Going Mad For Maddox

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

KODI

I'M FACING THE heavily wooded forest where a thick cloud of fog still blankets the trees from last night's storm. An eerie sensation coasts over my body the longer I gaze into the hollowness of it, wondering if something lurks, eyeing my every move.

I'll never admit it out loud but sometimes if I watch the trees sway long enough I begin to believe that I start to see faces etched in the wood.

I catch myself staring longer than usual at times. Almost hoping for one of them to open their inexistent mouths one day and tell me that the darkness I'm constantly suffocating in isn't my ultimate destiny.

I haven't lost my sanity just yet. I know the trees can't speak, but that doesn't stop me from wishing that they could.

The back patio seemed like the perfect spot to disappear to even if the place is ominous, but I believe it's impossible to escape that cavernous feeling when living in such a somber grand mansion. It's dark with shades of greens, reminding me of Maddox's beset grandmother's greenhouse.

It's unquestionably a melancholic sanctuary of what used to be.

Dead potted plants surround me and suddenly I wish I had a green thumb to be able to bring them back to life, but instead I sit amongst their corpses.

Talon opens the sliding glass door and pokes his head out, breaking the peace I was still in search for. "Kodi?" He points his thumb behind himself, "there's a redhead in the foyer, yelling at Ryat and she's asking for you."

"Finley?" I don't know many people let alone redheads who would egregiously argue with my brother.

I stand, tossing my book onto the coffee table and race back into the house, sliding past Talon. I rush into the living room, rounding the corner to see none other than my best friend Finely St. James standing in the middle of the grand hall. She's wearing her signature mini skirt, a cartoon printed sweater vest and has her long red hair pulled up into a neat ponytail.

"I haven't seen you in five fucking years, Ryat Hayes and you've got a lot of nerve for a Wednesday Addams wanna be." She gives him that all too familiar peevish glare that Fin has solely been directing toward my big brother since we were kids. "I can't comprehend how Kodi can be related to you."

"Sometimes I wonder if your friendship with my sister is actually some type of strange hostage situation that Kodi has fallen victim to."

"And sometimes I think you're the only person in this world that could genuinely benefit from an insane religious cult."

Demetri steps into the hall with a beer in his hand, whispering, "you think this is some type of weird foreplay for them?"

I turn my attention toward him. "Demi, It's eight in the morning why are you drinking right now?"

He takes a sip, "I believe it's the perfect time to have a nice cold alcoholic beverage."

"Are you sober?"

"I'm moderately functional."

I'll take that as a no.

Finley says something to Ryat that I can't quite hear, but her snide remark makes my brother's jaw twitch. Demetri crosses his arms over his chest, leaning his head to the side and inordinately analyzes the scene in front of us.