Malum: Part 1 (The Elite King's Club 4)

She flinches. “I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t. I just, I really liked him and when you were gone, we were seeing each other, for so long and I’m human, okay? I’m human. I fell in love with him with the full knowledge that I’m not fucking you, but I did anyway and when you came back it messed with me. I—”

I exhale. “First of all, it’s a good thing you’re not me because you wouldn’t want to be me right now, not when it comes to Nate so don’t say that and second of all—” I pause, looking her up and down. Her long blonde hair is whiter than it used to be, her bright blue eyes peering at me with sincerity. “Get in the car.” I can’t hold a grudge against her, I know this. He was fair game when I left, but I can be angry about her decisions after I got back, which we will work on, I guess.

Finally, when we’re all inside, I start to pull out again. Tate is cooing to Micaela in the back and my eyes find her in the rearview mirror. Just like that, Micaela melts another person.

Rihanna’s “Lost in Paradise” starts playing and Madison turns it up, opening her camera and taking a selfie video. She starts talking into it. “Girl’s day out since girl’s night out failed last night…” Then she puts the phone around the car and I stick my tongue out. She goes to the back. “And of course, with the baby princessa herself!” Madison’s Latin is getting pretty good.

“Where should we take her?” I say, lost.

“Oh, we can take her to the park! There’s a good one. I’ll put it into the GPS.” Madison continues doing that, and then we’re on our way to this mysterious playground.

Pulling up around fifteen minutes later, I park us right out front. “This isn’t a park, Madison, it’s a carnival!”

Madison shrugs. “I know, but nothing short of brilliant for my niece.”

“You’re so extra,” I mumble, jumping out of the high truck.

I’m rounding the car when Tate already has Micaela in her arms. She smiles up at me. “I hope it’s okay, I just couldn’t help myself. She’s so adorable, Tillie. You’ve done well.”

I bite the snarky comment I want to make about how of course she would find her adorable, she looks just like Nate, but I don’t.

I smile. “Thanks.” We all start walking toward the large wooden archway that’s sprinkled with colorful LED lights.

“Stop!” Madison’s hands fly out, and then she annoys an innocent passerby who is with his daughter. “Excuse me? Could you take a photo of us?”

“Madison,” I whine.

Her head snaps toward me.

“She’s getting worse,” I complain.

“I know,” Tate mumbles.

Madison runs back and pulls us together with her arms wrapped around our necks. Tate turns Micaela against her tummy so she’s facing forward, and we all smile. Then I look to Madison and Madison looks to me as Tate looks down at a smiling Micaela. Madison runs back and grabs her phone before coming back to us. She shows us the images and the man actually took a whole bunch and they’re decent, some even candid. Madison opens Instagram and her fingers hover over the caption.

“Don’t you dare,” I chuckle, knowing what she and Nate are like with their stupid captions. It’s like a constant competition between the two of them.

She grins and then types. “One he loves, one he adores, one he tolerates, and one he hates…”

“Madison!” I scold her. “That’s so not cool!”

“What!” She shrugs. “You don’t even know which is which.”

I roll my eyes, shaking my head. Tate shrugs like she doesn’t really care, and maybe she doesn’t. God, I hope she doesn’t, it would make the whole forgiving her that much easier.

Throughout the day, we move from place to place. Madison won a teddy bear, and Tate gave Micaela her first taste of cotton candy. I hit her for that, not hard, just across the arm. Then we all took her on the small teacup ride. It went really slow and we all got bored, Micaela included, but we got some good photos, so it was worth it.

The sun is setting and we’re all hungry, so we start making our way across the road to a dimly lit Chinese restaurant.

“You cheated to get that.” Tate points at the bear.

Madison tightens her grip around it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I roll my eyes, smiling. Today has been amazing, and for the first time in a long time, I’m really thankful for them both being a part of my life. Even if we bicker, and fight, and don’t see eye to eye at times, they’re the real deal.

The sun kisses my skin, setting off a warm hue radiant enough to make me miss summer as we quickly run across the road. When we enter the Chinese restaurant, the young girl escorts us to a table, handing us menus and asking if I wanted a high chair. She scurries back with it as we look over the drinks menu. The girls order wine, but I stick to soda since I’m driving home.