Scars of the Past (12 page)

Chapter Fifteen

“Madelyn Louise, if I catch you stealing anymore of the deviled eggs I am going to send you to your room.”

I grinned at my mom, and stepped away from the counter where we had all of the food set up.

“You do realize that I’m not eight-years-old anymore, right mom?”

She waved the wooden spoon that she was using to stir with at me, trying to look threatening.

“Eighteen hours of labor vetoes your age every time.”

I rolled my eyes and moved to finish setting the table, adding place settings to six of the eight seats for the first Thanksgiving in years. 

My mother made a big production out of Thanksgiving every year, and it was worse when Matthew wasn’t home due to her trying to overcompensate for the fact that it was just the two of us. This year she was a bit happier because, although Matthew was still oversees, it would be more than just her and I for dinner. Amanda was bringing her mom and Josh was joining us as well. Sydney had been formally requested by her parents and couldn’t get out of it, much to her disappointment. But I still set a place for her just in case she managed to escape.

“What time will Josh be here?” Mom had the turkey pulled out of the oven as she basted it one last time.

“Anytime. He said that he should be done around two.”

Josh had told me that he needed to finish programming something at the office before the Black Friday craziness started, but promised he’d be back in time for dinner.

The doorbell rang and I swiped another egg as I went to go answer it.

“I saw that, young lady!”

I laughed as I swung open the door. Amanda and her mom, Karen, stood on the step, bundled up against the chilly temperatures.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Amanda gave me a one armed hug as she held a pie in the other.

“Happy Thanksgiving, ladies!” I gave Karen a big hug, and she smiled warmly but didn’t say anything.

I led them into the family room, and my mom came in to greet everyone. I took the pie from Amanda and put it in the kitchen with the rest of the food. My phone rang, and I pulled it out expecting to see Josh’s name, but instead I saw Bridget’s.

I had told Bridget about her husband finding me on campus, and she started apologizing profusely. Apparently she had mentioned me once or twice, and he didn’t like the idea that she had friends. She promised that no repercussions had happened after he saw me, and that’s she was going to stop mentioning friends for the time being. That night I had pleaded with her to leave him, breaking my rule of not bringing it up, but she told me she just wasn’t ready yet.

Josh hadn’t taken the news of Bridget’s husband as well, and I basically had to jump on his back to keep him from bolting out the door to hunt him down. He insisted that I not be alone on campus anymore, and wait for Sydney or Amanda outside of their classrooms. I didn’t tell anyone else, though. They were finally starting to look at me normally again and I didn’t want to change that.

“Hey Bridget! Happy Thanksgiving!”

She didn’t respond for a moment, and when she did she sounded like she had been crying. “Happy Thanksgiving, Maddie.”

“What’s wrong?” It wasn’t the first time she called me crying, but whenever she did it was usually because she was in pain.

“I just don’t understand how he can treat me like he does, expect me to stay and be the good little wife, and yet he’s apparently sleeping with someone else”

“What? How did you find out?”

She laughed bitterly. “He took video with his phone. I caught him masturbating to it while I was making our Thanksgiving dinner. He just laughed, like it was the funniest thing ever.”

“I’m so sorry, Bridget. What do you want to do? I can come get you if you want.”

She sighed heavily, and I heard her sniffle. “No, I just wanted to talk to you. I have to go finish cooking before he wakes up from his nap. Thanks for letting me cry.”

“You call me anytime, okay? I’m here for you, Bridge.”

“Thanks Maddie. Happy Thanksgiving.”

We hung up the phone and I stood there for a moment, a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. He was getting more brass with her, and it made me feel uneasy.

I walked back into the family room where Amanda and mom were talking about the internship that Amanda had applied for with social services.

“So I’d basically be doing paperwork, but at the same time I would be able to go out on home visits with the other Social Workers to observe.”

My mom pat Amanda on the knee with a proud look on her face. “That’s really great, Amanda. You’re going to be amazing at it, I’m sure.” She glanced at Karen. “You’ve raised a remarkable young woman, Karen.”

