“We heard you moved in with Maddox,” she started.
Ah, so his parents were keeping tabs on him. “Yes, about three months ago.”
She looked around the apartment with a timid smile. “You have a nice place.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t tell if she was judging my décor or appreciating it. Everything felt so awkward, us sitting… trying to have a normal conversation, when we barely spoke more than a sentence to each other in the four years since I’d known Maddox.
“It’s very… homey,” she expressed.
“Is that a bad thing?” I blurted out, without thinking it through. Maddox loved it, our little apartment together. Sure, our taste was quite different, but he gave me free rein over the décor. I left a touch of Maddox – the curtains were black; our bedroom was all black… but I added a bit of Lila to it, too. Flower pots, paintings and pictures – he didn’t have any frames on his walls before, but now, he did. Photos of us, Colton and his friends. He called it… home. Ours.
Savannah was shaking her head. “No, not at all. I’m sure Maddox likes it.”
Her gaze landed on the huge Christmas tree we’d gone out and chosen together. She glanced down at the gifts under the tree that were slowly accumulating. It was only mid-October, but I was Christmas ready. I was a holiday person and wasn’t ashamed of it.
“Maddox didn’t like all the Christmas stuff,” I confessed. “Because he doesn’t really care for the holiday since you and Brad were never big on Christmas. But since this is my favorite time of the year, I know I went a bit overboard, but he lets me do whatever I want. He’s starting to like the Christmassy stuff. He says he finally has a home.”
Okay, maybe I was taking a dig at her. I was pissed with the way his parents treated him. True, maybe I was trying to make Savannah feel shitty about being a shitty mother.
She swallowed and ducked behind her hair. I saw a flash of shame in her eyes, before she looked down at her knees. “I’m glad. You make him happy.”
My heart swelled in my chest. “I do,” I agreed.
She cleared her throat, and I watched as she pulled out an envelope from her purse. It looked like an invitation. “Brad’s birthday is in two days. He thought it’d be the perfect time to throw an early winter gala. We’re also holding a charity event.”
Oh. I took the envelope from her. “Maddox didn’t tell me.”
He barely spoke about his parents. In fact, he never mentioned them anymore. “That’s because he refused to attend the gala. I called him a few days and…”
His mother broke off, sounding dejected. If she called him… that meant Maddox ignored her calls and never got back to her. There was an enormous divide between Maddox and his parents, so much pain and hatred. They had failed him, over and over again. And Maddox? He was stubborn, and he hid his real feelings behind a carefully put together mask. There was a wedge, so deep between them, that I didn’t know if they’d ever be able to cross it.
“Brad wants him there,” Savannah said quietly. “It’s his 50th birthday, and he wants his family present. And that also includes you.”
“Does he?”
She blinked, looking shocked at my blatant response. “Excuse me?”
“Does he really want Maddox there?” I questioned, feeling the anger rise inside my chest, coursing through my veins. “Or does he only want us to show up, so we look like the picture-perfect family… since Brad is running for Senator.”
I resented them for hurting Maddox the way they did… and if I had to keep him away from them, so they’d never hurt him again, I would.
Her eyes widened, and she was already shaking her head. “No, no. That’s not true. Yes, Brad is running for Senator, but he truly does want you and Maddox to attend the gala. For his birthday. Nothing more.”
Savannah actually looked sincere… and my lungs clenched. She was giving me a pleading look. I didn’t understand it or her motives.
“Why didn’t he ask Maddox himself?” My voice was barely restrained.
She gave me a pained smile, looking so different from the Savannah Coulter I knew. “You know him better than us. Do you think he’d let his father get even a word out?”
No, she was right. Maddox barely spoke with his father, and whenever they did, they were fighting about something. I didn’t think Maddox and Brad ever had a real conversation.
Savannah reached forward and clasped my hand, squeezing. Her eyes silently pleaded with me. “Please. Maddox needs to be there. It’s very important for Brad. And me. Please bring him to the gala. It might be our last…”
What?
My back straightened. “Sorry?”
Her throat bobbed, as she swallowed hard. “I mean, Maddox never attends any dinners or parties that we invite him to. Maybe you can convince him to come to this one. Please.”