WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two

by Juliet Braddock

  When he’d hung up the phone with a reluctant agreement to allow his mother and father to visit, Drew refused to speak to Maxine, and she didn’t push him. She knew there would be issues that perhaps only a psychiatrist could help him to sort through. She simply had to figure out what he needed at the moment. However, she wanted to give him so much more—if only he would allow her.

  Reaching out, Declan brought Maxine against his chest next to Maggie, allowing them both their time. “You care about him, sweetheart,” Declan comforted. “Unconditionally. We all see that in this family. And I'm certain he knows that.”

  “I want to help him,” Maxine said. “I just need to get through to him...”

  “Dear, you've already helped him in more ways than you know,” Maggie said at last, giving Maxine's shoulders a gentle shake.

  “Let's go inside now,” Declan suggested. “You think he's ready?”

  “I don't know if he's ready,” Maxine said with all honesty, “but he does need to see you.”

  With his back to the door, Drew stood still in a far off corner of the room, his hand pressed to the window pane, and watched the steady pace of the rain that continued to shower the city. He could see their faces so clearly in the reflection, those pitying stares of the three people he loved the most, and he remained paralyzed in his position. He hated every second of this hell—this self-loathing that prompted him to torture himself again.

  Although he'd once promised himself that he’d never sink to such depths of despair again, he wanted no one's sympathy. In fact, he wished he could just snap his fingers to restore the confidence he exuded to the world outside.

  Determined to close off any distance—physical or emotional—between them, Maggie's steps were slow, if not timid, as she crossed the vastness of that room toward her oldest child.

  Drew could feel his heart beating faster with every stride that his mother took. His stomach clenched. His heart ached with the pain that he’d inadvertently caused her. Seeing Louise had only afforded him partial closure. He’d stood up to the monster at last…but now what? He was likely an embarrassment to the entire family. He was simply gutless in his actions, and he didn’t deserve love—not from his parents and not from Maxine.

  That night, he feared that he just might have to bid them all adieu.

  As his mother neared, every muscle in Drew’s body tightened. Ever the coward yet again, he reasoned, he had to close his eyes. He simply couldn’t look at her now—not after all those years of lying to her and making her believe that he was fine.

  Reaching out, Maggie placed her hand on his shoulder, almost delicately, and turned him so very gently to face her. “Look at me, my son,” she said and reached up to touch his eyelids. “We’re here, and you’re safe. You’re surrounded by a lot of love tonight…”

  Maggie whispered to Drew so softly that only he could hear. They weren't alone—and she knew he needed Maxine there to muster his courage—but she needed her private time with him as best as she could get it.

  “Don't shut me out, Drew,” she implored. “Please, my dearest.”

  “You're...” Drew blinked, his eyes now dry and bloodshot from the tears he'd been shedding all afternoon. “You're here, Mom...”

  “You are my son. Why would I not be here?” she wondered out loud, then shook her head. “The fact that I'm here should be a given—not something to question.”

  “You're not angry?”

  “Yes, I'm angry,” Maggie admitted. “With that woman...with myself. But never ever with you. Oh, how did I not know what happened to you?”

  “Because I couldn’t tell you, Mom,” Drew said. “You and Dad suffered enough—every day for five years and beyond. You didn’t know if I was alive…or…or what was happening to me. And now with this little boy...I...I just can't...”

  “I'm to blame, here, Drew,” Maggie said. “You were a child. You had no idea that what she did to you was wrong—and I failed you. Miserably. But your father and I love you. Regardless. As does Maxine. And Adam. You have so much in this world, my dearest boy. And I know this is killing you. But do not take this burden upon yourself.”

  Breath staggered, he struggled again not to cry. “I'm sorry...Mom...I—”

  Daringly, Maxine took that same slow path that Maggie had just taken. She could only hear murmurs of their conversation, but she knew exactly where it was leading. Yes, she was stepping in—trampling over toes, even—but she had to make him understand once and for all that he was so dearly loved.

