“Yes.” It was easier not to explain everything. Madison was smart, but she didn’t understand technology. She could barely use her cell phone even though her daddy bought her the best tech out there.
“And they expelled you? Are you really going to jail?”
“Yes and no. I’m sorry I couldn’t call and explain what happened.”
“I understand.”
But he could tell by her tone that she didn’t.
“Hey, Maddie, it’s going to get better.”
“But it’s true.”
“So? Smith is an asshole. He had hundreds of child porn videos on his computer. I don’t regret what I did.”
“But you were arrested!”
“Probation. That’s it. Well, and the university didn’t really like the fact that I didn’t tell them first.”
“I-Sean, I-”
“Hey, I’m going to be okay.”
“Where are you going?”
“Duke pulled strings and got me into MIT. Banishing me three thousand miles away. What do I expect?”
Sean had probably complained to Madison far more than she wanted to hear about Duke and his heavy-handed ways. His brother had been his guardian for nearly four years-ever since their parents were killed-and Sean couldn’t wait until the end of the month when he’d be eighteen and finally on his own. Control of all his money-most of which he’d earned himself, but couldn’t access. Control of his inheritance. Control of his life.
He’d give MIT two weeks, but if it wasn’t for him, he’d walk. Liam and Eden would take him in. They were living in London now, and Liam was always telling Sean that he could use someone with his skills. Sean hadn’t even seen his brother and sister since their parents’ funeral, though Liam called him all the time for tech help.
“You don’t have to go. You can stay here.”
“Maddie-I care about you so much, you know that. But I can’t stay. Stanford expelled me. Being on the East Coast is probably a good thing. Get away from here, away from my brother.”
“But didn’t you say you hated college? That you could get a job at a start-up company in the Silicon Valley?”
He had said that, but he didn’t really hate college. He didn’t like some things about it. But he’d started school a year early. He wasn’t even eighteen yet. He had never really fit in-he’d been younger than nearly everyone, and smarter-and maybe he’d acted it. It was hard to deal with the pompous jerks on a campus filled with smart people when he knew he could run rings around most of them.
But Madison had helped. When he started dating her six months ago, she’d kind of legitimized him, in a way. He’d made friends. Found a place to belong.
Until he blew it.
“After this, I don’t know if anyone would hire me.”
And he didn’t want to work for anyone else. If he was going to work for a start-up, he was going to start it himself. He had plenty of ideas, plenty of smarts, and could raise the capital necessary or write another video game. He didn’t particularly enjoy writing game code, but he was good at it, and he could sell the code for a small fortune.
But not now. Not when he was shy of eighteen, expelled from Stanford, and on three years’ probation.
He would never forgive Duke for cutting this deal.
Madison started crying. Sean ached-he didn’t want to hurt her. He hugged her tightly. “Hey, I’ll visit.”
“You know it’s not the same. You’ll be there, I’ll be here-it’s over, Sean.”
He’d known it would be, but it still stung. “Maddie, don’t say that-”
She jumped up. She couldn’t look at him. “I love you, Sean. But it’s over.”
His heart stopped. Love? She loved him? Oh, God, he’d really hurt her. He never wanted to hurt anyone, especially Maddie.
“Maddie-”
“Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it, because you won’t mean it.”
He wasn’t going to say it. He liked Madison a lot, he cared about her, but love? He was seventeen. His life was fucked up. He was moving to Massachusetts. Love? Really? He didn’t even like himself half the time, how could he love anyone else?
“Let’s just see how it goes, okay?” he said. “You don’t know that we can’t make this work.”
“Good-bye, Sean.”
“Maddie-don’t leave like this.”
She left.
He didn’t go after her.
Sean hadn’t seen Madison since that Sunday afternoon. Until now. Almost thirteen years later to the day.
CHAPTER NINE
What the hell was Madison McAllister doing on his doorstep?
The bell rang again, forcing Sean to his feet. He strode out of his den and opened the front door.
“Madison.”
She smiled at him, a perfect smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Madison McAllister had been unattainable. He’d thought… well, what had he thought? He’d been two weeks shy of his eighteenth birthday when he was expelled; Madison was two years older. They’d had fun, which was all he’d wanted at the time. It was all she wanted. That was a lifetime ago.
“I should have called first, but I wasn’t certain you’d speak to me.”
“How did you get my address?”
“I can be persuasive.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“May I come in?”
He hesitated, just a fraction. She sensed his indecision and said, “I would never have flown out here if it wasn’t an emergency. I need your help, Sean. You’re the only one who can help. You’re the only person I can trust.”
A bit melodramatic, but his curiosity was piqued. He had cared for Madison once upon a time. They’d spent the better part of his freshman year together. She’d been a sophomore when they’d met in a French literature class. Sean hated French, but it was better than the alternative language requirement. Madison loved French. It was the only class Sean had ever struggled in, but he’d ended up with a B largely because of Madison.
“Come in,” he said.
She looked around, her back to him. “You have a lovely home.”
“Yes, we do.”
She was surprised. “You’re married?”
“Almost.” He closed the door behind her.
When she turned to face him, tears leaked from her eyes. He hated seeing tears; it always hit him in the gut. The last time he’d seen Madison she’d been crying, too.
“My husband is in trouble-but I wouldn’t come to you if it was just about Carson. It’s my son, Jesse. I didn’t want Carson to take him to Mexico-I told him no, it’s the beginning of the school year. But he talked me into it, said he’d only miss one day of school. They flew down Thursday afternoon. He promised me they’d be back Sunday.”
“Yesterday?”
She nodded.
“And he wasn’t.”
“I called Saturday because he didn’t tell me what flight he’d be on, but he didn’t answer. An hour later he forwarded me his itinerary. They were supposed to be in at eleven fifty Sunday morning. They weren’t on the plane! And the airport said they never boarded. I tried calling, no answer. I haven’t spoken to him or Jesse in forty-eight hours. Jesse’s phone goes straight to voice mail. I’m terrified.”