Amanda’s mom was staring at the conversing figures disconnectedly. When she noticed my mom talking to her, she just smiled and nodded.

The doorbell rang again, and I jumped up quickly. “That must be Josh.”

Mom moved to the kitchen as I walked to the front door. I opened it and Josh stood there with a broad smile across his handsome face. “Hey, sorry I’m late. There was a slight delay that I had to wait on.” He stepped inside the door and gave me a quick kiss.

“I hope you guys don’t mind, but I brought a friend with me to dinner.”

I gave him a confused look, and I saw my mom peek her head out of the kitchen with a curious expression as well. Josh stepped to the left and exposed the doorway.

“What does a guy have to do to get a home cooked meal around here?”

My mom and I both exchanged shrill squeals as Matthew appeared in the door. His rucksack slung over his shoulder, and huge smile on his face. He dropped the rucksack as both my mom and I rushed into his arms.

After a moment I pulled away, and turned to Josh. “Thank you, you sneak.”

He laughed and pulled me to him. “You’re welcome, but Matt did it all, I just supplied the ride home.” He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my forehead.

Mom had finally released Matthew, and he moved into the family room. His eyes immediately found Amanda and his smiled widened even more.

She stood and gave him a small smile as they moved into an quick, awkward hug.

Karen didn’t get up, and although she kept a smile on her face, you could see the confusion etched there. Matthew crouched in front of her, giving her a grin.

“Hi, Mrs. Franklin. Happy Thanksgiving!”

After a moment, Karen raised her hand up to cup his cheek, and he covered her hand with his own.

We all watched the exchange closely and when I glanced at Amanda she was hurriedly wiping a tear away that had fallen down her cheek.

My mom clapped her hands together happily, looking around the family room.

“What an amazing day! Are you all ready to eat?”

We followed her into the dining room and we moved the different plates of food to the table. Mom picked up the plate of deviled eggs and shook her head at me before putting them next to the stuffing.

As we ate, Matthew told us about how he’d just found out he was coming home early less than thirty-six hours ago.

“The flight they had me on actually wasn’t going to have me back until tonight. Someone overheard me on the phone with Josh saying I wasn’t going to make dinner and he made me take his seat on the flight leaving earlier. I tried, but he refused to take no for an answer.”

“Oh bless him,” my mom said, dabbing her eyes. “I’m so thankful to have both of my babies home for the holidays.  I’m thankful for each of you sitting around this table.”

The front door opened and in stomped a sullen looking Sydney. She was wearing a floor-length black dress, with one strap and one bare shoulder, a bunched up shawl in her hands. She kicked off her heels by the door and went into the kitchen. When she re-emerged she was holding an empty plate in her hand, the scowl still on her face. She sat in the empty chair next to my mom and began piling food onto her plate.

We all just stared at her through all this, no one saying anything, but everyone smiling.

Finally, my mom leaned over and gave her a one-armed hug.

“Happy Thanksgiving, Sydney.”

Sydney swallowed her mouthful of food and grinned at my mom. “Happy Thanksgiving, Linda. I am so thankful that your food doesn’t suck.”

We all burst out laughing as Sydney went back to shoveling food in her mouth. She paused for a moment and looked at Matthew.

“Welcome home, jerk.”

“Thanks brat.” He gave her a wink and took a long drink of his beer.

After dinner was over we sat in my mom’s family room eating pie, drinking coffee, and chatting. Mom got out the old photo albums, and sat with Karen on the loveseat as they flipped through the pages. Karen still didn’t say anything, but smiled widely at most of the pictures, and would lovingly caress the ones of young Amanda.

Amanda sat in the oversized armchair with Sydney and watched them for a little while before she excused herself from the room. Sydney and I exchanged a look and had a silent conversation as to whether or not we should go after her. Matthew stood from his spot on the couch beside me, clapping a hand on my thigh.

“I’ll go.” And he disappeared after Amanda

After a few minutes, Sydney got up from her spot on the arm chair and occupied Matthew’s vacant spot.

“I feel bad for them both. I can imagine going through that.”

