Going Mad For Maddox

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

KODI

MADDOX IS LIKE a pit of violence I subconsciously find myself free falling into. His eyes seem more grey in this light, the movie screen reflecting off of his features presenting him as a strikingly haunting piece of art.

The scar that slashes down his left eye that reaches toward his lip just adds to the grimness that envelopes his entire being. I wasn't lying when I said Maddox isn't a monster, but I'm not going to deny that his appearance is rather intimidating to say the least

He's massive. Not only is he tall but he's built like the next Greek god who has yet to acknowledge the power he garnishes. He's an abnormality within itself, mysteriously being able to navigate the world without raising red flags, yet embracing the demons that I know continue to manifest themselves into his life.

The longer I find myself in his presence the harder it is to avoid making poor decisions. I feel like I'm at a disadvantage when I'm near Maddox, my brain tends to short circuit when he cast his vulnerability onto me.

For instance how Isabella blatantly revealed his secret and the first thing he did was reach for my hand. Almost needing to know that this secret of his being revealed wasn't going to deter me away from him.

And it didn't. And I'm afraid nothing will.

Maddox and are interlinked somehow, tangled together in the very darkness I find myself terrified of. Yet it doesn't seem as scary anymore, knowing I'm no longer drowning alone in it. That man beside me is the first one to ever understand the world I've been desperately trying to claw myself out of.

"What made you want to start..." I don't know why I can't say it. Kill? Murder? End the lives of the people that deserve nothing but a gruesome death?

"Killing pervs?"

"Yeah."

The moment it was revealed to me that Maddox was not only a killer but a man who specifically goes after pedophiles. I couldn't help but feel a sense of respect towards him, knowing he's doing the very thing I wish I had the strength to do.

He shrugs as if the conversation we're having is nothing but trivial, "because they're disgusting bastards and someone had to get rid of them."

I don't deny that, "but there had to be a motive, right? So what was yours?"

Something surfaces across his features that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. His bites the inside of his cheek, stretching his long legs out and crosses his arms over his muscled chest. He's hesitating, staring at the slasher film I have playing and suddenly I regret asking him that question.

I'm about to tell him he doesn't have to answer,  but he surprisingly does. "When I was nine years old I walked in on my piano teacher molesting a kid." He says not once removing his eyes from the screen where a teen boy runs through a grimy desolate hall, "he hadn't noticed me and I stood there like the dumb fucking kid I was and watched the entire thing, not knowing what to do. I saw how he pulled the kid's pants down and...and did whatever the fuck he wanted to. He then had the kid touch him, he was so fucking scared, Kodi. I could see it on his face, the way he looked like he saw the devil himself standing in front of him and I did nothing but watch."

I'm lost for words not knowing what to say, "you were just a kid yourself, Maddox."

"But I could've done more, instead I watched how this fucking grown ass man ruined this boy's life. I was too scared to tell anyone what I saw, terrified that I would get in trouble for it so I stayed quiet. My teacher ended up doing it to the poor kid for another four fucking years." He blows out a breath, "the news got out about what was happening when he tried to do the same thing to another boy grade above me but this kid told his dad about it. The next day the news broke loose and my piano teacher was found with a bullet in his forehead."