Becoming Maddie (The Casterhouse series Book 1) (22 page)

She shivered in her seat and Eddie saw it. He was not going to let her sit there cold and declared that he thought both of them, woman and dog, had had enough for one day. He walked her back to her flat. As they got closer Maddie found herself getting nervous again. This was the first time she would be climbing up the steps to her flat alone after the burglary.

Maddie didn’t like it at all. Marvin picked up on her tension and walked close to her legs. Every now and again he shoved his snout into her hand in a comforting gesture. Maddie loved her dog and his comforting, giving nature, but at that moment, it was having little effect at all.

Her hands started shaking and she didn’t want to go up the stairs alone.

Luckily, Eddie had taken one look at her face and the behaviour of her husky and knew something was wrong. He didn’t ask what, he didn’t give her a look that told her to grow up, what he did do was to take her hand and walk up the stairs with her. Once at the top he took the keys from her hands and unlocked the door and pulled her inside. Eddie then left her at the door as he walked round every room to doubly make sure that there was no one inside. When he came back to her and told her it was all clear Maddie just gave him a wobbly smile.  

“Totally a good man.” Maddie whispered but loud enough that he could hear her.

Eddie just looked at her and gave her one nod that said ‘thanks’. He even offered to stay for another coffee but Maddie told him she was fine now and sent him on his way. Fiona would be home soon.

After he left Maddie set Marvin free and watched him as he walked to his big red cushion under the window. He seemed to be moving a little slower but not in any pain. Maddie checked he had water before she made herself a cup of tea and sat down at the breakfast bar with a note pad.

What breakfasts would she make Aiden, Maddie wondered. For what felt like the millionth time a smile broke out on her face. Somewhere along the line she had come to accept him always staying the night and had decided that that was going to carry on. Especially now with all the foolery stuff going on.

Maddie loved the foolery stuff!

Her phone rang in her pocket just as there was a knock on the door. Reaching for her phone she went to the door and looked through the peep hole wondering if Eddie had left something here or was coming back to check on her. It wasn’t Eddie.

Opening the door, Maddie smiled at her neighbour and let her in.

“Hey come on in.” Maddie said ushering her in. “I just need to take this quickly.”

Looking down at her phone she saw it was Aiden and smiled even bigger.

“Hey.” Maddie said almost shyly into the phone.

“Hey babe.” He returned and Maddie’s cheeks went a little red. “I was just phoning to check that you didn’t overdo it on your walk.”

He was checking up on her. Why didn’t that annoy her? Why instead did she actually find it quite sweet?

“Aiden I’m fine.” She replied and looked to see where Sarah was.

Sarah had walked into the kitchen and had started to make herself a cup of tea and was putting it down next to Maddie’s on the breakfast bar. She then walked round and perched her bum on a stool waiting for Maddie to finish her call. Sarah’s face was carefully blank which made Maddie a little wary.

“Did you walk far?” Aiden asked.

“I didn’t overdo it stop worrying.” Maddie said a little exasperated. “Marvin and I went to the pond. Eddie came and joined us and then he walked up both home again. End of. Marvin’s resting and I am about to have a drink with Sarah. Okay?”

There was laugh on the other end of the line and Maddie knew that Aiden was finding her lack of patience funny. It was something that only Aiden would find funny after all.

“Eddie came and met you?” He asked after he had calmed down.

“Yeah, I called him. Well I was really looking for Fiona but I am pleased that I got Eddie after all.” Maddie said wondering how much she should share about their conversation.

“I hope you were able to help him more than I have been.” Aiden remarked.

He wasn’t annoyed that she had been trying to help what was basically his dad without speak to him first. Maddie was surprised. Charles would have gone mental at her.

Shaking her head Maddie told herself that that was enough of comparing those two because they were totally different people.

In every way actually.

“I hope so.” Maddie whispered. “You should have told me he was feeling that way sooner.”

“Why?” Aiden asked straight away.

“Because maybe I could have tried to help sooner. Instead he has just been left for over a week feeling this way.” Maddie almost moaned. “I hate that thought.”

There was a large pause on the other end of the line. Maddie almost thought they had been cut off before Aiden’s voice came through. It was said so softly that Maddie found herself grinning again.

“That’s my Ruby, pouring her sweet all over the people she cares about.”

This time the silence was on her end. It took her a good couple of seconds before she managed to shake herself out of her Aiden fog and say.

“Aiden, Sarah is waiting on me.” Maddie whispered to the rough, tough but thoughtful and sweet man on the other end of the phone.

“Okay Ruby, have a good chin wag with your friend and I will see you tonight for take away and movie.” Aiden said.

Maddie had forgot that last night he had whispered her to sleep with those plans. He remembered that he had made them and seemed to be following through on them. Last night felt like such a long time ago. With everything that happened this morning between herself and Aiden, then the walk and chat with Eddie, Maddie could almost forget that she had shared some of the worst times of her life with Aiden in the middle of the night.

Did she regret it? No. Did she wish that she didn’t have to share it? A bit. More of what Maddie was feeling was that she wished it had either never happened or that they could just pretend it didn’t.

Then she remembered what Aiden had said last night and again this morning. They would work through it together then they wouldn’t have to bring it up ever.

Smiling Maddie decided that she need to thank Aiden somehow tonight.

“Okay baby.” Maddie said softly into the phone. “See you tonight.”

“Tonight Ruby.” Aiden replied before the line went dead and she took the phone away from her ear.

Looking down at the phone she tried to work out just how many hours it would be before he was back in her flat. Too many.

