Warnings and Wildfires

He cocks his head, staring down the hallway. “Are you sure you want to go in there? She’s even less-friendly than she was when I dropped you off.”

“She probably wasn’t feeling well before. If the situation’s too hostile, I’ll drop the bags inside her door and run.” I hold up my right hand. “Promise.”

His shoulders drop, and he shakes his head, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Thank you.”

Pretending I’m more confident than I’m actually feeling, I march down the hallway.

“Last door on the right,” Sully reminds me.

“I’ve got this,” I mutter to myself. I know how much this sucks. If it hadn’t been for Celia, explaining what was happening to me and buying me the right supplies, I probably would’ve crawled into a hole and begged for death once a month from the age of eleven on. My parents were certainly no help in that department.

All I can think about is how upset Maddy must be to finally have the extra time with her dad and have this ruin it for her.

I glance back at Sully who’s shifting from foot to foot, an anxious expression on his face, hands jammed in his pocket. Clearly he wants to do the right thing for his daughter and has no idea where to start.

I tip my head back and close my eyes for a second. Please don’t let me screw this up.

I tap on the door a few times.

“What!?” Maddy yells.

Crap. Shifting the bags to one hand, I push the door open.

Don’t show any fear.

“Hi, Madison. I know I’m probably the last person you want to see right now. But I came over to help.”

Her eyes widen, and her tear-stained cheeks turn even redder. My heart squeezes at her obvious mortification.

“My dad called you?” she wails.

“He thought I could help.” I hold up the bags. “I brought goodies.”

She picks her head up and raises an eyebrow. “What kind of goodies?”

“There’s chocolate fudge brownie ice cream in the freezer.”

She jerks her chin. “What’s in the bags?”

“Truffles. Maxi’s with wings, Advil, a heating pad.”

She wrinkles her nose. “Heating pad?”

I shrug. “It always helps me.”

She scoots over and I approach slowly, setting stuff down on the bed first like some sort of offering to appease the goddess of hormonal teenagers. She peers into the bags, grabbing the bag of chocolate truffles first.

It’s brief, but I swear she actually smiles.

She grabs the pads next and breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you. The ones Dad bought were diaper-size.” She holds her hands about three feet apart. “I mean seriously, I could go canoeing with these things.”

I can’t help laughing. “I’m sure he tried his best, honey.”

“Give me a second. I’ll be right back.” She scoops the important bags up and runs across the hall, leaving her bedroom door wide open.

While she’s gone, I unwrap the heating pad and find a spot to plug it in.

“Is it safe?” Sully whispers from the doorway.

“I think so, but I wouldn’t linger if I were you.” I squint at him. “Did you go into the feminine hygiene aisle or the adult incontinence aisle at the pharmacy?”

“What?” He runs his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. The package said ‘overnight protection’ I figured that would work until—”

He stops abruptly when he realizes I’m teasing. “It’s not funny.”

Across the hall, the toilet flushes and Sully zips away. Can’t blame him.

Maddy floats back into the room. “Soooo much better. Thank you.”

She flops down on her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. “Does this ever not hurt so bad? I feel like my insides are being ripped out.”

“I know.” I hand over the heating pad and show her how the controls work. “See if this helps. Give it a few minutes to warm up.”

She rifles through the rest of the bags and wrinkles her nose at the tampons. “I don’t use those yet. Mom says I shouldn’t.”

“Oh. I wasn’t sure.” That’s weird, but I’m not about to contradict her mom. “If you’re not supposed to, don’t. Leave them here so you have them in case of emergency when you’re older.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

She pops open the Advil and takes what she needs.

Mission successful. Don’t overstay your welcome.

I start edging my way toward the door.

She stares at me for a few seconds, then glances away. “You don’t have to go.”

She scooches over and taps the space beside her. I perch on the edge of the bed. “I was going to watch Labyrinth. Have you ever seen it?”

The movie is older than I am. “Lots of times.”

She rolls her eyes. “Dad always makes fun of the Goblin King.”

I imagine some of the humor and metaphors in Labyrinth that goes over Madison’s head are outright horrifying for Sully. Not to mention the codpiece. I choke back a laugh.

“He calls him King Tightpants.”

The laughter I’d been hanging onto by a thread bursts out and Maddy joins in.

“Watching it with Uncle Jake is even worse. He makes fun of everything.”

“I bet he does.”

Her hand drifts over the heating pad resting on her stomach. “This does feel better.”

To my total surprise, Madison snuggles up to me. Cautiously, I sling an arm around her. “Thank you, Aubrey.”

“No problem.”

She tips her head back, staring at me for a few seconds with shining eyes. “I’m sorry I was mean to you before.”

I’m so shocked by her apology it takes me a second to respond. “You weren’t mean, honey.”

“I guess I was jealous you get to spend so much time with my dad.”

It’s a pretty adult thing to admit and I hug her a little tighter. “I’m sorry. I never want to intrude on your time together.”

“It’s okay.”

“I bet it’s really hard being so far away except for a couple days a month.”

“It is,” she says, sitting up. “I really wish we lived closer. Mom talks about moving back to New York all the time, but my stepfather doesn’t want to and Grandma Jean is there…”

I’m so at a loss for words. It’s not like I’ve earned the right to offer any opinions and I’m so afraid of saying the wrong thing and making the situation worse.

“That’s rough, Maddy. You know your dad loves you a lot, though. He’s really happy about the extra visits. I hope that continues to work out for you guys.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks and now I feel bad.” She crosses her arms over her chest and throws herself against the bed. “Mom said if he spends more time with me, he’ll realize he’s gotten off easy all these years.”

That sounds mean, but then again, I’m not the one dealing with the hormonal teenager on a daily basis.

“And now I yelled at him.” A few tears roll down her cheeks and she quickly swipes them away. “So she’s right.”

“People say stuff they don’t mean when they’re mad or upset sometimes, Maddy. It doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.”

In response, I get a grunt-grumble, that I assume means she agrees.

“Labyrinth?” I ask, picking the remote control off the nightstand. I glance around the room. “You’ve got a nice set-up in here.”

“You’ve never been in my room before?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

It feels like a trick question. Damn, this kid’s sneaky.

“No.” Heat crawls up my neck to my cheeks. Every time I’ve been at Sully’s house, we’ve been too eager to get to his bedroom. No time for a tour of the house. “Your dad told me it was your room, but that’s it.”

She takes the remote from me and brings up the Netflix menu to find our movie.

“I feel like we should have

popcorn.”

She nudges the bag of chocolates into my hands. “Chocolate’s way better.”

“True. Do you want something to drink, though?”

She scrunches up her nose and thinks it over. “Maybe some milk?”

“Okay. Give me a minute. Don’t start without me.”

I slip out of the room, immediately bumping into Sully.

“Is she okay?” he asks. He runs his gaze over me. “Are you okay?”

“I survived. I’m grabbing some milk.” He follows me down the hall. “She wants to watch Labyrinth.”

In the kitchen, he hands me two glasses and leans against the counter while I pour the milk.

“Should I be concerned she likes that movie so much?” he asks.

I lean up and kiss his cheek. “Nah, it’s all about a young girl coming into her own power and saying no to the dazzling King Tightpants.”

He chokes, then full-out laughs. “I guess I ruined it for her last time.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Hey, come here.” A more serious expression settles over him and he reaches out to take my hand, pulling me closer. “Thank you for doing this. You don’t have to. It’s not your responsibility.”

“I like her and I—” Love you. “Want to help.”