  Looking onward through the windows and toward the night sky, she stepped up between Maggie and Drew.

  “How about we all stop blaming ourselves here?” Maxine said.

  Pursing her lips, Maggie finally managed the traces of a smile. “If you won't listen to your mother here, Drew,” Maggie began, “please listen to this woman who adores you just as much as I do?”

  Ruffling his fingers through Maxine's hair, he said, “I will...” Then, taking a single step backward, he said, “And I love you, Mother. For everything you've done for me.”

  “James Andrew McKenzie, I love you back,” Maggie said, pulling him close. “I always have...and I always will.”

  With that, Drew couldn't resist Maggie's embrace. Finding such warmth in her touch, he allowed himself to drop into her arms and to feel that love.

  There was Maggie. There was Maxine. And he felt so safely cocooned by their sentiments and affections. He had to stop wavering. He needed to seize his control once more. Too many people needed him. He had to shake away his weaknesses.

  “I know you were five when you finally came home...” Maggie began, her lips trembling, “but you will always be my baby. Always, Drew. Always...”

  At that point, Maxine stepped away, walking backward, just marveling at mother and son until she felt another pair of arms wrap around her from behind.

  “Thank you again, Max,” Declan said, nuzzling her head as her own dad often did. Declan wasn’t Tom, but he was a good stand-in when she needed her father. “Thank you.”

  Maxine could hear him sniffling above her, but she was already in tears again—this time, full of hope.

  “He's going to be fine,” Declan assured her. “You know that, right?”

  Turning to look up at those stoic green eyes, Maxine nodded. “He will be, Declan,” she said. “I'll make sure he is...”

  Rocky terrain led them to that tender moment, and Maxine rejoiced silently. As mother and son embraced again, there were no more secrets for Drew to hide.

  When the lock turned, startling everyone, all eyes turned toward the door.

  The Adam McKenzie who Maxine knew was strong and self-assured, always wearing that mischievous grin. However, when he barreled into the penthouse that evening—his clothes drenched by the rain, his red hair flattened from the downpour—he bore the look of another sullen man on his swollen face and in his tear-filled eyes.

  And Adam didn't say a single word until he reached his brother's side.

  “Drew...” Tossing his thick arms in the air, he struggled to speak. “What...what the fuck is going on here?”

  “Adam, leave him alone...” Maggie pushed gently at her younger son, trying to move him aside.

  “What the fuck did that bitch do to you?” Adam demanded, flushing a darker shade of red with every word he bellowed. “And why the hell didn't you tell me?” His face soured, he squinted his eyes, and he just started crying all over again. “I'm your brother, and now I feel like a fucking heel for all of this shit with that fucking...”

  “Adam, stop!” Declan called out. “Stop! This anger isn't making things any better right now.”

  “No,” Drew whispered. “No, Dad…it’s…it’s alright.”

  “Your brother has been through enough in one day to last us all for two lifetimes,” Declan admonished. “Now, Adam, will you just—”

  “Let’s go outside, Adam,” Drew suggested gently. “Have a talk. Brother to brother…”

  Neither one seem
ed to give a damn about the weather as Drew unlocked the French doors. Slowly, they shuffled their way over toward the covered section of the terrace and took shelter beneath the canopy on the outdoor couch.

  An uneasy quiet pervaded, with both brothers afraid to speak.

  “Why didn't you tell me, Drew?” Those mammoth shoulders heaved as one single desolate sob left him. “Why, buddy? I would have helped you...I could have reported her...”

  Drew's fingers tightened around his brother's forearm. “You're doing more for me right now than you could have back then, little brother...”

  “I am so pissed off that I could just walk to that fucking jail in the rain and rip her fucking head off,” Adam shouted.

  “We've already been there this evening, Adam...” Drew said.

  “You what?” Adam hissed. “You went to see her?”

  “I had to,” Drew said. “I had a few things to say to her…”

  “You didn’t go alone, please tell me? Penelope went with you?”

