Heartbreaker (Ashton Irwin)

Chapter 37

~Madison Williams~

"Hey!"
I heard a shout arise from the end of the alley. My eyes were fluttering closed, struggling to stay conscious. I felt the stranger's arm release me as I came falling down to the pavement.
"Hey. Hey, stay with me." A pair of hands held my cheeks as a familiar voice called out to me-begged me. "Madison. Madison, please."
"I'm fine," I managed to say, "He didn't get the chance to cut deep enough."
He nodded worriedly, "I'll take you to the hospital, I just need to get you into my car."
I shook my head, "Andrew, I'm fine. Just bring me to my apartment. Please."
"Okay," he gave in, gently helping me up onto my feet. My left ankle was slightly twisted, causing me to limp over as I walked with to the car with Andrew's support and assistance. He opened the car door before laying me down at the back seat. For a moment, he stood hovering over me, caressing my bruised cheek with concerned eyes. He pursed his lips into a frown, closing the door behind him and hopping into the driver's seat.

He started the car and headed to my apartment, glancing back at me through the rearview mirror. He sighed, the frown tugging further down the corners of his mouth.
"What happened? Did you know the man?"
I shook my head slightly, "I've never seen him. Besides, it was too dark for me to even get a fair glimpse of his face."
He bit his lower lip, "Do you want to file a police report?"
"What for? Even if I told them that something happened, they won't have anything to work with."
"True," he agreed, "not even a face to remember."

"You can stop right there. I can get off from here."
"No. I'll just take you to your apartment," he insisted, "you can barely walk."
I remained silent, unable to argue with his reasoning. He pulled the car over to the building parking lot, hopping out to help me out of the car.
"Careful." He said as he placed his arm around my waist, assisting me as I walked up the stairs. I pulled out the keys from my bag before sliding through the door.

Carefully, Andrew laid me down onto the living room couch. He walked over to the kitchen, grabbing a pack of ice from the refrigerator, a cloth, bandages and a first-aid kit. He brought a chair next to the couch and sat down in front of me.
"Tell me if I'm hurting you." He said softly before running a damp cloth over the cut that ran along the line of my collarbone.
The cool water soothed the skin around my cut, wiping away the blood that flowed out of it.
"You've always been hurting me," I muttered under my breath, "You will always be hurting me."
He raised his eyebrow, his blue eyes looking down into mine. "Did you say something?"
I shook my head, "Nothing."
He continued washing my wound, dipping the cotton ball into the antiseptic before dabbing it onto the open flesh.
I flinched as the stinging liquid made contact with my cut.
"Sorry," Andrew apologized, "it'll hurt a bit but I just want to make sure it doesn't get infected."
I smiled slightly, "okay doctor."
He chuckled before taking the bandages. "It's nothing for my beautiful patient."
He smoothed the bandaid over the cut, smiling slightly before placing a kiss on top. "A kiss to get better and," he handed me the ice pack, "ice for the lovely face."
"Thank you."
He pulled a small grin, "go get some rest."
I nodded, laying my head back onto the pillow Andrew had set for me. After he was sure that I was comfortable, he cleaned up all of the things spread out onto the coffee table and returned the chair to its rightful place. Taking one last glance, he turned back to face the door.
"Andrew wait!" I called out, getting up to my feet.
He turned around to face me, a worried expression returning to his face. "Madison, you should be-"
I cut his speech off as I crashed my lips onto his, his face held in my hands. He stood motionless out of shock for a second, until he moved his soft lips against mine, smiling into the kiss.
"Goodnight Andrew."
A smile spread onto his lips, "Goodnight Madison."

The door closed behind him and I stood staring at my hands as I reflected. His lips were all the more familiar, but the kiss was new and strange to me. I shrugged it off and climbed into bed.

"I wouldn't scream if I were you." A husky voice whispered against her ear.

His breath was free of any traces of alcohol, his motions were steady, ruling out the possibility that he was a drunkard from the club. I sat staring at the blank wall as I ran a hand through my hair. He could have killed me. He would have killed me if Andrew didn't come looking for me. I didn't know him and by the way he had attempted to murder me, he didn't know me either. This wasn't an attempt of rage or he would have stabbed me when he had the chance. He was careful. He followed me into a dark alley, probably knowing that I worked at the club and found the timing to attack me. He wasn't a drunkard, nor was he a psychotic maniac. He had this planned only to be ruined by Andrew. This wasn't a mere accident. Someone was out to kill me. Someone is out to kill me.

That night, it all occured to her; none of this was a coincidence. All of the things that had happened during the past months were connected. Aunt Whitney's "accidental" death was followed by Uncle Johnathan's which would inevitably be followed by Madison's attempted death. Madison had regarded herself as an insignificant, worthless woman when in reality, she was the spark to a fire. Madison was the cause of destruction to the lives of those around her. Madison was the dirt of Kevin Anderson's past, the dirt needed to ruin his campaign. Her father was a driven, determined man with a secret that could ruin the precious reputation he had been building for decades. The fact that Madison was his disowned daughter made her treacherous. She was a danger to his career and he was very well aware of it. His opposing team had been digging up his dirt to show to the world. What he and his opponents were ignorant of, was that she had no longer went by the name Danika Anderson. For years, they couldn't kill or find her because she was no longer Danika Anderson, but rather, Madison Williams. Now that she had encountered her father at Ashton's gig, he knew exactly how to find her. Who she was, where she worked; he knew exactly how to get rid of her. Aunt Whitney and Uncle Johnathan were killed simply because they knew Madison. They were killed in the process of search for the woman who could ruin everything. Now she had realized it. Now she wished she would have seen it before, but her ignorance costed her the lives of the couple who had raised her.

She was in danger now, and likely, so was the people around her. Her hand clutched onto the phone she held in the palms of her hand. Her teeth were clenched tightly, the tension rising in her jaw. Now she had seen just how truly evil her father was and soon, so would everyone in Sydney. If she was the key to his destruction, she herself would be the one to reveal his true identity. She would tell everyone how he had his own brother and sister-in-law killed so he could find and kill his disowned daughter before it was too late. She would run to his opposing team with the despicable truth before the election next week.

"Maybe that is true," he pondered, "but they don't have evidence to verify or even claim me as the person you say I am. And if ever they do, there is a solution to every problem and I'll resolve that issue by any means necessary."