Helios Renewed

by Tawa M. Witko

  “I started thinking about my tattoo and how the moon is covering the sun, blocking its light. That led me to thinking about us again and how, with you, the moon is merely a sliver. It’s still there but not blocking the light anymore.”

  Madison immediately started crying again. She couldn’t believe this was happening. It didn’t surprise her in the least about the thought that went into the ring. Andrew was like that. He took life very seriously. His experiences had forced him to, but this was beyond anything she could have ever imagined. She stared down at the beautiful engagement ring. The diamond sun was exquisite. The star was yellow gold with five small diamonds in it while the moon was encased in white gold that matched the band of the ring. There was another round diamond next to the moon. She glanced up at Andrew.

  He smiled. “That one is a bit corny, but it’s kind of the earth. You know 'cause you’re my center kind of thing.”

  “It’s not corny at all,” Madison said wiping her eyes. “It’s beautiful. It’s... moving,” Madison could feel the tears flowing again. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too Madison. So …” he hesitated. “You never really answered the question. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, of course yes,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him and crashed her lips to his, crawling on top of his lap.

  Andrew didn’t hesitate as his hands moved up and down her back, feeling the silky material under his fingertips. Her hands fisted his hair as she kissed him intensely. Andrew carefully rose from the chair as Madison wrapped her legs around his waist, never removing her lips from his mouth. He brought them to the bedroom where he was certain they would make love for the remainder of the evening.

  7 Hard To Say Goodbye

  “Helios, babe, don’t forget to go in the safe and get our phones.”

  “I almost forgot about them,” he said with a laugh.

  He walked to the safe and tapped the keypad for a moment, trying to remember the code. He grinned and then keyed in the numbers. Extracting their phones, he turned his on and pocketed it before walking into the bedroom to hand Madison hers. They had decided when they first arrived in Big Bear that they were going to turn their phones off and have a real vacation. To ward off any temptation they might have to check email or messages, they locked their phones in the suites safe and forgot all about them for the ten glorious days they were in Big Bear. Andrew plopped on the bed and reached his hand out so she could take the phone. When she did, he yanked her to him.

  “Last night was incredible,” he said, pecking along her lips.

  “Well, maybe you should propose every night,” Madison playfully pulled on his bottom lip.

  “Is that so,” he replied, rolling her on her back.

  “Yes, it is,” she giggled as he draped his long leg over hers.

  They began to kiss, slow and sensual. Their hands made gentle passes along each other’s bodies until they both had their hands underneath the other’s shirts. Moaning into his mouth, Madison’s nimble fingers unsnapped the buttons on his jeans. He straddled her hips and smirked down at her.

  “You’re gonna make us late.”

  “You started it, Helios.”

  Before he could respond, she reached up, locking her hands around his neck and pulling him down on top of her. Her lips met his in a wild and desirous kiss. As Madison’s finger touched her engagement ring, she kissed him harder. She didn’t understand how, but just feeling the smoothness of the ring against her skin made her heart beat quickly. She had never known how much she wanted to marry Andrew until he proposed the night before. She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it, which was why she had no doubt that they would spend the rest of their lives together. But there was definitely a power she couldn’t describe knowing that he wanted to marry her. She had always seen marriage as an archaic symbol, but her brain was slowly shifting. She was now wondering if it wasn’t that at all, but, instead, a glorious commitment two people made to one another.

  “Andrew,” she moaned as she felt her pants come off.

  They had made love from the time he proposed until the early morning, waking up later than intended. Luckily they were able to get a late check out time. They had quickly packed everything and purposefully avoided showering together, as they knew anytime they did they were always delayed. It turned out they would be delayed anyway.

  “Helios,” she whimpered softly.

  They had known each other for two and a half years and so far there were no signs of their desire for each other waning. If anything, it grew with the years. Madison clawed at his back, underneath his shirt as he picked up speed. Push. Pull. Push. Pull. A dance they were so familiar with.

  “Madison,” he drew her name out.

  He thrust again and grunted out his orgasm. He breathed heavily on top of her until he finally withdrew. Madison didn’t move as he got up and smirked as she lay on the bed with a content smile on her face. He brushed his hand through his now messy hair and went to grab a wet wash cloth. When he returned, he found her lying in exactly the same spot.

  “Baby, come on, honey. We need to go.”

  “Un uh,” Madison replied as she felt him run the rag over her.

  Andrew laughed. She was tired but satisfied. He picked up her phone that was lying on the bed and placed it in her limp fingers. Madison smirked as he hit the power button and she heard her phone come to life.

  “Here, play with your phone,” he said with a quick kiss.

  She playfully flipped him off as he moved away from her. He chuckled again before leaning down to kiss her once more. “I thought I already did that.”

  “Go load the car, Helios,” she said laughing.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He grabbed the packed bags and soon all he heard was the incessant peeping of Madison’s phone going off. Madison arched her brow and peeked at her phone, which was going insane. She sat up and wiggled back into her jeans and grabbed her bra and t-shirt, which she promptly put on. Her phone finally stopped going off, so she plopped back down and leaned her back against the headboard as she started scrolling through her numerous text messages. She stopped when she found a series of messages and texts from her friend Monique in New York.

