Please Forgive Me

Chapter 2 - Madison

"I was thinking we should do something for Trinity, something small. You know her birthday is in a few days."

"I agree," I tell Leah as she pulls a tray of cookies out of the oven. She places them on the rack to cool off as I start washing the bowls we used to mix everything. "She's been out of it for the past couple of months. You don't think Sean--?"

"No, of course not." Leah places the mitts on the counter and comes over to help dry some plates. "She said he transferred to a university. Outside of California thank the Lord."

My brows raise. "I didn't know that. I thought he was still here." I hand her a bowl and she dries it.

"Nope. Gone. Finally realized he couldn't win her back. You know how she is. Very strong willed."

I laugh, boy do I know that.

The front door slams open and Liam barges in, running to his room.
"Hey!" I call out to him. "Why the hurry?"

"I need to grab my football! Kaiden's waiting in the car."

My brows pull together. "Who's Kaiden?"

He comes back out, baseball cap in reverse, tossing the football from side to side. Just the sight of him gets me emotional. Ever since Maxon came into our lives I've seen Liam grow into a better version of himself. I thought he would turn out to be like our father but Maxon spoke with him a lot throughout this summer. He would take him out to practice football and mentor him. Liam's always been very quiet about his thoughts but I know our father's behavior got to him. I'm happy now though, that he has a male role model to look up to. Even though none of them tell me anything of what they speak about, I know Liam put his trust in good hands.

"A teammate." My brother finally answers. "He's the same age as Leah but he's cool."

I spin around to face Leah who's gone stiff. "Do you know him?"

"I've heard of him. He's one of the football guys."

I narrow my eyes at her. Very discreet, this one. "Okay." I draw out the word.

"Alright, well I'm heading out now! Oh and don't wait up! We're hitting up a party tonight!"

"Excuse me?" I whip around and watch as he saunters up to the door. "You're going where?"

"A party. There will be a lot of chicks there." He wags his brows up and down.

I knew. I had heard that my brother had been with girls but, God, I don't even know what to think right now. "Does mom know?" I cross my arms over my chest and he groans. "Not now, Mad."

The car honks and he perks up. "I've got to go!"

"Nu-uh. No, Liam, you are not."

"I'm sixteen, Madison. I can do what I please."

My jaw drops and Leah jogs past me, heading out and toward the car. I'm not sure what the hell is going on but Liam runs after her before I can get a word out.

I shake my head. Apparently Maxon's mentoring didn't penetrate that thick skull of his as much.

I walk back into the kitchen, if Trinity were here she would give him a good verbal whip. He always seems to listen to her the most.

The door slams and I peek, finding Leah with an unreadable expression. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." And she doesn't say anything more.

"Mom's going to get mad at Liam."

She shrugs, washing her hands before reaching for a cookie. "His problem."

She takes a bite. "Mmm, these are really good. Want one?"

"Is that even a question?"

I reach for one and take a bite. "My God, you've definitely improved."

"Are you saying my baking used to be bad?"

"Well, considering you didn't even know how to turn on the oven..."

She slaps my shoulder and I giggle. "Trinity will be proud."

"Well, all of this learning has been for her after all. So she better appreciate all of my hard work!"

"She will, trust me."

We both sit there quietly, eating our own sugar delicacies. Even though I'm curious about Leah , Liam and this guy, Kaiden, I don't ask. They're all very quiet about their school life. No matter how much I ask them they are all tight lipped. Except when it comes to my own life.

"So, how's Maxon?" What was I just saying?

"He's good. Been very busy with football practice and all."

"Is that the only practice he's been doing?" She wiggles her brows at me and I groan. "Don't remind me, please."

"What? I'm sure he's missed you. And his hands must be tired from all the hard work, if you know what I mean."

I stare at Leah dumbfounded. She always manages to make the most innocent things sound inappropriate. "Leah...stop."

"What? Don't tell me you don't miss practicing making babies together?"

My body heats up knowing we were speaking of this last night.

"Hey, I haven't thought about that. OMG! What if he gets you pregnant?! You don't take birth control so there's a higher chance of--" She swoons at the thought.
"A mini Madison and Maxon." She squeals. "I would be an auntie then."

"Leah, no. No babies."

"But you want some? Remember? As a little girl you always spoke of having children."

"Yeah but not right now. I'm working and so is Maxon. Besides, he's not even here." I shrug, reaching for another cookie. Only this delicacy fills the void I feel whenever I realize Maxon isn't here with me.

"Why don't you go to Boston then?"

"Are you sending me away?"

"No, I just think it's best for your relationship to be near each other."

I contemplate it but I'm still unsure. Maxon asked me days before he left if I wanted to go with him but I refused. He hesitated but accepted my decision. To appease him I told him I would think it over but have yet to tell him anything. He hasn't asked since but I know he's waiting for an answer.

I'll talk it over with mom. See what she has to say about it. Hopefully she helps give me a better insight into it and then I'll make my decision.

I relay those same thoughts to Leah who nods eagerly.

"She'll want you to go. No doubt about it. Ever since he left our lives have gotten significantly boring."

I scrunch my brows together. "Um, okay. Well, let's go to the store and see what we can come up with for Trinity's party."

"Yes!" She jumps up and runs over to put on her shoes.

I shake my head at her eagerness. It's always the times when I'm with my family that I'm the happiest.