I let out a deep sigh. “She’s getting worse, too.”

“How was your parents’ Thanksgiving, Sydney?” Josh asked from my other side.

She rolled her eyes. “Incredibly lame. It wasn’t even really a dinner, but more like a business banquet. And to top it off, my mother tried to set me up with dad’s middle aged co-worker. I escaped as soon as I could and drove right over here.”

“Madelyn.” My mom said my name softly from the loveseat. “Can you find Amanda? Karen is looking for her.”

Karen was starting to look uneasy, and her eyes were darting around the room for something familiar.

“Yeah, I’ll go get her.” I stood up, leaving Sydney and Josh on the couch, and headed for the back of the house.

After checking inside for them, I opened up the back door and stepped out into the chilly air. Matthew and Amanda were wrapped in each other’s arms so tightly that I’d almost mistaken them for one person. They were kissing slowly, but passionately, and I felt like an intruder.

After a few heartbeats I unfroze and cleared my throat quietly. They came unglued as Amanda backed away from him, her cheeks flushed from the kiss, and her ears red in embarrassment.

“Sorry to interrupt guys, but your mom is getting a little upset, Amanda.”

She didn’t say anything, but nodded her head and hurried back inside. I stared at Matthew with my eyebrows raised and hands on my hips.

“Well, that was interesting.”

Matthew shook his head, as if to clear it, and walked towards me and the door. “Don’t read much into it, Maddie.”

And with that he walked inside, leaving me on the deck by myself.

Chapter Sixteen

Later that evening, after the dishes were done and the remnants of dinner were cleaned up, everyone said their goodbyes to mom and Matthew. Sydney headed back to the apartment, but Josh and I decided to stay the night at his townhouse.

He lived about five miles from our apartment in a pretty nice area that was lacking the college student presence ours had. The two story townhome had a bachelor feel to it, even though he really did try to tap it down a bit. His computer equipment dominated a room of its own, and unless I brought groceries over, he rarely had any food.

“Your mom sent enough leftovers to feed us for a year,” Josh said as he put the containers my mom had given us into the fridge.

“Yeah, and we have even more at our place for you to eat when you’re there.”

“I’m sure Matt will annihilate what she has in her fridge and will help out with what’s in your apartment.” He followed behind me as we headed up the stairs.

Slowly over the past few weeks, some of my own items had started to trickle into Josh’s home. It started with a toothbrush, and eventually I had my own shower items, a couple of outfits, and even some tampons there. He tried to talk me into bringing my designated night shirt over, but I refused just in case he tried to steal it back. On the nights I stayed at his place I’d just choose a random t-shirt from his wardrobe and use that.

After I had brushed my teeth, I slipped into Josh’s Matchbox 20 t-shirt that he had left out for me. I sat on his bed up against the headboard and waited as he brushed his teeth, too. He walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but his boxers and grinned before climbing in bed next to me.

“Thanks for inviting me to dinner, I had a great evening.” He pulled me against his side and kissed the top of my head.

“Me too. Thank you for coming, and thank you for getting Matt from the airport. That was a fantastic surprise.” I turned so that we were face to face, and I moved one of my legs to straddle him.

“So I was thinking today…” I trailed a hand across his chest lightly, watching my fingers as they moved and deliberately avoided his eyes.

“And what were you thinking about?” Josh’s hands moved to settle lightly on my hips, and I could hear a hint of a smile in his words.

I took a deep breath and slowly brought my eyes up so I was looking into his. I put one hand on the back of his neck and the other moved to play with his hair.

“I was thinking that I really want you to make love to me.”

His mouth was turned up in a soft smile and he kissed me lightly before pulling back. “I really want to make love to you, but I want you to be sure you’re ready.”

This time I pressed my lips to his, but it wasn’t a sweet kiss. I tried to pour how much I wanted him into the kiss, and let him know how ready I was.

He moved his hands up under my shirt and settled them on my lower bare back, softly caressing the area that was marred by silky, pink scars.

“Madelyn,” he mumbled against my lips. “We don’t have to do this.”