“You did the deed with him.” Sarah stated making Maddie spin on the spot to look at her friend.

Sarah was still sat at the breakfast bar but she was now turned so that her back was against the bar and her front was totally facing Maddie. The look on her face was still blank and Maddie still didn’t know what to make of it.

“Em…” Maddie stalled not really sure what to say because she was never a very good liar. “Sort of.”

Sarah just looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

“Sort of?” she said. “How can you sort of do the ‘deed’ with someone?”

Maddie flipped the phone in her hand over and over again suddenly feeling like a naughty school girl getting a telling off for skiving school. Not that Maddie had ever done that. Her parents would have killed her.

“You can’t really.” Maddie said back. “So I guess we did do the…’deed’.”

Feeling silly for not wanting to admit to doing something that made her feel happy she walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down. Sarah turned on her stool and looked towards Maddie.

Why was Sarah so curious? In fact it almost seemed more than curious. Maddie couldn’t quite put her finger on it she just knew that there was something going on with Sarah and it had something to do with Aiden.

“Sarah why does it matter?” Maddie asked picking up her tea trying to give her friend time before she answered.

Sarah answered straight away though.

“I thought you two would just be a light bit of fun.” Sarah said quickly. “I thought you two would get together, have a laugh and some dirty fun times together then part ways friends but that’s not what you are.”

Maddie’s mouth had dropped open. What did she just say?

“What?” Maddie asked totally confused.

“That’s why I tried to get you together because I thought he would help bring you out of yourself a bit.” Sarah rushed on not really answering Maddie’s question. “When you got hurt he took it really serious. Then he stayed with you all day and every night till you got out. Then when you were out he still stayed with you every night. That’s not having a laugh and sharing some dirty times before parting ways. You guys are not doing that. You guys are doing something serious.”

Sarah put her elbows on the counter and let her head fall into her hands.

Maddie was still trying to make it all make sense in her head. Was her friend upset because Maddie and Aiden were being more than a causal thing?

Were they being more than a causal thing? Maddie’s gut said ‘yes’ straight away but now she was getting worried that they weren’t.

“Sarah…I am not totally sure I get this.” Maddie said still holding her tea but looking at her hunched over friend. “You wanted me to be fuck buddies with Aiden.”

Sarah sat up quickly and looked at Maddie.

“Well maybe not that exactly but maybe something along those line.” Sarah said shaking her head clearly upset.

“So fuck buddies.” Maddie clarified again.

Why not call it what Sarah meant it to be?

“I just wanted you to have fun and realise that there were good guys out there.” Sarah said trying hard to explain. “I didn’t realise that you would become so attached to Aiden and him to you. I thought you would take the whole dating thing slowly so it didn’t become too much.”

Maddie looked at her friend slowly starting to get the picture. Sarah didn’t think she was ready for a serious relationship after what she went through in her past. She was just trying to set Maddie up with some one that would have some fun with her but it would never become serious.

It was actually a bit sweet and kind. Sarah had meant the best for Maddie she just didn’t necessarily go about it the right way. Not that it mattered because she and Aiden were not ‘fuck buddies’. They were way more than that.

There was one question though that Maddie wondered about.

“Why Aiden?” Maddie asked.

Sarah didn’t seem to notice that Maddie wasn’t upset just curious.

“I thought he would be perfect because he slept with loads of women and didn’t seem to be settling down at all. I thought he would show you a good time and then you could move on to find someone safe for you.” Sarah explained.

Maddie didn’t say anything this time. She looked down into her tea without seeing it. Aiden was the perfect choice because he slept with loads of woman.

Was that what Maddie was to him? A hard to get woman that would just be another notch on his bedpost. Just another name to cross off the list.

“But it all went wrong and now you and Aiden are both in so deep and I am so worried about you.” Sarah said reaching out to grab Maddie’s hand. “I am so scared that it will be too much for you and bring up bad memories or that it will go bad and you will never try again.”

Maddie felt Sarah’s hand but didn’t really hear what she was saying.

Aiden wasn’t into this as much as she was. Of course he wasn’t! He had just been upset because of what his sister had done to her and wanted to make sure she was okay. Once Aiden had seen that Maddie was okay he went on to bedding her. Soon he would bethanking her for the fun and move on to the next woman.

This wasn’t exactly the first time that she had been told that Aiden liked his women. Jessica had spat it in Maddie’s face when she and Aiden had been round at Fiona and Eddie’s for dinner. What was it Jessica had called her?

Aiden’s
‘new piece of ass’
.

At the time Maddie had thought Jessica was just angry and trying to hurt everybody that was sat round that table. That, or she was trying to wind Aiden up. Really what she had been doing was warning her.

‘Aiden will get what he wants and throw you away like he did to all the rest of his whores. He only thinks of himself, always has, always will.’

Why didn’t Maddie listen to that! She had been sucked-in by everything Aiden did and now she was in so deep it was going to hurt so bad to break away.

“Maddie are you there?” Sarah asked waving her hand in front of Maddie’s face.

Maddie jolted back to the present with a painful bump. Gone was the megawatt smile from her face, gone was the happy memories of the morning and now she hated the aching muscles in her body that just made her feel like a fool.

“Sorry, yeah, I am here.” Maddie said trying to act like she wasn’t breaking apart inside but she couldn’t stop her voice from sounding hollow. “You don’t need to worry Sarah. It is just fun.”

Her neighbour frowned at Maddie.

“Are you sure?” Sarah asked. “Because it didn’t look that way in the hospital or sound that way when you were just on the phone.”