Abandoned

Chapter 20

Miles POV

I was scared as fuck.

Why did she panic? Why did she make me take her back to her room? What the hell happened to her?

“Maddie?” I called her gently as we walked back into her room.

She let my hand go and rushed to the bathroom. She closed the door in my face before I could stop her.

My heart raced.

“Madeline!” I called her, knocking on the door loudly. “You need to talk to me!”

“There is nothing to talk about.” she said.

I clenched my fists and took a deep breath.

I could have gotten inside the bathroom. There was no lock. But I would never invade her privacy like that. Not unless I thought that she was in danger.

“You just ran away from the living room like your ass was on fire.” I said through my teeth. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“No, we don’t.” Maddie said quietly.

I heard the shower start. She was taking a shower? Now? Really?

The bedroom door opened, and I turned around. Max, Sam, and Ryan walked into the room with worried looks on their faces.

“Where is she?” Max asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

“She’s taking a shower.” I mumbled, walking away from the bathroom door.

“Was she really living in a fucking tent?” Sam asked angrily.

I looked at Max and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Max said. “I want Sam to get custody over her. She doesn’t belong in fucking foster care.”

Max was right. We needed her to tell us where her foster family was so Sam could start the process of becoming her legal guardian.

“She was living in a tent.” I said, looking back at Sam.

Anger flashed in Sam’s eyes. Was he expecting me to say that Max lied to him? He was probably hoping that it wasn’t true.

“Why?” Sam asked, clenching his fists.

“She probably ran away from her foster parents.” Ryan mumbled, looking at the bathroom door.

His posture was rigid. His eyes were filled with tears.

“She doesn’t seem like she is a troublemaker.” Ryan continued. “They did something to her.”

My heart skipped a beat. It started hurting. I had my suspicions, but I was hoping that they wouldn’t turn out to be true.

Max rushed toward the bathroom door.

“Maddie?” he called her as he knocked on the door loudly.

There was no response.

“If you don’t answer, I’m coming in!” Max said.

“She is in the shower, Max.” I sighed as I approached him.

I pulled him away from the door.

“She needs to get out.” Max said as his jaw clenched. “She needs to tell us what those fuckers did to her.”

“She will, Max.” I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. “Give her a few minutes. This is hard for her.”

Max sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Do you know her current last name?” Ryan asked as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Reed.” I answered. “Madeline Reed.”

That wouldn’t be her last name for long.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked as he approached the bathroom door.

“I’m calling a friend of mine who works at Social Services.” Ryan mumbled. “We need to start the process. Right the fuck now.”

Ryan placed his phone against his ear and walked out of the room.

The shower stopped running, and both Max and I looked toward the bathroom.

“Maddie?” Max called her again, rushing back toward the bathroom door.

“Yes?” I heard her quiet voice from the other side of the door.

“Come out.” Max told her. “We need to talk.”

“I already told Milo that there was nothing to talk about.” Maddie mumbled.

Max clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

“Mad…” Max wanted to argue, but I stopped him.

“Give her a moment, Max.” I mumbled quietly.

Max took another deep breath and gave me a small nod.

A few moments later, the bathroom door opened, and Maddie walked outside.

She looked at Max and me.

“There is nothing to talk about.” she repeated quietly.

“You lived in a tent, Mads.” Max mumbled quietly.

“I need to take custody of you, baby.” Sam added, not letting Maddie speak. “We need to know where your foster parents are.”

Ryan walked back into the room and put his phone in his back pocket.

“We should find that out soon.” Ryan said, making Maddie’s eyes widen.

“What?” she mumbled quietly.

“I called my friend at Social Services.” Ryan said. “We will start the process soon.”

Maddie gasped and moved so fucking fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it.

She ran toward the bed, grabbed her backpack, and rushed toward the door.

What the hell was she doing?!

I was shocked. I couldn’t even move.

Ryan stopped her. He grabbed her and picked her up.

“Let me go!” she yelled. “I need to leave!”

Max and I moved at the same time. We took her from Ryan and sat down at the bed. I tightened my arms around her.

She wasn’t fucking leaving!

She didn’t stop screaming for a second.

“Maddie!” Sam shouted, cupping her cheeks and making her look at him.

She stilled in our arms.

She was like a small animal in a cage. Her breathing was labored. I could feel her frantic heartbeat. Her face was red from screaming, and tears were running down her cheeks.

“Breathe, Maddie.” Sam told her. “You are having a panic attack. You need to breathe.”

“No!” she yelled as she started trashing again. “I need to leave!”

I moved Sam’s hands from her face and replaced them with my own.

“Maddie, love, look at me.” I told her softly.

Her wide eyes found mine, and the fear I saw in them almost made me throw up.

Why was she so afraid?!

“You can’t leave, Maddie.” I told her softly. “You promised that you wouldn’t leave.”

“You don’t understand.” she yelled as she started sobbing.

“Help me understand, Maddie.” I said, trying to stop myself from crying as well.

“I have to leave!” she sobbed, trying to take a deep breath. “I have to leave! He knows where I am now! He is going to find me!”

My heart stopped beating.

He?!

Who the fuck was he?!

“Who, Maddie?” Ryan asked, his voice breaking.

She looked at him for a second before her eyes landed back on me.

“Let me go.” she sobbed. “Please. You need to let me leave. I need to leave.”

Max pulled her closer to him.

I didn’t even have to look at him to know that he was panicking right now.

Just as I was.

“I can’t do that, Maddie.” I said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I can’t lose you again.”

“Who is he, Maddie?” Sam asked. “You need to tell us. We will protect you.”

Maddie looked at him, and her breathing picked up.

“No, no, no!” she said, shaking her head. “You can’t protect me! No one can protect me! I need to leave!”

She tried to get away from Max and me again.

My heart broke.

What the fuck did that fucker do to my sister?!

I saw red. I was going to fucking kill him!