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“The fridge at my packhouse is always stocked,” he adds with a shrug. “Pretty sure there’s leftover pizza from that spot in Stillwater.”
“Dino’s?!” I blurt excitedly, my mouth practically watering at the mere mention of it. “Oh man, I haven’t had Dino’s inyears.”
“Cold pizza it is then,” Madd chuckles. He hits the gas, blowing past the turn for the squad complex and heading straight for the town of Goldenleaf instead.
While the idea of setting foot in his packhouse again after all this time should be anxiety-inducing, instead I’m relieved that he’s not just dumping me off at the dorms. After the hellish ordeal I’ve been through today, I really don’t want to be alone right now- and I’m too exhausted to care if that makes me look weak. If anything, I blame it on my ravenous hunger and the promise of my favorite pizza.
After Madd parks his Jeep in the driveway, the two of us get out and head in together. While I half expect Avery to be waiting for us in the living room, demanding to know what’s going on, it’s quiet when we arrive, the other residents evidently elsewhere.
I follow Madd into the kitchen at the back of the house and he strides right over to the fridge, pulling it open and grabbing the pizza box out. The refrigerator door swings closed as he turns to me with the box in hand, flicking his head back toward the way we came. “C’mon, let’s go up. Mason and Norah will be home soon, and unless you wanna answer a bunch of questions…”
“Good call,” I instantly agree, sidestepping to let him take the lead again. I’d love to catch up with Mason sometime, but I just don’t have it in me right now.
I follow Madd out of the kitchen and up the stairs, trekking the same track to his room that I’ve taken countless times before. It all feels so heartbreakingly familiar that I get lost in my own thoughts as I follow, not even realizing that he’s breezed past his bedroom door to continue on down the hall.
It takes my brain a few seconds to catch up and piece together that he’s headed for the master bedroom at the end, because of course he would’ve moved in there when he became Alpha. It’s yet another reminder of how our lives have diverged, marching on without one another over the last eight years.
Madd pushes open the door to the room that used to be his parents’ and I enter behind him, sweeping my gaze over the large interior to take it all in.
Even if his scent wasn’t clinging to this room, one look around the space would confirm that it’s his. From the choice of furniture to the tangle of dark sheets on the bed, everything about it is distinctly Madd, an aching sense of recognition tugging in my chest as I glance around.
The black dressers are sleek and modern, one of them topped with a row of baseball caps. The large full-length mirror has little photos and mementos tucked into the edge of the frame; something he started to do when we were younger, because he’s way more sentimental than he ever lets on. An electric guitar sits in the corner next to an amp, and I smile at the memory of our last Christmas together when his parents finally caved and bought them for him because he was convinced he was going to be a rockstar someday.
While I pause just inside the doorway of his bedroom, comforted by the glimpse it’s giving me of the boy I used to know, Madd strides over to set the pizza box down on a side table next to a black leather sofa.
“I need to grab a quick shower,” he mutters, turning back to me as he rakes a hand through his unkempt hair.
My head bobs with a nod. “Sure, go ahead,” I reply, making a beeline for the pizza box as soon as he steps away from it. I’m not at all shy about helping myself- he’ll be lucky if there’s any left for him by the time he’s done showering.
I hear Madd chuckle to himself as I enthusiastically pop open the lid of the box and dig in, distantly registering the click of the bathroom door as he disappears inside. Grabbing the largest slice out of the box, I bring it to my mouth and take a bite, not even bothering to hold back the moan of satisfaction that leaves me when the taste hits my tongue.
It’sthatgood, even cold.
I take down an entire slice in a minute flat and quickly grab another one as I hear the sound of the shower turning on behind the bathroom door.
I could definitely use a shower too.Would it be weird to use his shower?I mean, I’m not sure what the protocol is for exes after they find out that they were broken up due to interference. Does this mean we’re finally done fighting?
I try not to overthink it as I wander around Madd’s room while munching on a cold slice of pizza. I walk up to the dresser with the baseball caps lined up on top, grinning wickedly to myself as I spot the white one I taunted him with at training. I decide that I might try to swipe it again on my way out, just to tease him.
Stepping over to the full-length mirror, I pause in front of it to get a closer look at the mementos he’s shoved into the frame as I chew a bite of pizza. There’s one of those cheesy photobooth strips with pictures of him and Avery, the two of them pulling faces at the camera. Below that, there’s an old lift ticket from when the ski-lodge was operational- more specifically, from the first time Alpha Chase took him snowboarding as a kid. And tucked just underneath that is a ticket stub from a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre; one that we snuck out to go to and got raked over the coals for it by our parents after they found out.
Given how adamant Madd seemed about cutting me out of his life, I’m surprised to see that he still has it on display. But then I sweep my gaze around the room again, really paying attention this time, only to realize that it isn’t just the ticket stub- there are little reminders of us everywhere.
The notebook resting on top of his guitar amp is the one I gave him to jot down song lyrics in. I doodled the word ‘mayhem’ all over the front of it in permanent marker, an ode to our silly nicknames.
The Foo Fighters hoodie slung over the back of the couch is one that I used to steal and wear all the time. It was big on him back then, but I’ll bet it fits like a glove now that he’s filled out.
And the picture on the dresser… well, itusedto be a picture of us. I gobble down the rest of the pizza slice as I step over to inspect the frame closer, only to see that it’s been replaced with a photo of him and Avery with their parents. Guess I can understand why.
I pick up the frame to get a better look at the picture, but as I do, another loose photo that was stuffed behind it slips off the dresser and flutters to the floor. I bend down to pick up the picture, and before I even turn it over, I know what I’ll find.
It’s me and Madd, on the edge of seventeen. One of his arms is securely wrapped around my waist, the other lifted to flip the bird to the camera as I throw back my head on a laugh. It’s a picture I remember well, but back then, the corners of it weren’t worn down as they are now. From its rugged condition, it’s obvious that it has been handled a lot.
My heart aches as I cast a glance toward the bathroom door, the dull drone of the shower running still echoing from inside. Madd may have acted like he cut me out of his heart, but looking around this room, it’s apparent that he never really did. Even after thinking that I left him behind on purpose, he still held on to all this stuff. Held ontome, or what little he had left of me that he could.
Before I even really decide to, my feet start moving in the direction of the bathroom, my hand reaching out for the knob and twisting it to push it open. The room is clouded with steam, the glass shower wall foggy as Madd glances over at the sound of the door closing behind me.
“Sloane?” he asks, running a hand down his face to wick off the water. He leans back on a heel, peeking out at me around the glass. “What’s up?”
