Deciding on You || a.i. (Book 2)

18 | Maddie

To keep me from chickening out of talking to Calum, Reagan was supposed to take me to work and talk me through exactly what to say to him. But my dad insists on driving me, and there's nothing I can do or say to stop him.

I sit in the passenger seat of his rental car and stare out the window, waiting for him to start the inevitable conversation. It's beginning to look like Spring, though we didn't have much of a winter in the first place.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, sweetheart," he finally says after a few minutes, resting a hand on mine and glancing at me, "Your brother can get so fired up and it's hard for anyone to stay calm when he does."

"I know, it's just--" I swallow, taking my eyes away from the puddles on the road and the leafless trees to look at him, "Ashton's a good person. He's just had a hard time the past few years."

"He's had a hard time?" my dad lifts his eyebrows, almost cracking a smile like it's a joke.

"Yeah, it's possible for two people's hard times to look a lot different, Dad," I say, and he sighs, "I really do love him. He's a very kind, very gentle human being. I don't get how you think I could love someone who isn't kind and gentle after what happened."

He shakes his head, "Madeline, do you know how hard it was to see you in the hospital again? I just don't want it to get worse. I don't want a repeat of last year."

"I'm getting better, Dad, I am," I say. Sleeping in Cooper's room was a momentary slip up, and it's not going to become a habit. "And Ashton h-he cares about a lot of things, really. He cares about me."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

He puts both hands back on the wheel, keeping his gaze straight ahead. I'm fully willing to give Ashton another chance after this break, and I know that we will be able to make things work. I can feel it in my toes all the way up to my forehead. It's a feeling like I've already found my person, and not having my father approve of him is heartbreaking.

"How can you see it if you don't want me to even talk to him?" I ask after a minute, and he has no answer for that. He licks his lips and I slide down in my seat. "And I don't want Cooper to hate me again, by the way. I can't be the reason he has to stay here."

"Mads, I need to make sure you're alright. I worry too much," he says, "Cooper can go to school anywhere he wants. He doesn't have to stay here."

He pulls into the parking lot of the mall, thankfully, so I won't have any time to start an argument with him myself. This isn't fair.

"Across the country, though? By himself?" I say, "He applied there so he'd be close to you."

He pulls up to the door, and apparently has the same thought as me. No more arguments, at least not about the same stupid idea. He puts the car in park and sits back in his seat.

"Do you want me to walk you in?" He asks.

"No, it's fine," I say. I make sure to keep my face looking pouty and sad as I open the door, so he knows that this decision is more of a hindrance than a benefit for me.

He grabs my hand before I'm fully out of the vehicle, and I look back at him. His face has softened, and I know my pout has done it's job.

"We'll think of something, Mads," he says, squeezing my hand. "Promise."

I walk into work almost-confident and smiling. If I can convince my dad, who is dead-set on moving here to protect me, to consider other options, then I won't have any problem with confronting Calum. I smile at Jen as I clock in and even hum to myself while putting my jacket and phone in my locker.