Love vs. Payne (16 page)

They were so lost in each other, they did not hear the commotion going on in the hallway. It was not until the door crashed open, that they realized their worst nightmare had just entered the room.

Gia's arms automatically went to cover her breasts as Maddox came out from under her skirt. Maddox blocked her from view as he yanked up her gown to cover her breasts, and then set her safely behind him.

It all happened so fast from there, the slew of profanity and the aggressive confrontation started immediately. It was the first time the feuding families had been in the same room together for years and the combustible mixture was lethal at best.

"You whore!" Victor seethed with rage at his daughter.

"Don’t you
ever
call her that again!” Maddox warned Victor.

"She is a whore, a dirty, rotten, cheating Love!" Xavier yelled.

"You don't call my daughter a whore!" Victor turned to Xavier, pointing his finger.

"I call it like I see it." Xavier answered taking a step closer to Victor. Axton and Dexter stepped a little closer, making sure the two, stubborn men did not connect, because if they did, they would likely kill each other.

"Your bastard son kidnapped my daughter!" he looked at Gia, "that's it isn't it? I knew it! He kidnapped you out of your bed in the middle of the night, right under my nose!"

"
No
, he did not kidnap me!" she tried to step forward, but Maddox would not let her near the angry men.

"I'm calling the police!" Victor shouted.

"I already did that sir." François squeaked timidly from the door.

"Good, call them. The judge is a personal friend of mine, he's known Maddox his whole life and he will vouch that my son would never resort to kidnapping
trash
!"

"
TRASH
? Who are you calling trash, you thief." Victor hissed in rebuttal.

"
THIEF
? You don't have
anything
to steal!"

"Then why did your son
steal
my daughter!" they started to argue almost incoherently, not making any sense to those listening.

Axton and Dexter stood back watching the surreal scene in disbelief. Mr. Payne and Mr. Love were facing off like pit bulls, Trent was behind his father, sneering like a hyena. Maddox was obviously tense, they knew their brother well, and could clearly see that he was at his breaking point. Then they looked over at the beautiful girl in the wedding dress standing behind their little brother, wondering how Victor Love had created something so perfect. One look at her and they immediately understood why Maddox would fight the world to be with her.

"Enough! She’s not a slut and I did not kidnap her!" Maddox roared, as he went head to head with both men, "I love her!" both fathers looked at him as if he had suddenly sprouted wings and horns. His brother Axton grinned, he was proud of his little brother for finally standing up to their tyrannical father. "I'm sick of this fucking war! You didn't ask us if we wanted it, you forced it on us! We're done, we’re ending this war," he said, eye to eye with his father, "we're getting married."

"If you marry that girl I will disown you!" Xavier yelled

"You’re too late, I already disowned you." he seethed.

"Well it's not going to happen!" Victor said turning to his son, Trent "Get her!"

“But-” Trent looked nervous as well as confused for a moment.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Maddox warned him.

"Now boy!" his father roared, Trent was in between a rock and a hard spot, either way he was looking at a fight. At least with Maddox, it would only be a one-night fight, his father on the other hand would be sure to make Trent pay for years to come.

“I-” Trent wanted to run from the room.

"Now!" his father barked so loud that Trent jumped and then in a panic, he grabbed for Gia.

It was a fatal move.

Maddox slammed his fist into Trent's jaw then took him straight to the floor.

In the midst of trying to pull their son’s apart, Xavier and Victor’s screaming match had also escalated to a brawl on the floor.

Axton and Dexter went straight for their brother, trying to pull him off Trent before he did some serious damage. Trent’s swelling face was already bloody and he was crying as if he was being murdered.

Gia went to her knees in a strange sort of shock, the room went silent and tears pored like rain from her eyes. Her hands covered her mouth as she watched the worst-case scenario happening right before her eyes.

François skittishly walked over to the panic-stricken girl, helping her to her feet then taking her into the hallway. He held her arm and helped her to the bench down the hall from the room, away from the chaos.

"The police will be here soon, just try and relax." he patted her head, wishing Pascal was here to help, he would know what to say to this poor girl. "Everything will be alright."

Gia looked up at him, her eyes full of disbelief. Nothing would ever be all right again, she could feel it in the pit of her soul.

***

The arresting officers were wise enough to separate the fighting families and put them in cells on opposite sides of the room. Unfortunately, the jail was not big enough for their deep-rooted feud or the overabundance of testosterone that came with it. Although a ten-foot gap separated their cells, they stood at the bars, facing each other as they hurled insults back and forth. They yelled loud enough for everyone at the jail to hear them, both eager to resume where their fight had left off.

“When I get loose I am going to beat the shit out you, Love!” Xavier barked, pacing back and forth like a caged beast, his eye on his enemy.

“You’re all talk Payne, I’ll crush you!” Victor yelled back as he gave him the middle finger.

“Wait until I get my hands on you!” Xavier roared, trying to shake the bars.

“I need some pain medicine!” Trent whined as he held his bruised face, and then sniffled as he huddled up against the other side of the cell.

“Will you shut that girl up!” Xavier snapped. Axton and Dexter burst out in laughter as Trent cried harder.

“
Stop crying
!” Victor hissed, consumed with shame over his son’s display of weakness. Victor wanted to throttle Trent right then and there, as his whining increased.

“But-” Trent sobbed.

“Shut up! Have you no shame? You’re making a mockery of your family name!” Victor refrained from slugging him as the Payne family laughed.

***

The police had escorted Gia home, and she immediately changed out of the gown. She sat there for hours, her mind racing over the nights events before her father finally got home. Victor did not say anything to her as he walked into the trailer, refusing to look at her as he passed by on the way to his room. Although Trent was glaring at her when he came in, she could tell that he was elated over her misery. She was surprised he had not cursed at her and assumed that her father had warned him not to speak to her at all. Although she knew she should be concerned, right now she was just thankful for the silence.

***

Maddox was outside of her bedroom, lightly tapping on her locked window until she pulled back the tattered curtain to look out. Only the glass separated them as they stood there looking at each other. He could tell by her puffy, red-rimmed eyes that she had been crying all night and probably had not slept since they were busted at the motel. He put his hand on the window, wishing it were her face that he was touching.

“Come out.” he said but she shook her head and took a step back in fear, her father would kill her if he saw Maddox here. “Either you come out, or I will come in, I swear I will Gia.” he warned her, but she did not move until he tried to open her window. When she realized he would not stop, she quickly opened her window and climbed out. Maddox helped her out and once her feet were on the ground, he wrapped his arms around her.

Gia fell into his arms and cried, the pressure of the situation had gotten to her. The weight of their families’ feud had crushed her and the pain had become unbearable. He rubbed her back and held her as close to him as he could.

"I love you." Gia said as she pulled back to look into his eyes.

"Then let’s leave, let’s just get the hell away from these people."

"We can't, we made such a big mess of things here, we have to try and fix it." She reasoned.

"We can't fix this, they made this mess, not us. Their bad-blood runs too deep, we can't help them." Maddox shook his head in disgust.

"We have to try, I can't leave my father like this, not now."

"Fuck him! What has he ever done for you? He treats you like a maid, he ignores you and lets your brother treat you like shit! Forget them and come with me," he held her close, "let me make you happy." He declared and she began to sob. This was the dream she had been waiting for, she had the option to live in true bliss with the love of her life, but she had to decline. She could never be truly happy if she knew her father hated her. What if she came to resent Maddox for it? What if she blamed him? She would not take those risks.

"Let’s just wait a little longer." she pulled back a little, putting her hands on his face.