Chapter 17: Big Trouble

••~~MADDISON ~~••

We stepped into the club, flashing lights bouncing off every wall, music thumping like a hundred heartbeats racing through my chest.

“Uh-oh. Who’s the shadow?” Sydney tilted her head, squinting behind us.

I turned.

Yep.

Ausley.

Already on our tail like a bodyguard who took the job way too seriously.

I didn’t even need to wonder how he got through the line.

Ausley just had that “move or be moved” energy. That clean-pressed menace that even bouncers would respect.

"Driver-slash-bodyguard-slash-housekeeper... I don’t know what else." Eye-roll, sigh. Shrug.

Felt like I was mad at him too, but really, it was leftover Corian rage just dripping onto anyone in proximity.

“He looks like he has strict orders to secure the goods,” Sydney whispered, bumping her hip into mine. “And honey, you are the goods.”

We both burst out laughing as we pushed deeper into the crowd.

Damn. It was loud. The music. People pressed against each other. Boys leaned against the bar, eyes scanning for someone to impress. Girls moved through the crowd in tight dresses, holding up their phones, shouting over the music. The whole place reeked of sweat, broken hearts, knockoff perfume and cheap-ass Vodka.

Classic Bingo vibes, except it was way too jam-packed for a Thursday. I guess heartbreak throws the best parties.

We got margaritas. With lemon slices on the rim.

I don’t really drink. Lightweight. Big surprise since my mother is an alcoholic. Constantly picking her up from the floor, passed out drunk made the bottles too traumatic to touch.

But tonight? I was ready to drown in it.

Three sips in and I was already feeling it. Warm, chatty, loose.

I gave Syd the NDA-approved tea on Corian, just enough to keep her from turning into Olivia Pope with a wig.

“It’s like he’s got VIP access to parts of me I barely even knew existed,” I said, knocking back two more shots and biting down on a lemon.

Sydney clutched her chest like her heart couldn’t take it. “VIP access? Girl, if I even imagined it, I’d die. Jake and I have been at it for two years and he still hasn’t hit VIP. I’m so freaking jealous!”

I winced from the acid burn, shook my head. “Girl, don’t be. ’Cause just when it started to feel like something, some girl struts in like she owns him and he lets her drag him off. Didn’t even glance back. I just stood there… like a damn houseplant.”

“Sounds like Chad,” she said, biting into her lemon.

“Exactly! Graduates from the same jerk academy.” I jabbed my straw into my drink like it was his face.

“Speaking of jerks, Chad’s all over town kissing Willow in public. And she’s telling everyone you dropped out of school.”

And just like that, Willow’s voice replayed in my head, word for word: ‘You’ll never be more than the daughter of an alcoholic single mother with the sex appeal of a frog. Chad needed a real woman. Be grateful I stepped in.’

And yeah... it still stung.

I groaned, burying my face in my palm. “Oh my God. I cannot deal with the Chad-and-Willow circus. Not tonight. She hates me so fucking much,” I mumbled into my hand. “And I don’t even know what I did.”

“Uh, because you’re you? Talented, real, actually have a brain… Not some copy-paste brat like her.” Sydney widened her mouth into a dramatic O, then cackled. “Ooh, I cannot wait to see her face when you walk in with your billionaire glow and that ‘I’m not going anywhere’ strut.” She flipped her hair over one shoulder like she’d just dropped the mic.

Billionaire glow?

Seriously, what even is that?

I let out a half-laugh, but it barely pushed past the lump in my chest.

Because billionaire glow or not, the thought of watching Chad and Willow play happy lovers in my face? Yeah, no. Hard pass.

I was in love with that man for two whole years.

I wish I could but I can’t wish all those feelings away.

“You know I still can’t believe Chad did that to me,” I said quietly. “And with her of all people.”

“Girl, all men are jerks,” Syd said, waving her glass.

My eyes drifted to the bar.

Okay… not all men.

Not all the time, anyway.

That art surprise…. in the garden… with all my favorite things, flashed through my mind… how thoughtful it was, how… seen it made me feel.

But the way he left? With her… after fucking me the way he did in his mirror room? Like I meant something?

It burned.

“And mine’s the biggest jerk of them all,” Sydney sighed, knocking back the rest of her drink.

Jumping out of Corian Island, I sighed. “What did Jake do now?”

“He forgot our anniversary,” she said, like it was a felony and he deserved the death penalty.

“Oh.”

Honestly, I didn’t even know how anniversaries worked. My mom forgot all my birthdays.

“You know what? They can all go to hell. Tonight is about us,” Syd said, grabbing my hand. “Hot guys. Stupid dancing. Let’s go.”

She dragged me against my will. I hate dancing.

We hit the dance floor.

We danced like no one was watching.

Sweaty bodies. Loud music. Hands in the air. Me letting go for the first time in forever.

Constantly taking care of Julia turned me into a grumpy adult at parties.

But my inner child was roaming free tonight.

One guy. Then another. Then another.

I was tipsy. Spinning. Laughing.

"Ms. Summers…"

Buzzkill.

Ausley tried to pull me away from some guy with his hands on my waist.

“Come join the party!” I yelled.

“Back off!” Sydney shouted, shoving at him. Her tiny hands did nothing to his boulder chest.

“Ow,” she muttered.

“Ms. Summers. We need to go. Now. Mr. Van Halen….”

“F*ck Mr. Van Halen. He can leave with his Barbie. I can party too.”

“I’m sorry. But I can’t lose my job.”

And then, he lifted me.

Over his shoulder.

“Put me down, Ausley!” I yelled, legs flailing.

People stared. The music thumped. And I was being carried out like a drunk raccoon.

In the car, my head was doing cartwheels. I leaned back, shut my eyes, then shifted a bit….

Crunch.

“Ow…. what the…” I shifted, something was poking my butt.

I reached under and pulled it out. It was a glossy sheet of paper.

I blinked, squinting at the bold print at the top.

BLACKWOOD FUNERAL ARRANGEMENT

And right there in capital letters was his name.

CORIAN VAN HALEN.

My heart dropped straight to my knees.

Wait. What. The. Actual. Hell.

Before I could finish reading, Ausley snatched it away.

“What the hell is that?” I asked.

“Nothing.” He gave me a flat answer.

“I saw it, Ausley!” My voice shot up. “It’s a funeral arrangement. It has his name on it!”

I leaned forward, glaring through the rearview burping through my words. “Is he sick? Dying?”

The man looked like a damn stallion in his prime.

No way he was dying.

My heart jumped just at the thought, chills spreading through my body in heavy torrent.

Ausley was choosing to stay mute,

Of course he was.

We pulled into the driveway. My heart bounced way too fast. I couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or panic.

Ausley opened the door, came around, and carried me out of the back seat like I was a doll, my eyes doing spins over his shoulder.

We barely made it through the door when…

"PUT HER DOWN!"

That rough sexy rasp boomed in the room.

Ausley responded fast…. Too fast.

I wobbled on my feet.

And there he was.

Corian Van Halen, glaring dominance and trouble.

Like he was ready to burn the whole world down.

Uh-oh.

I’m in trouble.

Big trouble.