Rescuing Madison (Book 1)

Chapter Five

Madison's POV

As we ate, I watched Jackson & Kolten. They looked so much alike, that they could almost pass as twins. Kolten was only a year older than Jackson, & 2 years older than me, making him 23. They both had dark brown eyes, but Jackson had dark brown hair & Kolten had black hair. Jackson was pretty tall compared to my 5'2 frame, but Kolten was even taller at 6'2. Maybe three inches taller than Jackson.

They might have looked almost identical, but their personalities couldn't have been any more different. Jackson tended to be more calm & reserved, where Kolten was loud & outgoing. I was actually glad I had met the more quiet brother first. I mean, Kolten made me laugh with all of his crazy jokes, but I preferred more calm settings.

They also had another brother, who is a couple years older than Kolten. His name is Dominic. I had only met him a couple times, so I didn't know much about him. I knew that he was busy most of the time. He had taken over their fathers construction company when he turned 21. Jackson occasionally did jobs for him when he really needed the help.

Dominic doesn't really look like his brothers at all. He has longer dark brown hair, & he has a ton of tattoos. & He is a couple inches taller than Kolten. He had been really nice to me when we met, but he was pretty intimidating.

I looked back at Jackson & Kolten. I noticed that the way they were eating, was almost identical to the other. When they both took a bite of their food at the same time, for the 5th time in a row, I burst out into laughter.

They looked up at me like I was crazy, & that just made me laugh even more. I even had a few tears running down my face. My laughter subsided after my sides started hurting. They were still looking at me with confused looks on their faces.

"What the hell was that about?" Kolten asked me.

"You guys just kept taking bites of your food at the same time, & for some reason it was really funny to me."

They both chuckled.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you laugh." Kolten said.

I immediately felt embarrassed. "Really?"

He nodded.

That's when I started to realize how incredibly shy I had been for the past few years. I had been around Kolten plenty of times in the past 3 years & he had barely ever heard me laugh? Was I seriously that closed off around other people?

I was not like this before everything that had happened. I was outgoing & I loved to laugh. Why was I still letting the past run my life? Jackson had been right when he said I needed to get out more.

Jackson.. How was he even friends with me? He deserved so much better. I lost my appetite then. I put my fork down & pushed my plate away. I felt sick to my stomach.

"Are you okay?" Jackson asked me.

"I.. Um.. Excuse me." I said, getting up from the table.

I rushed to the bathroom & shut the door. The nausea had gone, but I couldn't stop myself from sobbing. I put my back against the wall, & slid to the floor. I held my head in my hands. Tears were flowing down my face, & I felt like they'd never stop.

I heard a soft knock on the door. "Madison? Are you okay?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know what to say. I heard the door open, & suddenly Jackson was at my side, pulling me into his arms.
"What's wrong, baby girl?"

I just shook my head. I didn't want to talk about it yet. I grabbed onto his shirt, so he wouldn't leave. He held me as I cried, & kept whispering to me that I was okay. When I finally stopped crying, I looked up at Jackson & apologized.

"What are you saying sorry for?"

"For you having to see that."

"You don't have to apologize to me, Madison. Just tell me what was wrong."

"I.." I took a deep breath. "I just realized that you're right. You've been right all along. I should be getting out & doing things. I shouldn't be letting my past control my present & future. & I feel so bad that I've dragged you into this. You deserve a friend who can actually go out to parties with you without having panic attac-"

He cut me off. "Madison. Stop." He tilted my head up to look at him. "You didn't drag me into anything. You literally fell into my arms & I would never change a thing. You're my best friend. & I'm not going anywhere. I need you to believe me. Please."

I didn't even have to think about it. "I do believe you, Jackson."

"Good." He stood up with me still in his arms, then held me out at arms length. "Now, let's go scare Kolt again."

***

Later that night, I was sitting on the edge of Jackson's bed, when Kolten walked in. He gave me a small smile & sat next to me. He put his arm around my shoulders.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel bad earlier. I didn't mean to." he said.

I grabbed his hand that was hanging off my shoulders. "Kolten, you have nothing to be sorry for. I just hadn't realized how horribly shy I've become. That's definitely not your fault."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. I heard you crying, & I felt so bad."

"I'm okay now, so don't feel bad anymore. It's not like I would let little old Kolten get to me, anyway." I joked.

He laughed. "Little? Madison, you're like 3 feet tall."

"Hey! That's not nice!" I playfully shoved him, while laughing.

"Don't dish out what you can't take, girl!"

We laughed together for a few minutes more, then we went out into the living room with Jackson, where we attempted to have a movie marathon.