I pulled away from him and he stared at me with uncertainty on his face.

“I know, Josh. I know we don’t have to, but I want to.”

I grabbed the hem of the shirt and pulled it up over my head slowly, tossing it to the foot of the bed. One of his hands left my back, trailing to my front and he gently rubbed his thumb over my nipple.

I moaned, pressing against him, and his resolve broke. He rolled us over so I was on my back and he hovered over me. He kissed my mouth and then began to move down, feathering my throat, my chest, my breasts, and my stomach with light kisses. When he reached the top of my panties he sat back on his knees.

“You can tell me to stop any time, Maddie.” Josh held my eyes with his own for a moment, looking for any signs of doubt. He must not have seen any because I felt his fingers hook around the elastic and he dragged my underwear down my legs and over my feet. He pulled off his own boxers, and reached into the nightstand next to his bed, pulling out of brand new box of condoms. Sheepishly, he looked up at me as he ripped them open.

“I bought these just in case, but I wasn’t expecting anything.”

I watched as he pulled one out and threw the box back into the drawer.

“I actually kind of love that it’s a brand new box…” I trailed off as I watched him roll the condom on.

He didn’t say anything, but instead gave me smile and moved so he was poised over me again. I let my legs fall open and Josh settled between them, leaning down to place a sweet kiss on my mouth.

“I love you so much, Madelyn,” he whispered softly.

I put my hands on either side of his cheeks and smiled at him.

“I love you too, Josh.”

He pushed inside of me slowly, and my heart felt like a helicopter, about to fly out of my chest.

Once he filled me completely he froze for second. “Okay?”

I didn’t answer for a moment, and I tried to keep my breathing from becoming erratic. I squeezed my eyes shut and inhaled deeply. When I opened them again, I stared up at his eyes and the loving concern that shone from them made me feel treasured. All of my trepidation melted away almost immediately.

“Perfect,” I responded and pushed my hips up toward him.

He began to move, slowly at first, but soon he was moving in and out of me quickly. His mouth gave attention to my breasts and I dug my nails into his back as the pressure built up. When he reached his hand between us, he lightly brushed against me and I came apart, calling out his name and seeing stars.

Josh murmured my name several times, almost like a prayer, before groaning loudly. After a moment he slowed down until he was completely still.

He collapsed on top of me, but kept his weight on his arm, and he settled his face against my neck. Pulling out of me slowly, he rolled to his back and got out of bed. He disappeared for a second before lying back in the same spot, tucking me to his side, and pulling the sheet up over us.

We cuddled in silence for a few moments, and I smiled against his chest before propping myself up on my elbow so I could look at him.

“We should have been doing that for the past 2 years.”

He laughed and ran his hand through my hair. “That basically means that your first tutoring session would have ended with us in bed. “

I shrugged. “That was probably the same one where I basically daydreamed about that very thing the entire time.”

“Me too. The sessions were basically sweet torture.”

I settled back into his chest, just inhaling him and listening to his strong heartbeat.

“Josh,” I mumbled, my lips against his warm skin. “What did you think that night I kissed you?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, and when I snuck a peek at his face he had a serene smile on his lips.

“For months I was so nervous that you didn’t feel the same way I did, and I was too chicken to ask. You were one of my best friends and the thought of making things weird between us worried me. So when you kissed me, Maddie, I was the happiest I had ever been.” He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckle. “I just wish I’d had the balls to make the move sooner because who knows where we could be at this point.”

“We’re together now. That’s all that matters, right?”

Josh’s arms tightened around me. “Right.”

–––

The sound of a phone ringing had me dazed and I couldn’t figure out where I was for a moment. I was still naked, my leg thrown over Josh’s equally naked body and the sheet tangled around us.

“Is that mine or yours?” I grumbled, lifting my head up. “What time is it?”

Josh gently pushed me onto my own pillow and sat up as the phone began to ring for a second time. “It’s a little after three, and I think that’s your phone.” He reached over to the nightstand and handed it to me.

I stared at the name on it for a moment before sliding my finger across the screen.

“Bridget? Are you okay?”

