Written In The Stars: Book Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: UNWANTED VISITOR

His grandfather's words echoed through his mind over and over again throughout the hour and a half drive. They were so similar to the words spoken from Mitch earlier that day that ignoring it was no longer an option. 

Did Madeline move on because she wanted to, or because she had to? Did she say 'yes' to the proposal because she didn't want to spend her life alone, or because she truly loved that douche? Was this all her just going through the motions, attempting to get on with her life, or was this all her just trying her best to press on?

He remembered that stuffed animal she leant him while in rehab, and how much it smelled like her, as if she'd cuddled into it every night they were apart for some measure of comfort. Every night for the two years he was drunk. That was just before she began really dating, so it didn't amount to much, but it was something. 

This wasn't what he needed to think about right now, especially considering he'd just met his grandfather for the first time in his life only two hours prior, the back of his truck filled with boxes of items from his mothers childhood, photographs, birthday and Christmas cards, presents. 

He told Elijah all about how hard his grandmother tried to find him before her passing, hoping to meet him before she was reunited with her daughter in heaven. Elijah wasn't a religious person by nature, but he truly believed his father was rotting in hell. And if he believed in hell, than he had to believe in heaven. He hoped the woman saw the two men reunite, and hoped she forgave him for taking so long to find his way back to them. Elijah felt a flicker of guilt for that, as well as for believing in his father's lies. 

All this time, they'd loved both he and his mother so deeply, and he never knew. He went there to confront them, to find out why he and his mother were unworthy of their love, and instead he found the answers he'd been searching for. 

Hatred was not engrained in Elijah. He had his father's temper and would always have a cloud hidden within, but he also had his mother's trust, her love, and her compassion. He had his grandmother's determination, his grandfather's hope and understanding. Mitch had feared Elijah would truly become his father's son if he stuck to his path of self-destruction, and he would never fully be free of that side of his DNA, but he was also his mother's child. 

As Elijah took the second turn toward his apartments, lights flickered above two police cars parked outside his door while Jay stood in the open doorway. He his the gas, his heart beating clear out of his chest, or so it felt. Elijah swerved into a parking spot realizing full well he was taking up two spaces, and hopped out of the driver's seat. 

Jay spoke up before Elijah had a chance to get a word in. "She's fine."

Those two words were enough to allow his heart to slow to a less erratic pace, but not enough to calm his nerves. "What the hell happened?"

"You Elijah Martin?"

Despite wanting answers from Jay, Elijah turned his attention to the officer standing outside his apartment. "Yeah."

"Jonathan Bannon tried to break in after he was denied entry to the apartment. I understand the two of you know each other."

Elijah turned to look behind him, noticing Johnathan the Third sitting in the back of the police car, glaring daggers at him. "We met early Sunday morning."

"We spoke to Ms. Martin already, as well as Mrs. Martin and Mr. Moore here. I have everyone's phone numbers already, and left my card in the kitchen. Seeing as you weren't here for the events, I don't think I'll need a statement right now. But I'll come back at some point tomorrow to ask a few more questions, if that's all right."

"That's fine," Elijah muttered out, his eyes returning to the piece of shit in the back of the cop car. Before he could do anything stupid, Elijah turned around. "Thank you."

The officer gave him a nod and walked back to his car, and Elijah moved his focus to Jay. "Why the hell didn't you call me?"

"Because I was on the phone with the cops. And what if you'd gotten here before they did? I wasn't risking that shit. You would have murdered the guy, and that's not exaggerating."

No, it wasn't exaggerating. Elijah would have straight up killed Johnny without a second thought or single regret. "You're right," he agreed. "Thank you for protecting her."

Jay gave him a slap on the arm. "This is 'Just M' we're talking about here. She's good peeps. Even if she wasn't, she clearly didn't want him here, and that was good enough for me. But I gotta get back to my woman, so you take care of yours."

The comment didn't go unnoticed by Elijah, but he chose to ignore it and went through the open door of his apartment. 

Madeline was sitting on the recliner he'd purchased for her, and teal blanket draped across her lap and tears streaking her face. Elijah rushed over to her, dropping his knees to the carpeting, and cupped her cheeks with both hands. "I should have been here. I'm so fucking sorry."

She just shook her head. "I didn't think he'd show up here. I didn't even know how he found me until I remembered the tracking app on my phone. But I'm okay, I promise."

"I should have been here," Elijah repeated, more to himself than to her. He knelt higher and leaned his forehead against her own, careful not to hit a bruise or stitch. "If anything happened to you..."

When Elijah couldn't finish his question, Madeline spoke up, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "What would you do?'

"Burn the whole fucking world to the ground looking for vengeance if I had to," Elijah admitted freely. 

Madeline let out a tired, barely audible laugh. "I guess it's a good thing Jay didn't call you then, huh?"

He ignored her comment. "Promise me again. Promise again that you're okay. And say it with conviction this time so I believe it."

Feeling her gaze burn into him, Elijah opened his eyes to meet her stare. "I'm fine, I'm safe, and I'm right here."

It was then that Elijah noticed they hadn't been this close since that last night. That last kiss, and that goodbye that felt so final it ripped his entire world to shreds.

"You're crying," Madeline whispered, trying to cut the silence and the trance they found themselves in. 

There was no point in denying it with the evidence leaving a trail down his cheeks. "That's because I had two cop cars in front of my home, and I didn't know what the hell to think, so I thought the worst."

"Ever the pessimist," Madeline teased half-heartedly. "It was scary, I'm not going to lie, but physically I'm fine."

Elijah couldn't help but point out the obvious. "Physically, you got hit by a car last week."

"That's a fair point," Madeline conceded. 

It was then Elijah realized they were just filling the silence so they could both pretend not to notice they were still pressed against one other, forehead to forehead, with his hands still on her cheeks. "If he ever comes near you again-"

"You'll kill him."

"And I'll take my sweet time doing it."