Page 91 of What Burns Between
She rearranges herself to lie on her stomach beside me. "Something like that." Her brow furrows. "What did Weston say to you when he pulled you aside?”
"Just asked me what happened."
"And you said...?"
"Nothing."
She smiles softly. "We'll make an old lady out of you yet."
"I thought I already was?"
"Not officially. If Digger wants to make things proper, he’s gotta take it to the table and let the officers vote on you. Only then will you officially be his property, meaning he's responsible for you. Everything you do, everything you say, it reflects on him."
I press my legs together, strangely intrigued by the idea. Possession by Connor was a curse, but the thought of someone like Digger owning me—Tyke even.Jesus, Rae.I swallow—hard.
“How long do you think I’ll be on this lockdown if there’s talk on the street about me?”
“Why?”
"I gotta get out of here, Mads." I chip at the edge of my nail with another. "Aside from the fact I'm causing arguments amongst your family, I'm not used to being so..." I shrug. "Idle."
"I thought Daddy gave you a job." She frowns, laying her head on one arm and looking at me sideways.
"He did." I glance at her. "But I did as much as I could before I needed help, and he thought Kane would be the right person to ask." I glance her way. “Which is why we were talking when you came in.”
"For fuck's sake." Maddie groans, rolling to her back. "Men are so fucking dense sometimes."
"It'd be better if I was out of everyone's hair for a few days, don't you think?"
Her brow pinches. "Where would you go?"
"I don't know." Hadn't thought this impulse through that far. “Somewhere that Connor doesn’t know to find me. Does your family have anywhere off-site, like a cabin?"
She shakes her head, corners of her mouth downturned. "Naw, babe. Sorry." Mads laces her fingers atop her stomach, little finger on each hand drumming to a silent tune. "There is one other place you could go that Terry wouldn't fuck with, but I wouldn't recommend it."
"Why not?"
She grimaces. "It's not as homely as here."
I snort. Has she been living in the same building as I have for the past few days? "Are you sure about that?"
Her lack of smile concerns me. "Yeah." She rolls her pretty eyes. "Last time I stayed at Uncle Fox's place, he made me scrub his bathroom top to bottom to 'keep me outta trouble.'" She glances at my confusion and adds, "I was seven."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Let's say things between him and Daddy didn't get any better after that, and they haven't spoken since."
No wonder I had no idea Tyke and Weston had another brother. The revelation only highlights how little I understandabout Maddie: her family, her history, what all that means to the town of Red River.
To people like Terry.
"Do you think Connor would actually do it?" I muse aloud, fear prickling along my arms and the back of my neck. “Kill me if Terry asked him to?”
She shrugs. "I can't read that guy, Rae. But I know he wouldn't stand a chance against his father if it came to that. Connor can't protect you from Terry as much as he wishes he could."
I reach out and snag a pillow, flopping to my back before I shove it over my face and groan. It's tiring coming up with possibilities only to have them shot down or disproven. The narrow window of hope I had that I'd find a way out of this situation closes more and more each day that passes. The intrusive side of my thoughts urges me to pack up and deliver myself to Terry's door—to get this over and done with. But the more rational, honest side of me raises her imaginative fist and roars a battle cry, not ready to give up on what I want most: a future.
"I really fucked up, didn't I?"