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They’ll teach you what’s important
And you’ll find the strength to soar
A tear trickles down my cheek. I didn’t expect him to sing Casey’s Song. Although, I believe it was a message to himself, too.
“That song saved me, you know.”
I almost jump out of my skin at the unexpected intrusion. Maddox leans against the new partition with his hands shoved in his pockets. His eyes swimming, somewhere lost between the past and present.
“Yeah, right.” Liam laughs it off, but in a rare moment of vulnerability, his cheeks flush.
Maddox pushes off the wall and walks around us to the window. He stares out over the city as his head falls back for a moment, lost in his own moment of vulnerability. “I’m serious,” he says softly, without turning around. “Six years ago, I found the girl I thought I was in love with in an alley, and all I could think was she was there because of me.” He turns around and faces us. “That’s the night I said fuck it, and threw away years of sobriety. The noise…” He taps his head. “It was so goddamn loud, and I wanted it to stop. It wasn’t the first time or the last time I felt like that. But it was one of the few times I didn’t try.” He looks straight at Liam, his eyes are full of sincerity and gratitude as he looks at him. “I heard that song, man. It was as if the universe knew I needed it. I know you wrote it for Casey. But it kept me breathing another day. You’ve got to know I can’t be the only one, right?”
Liam is the first to break eye contact between them, but me… I couldn’t look away if the world were on fire.
“I can’t believe you even heard it,” he chuckles. “That song went nowhere.”
“I can’t believe you still don’t get it, Liam. We busted our asses to get our record deal. We didn’t want anyone taking away from our skill and ability, but once we were there, don’t think I didn’t use every connection and resource I fucking had to push us to the top. And that included working with you. I wanted to work with the man who wrote that song. Who played like a fucking god. Who had soul and heart. I wanted the man who knew the music was what mattered. Not the bottom line. We didn’t need money, and honestly, I didn’t give a fuck if we made a dime. The reason I agreed to this shit,” he gestures between Liam and me, “was because I wanted you to find your song again. To realize your music matters. And…” he trails off, his mouth twisted as he continues to stare at Liam. “Angel told me what you said. Liam, you should know you are family. You are just as much a part of this shit as Ryder or Dane or the rest of the guys. You have been from day one. You’ve always had our back, and even if you do something we don’t like or agree with, we will have yours. Fuck, man, you think I don’t know why you went after Quinn. I didn’t like it, and I reacted, but didn’t you see then that just because one of us is pissed doesn’t mean the rest fall in line?”
Liam blows out a breath and nods. “All right, Mads. I hear you.”
“I know somewhere under all that hair is a brain, so make it stick.”
“By the way, you are one conniving, manipulative son of a bitch you know,” Liam teases, grinning wide. “You gave me so much shit that first day.”
Maddox shrugs. “Couldn’t take it easy on you. Needed to make sure you could handle… well, all of it. We’re not exactly easy.” He walks around us again but stops at my back, placing both hands on my shoulders and kissing my head. “Thank you for being a massive bitch. I had no clue how I would actually get him to play again. And it’s been fun to watch you bust his balls.” I swat him away with a mock growl, making him laugh. “Take your song back, Liam.”
“Well, that was interesting. And unexpected,” I say once the door closes.
“I should’ve known. Paranoid, meddling mother fucker.” His blue eyes dance with amusement.
“He cares.”
“Too fucking much.”
I smile, then sigh and nod at the papers scattered over the table. “Back to work?”
His pretty eyes search mine, then he shakes his head. The guitar is laid to the side, and he crooks a finger at me. Curiosity has me pushing myself up and rounding the table. He pulls me into his lap until I’m straddling him. Thick fingers envelop the back of my neck, pulling me to his lips. When he pulls away, he gently massages my neck. “Now, tell me, little flower. What has had you so distracted?” My cheeks turn to cherries.
“What do you mean?” Stupid, you know exactly what he means.
“Baby, I’ve seen the question in your eyes for days. Since the moment you held Finnley in your arms.” His other hand comes up, brushing my hair away, and he strokes my cheek. “Ask.” He squints one eye and curls his mouth when I don’t say anything. “Okay. Well, I guess since I know the question, I’ll ask one of my own before I answer yours. Will my answer change anything?”
There’s no hesitation when I shake my head. “No. I’m… I guess I’m curious how you feel and what our future looks like.”
“That should be obvious by now, don’t you think?” he laughs. “It looks like whatever you want it to look like.”
“No.” I take his face between my palms and stare into his eyes. “I want you to tell me what you want.”
“Baby, I just did.” He inhales deeply and leans back. “As far as kids go, I stopped thinking about them a long time ago because I stopped thinking about a future with anyone. I…” His head bounces from shoulder to shoulder as he closes an eye. “If another one happened with someone, I would’ve stepped up just like with Casey and taken care of my child. But I did everything I could to prevent that scenario. So I just accepted Casey was it.”
“But what about now?” I whisper.
“If you don’t want kids, I’m okay with that. If you want a dozen kids, I’ll have a hell of a lot of fun giving them to you, but I don’t have a… preference? Because, without you, everything I said still applies. I don’t see a future with anyone but you.”
“Wow,” I mouth, but no sound comes out.
“It’s my fault.” His eyes jump between mine as his mouth curves in amusement at my confusion. “That you didn’t understand before. I want whatever you want. Full stop. I didn’t do a great job of giving you that before, but I won’t fuck up this time.”
