Penalty: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (Alpha Second Chances Book 3) (10 page)

She shrugs. “Yeah, why not? You don’t see one of these every day,” she says, folding it back up and tucking it back in the drawer.

“You’re sick.”

She shrugs again. “You came to that conclusion already, didn’t you? This isn’t exactly the weirdest thing I’ve done.”

Something else occurs to me.

“So wait—that envelope with the photo… ”

Now she looks guilty as hell.
Guiltier
, I should say, her face flushing red.

“Yes, I got rid of the damn envelope for Beth too, so no use looking for that anymore—it has been returned to its owner. Likely burned.”

I can only shake my head. “How could you do this to her?”

“You already know the answer to that—Bethany threatened me. If I didn’t cooperate, she was going to do what you pretty much threatened to do yourself. I saw what she did to Madison—that photo, the rumors. I knew she was capable of worse. You dated the girl—you know what she’s made of.”

“Apparently, I had no idea,” I say honestly.

Judy suddenly looks a bit uncomfortable.

“So what are you going to do now?”

I hear the unspoken question.

“Get Maddy back. And stop Bethany. Neither of you will have to worry about her anymore once I’m through with her.”

How?
I can see she wants to ask but doesn’t.

I guess she’s relieved now; she got a weight off her chest.

I let myself out of the room, brimming with joy at the confirmation that Maddy didn’t just leave me behind after all.

Just one more thing to take care of, Maddy. Then I’m coming for you.

I
must say
, I did a hell of a job whipping this place into shape, and it only took a few days.

I didn’t do it all—I hired professionals for some stuff, but the garden is distinguishable again, and it’s back to having potential.

The whole place is livable now.

The hardest part to deal with is being inside the home alone, where, out of habit, I sometimes make a move to go to my mom’s room or call out to her to ask her a question or tell her about something that happened in the years since her death.

It’s weird—you’d think I’d be used to her absence by now.

Other than that, the house isn’t as frightening to be in as I found it before.

Once my mom died, I left here shortly after for college, and I only came back here on the long summer breaks.

I didn’t want to come all the way back here to be by myself for Thanksgiving or Christmas or any other mid-term break—as much as I prefer solitude, those particular times I preferred not to be alone, thinking about others chowing down on turkey or opening presents, or even living it up in Tijuana for Spring break.

I would have been worse than alone, actually—haunted by my mother’s previous presence, so I just stayed on campus for the shorter breaks. The awareness of everyone else around family and friends while I had none—I preferred to be in a place where I could at least feel the presence of others, even if I didn’t talk to them because I wasn’t the only one who stayed in campus housing on holidays.

So the last time I was at this house was about seven months ago, last summer.

The garden my mother and I tended has been long gone—raided and trashed sometime in my second semester away.

I never bothered trying to get any of it back. Who would be here to maintain it?

But now it’s on its way to being back, and I’m excited about it bearing fruit, so to speak, again.

As for the interior—it took me a solid two days to really clean up the inside so that it feels fresh and lived-in, but I did it, and other than the quiet that I now find a bit too quiet, I’m pretty calm again.

But I’ve discovered the quiet and calm no longer mean peace.

It comes with an emptiness now, and not just because of my mother.

I try not to glance at the house where Abe used to live, but I fail; I wish I could see him.

I have this persistent ache in my chest—but at least it’s a dull ache, as long as I keep myself occupied, and I’ve found plenty of ways to do that—from shopping to cleaning to reading and rearranging.

I have covered up all the mirrors and organized my stuff like you wouldn’t believe—from my clothes and shoes to my books.

So the interior is spic and span, and the exterior is getting there.

The house needs a new coat of paint for sure, and I’ll make arrangements for it soon.

I am just admiring my handiwork on one of the raised beds when a familiar form materializes in the corner of my eye.

I turn to face the figure full-on, even though I’m pretty sure I was seeing things; I’ve had that happen a few times—something tricking me into thinking I just caught a flash of my mom.

But the figure doesn’t disappear or turn out to be the flutter of a curtain.

“Abe?” I almost don’t recognize my own breathless voice.

