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“Get out,” I growl.
“Madden.” Her voice fractures, and she sniffles. “Oh my God… I can’t believe this is happening right now. I had no idea. You have to believe me.”
When I don’t respond, she goes on to plead her case.
“You have a different last name, and of course, Adam told me he had a brother, but he said you were at boarding school. He kept calling you MJ. I never made the connection that he meant Madden James—” She takes a deep, shuddering breath. “There aren’t any photos of you in the house.”
I stare at the wall, counting the seconds of silence that pass, torn between telling her to go and asking her why. Why wasn’t it me? Why did it have to be fucking Adam, of all people?
Footsteps echo outside on the stairs, and Bianca’s eyes widen as Stefan’s fist rattles the door. “Madden, get your fucking ass out here now!”
“Madden,” Bianca whispers, panic flooding her voice.
I don’t know why I care. I shouldn’t help her. I shouldn’t waste one more second of my time on this girl. But something deep inside me that hasn’t been extinguished points at the closet.
“Get in.”
She rushes over and hides just as Stefan flings open the door and stomps inside, his face mottled with red.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He grabs me by the shirt and tries to shake me. Something that used to work until I outgrew him.
“Fuck off, Stefan,” I snarl in his face. “I just got home. Can you give me a day before you’re back at my throat?”
“Your mother put this dinner together. You’ve been here all of ten minutes, and you’re already fucking it up. Now I’m only going to say this once…” He pauses as his gaze drifts to the fresh hole in the wall, then turns his murderous eyes back on me. “What the fuck is that?”
“What does it look like?” I glare down at him.
“You ungrateful prick.” His fingers dig into my throat as he steps closer, trying to intimidate me. “Don’t try me, Madden. I will knock your fucking teeth out.”
“Then do it.” I hold my arms out to the sides, giving him a free shot. “We both know how much you enjoy it.”
A soft whimper sounds from behind me, and I know it’s Bianca. She’s probably about two seconds from coming out here to expose herself when Stefan tries to glance over my shoulder. I don’t know why I decide to distract him. Honestly, I don’t know anything anymore. But when I slam my hands into his chest and shove him back, I know it feels good. For all of three seconds until he rebounds and slams his fist straight into my jaw.
I give him that one and one more for good measure before I grab his wrist and squeeze until I feel his bones starting to give. He tries to yank away, but the writing’s on the wall.
“It’s not as much fun when I fight back,” I say. “Is it, Dad?”
“Fuck you,” he spits.
I release his arm, and he stares at me for a long moment, not ready to admit defeat. He still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that the kid he’s used as his punching bag is a man now, and he’s no longer the one in control. Not really.
“You’ve got until your birthday,” he sneers. “And then you are fucking out of here. Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” I salute him with a middle finger.
He stalks away and calls out over his shoulder, “Don’t bother coming down to dinner.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” I manage to get that much out before he slams the door behind him.
A second later, Bianca rushes out of the closet, barreling at me with silent tears streaking down her cheeks. She’s trembling when she pauses in front of me, her eyes roaming over the bruise forming on my face.
“Madden,” she chokes out, reaching out her hand as if to save me.
“Get. Out.” My voice is laced with so much venom her hand freezes in midair before she slowly withdraws it, wrapping it around herself.
“Please, Madden,” she says my name again as if it’s supposed to mean something to her. “Can we talk about this? I need to know you’re okay.”
“You got what you wanted, Bianca.” I stare down at her with empty eyes. “You made your choice. Now get the fuck out of my life.”
Another cascade of tears washes over her cheeks as she shakes her head. “I never wanted to hurt you. I think about you every day. Every single minute. You have to know that. You have to know I meant what I said. I’m in love with you—”
“Well, then, you’re fucking delusional.” I cut her a glare so cold there can be no misunderstandings between us. “Because I don’t think about you at all. Did you really think you were special? You were a distraction. An easy fuck. You weren’t the first, and you aren’t the last. So don’t think for one second I give a shit about you. Run along back to your boyfriend and your fairy-tale life, and don’t worry about me. I’ll have plenty of pussy to keep my bed warm at night. As far as I’m concerned, you never even existed.”
