One Temptation

Shadows of Doubt (Chapter 34)

Y'all are going to hate me for this one 😭😭

The song is 'Too Good At Goodbyes' by Sam Smith.

I'm sorry it had to be done. FORGIVE ME PLEASE

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West's POV

The sun outside was setting, we were all sitting around laughing, joking in the room upstairs.

Gran Lizzy came back this morning, and the house felt so much more warmer with her in it.

It was weird to think how normal it all felt, even though everything was changing. Lia and Cole were teasing each other, Jake was messing around with Em, and Mads... well, Mads was just across from me, laughing with the others.

It was hard to ignore how different things felt now. 

That closeness we had shared last night wasn't something I could brush off, no matter how hard I tried. 

It was like this invisible line had been crossed. I knew I shouldn't have let it happen, but I did anyway.

The day passed like that, easy, light. Almost too easy.

Gran Lizzy's voice calls out from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready! Down here in 2 minutes! Don't make me come up there and drag you all down myself!"

At the mention of food, Jake and Cole basically sprint down the stairs, Em and Lia rolling their eyes behind them.

Mads, lounging on the bed, doesn't even move. I smile watching her just lay there lazily. 

"You heard Gran. Unless you're waiting for a personal fucking invitation."

She smirks at me, "Maybe I'm waiting for someone to make it worth my while."

I push off the wall, walking toward her extremely slow, smirking I say, "And what exactly would that take?"

Her eyes flick up from her phone, meeting mine. "More than just some half-assed attempt at flirting." she deadpans.

My smirk deepens, I lean in closer, hovering over her, "Oh, trust me, Mads. If I was actually trying, you wouldn't be sitting there with clothes on anymore."

I watch her blush, but she tries to keep in subtle. "Keep telling yourself that."

I take a step closer, leaning down so we're almost at eye level. "Come on, lets go."

She smiles at me sarcastically, "And what if I don't?"

I kneel down before her, "I'll carry you down, princess."

She bites her bottom lip, "Do it, and I'll scream."

I raise an eyebrow, amused. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

For a second, her eyes flicker with surprise, and then she gives me this wicked grin, sliding her legs off the bed and standing up, brushing past me. "You wouldn't know what to do if I screamed your name." she smirked.

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden boldness. But I liked it, it was fucking attractive.

It's my turn to feel the heat rise in my face, but I play it off with a low chuckle. "You'd be surprised."

We make our way down the stairs to the dining room, where the others are already sitting. 

Gran Lizzy's spread out enough food to feed a football team, and Jake's piling his plate like it's his last meal. 

Mads sits across from me, and the second she does, I can't help but nudge her under the table with my foot.

She glances at me, eyes narrowing. "Do you mind?"