  Monique: Madison call me. It’s important.

  Monique: Please call me back

  Monique: Madison this is serious. Call me.

  Monique: I need to talk to you!

  Monique: Where are you? Call me. This is urgent.

  Monique: I don’t want to tell you this over text. Call me ASAP

  Monique: Okay, I left you a voice mail. Please check it and call me back. Thanks.

  “What the hell?” Madison said aloud.

  She immediately skipped over various voicemail messages until she reached the one she was looking for. She hit play and breathed in deeply as she heard her friend’s tear-filled voice.

  “Madison, I was really hoping you would call me sooner because I didn’t want to tell you like this. But shit, here goes. Mr. Turner was in a car accident last week. He was severely injured and didn’t survive. Oh God, Madison. Grayson is dead. Since you haven’t called I figure you must be somewhere without service. The funeral was today. I wish you could have been here. I really need to talk to you. Please call me, Madison. Things are crazy here right now. Bye.”

  “Oh My God!” Madison gasped.

  That message had been left three days ago. She had missed it. She had missed Grayson’s funeral. She felt the tears pouring out of her eyes before she recognized the emotion attached to them. She buried her face in her hands. When Andrew walked back in, he saw Madison crying hysterically. He ran to her and pulled her into his arms.

  “Madison, what’s wrong?”

  She shook her head and continued to cry. She needed to call Monique and find out exactly what was going on. She felt incredibly guilty that not only was she not there for her friend but she was also unable to attend Grayson’s funeral. He had been a good boss to her. She remembere
d how understanding he was about Andrew when he heard about his past. He didn’t judge him on that. She couldn’t consolidate the Grayson she saw less than six months ago at the Bennetts’ wedding, laughing and dancing with Natalie, with the idea that he was dead.

  “Madison, baby, tell me what’s going on?”

  He was trying desperately to mask his concern but was failing miserably. Seeing Madison distressed caused a great deal of anxiety for him. It was never something he handled well. He tried to think about what could have happened in such a short amount of time. He remembered her phone going off like crazy as he stepped out of the room and wondered if she had gotten a phone call. Some sort of bad news. He gently ran his hand up and down her back.

  “Did someone call?”

  She nodded and tried to bury herself inside him.

  “Is everyone okay?”

  She shook her head and Andrew froze. Panic and fear enveloped him. Scenarios related to something terrible happening to the people he loved immediately flooded his mind. Had something happened to Grans or possibly Aaron or Olivia? Had Jayden or Callie been injured or, even worse, little Ellie? He wondered how quickly they could get to Ireland if that were the case. His brow furrowed as he worried about the Bennett’s and even Connor. He had been doing so well. Had he succumbed to temptation? Andrew couldn’t take it anymore. His mind was his worst enemy at the moment. He pulled back from her and held her face in his hands. Her eyes were red and tears were still running down her cheeks.

  “Madison, TELL ME!” he stated louder than he intended.

  “Monique called. Grayson died last week,” she managed to find the words and immediately started crying again.

  He pulled her next to him. He was ambivalent about Grayson. He didn’t dislike him like he did Nolan or Kurtis but he held no emotional attachment to him either. But he recognized that he was still someone that Madison cared about. Madison heaved uncontrollably and then she pulled back. Her tear streaked face saddened Andrew. He glanced to the side and saw the rag. He almost grabbed it but thought better of it. Instead, he pulled the sleeve down from his hoodie and wiped her eyes with the material.

  “I need to call Monique before we go.”

  Andrew nodded. “Do you want me to leave?”

  Madison shook her head and grabbed his hand. “Stay with me.”

  “Always,” he said, kissing her forehead.

  He scooted to the head of the bed and positioned himself so that Madison could lean against him better. She sniffed several times as she scrolled through her address book looking for Monique’s number. She decided that she would call the house as she was probably there versus work. Monique picked up on the second ring.

  “Hello.”

  “It’s Madison. I just got your message.”

  Monique immediately started crying. “Oh Madison. I can’t believe it.”

  “What happened?”

  “It was crazy. He was working late. You know he does that a lot. And umm, on his way home,” she paused and Madison could tell she was crying. “They think he skidded on ice or something 'cause he lost control of his car. He crashed right into the side of the bridge.”

  “Oh my God!” Madison covered her mouth and closed her eyes.

  “It was horrible, Madison. The car caught fire. They had to identify him through dental records.”

  Madison was having difficulty trying to find the words. She wanted details but Monique was already crying horribly and she didn’t want to make it worse. Madison swallowed and then thought she should deter her slightly, maybe lean her in a direction.

  “How’s Natalie doing?”

  “Good as can be expected, I guess,” Monique replied through sniffles. “She’s been different it seems.”

  “Well, she lost her husband, Monique. Of course she’s different.”

  “No, I mean, just acting out of character. Like at the funeral.”

  “What do you mean? What happened at the funeral?”