  For one single second, Drew managed a tired smile. “Yeah—Maxine went with me.”

  Adam folded his thick arms around his stomach as if he were hugging himself and clutched tightly. He’d never felt so sick in his life.

  “I wish you would have said something to me first, Drew. All those nights…those awful nights when we shared a room, and you couldn’t stop crying—I had no idea why,” Adam said. “I still hear your voice, big brother. I hear you calling out and asking why it had to happen to you—and I didn’t even know what really went on…”

  Coiling again, Drew closed his eyes. If there was anyone that he could be brazen with, it was Adam. There were some things that were easier to say to him—things he couldn’t even say to Maxine because they were just verboten. With his brother, he found his voice again.

  “I had no idea that what she’d done to me was anything but comfort, Adam,” Drew finally said the words out loud. “He would slap me…or slug me…and I would just head for the bedroom…crawl into her bed. She was usually right there…and there was no pain when I was with her. That’s what I knew—that was all I knew—when I was five years old.”

  When Adam looked up at Drew, his tears began to fall freely, and his face twisted with disgust. “Who the fuck does that to a child, Drew?” Adam demanded.

  As he sighed, his breath was visible in the nighttime chill. “Still trying to figure that one out.”

  “I’m sorry, bro. You know, I hadn’t even thought that you wouldn’t have understood it at the time,” Adam said. “But when you figured it out…I would have been there for you…”

  “And you would have told Mom,” Drew said. “In my young head, she was the last person who needed to know. I’d put her through enough.”

  “Okay, get that fucked up way of thinking out of your damn head,” Adam insisted. “The onus isn’t on you. You were kidnapped by some truly evil…ogres.”

  “You sound just like Maxine,” Drew mused. “Only she doesn’t swear quite as much as you do…”

  “Don’t diss her, bro—I like that chick, and she’s good for you,” Adam said. “Look…what can we do now? Sue her? Can you act as a witness for this poor little boy she was caught with?”

  Drew shook his head. “Legally, no. Time ran out on me, Adam.”

  “That’s not fair, Drew,” Adam said and stood up suddenly to pace in the rain, splashing them both while he stomped through the puddles. “There has to be something that can be done. I will not sit back and just let my brother suffer in silence. If I have to spend every last dime in my account, I’ll—”

  “Adam, listen!” Drew ordered. “I spent the day with Sean Fitzpatrick. I’ve already got an anonymous trust fund in the works for that little boy. And I told him to convey to the family that I’d like to meet with them—to…to apologize. But as far as she goes, I should have reported her before my twenty-third birthday. It’s the law in New York State.”

  “Fuck the law! She should be shot by a firing squad. Or drowned in the Hudson. How many more were there, Drew?”

  “She…” Drew’s voice broke off, and he looked up into a cloudy night sky. “She wouldn’t answer me when I asked.”

  Taking the seat next to his brother once again, Adam stretched out his arm and patted Drew’s back. “I’ve been angry before. In fact, I’ve had moments when I thought I was raging enough to hurt someone,” he said. “But I have never been so furious as I am tonight. And this isn’t going to go away. You are my brother, and I want some justice here. I love you, Drew.”

  “I love you, too, Adam…”

  All around them the rain pelted harder as the huge droplets turned to ice, and Adam held on to his brother for dear life. Together, they both wept for Drew…and for all of the other children who never stood a chance.

  “I know you have Maxine now, Drew,” Adam began, “and I know you tell her everything. But if there’s ever a time like this again when you feel alone, I want you to come to me first. Do you hear me?”

  “Yeah, Adam,” Drew said. “And I promise you, I will.”

  “I will not judge you, and I will try to help you at all costs.”

  “Same here,” Drew said. “I know we stick it to each other all the time, but there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Adam.”

  “You’re a fine boy, Drew McKenzie.”

  Returning his brother’s fist bump, Drew agreed. “So are you, bro.”

