Rescuing Madison (Book 1)

Chapter Eighteen

Jackson's POV

"Madison? What's going on?"

She looked up at me & she didn't look so good. Her eyes rolled back, & she started to fall. I caught her before she could hit the floor. What the hell is going on? I picked her up & laid her on the bed. Then I saw the piece of paper she had been holding. I picked it up off the floor & read it.

You should lock your window, sweetheart.

I was instantly pissed. That creep had been in her room. I wanted to scream in frustration. If I was at my own place, I probably would have punched a hole through the wall by now. I walked over to Madison & held her hand. She was burning up. I ran to the bathroom & got a wet rag. I put it on her forehead, hoping it'd cool her down.

I heard someone come in the front door, & a few seconds later, Kolt was standing in the doorway to Madison's bedroom. His eyes widened as he looked at her.

"What happened?" he asked, looking down at Madison. "I tried to get here as fast as I could."

"Well, Madison got another text."

"Seriously? He's not giving up, is he?"

"It was different this time."

He stilled. "How different?"

"It wasn't unknown this time. It actually had his name on it, like he was in her contacts."

Kolt's jaw dropped, as he stared at me. "He got into her phone? How?"

"That's what I want to know."

"Maybe I'll be able to trace it now."

"It's worth a shot. She also found this note taped to her window." I handed him the note.

"What the hell? How did he get in her room?"

"Apparently through the window." I said sarcastically.

"No shit, dude. I just thought she always kept the window locked."

"So did I. But, it's not like she thought someone would climb 3 floors to get to her window in the first place."

"True. She can't stay here anymore."

"I know. I'm going to make her pack some stuff when she wakes up. She can stay with us from now on."

"Maybe now is the time to start house hunting for myself." he said.

"You know you don't have to move out."

"I know. But, maybe it's time. I'm too old to live with my younger brother."

"You're only a year older than me." I chuckled.

"I'm still older. & More mature." he smiled.

Madison moved then. Her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, then she looked at me. "Did I faint?" she asked.

"Yes."

She looked over at Kolt, & noticed the paper he held in his hand. She grabbed onto my arm. "He got into my room & into my phone. Why won't he leave me alone?"

She started to sob, so I pulled her into my arms. "I don't know, Madison. But, I want you to pack some stuff up & come stay at my house."

"Some stuff?" she asked. "I don't want to ever come back here again."

I looked at her with a confused look. "What are you saying?"

"I.." She looked up at me, & gave me a small smile. "Can I move in with you now?"

I grinned. I looked up at Kolt, & he smiled then nodded. I looked back at Madison. "Of course you can move in with me, baby girl."

"I don't want to intrude or anything, though." she said, looking at Kolt.

"You're not. I promise." he said. "I'm thinking of getting my own place, anyway."

"Please don't do that just because of me."

"Calm down, girl. I'm not." he laughed. "Like I told my brother, I'm too old to be living with you youngsters. Now, go get your crap together."

We all laughed at that. She did have a lot of stuff. Kolt left to get a bunch of boxes. I really didn't want to bring up what happened earlier, but I didn't like how Madison had just brushed it off. I knew it was still bothering her. Hell, it was still bothering me. She called her landlord & told him she was moving out. He was really cool about it. He even seemed really concerned for her, but she assured him that it was nothing bad. He didn't even charge her for not giving him a 30 day notice, since she had never been late when it was time to pay her rent.

She was now filling up the three boxes that she did have. I knew she was trying to keep herself busy.

I gently grabbed her arm. "Madison." She looked up at me. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

She shook her head. "No. I just want to get out of here as soon as I can. I can't keep letting that freak get to me. He just wants to scare me. & Yeah, he has. But, I'm not going to let him anymore. I'm sick of him."

I pulled her into my chest & held her there for a few seconds. "You're a strong woman, baby. We'll get through this."

"I know we will." She kissed me quickly. "I can't believe I'm moving in with you."

I laughed. "Me either. I've asked you so many times in the past 3 years to move in with me. & Now you're finally saying yes. I feel like we need to celebrate."

"There's no time like the present! & We can definitely celebrate later. We can even buy a cake & some balloons." She laughed & pulled me in for another kiss.

Kolt came back half an hour later with a ton of boxes, & we spent the rest of the day boxing up her apartment. I eventually had to stop her from packing certain things, like glass items, after I watched the way she just ripped her clothes off their hangers & throw them in the boxes. I didn't want her to break anything that was important to her. We paused once to order pizza. It'd be the last meal Madison ever had here. & I knew that didn't bother her one bit.