After Arlington

Chapter 3: Francis

It had been a long time since Francis Greene had seen Maddy Danton.

To say she had changed would have been an understatement. What had once been a face packed with makeup and a grin so fake it made his insides coil was now bare and honest.

And it was furious.

Of course, that was to no surprise.

"Hi," he said, feeling the need to break the silence which was slowly growing threatening.

"Leave," she said in lieu of any kind of greeting.

He put a hand in the door before she could shut it. "Wait, Maddy—"

"I was serious when I said I never wanted to see you again," she spat. He'd never heard so much loathing in someone's voice.

Once, he'd basked in people's hatred for him. After all, hate was one of the strongest emotions one could evoke from another. But now, it made him resent who he'd been.

"Maddy," he said again, "Just hear me out."

"There is not one thing you could say that is worth hearing," she said.

He paused, trying to think of something to win himself time. She was still tall, her tan skin smooth and warm. Her wide brown eyes were still as innocent as ever – despite just how devilish he knew she could be – and today they were rimmed with red.

She really was worse for wear.

His memory of Maddy Danton was sickening. He'd never really seen her until he was slowly learning that his feelings for Lola were much stronger than love. He realized he needed Maddy to play a part. He saw something in her that was sick and twisted.

She wasn't the first girl he'd slept with since asking Lola to be his girlfriend, but she was the most important – and also the last, for what it was worth.

Maddy Danton had always been reckless, always putting on a front of being dumb and ditzy. She loved inducing lust and playing the game of seduction, and she also loved meddling with things that were dangerous.

He was dangerous.

"Come on, Madeline," he said, using her full name. He didn't mean for it to sound taunting, but maybe it unconsciously did.

"No," she said. Her lips were hard, and her gaze so full of hatred it made his blood run a little cold.

"I need to talk to you," he said, this time through clenched teeth. Though his temper had improved over time, it could grow hard to manage, especially when people told him no.

"No," she repeated, and this time she closed the door.

Francis took a step back and then cursed, kicking his feet through the pebbles edging her pathway.

"Maddy!" he called, stepping back up onto the doormat to knock again, this time with a demanding force. "Please! Five minutes of your time, that's all I need!"

There was no response.

He sighed and shoved his hands deep in his pockets. It was hot, and his patience was wearing very thin. Had this been for himself – or anyone else – he would have given in, called it a day and left her the hell alone, to live only in his memories with the rest of them.

But it wasn't for himself, or anybody but her.

The love of his life, the one who knew him better than he knew himself.

What nobody understood about Lola Davenport was her intelligence. She was a smart girl, one that was too smart to let anybody pull the reigns. But, that was the appeal. She was a wild mare who was to be broken, and for so long Francis had been under the impression that that was all love was.