"No fuck that! I can’t wait any longer! You’re making me fucking
crazy
and I can't take anymore. I have to get away from here and I
need
you Gia!"
"Just-"
"No!" he cut her off, "I'm not waiting! I'm leaving and you have to come with me."
"I can't." she tried to pull back but he refused to let her go.
"You can! Come on baby, just me and you, we can finally be together." He pulled her close to him again then kissed her. His tears burned his eyes as hers unabashedly rolled down her cheeks, "We can go anywhere we want, we'll be free."
"Maddox-" she cried.
"Shush, don't be afraid, I’ll protect you." he pushed her hair back from her face, soothing her as she cried harder. "Come away with me," he beckoned her, "Please Gia."
“No.” she shook her head in objection, she could not do this right now, she needed time to think. She wanted to leave with Maddox, but she needed to try to make it right with her father first. “I have to go.” she said, needing to stop this now and walk away from him before she decided to leave with him.
"No."
“I can’t stay here with you.” she cried, her temptation to run away with him increasing.
"If you walk away, that's it, I will
never
see you again." he could not take it anymore, he loved her enough to walk away from everyone he loved and he was furious that she did not love him enough to do the same.
"Don't say that."
"Don't walk away."
"I'm sorry." she said then took a step back.
"Liar!" he took a step forward, "You’re just like them!"
"I am not-"
"I would have done anything for you, I defied my father for you!" he blew up.
"Maddox please-"
"No! You betrayed me worse than any of them ever could!" he pulled the bow from his pocket, "It's over, I quit, you win the game." he threw the bow on the ground before her, "I should have just listened to my father, he was right after all, you can never trust your enemy." he spat, turning to walk away from her before that last thread of his control snapped.
"No!" she cried as she grabbed his arm. He turned around and looked at her, a look that was meant for a nemesis, not a lover. He yanked his arm back from her as if she had been his bitter enemy since birth.
"You stay away from me," he said with a calmness so full of hatred and disappointment that she felt her heart break in half. "If you see me, don't speak, and don’t even look in my direction." his pale eyes blazed with pain and his heart was deadened by the betrayal, "From now on you
are
my enemy." he walked away from her then got into his car before he sped off.
She went to her knees, right there on the dirt and the diseased grass of the trailer park lot. Her emotions took over and the pain went so deep she could not raise her head. The red bow she had gone to scandalous lengths to win back was discarded on the ground before her. It felt as if the sky was circling around her, her head felt light and everything was getting dark. She felt her lungs constrict and was unable to breath, she gasped for air, attempting to stand before finally collapsing on the ground.
***
Maddox was on the open highway with no destination in mind, right now, he just needed to drive and get as far away from that place as possible.
Fuck his father and all his rules and regulations.
Fuck the bullshit code of ethics he had demanded of his sons!
Fuck his brothers for not having his back!
FUCK LOVE!
Love was a murderous witch who could mutilate the heart like a master chef and sabotage the soul with the ease of a skilled seductress, but most of all...
Fuck Gia Love, she was now as dead to him as his own heart.
***
Gia's punishment was banishment.
She was being sent across the country, to a family member she did not even know. Victor refused to speak to her, sending Trent to give her the message that she was being sent away. Trent was all too happy to comply and smiled as he delivered the news.
Her father had refused to say goodbye to her, but she was not sure if she even cared now. She boarded the train, her head heavy with the emotions she was keeping bottled up inside of her. She sat in the seat, looking out the window, the deepest feeling of regret ripping through her trembling body. She wanted to jump off the train and run to Maddox, she wanted to feel his arms around her and that love that only he could heal her with. Besides her mother, he was the only one who had truly loved her.
Now she was alone and it was her own fault.
She had sacrificed her own happiness for a father who had finally proven to her that he did not care. She had wasted her whole life trying to get that man to give her the parental love that she had craved so badly. She felt like the biggest fool of all, what made her honestly believe that she could make her father care about her? Victor had never shown any signs that he cared for her at all, over the years.
