Written In The Stars: Book Two

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: CONFRONTATIONS

Elijah had made it barely halfway down the hallway when he noticed Johnny Boy turned the corner and was in front of him, heading his way. Once Johnny spotted him, he stopped, a heavy glare in his blue eyes that looked like they had hellfire spitting sparks out behind them.

The guy didn't dress in sophistication this time around, yet still reeked of it all the same. From his light jeans that were clearly ironed, to his white button-up shirt with blue stripes. His blonde hair was no longer in a mess as it had been yesterday, but styled with just the right amount of products to make him look like a douche.

When Elijah tried walking past him, Johnny Boy reached out and grabbed his arm.

It would have been easy for Elijah to lose his cool. Knock him on his ass, share a few choice words with him, and walk away. But Elijah knew himself too well. If he knocked that prick on his ass, there would be no walking away. He'd keep going until someone pulled him off. Elijah had nearly gone ten years without an arrest and didn't much feel like breaking that streak until it counted for something.

"I want you to stay away from my fiancé." Jonathan the third's voice came out a menacing growl.

Why it amused Elijah as much as it did, he couldn't be certain. More than that, he didn't care. He just let that smile take over his face. "I bet."

"How do you think Mitch and Mary would feel if they knew just how much you fucked with her head before breaking her heart, huh?"

Elijah's eyes narrowed on the guy. Both people already knew everything he'd done to Madeline. They admitted they read his letter, but had never brought up Madeline going to his apartment just to set fire to his shattered heart and broken mind. Twice. But that was hardly incriminating evidence against him. Against anyone, realistically. "I'm curious what you think they don't know," Elijah said to him, not waiting for a response. "They're my family. They've seen me at my absolute lowest. I'm about as open of a book with them as I can be."

Seeing Mitch and Mary enter the hallway from behind Johnny, Elijah just shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. What matters is Madeline."

He didn't think John's glare could get any more viscous, but he was wrong. "Maddie isn't your goddamn concern anymore, you got that? You don't get to have anything to do with her life. She isn't your fiancé, and Mitch and Mary aren't your fucking parents.

"I know about your parents. Your mom checked out, and your dad fucking hated you, because even back then, he could see what a piece of shit son he had. He knew you were going to grow up, infecting every life you touched with your bullshit."

That counted for something, enough for Elijah to break his ten-year streak. Elijah closed his hand, letting his thumb drape across his other four fingers against his middle knuckles. He maintained a firm grip by letting his thumb add pressure and kept his wrist straight as he collided his fist with Johnny Boy's nose.

The guy went down with ease, unprepared for the hit despite goading him, and Elijah took in a slow breath to calm his nerves. It would have been easy to kick the living shit out of him, but he wanted to be the bigger man. A bigger man probably wouldn't have thrown the punch to begin with, but they were past that now. All Elijah could do now was control his own actions.

So Elijah walked away, continuing on his original path before the douche grabbed ahold of him, and passed Mary and Mitch in the hallway moments later. "I'm not sorry for that, so if Madeline wants me to apologize, let her know that's not going to happen."

"Nor should you apologize for that," Mary told him. She crossed her arms and stared down at her future son-in-law, shaking her head in disappointment.

It was then that Johnny realized they overheard his words to Elijah, and there was likely no saving face.

"We'll make sure Madeline knows why you had to do it," Mitch added in.

It wasn't a look of shame Johnny had on his face, but pure rage. Elijah knew they'd both been there. It wasn't a guarantee they'd heard every detail of the conversation, but that hadn't been important to Elijah. All he gave a shit about was putting the guy in his place. If Mitch and Mary hadn't overhead and scolded him for it, so be it.

Elijah was fucking done with this guy. He could respect the guy being jealous or leery around him. Hell, Elijah was Madeline's first big love, her first friend. And if the conversation from dinner had happened a few days later, or he'd kissed Madeline a few days sooner, he would have been the first man inside her. Even her first boyfriend predicted that. 

But this guy wasn't just jealous of the connection he and his M&M shared, or their history with one another. He wasn't leery of Elijah's intentions, or even Madeline's true desires. Elijah had no intention of crossing that line with her again, and Madeline had moved on. No. The guy was territorial and being a dick about it. If he'd taken Elijah to the side and tried to have a talk with him, he would have respected what the guy had to say. Probably. But no, he wanted to inflict mental warfare. 

Maybe he even hoped he could get into Elijah's head enough to cause him to back to the bottle. That way he could prove to everyone that the man Mitch and Mary considered a son, the man Madeline had fallen for, was still a broken piece of shit. It would have been a decent move if Johnny Boy had that sort of emotional power over him, but he didn't. Certain people in his life could say the exact words Johnny used against him, and it would be like tearing out his soul. Madeline's fiancé was not one of those people. He wasn't even a blip on his fucking radar. He held zero power.