A Way Back To You

21| Alarm

Definition: An anxious awareness of danger; a warning of danger by one who is aware of it; to cause another to feel frightened or in danger.

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Trigger warning: This chapter deals with the aftermath of abuse, both physical and sexual, including a nightmare, which some readers may find triggering. While the latter is never descriptive, reader discretion is still advised.

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With Maddy. Monday, 7pm.

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Maddy hadn't given much thought to her time at Nekton Hall, other than to her time with Ant and Ariana, or perhaps the conversation she'd had with Mina. She'd done everything she could to steadfastly ignore the conversation she'd had with Kaiko. She'd had the sinking feeling that it could've been the first of many.

In truth, Maddy had never particularly liked Kaiko Nekton, nor William Nekton, and at the moment, she was barely getting along with their children, so what they thought of her had never really bothered her. Maddy knew that she, likely unfairly, had always resented Kaiko for being the perfect type of mother, one that she'd so desperately wished to have as a child.

Learning that Kaiko was not as perfect as Maddy had first assumed, however, when she befriended Ant had been like a punch in the gut, one that had moved her to fixate a good deal of hatred towards the woman and her husband.

If you've ever hated anyone, though, you may know that it is never quite as simple as just hating them. You usually do more than that, perhaps talk about them to others, or wish them physical harm, or at the very least, be unable to go anywhere that they are just in case.

But that wasn't Maddy.

Maddy didn't obsessively curse the woman's existence, nor did she attempt to prevent others from associating with her. In fact, when compared to the actual definition of hatred, Maddy realised that perhaps she'd never hated the woman at all, and that was sickening now, after Kaiko had apologised for her sins and begged for forgiveness.

No, Maddy did not hate Kaiko Nekton, but that did not mean she wanted anything to do with her, and glancing at the missed call from the woman on her phone gave her the sneaking suspicion that she might not get a choice.

"Mads? You ok?" Alpheus's voice pulled her from her thoughts. Quickly shoving the phone back in her pocket, Maddy nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine. As you were saying?" Maddy nodded to his paperwork, and he offered her a smile.

"Yes, so. The defendant makes these pleas to the court." He offered her the file, not that she was supposed to see this, she knew. But the lawyer in charge of the case, court appointed, had spoken to Alpheus about getting an advantage over his reluctant client.

Maddy knowing the defendant's pre planned strategies meant that she could specifically target her wording to destroy his case. It helped that the lawyer was court appointed, and would be paid regardless. The man had practically begged Alpheus to let the case be slightly 'dirty' in order to prevent the man from ever getting parole.

"He's a scumbag." Maddy seethed, reading the words scripted by the man, though her anger was lightly dulled by the photo of him.

His beady eyes followed her the same way that they'd haunted her for years, until she hurriedly flipped the paper over, slamming it with more force than she intended down onto the coffee table. A deep scowl slid easily across her face, hiding the panic which had her pupils dilated and her heart rate spiking.