Abe just responds with his heart-melting crooked smile, and it’s a wonder I don’t actually liquefy just then.

Oh, god—he must be so mad at me; he can’t even speak. But at least he’s still happy to see me, it seems.

“How did you find me?” I ask, resisting the urge to rush to him, unsure how he’d take it.

“So I hired this P.I…” he begins, still taking painstakingly slow steps toward me.

“Ah,” I say, nodding.

“…but the P.I. just confirmed what I already knew. I remembered what you said about this place. I knew you still had it, and where else would you go? Very few places you can call home, so I figured you were here pretty early, and as hard as it was, I couldn’t come to you right away. I had a few things to set in motion.”

He pauses, and my heart pounds so hard, I’m sure he can see its imprint on my chest.

Why did he stop? I’ve been looking forward to him coming closer and closer…

“Come here, Maddy,” he says, his voice deep and his green eyes intense.

I don’t even think—I run to him, closing the distance between us in no time, and I throw my arms around his neck, clinging to him.

He closes his strong arms around me tightly, and the feel of his warm hard body against mine again, the confirmation that he’s real, he’s here, and he still wants me, makes everything bubble up, and I burst into tears of both joy and sorrow.

I didn’t let myself cry after the day I lost my hair, but now I can’t help it.

I did everything I could not to think about how much Abe means to me and how much I missed him, but now I’m giving in to it.

Abe is the only one who can fill this emptiness in me and now he’s here; he found me!

“Oh, Maddy,” he says, still holding me tightly, one arm rubbing my back.

When we finally pull away, he reaches out to wipe some of my tears and says, “I wish you hadn’t run away—I wish you had let me in, let me know where you were going. Why didn’t you?”

“I wasn’t thinking straight, to be honest.”

I reach up to touch my hair—something I don’t think I’ve done since the day my attackers cut it.

“I couldn’t handle what they did to me; I didn’t feel like me anymore. I was so traumatized…”

“I understand that. But I was worried sick! And you didn’t think I wouldn’t care to see you again because of your hair, right?”

“No, but I still couldn’t imagine you seeing me like this. I couldn’t imagine… anything anymore. I just needed to get away; I needed to be left in peace.”

I look up at him, but he’s just a blur until tears fall.

“I’m sorry, Abe—I didn’t mean to just leave you like that.”

“I missed you, Madison. A lot. It was killing me not knowing where you were or why you left.”

“I’m sorry,” I say again, hanging my head. “I really missed you too, and I’m so glad you decided to look for me.”

“You know, your roommate tried to convince me you broke up with me.”

My emotions take a sudden turn.

“What?”

“Apparently, Beth found out some things about her, and she threatened to reveal them if she didn’t work with her. So Judy got rid of that envelope Beth sent, and she…”

He glances at my hair and I look away.

“…she let the cutting crew in.”

He reaches out and touches my head, and somehow, it feels even more intimate than before.

I lean into his touch like a puppy—his large warm hand feels so good cradling my almost-naked head. His touch, so much nearer to my scalp, his fingers moving through my remaining scraps of hair—it almost feels erotic.

When I open my eyes—which I didn’t even realize I’d closed until then—Abe is smiling warmly at me, his green eyes sparkling.

“I like how it feels too,” he says gently before pulling his hand away.

My scalp misses it immediately.

“So what have you been doing here? Well, besides the obvious,” he says, glancing over at my budding garden.

“Communing with ghosts,” I say, unsure how else to describe my existence here the past few days.

Abe is staring off to the side, and I realize he’s looking at the place where he used to live.

Another family lives there now, and the place looks totally different.

“Has your mom said anything about meeting my mom?” he asks quietly, and he says it almost as a joke, but I hear the pain underneath.

My heart aches for him.

At least I saw my mom’s death coming.

I squeeze his hand.

“No one’s been particularly chatty. Believe it or not, I’ve found it too quiet here, so I can’t wait to hear what’s been going on.”

His eyes swing to me and they come alive again.

“Boy, do I have a lot to tell you. You want to stay out here or go inside?”

I smile, feeling a peace starting to settle over me.

“Let’s go inside.”