  “The funeral was really nice but,” she stopped and blew her nose before returning to the phone. “Madison, do you know Kurtis didn’t even come. Can you believe that?”

  “WHAT?”

  “I know. I’m so disappointed in him. You were right. He’s such a jerk. But that’s another story. This is the thing that was so weird about the funeral. I was talking to Sammie at the house afterwards and Mr. Crawford approached Natalie to offer his condolences, I would guess. And she slapped him and told him to get the hell out of her house. She was screaming and pushing him towards the door. She looked deranged or something.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep, we all stood around stunned. You know Natalie. She’s sweet as can be. No one expected that. Then some guy named Liam intervened. He was cute, you know, in that ‘I’d call you daddy’ category. He took her upstairs and they were there for a long time. I think maybe they had a thing with each other before or something. Well that’s what everyone thought at least.”

  Madison laughed involuntarily. “Did he have an Irish accent?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did he come with anyone?”

  “Yeah, this equally hot guy. I didn’t catch his name but he looked kind of like an older version of that actor, Benjamin Bratt, you know, from Law and Order.”

  Madison shook her head. “I know who Benjamin Bratt is,” she stated with an eye roll. “And by the way, Liam’s my boss and he’s married. Happily married, I might add.”

  “Oh, really? Well, that doesn’t mean they didn’t have a little tryst upstairs. You know, heat of the moment, needing some comfort, kind of thing,” she said nonchalantly. “Natalie seemed in a much better mood when she came downstairs.”

  “Of for crying out loud, Monique, he’s gay and that Benjamin Bratt looking guy is his partner.”

  “Really? Wow! Never would have suspected that.”

  “Are they still out there?” Madison asked.

  “Huh? No, they left after the funeral. They’re really gay and not, you know, bi or something?’

  “Yes, Monique, they are gay.”

  “Too bad,” she said with a sigh.

  There was silence for a moment as Madison debated whether she should ask the question she wanted to ask. This was difficult for her because she didn’t want to sound crazy or paranoid, which at this point she wasn’t sure she wasn’t.

  “So, umm, they don’t think there was any, you know, foul play or anything, do they?”

  “I don’t think so. Why would anyone think that, Madison?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just that I had a weird conversation with Grayson about five months ago.”

  “About what?”

  Madison hesitated. “Nothing really. Are you okay? How are you doing?”

  “I’m alright, I think. I feel like I’ve cried forever. This past week has really sucked.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t available.”

  “I won’t lie, Madison. I was a little upset 'cause I knew you would understand what I was feeling. We’ve both worked for him for so long. Well, me more than you, but you know how he was.” Monique hesitated and Madison could hear her sniff, and then blow her nose. “He was such a good person. And, I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t like Mr. Crawford, it’s just I really miss Grayson. He was such a cool guy. He knew how to laugh. Know what I mean?”

  “I do,” Madison replied, wiping the tears that were starting to flow again.

  Andrew got up and went to the bathroom, returning with the box of Kleenex. Madison gave him a small smile as he offered the tissue to her. She mouthed ‘thank you’ before clearing her throat. Andrew scooted behind her again, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

  “So if Nolan is taking over the company, whose doing his job?”

  “Kurtis, of course!” she said disgusted. “You know that should have been your job.”

  “Monique.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  Madison sighed. “I wish I could have bee
n there for the funeral. Pay my respects. I feel horrible about not being there.”

  “I told people that I wasn’t able to get a hold of you.”

  “Thanks. Hey Monique, I better go. Andrew and I were just getting ready to check out when I read my messages. I’ll call you later this evening, okay?”

  “Sure, Madison.”

  Madison hung up and leaned her head back against Andrew’s chest. She closed her eyes as thoughts of her time in New York flashed through her mind. Her interview with Grayson, him telling her he was promoting her, the many company functions with him laughing and joking with people, the pleasant way he treated Andrew and the way he supported her decision to leave. Tears started flowing down her cheeks when she remembered telling him she was moving to California and how thoughtful he had been. He had told her that she would always be welcome at his company if she were ever to move back.

  “Madison,” Andrew kissed the top of her head before he moved out from behind her. It was getting late, way passed their check out time.

  “He was a good man,” Madison said, looking at him.

  Andrew nodded and wiped her tears away. “Let’s go home, baby.”

  Madison nodded and took his outstretched hand. He led her out to the car and opened the door for her. She slid inside silently. Andrew watched her for a moment, unsure if there was anything he could do to help. With a sigh, he closed her door and walked around to the driver’s side. He decided he would stop at Starbucks, get her favorite coffee and the lemon cake she liked. He hoped that would make her feel a little better. When they got home he would lay in bed with her and hold her. He frowned slightly. This was not how he expected this weekend to end.

  8 Announcement

  Madison looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a blue dress with her hair down. She, for the most part, was feeling better. She had slept all the way home from Big Bear. She was so distraught that she hadn’t even enjoyed the Starbucks and lemon cake that Andrew had gotten her. When they arrived home, Andrew took her to their bed and lay down with her until she fell asleep. At some point, he not only brought in all of their luggage, but put it away as well.