A Way Back To You

19| Closure

Definition: The action of bringing something to the end; a feeling that an emotional or traumatic experience has been resolved.

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Trigger warning: This book deals with mentions and implications of abuse, mainly physical but potentially sexual. While the latter is never descript, reader discretion is still advised.

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With Maddy. Monday, 4am.

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When dealing with a situation that involved Ant, Maddy often had to fight to get any sleep. Last night was no different. Maddy had tossed and turned all night, a plethora of worries overtaking her mind and making it near on impossible to get any rest.

At around 4 am, Maddy quit, standing and silently walking out of her room and into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. She hated that she was so stressed out, but she couldn't help it. Maddy reflected back over the past evening as she stared out her window to the lights of the city in front of her, like fireflies that never went to sleep, even in the freezing cold. Against her better judgement, she'd pulled Ant's hoodie over her head for some semblance of comfort, and Maddy couldn't fight the immediate sense of relief she got from doing so.

Ant had told his mother that he would be explaining everything later today. But Maddy knew that he probably wouldn't. It made her heart ache, because yesterday Mina had told her that things would change from the ball, and Maddy had known that she would be right but had brushed it off, and now all she could think was that after 4, nearly 5 months of having Ariana and by extension Ant in her life, she was about to lose them both.

Unfortunately, her mind decided to remind her of all the things that had happened. Soothing Ariana after nightmares. Seeing her at school. Teaching her how to live a normal life. Snacking and playing with her. Being there for her, as constantly as she had.

Maddy was going to miss her.

Because there was just no way in hell that Ant would genuinely tell his family the truth, and, should she be wrong, there was no way his parents would go for it. She'd expected a phone call since she'd gone to bed last night, and maybe that had been what kept her up last night, knowing that eventually, sooner or later, Ant would choose what he always chose when it was her vs his family.

Ant was nothing if not consistent, and Maddy was starting to think that she should've heeded Mina's advice and stayed far away from him, because she'd seen how this had turned out once before, their entire relationship blowing up because of it, and now here she was again, awake at 4 in the morning just because she knew exactly how today was going to pan out.

Maddy was already angry at him, though a part of her mind was protesting that she couldn't be certain he'd do that, but Maddy knew Ant and she knew his family, and there was no way anything that went down today would be good for her.

To be fair, though, Maddy had other things on her mind.

Mina's night had been terrible, despite the fact that she'd been, as always, only smiles the entire time. Her best friend had slept in her bedroom with her, and Maddy hoped she was getting some shut eye because Mina had promised to tell her why she'd been sobbing when she came home. Maddy had a good idea of what was the problem but had chosen to wait, and her patience was rewarded when a moment later, Mina walked out of her room and offered Maddy a sleepy smile.

"Hey." Mina yawned. "Got coffee there?"

"I think a herbal tea might be better for your stress levels, but yes." Maddy sighed, passing her a cup. "How are you feeling?"