Torque by Gillian Archer (10 ebook reader txt) 📕

am I always last to know everything around here?” Sabrina asked the room.

“If it helps, I think the only person we explicitly told was Hope and that was only this afternoon. Maddie wanted to make sure we would work as a couple before telling everyone. She was worried things would be awkward if we broke up since she sees you all as family, too.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess we’ll see now how awkward it gets.”

Sabrina leaned forward. “She broke up with you? Over Dylan?”

Dylan winced but didn’t say anything.

I scrubbed my hands over my face. My rage had simmered down, but I still felt so damn helpless. “I don’t know. She doesn’t want to see me. We kinda had words before the whole freeway incident. She was pissed at me before she left. I don’t know where we stand.”

I looked up and found most of my family looking back at me sympathetically. Except for Ryan and Austin—they’d stepped out of the room to talk to the lawyer. And Dylan was avoiding any form of eye contact.

“What’s that look for?” I asked him.

“What look?”

I shook my head. “The one that tells me you’re hiding something. Again. What’s going on?”

“Not a secret. I just…” Dylan sighed, and his eyes welled with tears again. “I have a lot to make up to Maddie. I put her in a shitty situation. I don’t even know how I’m going to make it up to her. To any of you. I asked her to lie for me. And I lied to her when I told her that I’d tell you guys what was going on. Those bastards went after her today because of me. I don’t know how I’m ever gonna make that right.”

“Going to the police is the first step.” Aunt Wendy smiled sadly at him. “But this won’t be fixed overnight. And it might require you to make some tough sacrifices.”

She didn’t outright say it, but we were all thinking it. There was a good chance that Dylan might spend some time in jail for what he’d done. We’d help him the best we could by getting him a good lawyer, but this was a hole he’d dug. It was up to him to get out of it.

While the rest of the family strategized about lawyers and retainers, I pulled Sabrina aside.

“Would you go over and see if you can see Maddie?” I asked her. “I’m so fucking worried about her. Just make sure she’s all right.”

“Sure, Nathan.” Sabrina smiled sadly. “Any message you want me to give her?”

“Just make sure she’s okay.”

“Nathan, you don’t have to be that way. It’s okay to be vulnerable. And I don’t mind being your little Cyrano.”

“Who?”

“Cyrano? De Bergerac? You know the play where he falls in love with Roxane and—you know what? Never mind. I’ll just tell her you’re worried about her. Thinking about her? Love her?”

I know Sabrina was trying to tease me, but I just felt so damn exhausted. From the argument to the assault to the freeway chase and the time spent in the precinct. And now all this Kings bullshit with Dylan. I’d had enough drama for a fucking lifetime. So I snapped.

“Don’t tell her anything about me. Honestly, I’m pretty pissed at her right now, so don’t say shit.”

“What? Why?” Sabrina frowned at me in bewilderment. “She was the one who was attacked today. Because of Dylan’s shit. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“She could’ve told someone. She could’ve told anyone what was going on. She lied to me because Dylan asked her to. Those sons of bitches threatened her. They showed up at her work and slit her tires. She didn’t tell me shit about that. She had so much time with me, and all she had to do was say a fucking word. But she didn’t. What kinda relationship can we have when she hides so much stuff from me?”

“I, uh, I never thought about it like that.”

“I had plenty of time to think about it while I was sitting in the police precinct today and on my ride home. So I guess I want some time to think about whether what we had is enough to overlook a huge breach of trust. Because she knows me. She should’ve trusted me.”

“That’s not fair.” Dylan interjected as he came up behind us. “I asked her to not say anything. It was my business, and I wanted to handle it myself.”

“It stopped being your business the second those fuckers got Maddie in their crosshairs.” I jabbed a finger at him. “And I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about the entire last month. That was a decision the two of you made. And I have to decide if I can live with it.”

I turned around and walked away. I had to because if I kept standing next to him, I’d start swinging again.

And Aunt Wendy hated it when we got blood on her carpet.

Chapter Twenty-Five

MaddieOne week later

“Maddie, honey, are you up?” Mom’s voice came through the door of my childhood bedroom with an annoyingly perky tone.

I grumbled and pulled the quilt over my head.

I’d spent the past week just going through the motions of living—except for the parts where I sobbed uncontrollably. I seesawed between pain and numbness. And really right now, all I wanted was to sleep.

Knock, knock, knock.

But apparently my mom had an agenda this morning.

“I know you’re awake.” Mom sang through the door. “I can hear you grumbling.”

“Fine!” I tossed the quilt off me and sat up. “I’m up. What do you want?”

The door opened and my mom stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. “I’m going to ignore the attitude considering all that’s gone on, but just know you’re approaching thin ice.”

I ducked my head and sighed. I had been acting like a moody teen all week. Maybe moving back home had been a bad idea. But what were my options? I couldn’t go back to my apartment, and I couldn’t stay