Rescuing Madison (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty

Jackson's POV

This Joel guy was a sick bastard. His texts were just getting to be a nuisance lately, but now he had topped himself. I didn't want Madison to read this text. I didn't want her to be too freaked out that she wouldn't want to go anywhere anymore. But, she was staring at me with a look that said I better tell her what the text said. So, I just turned her phone around so she could read it for herself.

Joel: I see that our old spot is closing down. The place I first laid my eyes on your sweet little body. Such a bittersweet memory, don't you think? I so desperately wanted to take you back there, but since I can't, I'll have to pick another spot. Any preferences, sweetheart? See you soon.

"He is seriously psychotic." she said a few seconds after reading the text. "I want to text him back & tell him to go screw himself."

"It won't do any good. He wants you to react to what he's saying."

"I know. But, I still want to. I am so sick of him."

"I know you are. I am too."

She sighed. "Let's just go to bed. I'm really tired. & This just made me feel more exhausted."

"I agree." I stood up & then I helped her up off the floor. I walked her into the bedroom, then I walked back into the living room to make sure the front door was locked. Kolt had a key, so he'd be able to let himself in if he came home tonight.

I went back in the bedroom, & Madison was already laying in bed. Our bed. That made me smile to myself. I was seriously going to love living with Madison. I crawled into the bed, & she looked up at me.

"What's with the smirk on your face?" she asked.

I chuckled. "I was just thinking of you laying in my bed."

She stared at me for a few seconds, then she burst into laughter. "Jackson! You're such a pervert."

"I'm your pervert."

"Oh my gosh. Stop!" She kept laughing.

I tried to be serious. "Why is that funny? I'm being completely serious."

"Of course you are."

"I really am." I said, pouting.

She reached out & ran her thumb across my bottom lip. "You can be my pervert anytime."

I smiled. "I'll remember that."

***

The next day, I was making myself some lunch when my phone rang. I looked at who was calling, & it was Dominic.

"Hey, Dom."

"What's up?" he asked.

"I'm just making some lunch. Madison is at work, so I have nothing else to do."

He chuckled. "What would we do without women?"

"You wouldn't know. You don't have a woman." I laughed.

"Hey, hey, hey. That's not nice."

"It's still true, though."

He chuckled again. "Whatever, bro. I didn't call so we could talk about our relationships, existent or not. I have a job for you if you're interested. It's on Friday. Some lady wants a shed built in her backyard."

"That sounds easy enough. I'll take it."

"Perfect. I'll let her know. I'll see you Friday."

We hung up, then I went back to making my lunch. I hadn't had a job with the company in awhile, so it was going to be good to get back out there. & Madison worked that day, so it was the perfect time to help out my brother. I walked into my bedroom, & I noticed that there were still a few boxes that Madison hadn't gone through yet. I sat down on the floor, & pulled the closest one to me. I opened it, & I noticed it was full of scrapbooks. I grabbed the one on top & opened it.

The first page had one picture on it. It was a picture of me & Madison. We had our faces smushed together, so we could both get in the picture. She was smiling, & I was pouting. It was from a couple years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. We had had a game night, & she had beaten me in every single game we played. She was so proud of herself, that she just had to take a picture to remember her 'victory.' I laughed to myself.

I spent at least an hour going through her scrapbooks. Most of them were filled with pictures of us, movie tickets from movies we had seen, & other memories of us. One scrapbook was filled with pictures of her & the friends she had a few years ago. It was nice to see her smiling face.

I looked down at my phone when I heard it vibrating, & I realized it was time to go pick up Madison. It felt like I had spent hours looking at her scrapbooks. I put them back in the box they were in, & left the room. I grabbed my keys & hurried to my car. When I got to the book store, I could see Madison waiting inside. She ran outside when I pulled up, & jumped into my car. She turned to look at me, & I noticed how tired she looked.

"Busy day?" I asked.

"Totally. You should have seen the crowd we had earlier." she joked.

I chuckled. "I bet.

"What did you do all day?" she asked me.

"Nothing really. Dominic called, & I put some of your stuff away for you."

"Oh, thank you!" she sighed. "I would have taken forever to empty those boxes."

"It's no problem, baby girl." I grabbed her hand. "I like the scrapbooks you have."

She laughed. "I love putting scrapbooks together. So, Dominic called you?"

"Yeah. He has a job for me to do on Friday. So, I probably won't be able to pick you up then."

"That's okay. I feel alright to drive."

"If you're sure. I can always get Kolt to pick you up."

"No, it's fine. I don't want to bother him."

"You know you don't bother him."

She didn't say anything else. She just smiled at me. I let it go for now. I would call Kolt on Friday. We decided to get take out for dinner, then we headed home.