Bridget’s soft cries came across the phone and I was instantly awake.

“Bridget. What’s wrong?”

She hiccupped, her breathing unsteady. “Can you come get me? He’s out of control and I’m scared.”

I stood up, pulling my clothes from the night before on, as Josh did the same. “I’ll be right there. Bridget, I’m going to call the police, okay?”

“No! That will just make it worse! Please don’t!” She sounded hysterical, and my movements started to become frantic.

Suddenly I heard a male voice in the background start yelling.

“Who are you talking to, bitch? Hang up the phone!”

A strangled scream sounded through the phone, and the line went dead. I stared at Josh for a second, my hands trembling. “Oh god. We need to go.”

Josh had already dialed 9-1-1 and was speaking rapidly to the dispatcher as we got into the truck. The operator’s voice came over the speakers as we peeled out of the parking lot.

I just stared out the window as Josh raced across the city, a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

It took us ten agonizingly long minutes to get to her little house, traffic heavy with Black Friday shoppers, and by the time we pulled up there were police cars out front. Chaos was everywhere and an ambulance was pulling up from the opposite direction.

I was out of the truck the moment Josh stopped and flew towards the house. An officer stopped me as I got to the edge of their front yard, his hands out in front of him.

“Whoa miss, you can’t go in there.”

“She’s my friend, she called- Is Bridget okay?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. We’re still trying to gain complete control over the situation. You have to let us work.”

Neighbors were starting to come outside in their pajamas, looking confused. We stood back where the officer guided us and I watched for signs of Bridget. Josh stood behind me silently, his arms wrapped around me.

After what felt like forever, the paramedics appeared at the door, wheeling the gurney out quickly. The person on the gurney was covered in blood and one of the paramedics was holding a mask over their face, pumping air in quickly. I moved towards the ambulance, but Josh held me back.

“We’ll go to the hospital and meet them there. Let’s not slow them down.”

I nodded and turned to go back to the truck. At that moment the police were bringing someone out the door in handcuffs. Bridget’s husband may have scared the shit out me just a few days before, but in that moment I wanted to kill him. His white tank top was covered in blood, and his face didn’t look remorseful, but angry.

I stayed where I was, glaring at him, but he never looked up as the police put him in the back of the squad car.

Josh tugged on my hand, and led me back to the truck. “Let’s go to the hospital, Mad.”

When we arrived in the emergency room, no one knew anything except that I wasn’t family. A nurse and I had gotten into a shouting match over how only next of kin could have information about patients and I lost it.

“Her next of kin is the one who did this!”

Josh tugged me back into the waiting area, and attempted to calm me down, but I was too agitated. After thirty minutes went by, Detective Bradley walked into the waiting room, Sarah at his flank.

“Sarah! She called and I heard him in the background…” I choked on my words and Sarah embraced me in a hug.

“David called me when he got the call. I’ve already contacted Bridget’s parents and they should be here soon from Modesto.”

I just nodded and sat back down in the chair, clinging to Josh’s hand, trying to tap down my desperation for information.

An hour later, a frantic couple came rushing into the waiting room, and I could tell they were Bridget’s parents right away. Bridget favored her mom heavily in looks, and my stomach felt a little ill looking at her. They were directed to the waiting room too, and we all introduced ourselves. Bridget’s mom hugged me so tightly that I felt like she was going to break a rib.

It was quiet in the waiting room, other than occasional hushed tones and conversation. I remained silent, clutching to Josh with one hand and Bridget’s mom clutching to me with the other. The sun had come up and it was close to seven by the time a doctor emerged from the back.

“Are you Bridget Combs’ family?”

Bridget’s mom and dad both nodded and we all stood up.

I knew before he opened his mouth, the look on his face had said it all, but the moment the doctor softly spoke the words, “I’m sorry” I couldn’t believe it. 

Bridget’s mom collapsed to the floor, crying out loudly, and her husband wrapped around her as they both sobbed.

I stood as still as a statue, just staring at the doctor until he went back through the double doors where Bridget’s lifeless body would be.