Maddox stares at Alec. I realize that even as a young boy, Maddox has the leader quality to him. It’s one thing that I love most about him.

  ​Yeah, I said that.

  ​“Keep him? Are you crazy? You can’t just keep him. He’s not a stray cat, dude. You’re old enough to be his brother, not his dad. You think you can take care of him? Do you even know what that entails?” Alec’s little brother stays hidden behind his leg, he’s even smaller than Lenny. I need to know more about this boy that Alec clearly cares very much about but is no longer around. Why doesn’t Alec talk about him? Did they get into a fight?

  ​“What am I supposed to do? I’m not leaving him there.” Maddox has mixed emotions on his face, what I can assume is fear and sadness. Alec looks annoyed, so, nothing has changed in that area. “He’ll die. He’s staying here.”

  ​“Call the cops. I don’t know, but you can’t keep the kid. I’m telling you it’s a bad idea. How do you think your mom is gonna take it? You think she wants another mouth to feed? She barely feeds you.”

  ​“I’m keeping him whether you like it or not. You can either help me or go.” Maddox looks serious now, 100% no bullshit. He still has that look now a days, though he’s perfected it some. It isn’t so scary as a twelve-year old. Maybe thirteen? But now? That look stops people dead in their tracks, myself included. It also makes me want to fuck him, but that’s a story for another day.

  ​“Al, can I go watch tv?” His tiny brother asks, tugging on his shirt. “Of course you can, buddy. You know where it is.” He skips into the other room as everything starts to fade.

  CHAPTER 35

  Friday

  “White? Are you sure?”

  ​ “Yes.”

  “White…?

  “Fuck! I know what I saw. It scared the shit out of me. They were white!”

  “Okay, I believe you. That’s just… wow, that’s big.”

  I wake to the sound of worried voices. My body aches worse than it did before. Every muscle in my body is weak. I can’t even seem to open my eyes. The voices continue, sounding in my ears with a subtle echo. My head hurts. It’s pounding. Waves of nausea roll over me with every pulse of my head.

  I’m no longer in the tub, that much I know. I’m lying on something soft, and warm. A bed. My skin feels dry, but the softness of the blankets tells me that I’m still naked. I let out a hum, that doesn’t quite make a sound.

  I open my mouth to speak. Words don’t come out. Nothing comes out. I try again to peel my eyes open. The moment I get them open, I regret it. The light blinds me, sending a sharp pain through my head. Tears fill my eyes as I gasp at the pain, turning my head to the side, unable to bring my hand up to shield the light.

  ​“Friday? Maddox! She’s waking up. Friday, are you okay?” The bed dips, and soft hands are on my face. I dare not open my eyes, but I don’t need to. I know this is Lenny that’s with me. His hands run down my face, and I suddenly feel stronger. Like his touch is giving me the energy that I need to move.

  ​I open my eyes again, this time prepared for what may come. The light is still strong, but not as bad as it was before.

  ​“li… the… lllt.” I try to speak, but it isn’t working. I lift my hand and point at the ceiling, crushing my eyes shut.

  ​“Maddox, shut the lights off!” Lenny’s voice is frantic. A moment later, the room darkens.

  ​“Okay, baby, the lights are off. You can try to open your eyes again.”

  ​Baby? Maddox never calls me baby…

  ​The other side of the bed dips, as fingers run through my hair. I know it’s still Lenny, knowing that the gesture is beyond Maddox’s display of affection. I run my tongue over my teeth, and around my mouth, trying to clear some of the dryness. I rub at my eyes with the heel of my hands before trying to open them again.

  ​I try, and this time I succeed. The room is shrouded in darkness, the only light is coming from the hallway.

  ​“Thank… you.” I manage to speak the words. “Wha-what happened?” I ask, trying to sit up. With the help of Lenny, I’m able to scoot up enough to be comfortable and not awkward. Maddox places a pillow behind my back to help. I give him a tight smile, knowing that he’s trying the best way he knows how.

  ​Maddox’s face is blank, Lenny looks worried. His face pale, his eyes red and welted. Has he been crying? Fuck, I hope he hasn’t been crying. I look at these two guys, and really see them. I suddenly feel for them more than what I felt only a short time ago. Something about seeing into their past has brought me closer to them. My heart aches for what they went through. Lenny being abandoned by the one person in this world that is supposed to love you unconditionally, brought into a home that he didn’t know, with people that didn’t really want him. Other than Maddox, obviously. And then to Maddox, who so selflessly, as a boy himself, took in another and took care of him. Raised him and turned him into a wonderful man. To know the passion that he truly has beneath his thick layer of skin makes me… love him. Yes, I love him. I love them both, so desperately. My eyes well with tears, but I squeeze them shut, not wanting to worry them further.

