I woke up, but the headache wasn’t just from too much drinking the night before. I looked around the bedroom and grabbed the covers. I wanted to curl up and never get out of the bed ever again. The connection…the truth…and yet there was more left to tell.

Maddox thought he knew it all, but he didn’t.

I looked at the nightstand. The glass of water. The pills. The trashcan on the floor with a towel.

He had brought me back to his place to take care of me.

I forced myself to sit up in bed. The smell of coffee tickled my nose, perking me up. I pulled the covers off my body. I was fully dressed, even still wearing my shoes. I stood up and put my hands out to keep my balance. I made a quick stop by the mirror to try and make my hair look a little less messy than it was.

When I walked toward the dining room, I heard the sound of bacon sizzling.

No, no, no…he can’t be doing all of this for me…

But he was.

There was Maddox in a muscle shirt, standing at the stove, cooking bacon and eggs. Before I could say a word, the toast popped, spitting out an English muffin. He grabbed it, cursed that it was hot, and went back to the bacon as it popped in its own grease.

I admired the tattoos on his shoulders and arms. The muscle shirt hugged his body in an unfair way. Totally unfair. It made my head hurt even worse. He was just so fucking sexy.

Maddox turned and spotted me. “Hey. Good morning, sugar. Coffee?”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

“Have a seat,” he said.

Maddox brought me coffee. Then he kissed me. He touched my chin and grinned.

I forced a grin back at him.

Then he went back to breakfast.

He served me a plate of food, but I couldn’t eat.

“Sugar, you need to eat,” he said. “The grease will help you. Then grab a shower, and we’ll hit the day. Whatever you want to do.”

“Maddox, stop,” I whispered. “Stop everything.”

He froze and raised an eyebrow. “O…kay?”

“You and I are seriously connected here,” I said. “I mean, how did we not realize…”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It was a fucked-up night for both of us.”

“Last night or years ago?”

“Both,” he said. “I’m sorry but I had to get you out of there. Things were falling apart. And fast.”

“I know. I owe Tate an apology.”

“Nah. Shit happens. You took your pictures. Forget that. If you want to talk about that night…”

“How do we get past that?” I asked. “I feel connected to her. To Ava. I feel guilty.”

“Guilty. Why?”

“That I was so fucking weak.”

That’s when Maddox pushed away from the table. He stood up and walked around to me. He crouched before me and grabbed my hand, placing it to my chest.

“You are not fucking weak,” he whispered. “You’re a fighter. Your heart is still beating.”

“Does that mean Ava was weak?”

I saw the pain spread across his face. “Sugar, I’m not calling Ava weak. She made a judgment call. I can’t speak to it. It was her decision. And I’m-”

“I made a judgment call that night too,” I blurted out. “That’s what you don’t get.”

“Okay, so, make me get it.”

The words were on my tongue. My throat went dry. I reached for a piece of bacon and took a bite. It tasted so good. My stomach felt soothed almost instantly.

“Hazel,” he said. “What happened that night?”

I looked Maddox in the eyes.

I had to confess it all.

A secret nobody knew about.

“I…I killed him that night.”

* * *

The look of confusion came with a question. “What did you just say?”

“I killed him,” I said again. “I killed Lance.”

It was easier to say it.

“You killed Lance…I don’t understand.”

“That night. He called me and demanded I go with him. Where? I didn’t know. That’s what he did. He would call me. Demand me. Once he got comfortable with me, the darkness showed up more and more. So, I hurried to let him pick me up. As we were driving, I noticed he had a cut on the corner of his mouth. And that there were scratches on his arm. That meant…well, Ava fought back, Maddox. She tried to fight back against him. Of course, I didn’t know that. I thought it was just from someone else he was sleeping with. I got angry. I felt myself getting to my breaking point. I couldn’t take it anymore, Maddox. Not from him. Not from my mother and father. They were already gone by then, but growing up with it. Hearing my father hurting my mother and my mother doing nothing about it. And then to be living the same thing…”

I choked on my words as fresh tears came to the surface.

Maddox didn’t hug me, though. He didn’t pull me close. I wanted to smell his skin. Kiss his neck. I wanted him to give me the strength to continue.

I just stared and watched as he reached back for a chair and sat down.

“Go on,” he said.

“Right,” I said. I felt cold. I felt alone. I was exposed now. There was nothing to do about it. “He started to attack me. Hitting me. I lost my mind and made a decision. I had to grab the wheel. I had to crash the car. I wanted to hurt him back. In my heart, I wanted to kill him. So…I did it, Maddox. I grabbed the wheel. I pulled it hard. I wrestled with him as he tried to hit me. But I was winning. The car lost control. He was drunk. He couldn’t regain control…”

“Wait a second,” Maddox said. “How did you get out of there alive, then?”

“I jumped out of the car. Right before it hit the tree. It was like I was in some action movie. The car hit like a crack of thunder, and then there was silence. This intense silence. I shut the door and panicked. Either he was dead or he was alive…alive meant he’d come after me. So, I ran. I ran home and waited. I waited until I got the call that he was…gone.”

Maddox just stared at me. His mouth hung open. His eyes were just as wide. “Holy shit.”

“I’m a murderer,” I whispered.

“Hazel, you defended yourself.”

“I killed him.”

“If you killed Night, then I killed Ava.”

“You didn’t push her, Maddox.”

“But I let her get there,” he said. He stood up. “Christ, Hazel. What the fuck…”

Maddox made a fist and punched the table.

Our plates and food jumped. Our coffees spilled over the edges of their mugs.

I let out a cry.

“Maddox…I didn’t want to say anything…”

“But you did,” he said. “And you should have. There’s nothing left. And we’ll never actually get closure from what happened.”

“We have each other,” I said. “Maddox, we have each other.”

I slowly stood up.

Maddox looked back at me, the hurt on his face.

“Don’t hide behind breakfast,” I whispered. “Be yourself.”

“Myself?” he growled. “Myself? Before you…I was okay with all of this shit. I could live. I could do my fucking job. I didn’t need a fucking camera in my face…”

I moved toward him. “Don’t get angry at me, Maddox. I was just doing my job.”

“And look what that ended up!” Maddox yelled.

I froze. I was a couple steps away from him. I stared at his back, watching him breathe heavily.

Then he turned, facing me.

“So, what now?” I whispered. “Is the truth going to destroy us?”

“No,” Maddox said. Then he made a move at me. He scooped me up into his arms. “I’m going to destroy you, sugar…with my love…”