  “Now…let’s get in there before Mom comes out here and starts bitching about how we’re both going to get colds…”

  Drew left his arm around his brother’s back as they made their way toward the French doors. Adam always had a way of making him laugh. “She’s probably in there now, telling Maxine to sit back from the television or she’ll go blind—or to stop standing with the refrigerator door hanging open…”

  “Does our fair little Penelope even eat?” Adam teased.

  “Okay, will you knock it the fuck off?” Drew spat. “Of course, she eats!”

  “Skinny little thing there,” Adam continued to ramble. “Gotta put some fat on her!”

  Much to Drew’s relief, he found his parents and Maxine sitting on the couch and watching some sitcom. Perhaps they’d had their time to talk while he spoke with Adam. However, the night was far from over, and he knew he still had some explaining to do.

  Plunking down upon the arm of the couch, Drew pulled Maxine close. He didn’t say a word. He simply kissed her on the top of her head. He just needed to feel her close to him.

  Their mindless show, however, was interrupted with breaking news from the local station, and Adam reached for the remote.

  “They’re gonna tell us that a typhoon is heading straight into Manhattan from Jersey and that it’s going to suck up the entire Upper West Side…”

  “You can’t turn it off for just one night, can you, son?” Declan asked as he turned to Adam.

  Then everything just stopped.

  “Reports have been confirmed that Louise Reynolds, who had been arrested yesterday on charges of child molestation and endangerment to the welfare of a child, was found dead in her prison cell this evening at Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Reynolds became the infamous face of domestic violence when she was discovered bruised and battered after the death of her illegally adopted daughter nearly thirty years ago. Details of Reynolds’ death have not been confirmed as of yet, but we've been following this story throughout the day and...”

  “She's gone...” Maxine said, her lips gaping in shock and relief. Instinctively, her arms reached for Drew. “Drew...your nightmare is over—she’ll never hurt you again…”

  “Did she kill herself?” Maggie gasped.

  “If someone else didn’t do it first,” Declan said.

  “Wish it was me…” Adam muttered miserably. “Bitch probably took the easy way out.”

  While certainly unexpected, Maxine didn’t want to hear the newscast. She had only one concern, and that was Drew. “You're free...oh, my love...you're
free...”

  Fixated on the images of Louise as she was brought into custody rolling across the screen, Drew slackened in respite in Maxine's firm hold. “We're free, my sweet little one...”

  Now, it was time for Drew to make peace with Maxine...with his family...but most importantly, with himself.

  # # #

  Sunlight streamed through the windows that early November morning, erasing all traces of the rain, wind and hail that drenched and damaged the city only hours before. The sky was such a bright blue, punctuated with gloriously white cottony clouds, promising a gorgeous late fall Sunday in New York.

  A calm pervading him like none other before, Drew awakened, so grateful now more than ever to have Maxine sleeping so peacefully next to him.

  Of course, he wasn't about to allow her to sleep for long...

  Maxine mumbled in her slumber, as he stirred beside her and pressed his hands against her tummy, drawing her closer to make his intentions very clear. She could feel his fingers as they crept so deftly beneath the hem of her tank, sweeping over her chest then pausing for a squeeze at the cup of her breasts. Grazing over her nipples and giving rise to those two tiny buds, he merely teased as he plucked them as if delicately picking petals from a rose.

  How he loved to wake her up with one sweet but intense orgasm to start her day.

  “Oh…Drew...” she gasped.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” his lips caressed her hair. “Open your pretty green eyes while you come for me.”

  “Ohhh...” she cried out suddenly, looking into those now calm pools of blue as Drew coaxed her closer. “Ohhh...!”

  “That's my good girl,” he smiled so tenderly as he looked down upon her, writhing next to him and struggling against the flutter of her eyelids to hold his approving gaze. “So beautiful when you come for me...”

  Biting hard into her bottom lip, she thrashed in delight while the tips of his fingers merely whispered over her nipples. As always, he left her tingling from the peaks of her breasts to that swollen little sprout between her legs that begged for his touch, too.