I. Heart Of Gold (Uneditied) ✔️ ORIGINAL

Thirty-Four - Vulnerable and Pain

Emmi's POV:

I turned the burners back on and finished up breakfast just as Maddox came out of the bathroom. He had worn out jeans on that sat perfectly at his waist, silly socks that had cows with sunglasses on them and...no shirt on. What's with him and not having a damn shirt on around me? I'm not complaining, but damn! His body was like a Gods.

I felt my face heat up as I set the plates down on the island. I poured orange juice into two glasses and before I set them down, Maddox took one. I looked up and soaked in his muscled torso. I gulped and he chuckled, "Caught your attention, hey?" He smirked.

"No." I squeaked. My eyes caught a dark red mark on his neck. "Well...that's getting darker fast." I turned the attention away from me.

He nodded, taking a swig of his juice, "Yeah. It should be even darker by the time I get to school. You did a good job," he grinned. I smiled softly and sat down. "Breakfast looks delicious, Em."

"Thank you." I took a bite of mine and tried not to look at his bare chest. Tattoos littered it nicely. I didn't recognize most of them, but a few I did. "When did you get those?"

Maddox looked down, realizing I was asking about his ink and not his abs. He chuckled to himself, "Some are band logos, one is my zodiac sign, and this one," he pointed to the one I couldn't take my eyes off of. It was simple, but beautiful. A lavender angel feather with a date under it: 12.06.05. "This one is for..." I noticed him getting choked up.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me. It's okay," I told him, holding his hand gently.

He shook his head and swallowed hard, "No, it's fine. Just something I haven't talked about in a while. Um...it's actually for my sister."

"Kyrie?" I asked with my brows raised.

"No...my mom was pregnant with a little girl between Kyrie and I. She would have been named Raelynn, but when she ended up not surviving the night, my parents decided to name her Silvia Rosalie. Silvia was my great grandma on my moms side and Rosalie was my great grandma on my dads side." He explained, as he ate. "Her and I would have been seven months apart."

I watched his mood change and now I felt bad. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have pried." I said, setting my fork down.

He shook his head, "Really, Em. It's okay. It's something I don't talk about and I shouldn't be this...hurt about it since I never knew her." He ran his hand through his hair, "Plus, I'm not this vulnerable with anyone...besides Wes. So...it kind of feels freeing with you...if that makes sense."

I nodded, "It does. I mean...I'm an emotional person, but vulnerability is even hard for me. If you couldn't tell, crying in public for me is...terrifying." I got up, going around the counter and wrapped my arms around him from behind. His bare skin was so warm, I wanted to be wrapped up in it. "It's okay to be hurt over your sister, even if you had never met her." I kissed him on the cheek and looked at the clock. "You might want to get going if you're gonna make it to school."

He was quiet and buried his face into my neck awkwardly. "Can we just watch movies all day? I'm too sad to go now."

"What if...I went with?" I suggested. I knew it was kind of a bad idea, since I wasn't due back until Monday, but it broke me seeing him this...down.

His head shot up and he looked at me shocked, but had happiness in his eyes, "Really? Even though you're not supposed to?" I nodded slowly. He then eyed me and puckered his lips, "You just don't want me missing school."

"I mean...maybe?" I scratched the back of my head, "I just know you need to be at school for football and such."

"Football's over. So I can not go today, but if you really want to go with me, then I'll go." He told me.

I twisted my face in thought, "I do miss my girls, but...I'm scared I'm gonna get bombarded with questions and everything else...I don't think I'm ready for that." I bit my lower lip nervously.

"You'd have me to scare them off. Plus, your girls would beat down anyone for you too." Maddox chuckled.

His mood changed pretty fast, which made me happy. I was distracting him, best way to get someone's mind off of tragedy, until they're ready to really talk about it. I should know.

I continued to think about it all, but I wasn't sure if I should actually go back. Yeah, I was getting bored at home. I needed my rest, but I felt a lot better. I just...couldn't be touched roughly...or bend over to touch my toes...or bend to pick something up while in a chair. "Mad, as much as I want to go...I don't think I should. I know Zach is expelled and as far as I am aware, he didn't have anyone else to do his bidding for when this happened, but..."

"You're still hurting. I get it." He stood up and turned to face me. "All the more for me to stay home."

I glared at him, "Go. You'll be okay. Give it a class or two. If you're not okay, then come back." I told him.

He sighed, "Okay, fine. I'll go. I'm just gonna miss you so much!" He hugged me a little tighter than expected and I squeaked. He let me go and frowned. "Damn me and my strength."

"It's fine," I breathed. "You're so late now, though."

He kissed me on the lips and let me go. "Alright, I'll let you know when I get there. Keep icing it, kay? Now, I'm worried that it isn't healing at all. It doesn't look like it's doing anything from what I noticed this morning."

I nodded and shrugged, "I'll call Doctor Numan and let him know. It is worrying me a bit too. It could last a couple more weeks because of the internal damage too." I walked him out. "Please, drive safely." I blew him a kiss and he caught it, stuffing it in his jeans pocket cheesily.

"I will. Let me know what the doc says." I nodded and locked the door behind him.

I sighed and went to the bathroom to take a better look at my stomach. My bruise was slowly getting better, but not by much. The color was lightening slightly, but it was obviously still painful as hell. What was I supposed to tell Doctor Numan?