  ​“I think that I know why Evenia and her husbands are after us,” Maddox says quietly.

  ​“What… why?” I ask, my head fuzzy from the pain.

  ​“It seems that you’re the new prophet,” he responds.

  ​The words take a while to sink in. Too long.

  That doesn’t make any sense.

  ​“What? How can that be?” I ask, once the words register in my brain.

  ​“I don’t know. We will know more once Callan gets home, but it does make sense.” Maddox tells me, as Lenny continues to run his fingers through my hair.

  ​I look around the room and towards the windows, realizing that it’s dark outside. It’s so confusing waking up to darkness. What time is it? What decade is it? Am I in the same country? It’s like I’m in another realm.

  Then I realize something. Why isn’t Callan here? And where is Alec?

  ​“Where is he? Why isn’t he here, is he okay? And where is Alec?” I throw the blankets off me, ready to jump out of bed. I don’t care that my body feels like it’s falling apart, and that my head is pounding so hard that I can see it. I need to find them. They should be here, it’s late.

  ​“Hey, Cupcake. Relax, stay in bed.” Lenny puts his hands on my shoulders, slowly easing me back. “They are okay. They went to meet up with someone that Callan’s friend suggested. Someone that may be able to help us to understand what is going on. They will be back soon.” Lenny comforts me. He leans down, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, his long, soft hair brushing over my cheek. I bring my hand up to swipe the tickle away.

  ​“Should I call him?” I look around for my phone. Unsure of where it is or even the last time that I had it. “I’m worried about them. Can you call them?”

  ​“No, baby,” Maddox’s husky voice reaches my ears. “They are fine. They will be back soon.” His tone is soft, yet still rough. He reaches his hand out and brushes his thumb along my bottom lip.

  ​“Okay, as long as you’re sure…” I say, nuzzling into his warm hand.
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  ​“We’re sure. Get some rest.”

  ​Before I’m fully asleep, I swear I hear someone mumble an I love you. And it wasn’t Lenny.

  ​When I wake up next it’s still dark. My head aches, probably from sleeping all day, lack of food and caffeine, but it’s not as bad as it was, and for that I am thankful. It feels like the Sahara invaded my mouth while I was sleeping. So. Dry. I need water. I look to the end table, and it’s empty other than the lamp and clock. It’s nearly 3AM. I throw the blankets off me and head for the stairs, careful on my feet. I’m dizzy and a bit unsteady, but I take the stairs one by one and hold on to the banister tightly with both hands, my legs wobbly. Light from the dining room brightens the downstairs. Soft murmurs fill my ears, and I’m surprised they are still awake. When my eyes find the guys, I relax a bit. They’re sitting around the dining table, talking quietly. What do I want first? Food or coffee? Kisses? Definitely coffee… then kisses. I should probably brush my teeth first. I probably have morning (night?) breath from hell.

  ​I walk past the table and into the kitchen, the guys lift their heads as I cross their vision. They all start to stand and speak at the same time. I throw a hand up, letting them know to stop. They freeze and quiet instantly. Ah, the powers of the vagina. I continue to the kitchen, groaning at the lack of coffee. Okay, maybe it’s the middle of the night (almost morning? Actually morning?), but it’s always time for coffee. I grab the canister of grounds from the cabinet and prep the coffee maker for a single use. I quickly change my mind and brew a pot, knowing that one cup will not be enough for me right now. I grab a bottle of water and down it, then quickly grab another.

  ​A chair scrapes against the floor and a moment later I feel someone behind me. “Are you hungry?” Callan asks softly. The fridge opens and closes and then the microwave beeps a couple of times. “I made you a plate from dinner. Go sit, I’ll finish this for you.”

  ​I’m not in the mood to talk. I feel so blah. I drop my hands to my sides and head for the couch and lie down. I don’t bother turning the TV on. I listen to the guys hushed words, their voices soothing me even though I can’t make out most of their words. Just knowing that they are within close distance makes me feel a million times better. Seeing Alec and Callan home safe, makes everything okay.