AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ll clean up in the kitchen and put things away. I’ve got a headache that I hoped food would cure, but it’s not getting better. The two of you enjoy your movie. I’m going to head up to bed. I think the travel yesterday is just getting to me.”
As much as I wanted to beg her to stay and watch the movie, I knew Declan would make it awkward. The weary look in Maddy’s eyes said she’d had all she could handle for one evening.
I nodded and stood up, taking my plate. “We will help you clean up. No reason for you to do the cleaning on your own when we all ate dinner.”
She shook her head. “Oh, no, that’s fine. I don’t mind. It won’t take me long.”
I was torn now. It was clear she wanted to get away from us, but I hated the idea of her cleaning up. “Go to bed. You made the salad. We will clean up,” I told her.
“We will?” Declan asked, and I ignored her.
Maddy looked torn. She wanted to escape, but it was obvious she didn’t like leaving the cleaning to us. I picked up Declan’s plate and put it on top of mine.
“I swear, I got this,” I told her again.
After a brief pause, Maddy finally nodded. “Okay, if you’re sure.”
I started to tell her I was positive when the door chime began to play. Who the fuck was that? With my parents gone, the only answer was that it was someone for me, and I hadn’t invited anyone.
“That’s Trev!” Declan announced, springing up from her seat.
“Trev?” I asked, confused, looking at her.
“What? I invited him. I didn’t want Maddy to feel like a third wheel. But now that she has a headache and is going to bed, that ruins everything,” she said with a touch of a sour note in her voice.
“You didn’t mention it to me,” I said, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
She shrugged and pushed her lips out into a pout that I’d once been affected by. Back before I got to know her and when I was getting hot sex from her in the locker room at school and blow jobs while I was driving. She was every teenage boy’s fantasy. But like I’d said, that was before I got to really know her. Declan was a lot to deal with. She had daddy issues, and I knew her home life was hard. Her mother ignored her and was rarely home. I felt bad for her, and because of that, I overlooked a lot.
“I didn’t know I needed permission to invite your best friend over,” she said as if this conversation were ridiculous. “Besides, I thought it would be a better setting for Maddy to get to know us. Today wasn’t exactly a success. Blaise ruined everything.”
The door chimed again.
Declan raised her eyebrows. “One of us needs to go get it. Or are you planning on making Trev stand outside?”
I looked back over at Maddy, who remained, still watching us.
“You don’t have to stay down here,” I told her.
She nodded and turned to leave the room. I wished I could do the same.
“That was rude,” Declan said, glaring at the door Maddy had exited.
“She has had a shitty week. Her head hurts,” I said to Declan through clenched teeth.
“Whatever. I’m going to let Trev in,” she said to me.
I didn’t watch her go, but picked up the dishes and glasses on the table, then went to the kitchen to load them in the dishwasher. Declan could entertain Trev. Not that he needed entertaining. He knew this house as well as he did his own.
Maddy was washing her dish in the sink, along with the other things she’d used to make the salad. I placed the dishes down beside the sink, and she gave me a tight smile that didn’t meet her eyes.
“Sorry about all this. Trust me, I didn’t know this was how the night was going to go. I’ll wash these up and get them put away. You can escape now.”
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “It’s fine. The pizza was delicious. Thank you for ordering it. I’ve got the dishes. Y’all go watch your movie. Once I’m done here, I’ll go up.”
“You shouldn’t have to clean up after us,” I argued. She’d made Declan a salad, which Declan had barely touched. Watching her clean up our dishes, too, bothered me. “We’ve got an excellent dishwasher,” I told her. “I can just load the dishes in there.”
She shook her head. “That’s not fair to Mrs. Jolene. She left things spotless. The dishwasher is empty and ready for tomorrow.”
