about whatever problems Carl has or what you plan to do with his drunk ass. Madison is my only concern. And you put her at risk, leaving her there alone night after night, and this time, something happened. You left her there alone with an asshole too drunk to hear her ‘no’, and she’s the one who paid the price. She hasn’t even spoken since we left the bar, not through the ride home or a long bath or when I put her to bed. She’s in shock.” The blame I’m layering on her makes her tears ramp up, but I don’t stop. “She loves you like a mother and would do anything for you, but this isn’t right. She can’t do this anymore. I won’t allow it.”
“What are you saying?” Stella asks, her voice wavering.
“Effective immediately, Madison’s done working at your bar. Find someone else to run it.”
“What?” Stella shrieks, but her voice is weak. “You can’t just quit for her!”
“I just did. I’m going to take care of her now, like you should have and did for a while, and I appreciate that, but it’s not working now. Don’t call, don’t text. All of you just leave her alone and let her heal, however long that takes. I don’t know if she’s going to wake up in the morning angry, sad, scared, or what . . . but I’ll handle it. Just leave her alone for a while.”
I don’t wait for Stella to answer, knowing she’d never agree to that. As much as Maddie loves Stella, Stella loves Maddie back. She is partially at fault, but Maddie would forgive her readily because that’s who she is. But I can’t stand the thought of her going back to that place, being at risk that way. Not when she can stay here with me, safe and sweet and happy and . . . mine. I hang up the phone and press the button to turn it off. Once I’m sure it’s a brick, I toss it in a drawer in the kitchen and head back to the bedroom.
I strip down carefully so as not to wake or spook her and slide into bed behind Madison. She snuffles in her sleep and turns over, curling into my side like a kitten. I run a soft finger along her skin, soothing her back to sleep and reassuring myself that she’s okay. I hover on the edge of sleep all night, dozing but aware of her every breath, every movement.
The next morning dawns clear and bright, at odds with the darkness clouding my mind. Maddie squirms against me before opening her eyes. “Mmm . . . good morning.”
I’m already looking at her, have been for the last thirty minutes as she wiggled in her sleep and I tried to decipher if she was having a nightmare or just dreaming. So I see the moment she remembers what happened the night before. I see the light in her eyes dim and her shoulders scrunch up to her ears as she burrows deeper under the covers.
“Good morning. How you doing?” I ask gently, wanting to let her set the tone here.
Her eyebrows furrow together. “I’m okay, I think. I was freaked out last night for sure, but I’m okay. He was really drunk, and I’m sure he feels bad about the whole thing this morning.”
It doesn’t escape my attention that she doesn’t say his name, just like she told me she avoided her ex’s name for the longest time after that trauma. It’s a sign she’s not as okay as she’s making out to be. I knew she’d try to downplay the whole thing. My sweet, forgiving girl, but she shouldn’t have to forgive this.
So I take charge, leaving out a few key details. “I already called Stella and told her what happened.”
Madison’s jaw drops as her eyes widen. “What?”
“I wanted to make sure somebody checked on Carl first thing this morning because the bar door is busted. Stella said she’d handle Carl and that you were already scheduled for three days off, so take those plus however many more you want. All the time you need. I told her you’d call her later in the week to let you have time to process.” She nods, so I tell her the last bit. “I turned your phone off. Stella will let everyone know what happened and that you’re okay. It can just be us, and I can take care of you.”
I hate lying to her,