* * *

W
e are sitting
at the dining table with my homemade lemonade on ice nearby, and we’re both just raking our eyes over each other, as if making up for all those days we didn’t see each other.

He reaches out and grabs my hand.

“I’m not even sure where to start,” he says, then his hand reaches up to touch my face. His finger traces my lips.

Finally, he pulls back.

“Okay—so the P.I. was worth every penny. He found out some pretty damning stuff about Bethany, and boy is that girl is full of secrets—the majority of them, not even her own. And she definitely has a way with using them. Turns out she was a master of both deception and truth, and she used them to manipulate others to do her bidding, threatening to bring the things they want to stay hidden to light. Like with Judy.”

He pauses, watching my face.

“You were too clean for her; there was really nothing she could dig up on you, and in the absence of truth… ”

He half-shrugs.

“But she won’t be able to operate like that anymore—at least not on our campus. Not anywhere you and I will be.”

A thrill rushes through me at his words because of the way he says them—he sounds so sure. But how could he be? Beth seems pretty powerful and fearless. It seems she’s used to not suffering any consequences for her behavior, so what the heck could he have done to make her back off?

He smiles at me.

“Sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire,” he says with another shrug, as if reading the question on my face. “Beth is currently getting a taste of her own medicine.”

His smile looks different.

“Lots of teamwork went into this one, and lies are taking her down right now—in the form of her very own dirty truths. For example, evidence has come to light that she lied about a rape some years back—a lie that sent a guy to prison and made him lose a few years of his life. Unfortunately, not much can be done to her directly since our justice system is pretty terrible about that. I think she can only be charged with perjury or something.”

“That’s so unfair.”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, the guy’s family will likely bring up a civil suit for the false accusations, so there’s that. But I’m not counting on that to be all. I hear someone with mad SEO skills is working to make sure the top search results for her name and photo reveal her to be the criminal she is, because lying under oath and sending a guy to prison isn’t all she’s done over the years. Right now, word’s getting around about some of her other smear campaigns, and people who have been victimized by her are starting to speak up. Anyway, by the time the rumor mill is done with her, she’ll have to get a new identity. Needless to say, she’s pretty much finished on campus. She may or may not retreat quietly—we just have a few months left, after all—but I doubt she’ll stick around. Either way, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to return, but I’d love to have you near again. I need you, Maddy.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think I can… ”

His large hands cover mine. “Come live with me. We can find a nice little apartment off campus and rush to our English class together if that makes you more comfortable.”

“You’d give up your swanky athlete housing to be with me?”

“You have no idea the things I’d give up for you.” He squeezes my hand a bit. “Maddy, I… I love you,” he says, his hand reaching up to cup my face. “Whoever you are or don’t think you are or aren’t sure you are—I love
you
, and I want you with me. I’d do anything to protect you, Maddy. No one will fuck with you anymore; I’ll make sure of it.”

My eyes well up again and my throat tightens, preventing me from being able to speak for a few seconds.

When I finally can, I say, “ I love you too, Abe.”

He looks relieved, and then he leans over and brings his lips to mine.

I get lost in his kiss, tears leaking from my eyes, my heart swelling.

When we pull back, Abe looks content.

But he has misunderstood me.

“I’m not going back with you,” I clarify.

His face falls.

“… but I will stay with you,” I continue. “It’s not too long of a drive, is it?”

He smiles, looking relieved again.

“Whatever you need, Maddy. I’ll swing by on weekends for sure, and I’ll see about during the week. In any case, just a few months till draft picks are announced.”

He pauses. “I’m not sure where I’ll end up, but you’ll come with me?”

I nod, smiling. “I wish I could go back with you now, but I think being here is better at this time. Less stressful.”

I say the words carefully and Abe seems to pick up that there’s more to what I’m saying.

He waits for me to continue, his eyes watching me suspiciously.

“Remember when I mentioned not being on the pill? You and I haven’t exactly been playing it safe and I suspect…”

I’m swept off my feet before I can finish, Abe managing to pick me up in his arms as he stands. He holds me tightly to him.

“Maddy,” he whispers, and then he’s kissing all over my face.

“I take it you think this is good news?”