She wanted to stand up and scream, she felt like a caged animal, she was furious, bitter, vengeful and destroyed. Her spirit was dead and she did not think she could survive this. A river of tears escaped from her stinging eyes as the emptiness spread thicker, enveloping her twisted heart like a lifeless lover.
WHAT HAD SHE DONE?
She had made the biggest mistake of her life. Why did she not just leave with Maddox? She should have trusted her own heart.
Now it was too late...
The only man she had ever loved now hated her for her own weakness. She had let her fear control her and now she would suffer for it. Gia had betrayed him just as she had betrayed herself.
She looked down at the dirty, tattered red bow and that unbearable pain began to escalate. She was ready to give up, she could not handle this, she wanted to close her eyes and get lost, deep in her misery, she wanted to suffer for her own weakness.
Gia had orchestrated the worst punishment she could ever inflict on herself, she had turned Maddox Payne into her true enemy.
In the mansion on the tiptop of the hill, the Payne family dwelled in chaotic turmoil, every member in his or her own personal hell
and
overwhelmed with worry for Maddox.
Xavier Payne was overcome with guilt, he knew
all
about loss. His own brother had been reaching out for help days before he committed one of the most gruesome murder/ suicide scenes their town had ever witnessed. Xavier had been consumed with grief and plagued by guilt for years, regretting his decision to avoid his unstable brother, instead of getting him the help that he so desperately needed. Xavier had not only turned his back on his brother and his brother’s wife, he had also betrayed his own nephew, Jaxon.
That was the reason he had devoted himself to Jaxon after their deaths, he needed to rectify the problem he had avoided and pick up the pieces of his shattered nephew. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done and after years of being raised with a maniac’s ideals, Jaxon Payne had become a monster. His nephew was balancing on a thin line between brutal maniac and trauma stricken son, but there was nothing Xavier could do to erase the traumatic visions from Jaxon’s head.
Now Xavier had made another crucial mistake, one that he would never be able to forgive himself for, he had let this disastrous war come between him and his son. He was riddled with regret, wishing he had of done things differently. No matter how much he hated the Love family, Maddox was still his son and his children should be his main concern, not upholding some family feud.
Beatrix Payne was also overwhelmed with grief, her youngest son had run away and they could not find him anywhere. Then to top it off, her best friend, the woman she had been raised with and considered a sister had just been killed in a horrific car accident along with her husband. Beatrix was devastated, she could not eat, sleep and no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop crying. There was but one fragmented light at the end of a long dark tunnel-
Tempest.
Beatrix now had full custody of her goddaughter, Tempest, who was still in a coma from the accident. Tempest had been the only one who survived and the witnesses said that she had seen the entire thing. Beatrix’s heart was heavy, it was painful for her to see her beautiful goddaughter lying there so lifeless. Tempest was full of raw energy and pure sunshine mixed with an infinite amount of charisma. While Beatrix’s family spent most of their days between the police station, the private investigator and the hospital, she refused to leave Tempest’s side. Beatrix wanted her face to be the very first thing that Tempest saw when she woke up and she prayed for the strength to be able to tell her that her parents had not survived.
How could she do it? She could not even think about her best friend dead, let alone explain it to her only child. Beatrix felt hopeless for the first time in her life and she had no idea what to do. Therefore, she did what came naturally, she stayed by Tempest's side and prayed for her to wake up. She also prayed that her son would at least call home and let his family know that he was all right.
***
In the trailer on the other side of town, right before the garbage dump, the Love family was calm and peaceful, things seemed to be going a little better for them. Since Gia had been sent away, there was extra food, extra soap and even extra toilet paper. There was even a little extra money to fix their broken down car. Trent was in hog heaven and thrilled to death that he had finally won against his sister. He had his father all to himself, his own room and second helpings at dinner. He was delighted, trading Gia in to fix up that car was the best thing he ever did.