Lucian

Chapter 32

[Lucian]

I have been hearing her cries from the shower for almost two hours and it is breaking my heart every time I hear those strangled sobs. My little Madelyn. Nick broke her heart and took the pieces for himself before finally realizing they were not his to take. Now she is putting them back together and I want to help but I can not. This is something she has to do on her own and it is killing me slowly from the inside. The best thing I can do for her is be here for when she is ready...but fuck it, those heaving breaths of air are making me want to pull out my own heart and give it to her on a silver plate. A gold plate, a fucking diamond plate- whatever she wants.
I can't take it anymore-

I walk over to the bathroom and knock softly on the door, barely hearing it over the loud banging of my heart. He sobs quiet down slightly and I know it is because she is trying to hide them. "Yes?" She asks softly but her voice is raspy and cracked from all the crying.

"I am coming in Madelyn...is that alright?" My heart beats faster when she does not answer for a while but eventually I hear the soft croak of her voice.

"Alright.." she says and it is barely audible but I hear it anyway and open the door without any hesitation. I close the door behind me and take a deep breath before looking over at her sitting on the tile of the shower floor with water dripping down her body, her under eyes blotched and red from all the crying. Something cracks inside of me and am convinced it is the sound of my heart. She looks broken, still as beautiful as the girl I fell in love with. I am convinced she could walk around with a sack of potatoes as clothing and still look like the most gorgeous woman alive. She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out and my eyes harden a little as I walk over to her in the shower. She watches my every move. I sit down on the floor next to her, not caring about the water drenching my clothes and soaking my body. I gently wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me, to sit in my lap.

And she breaks down in my arms again and all I can do is sit there and hold her while she does. I kiss the top of her head and hold her to me tightly, afraid she is going to disappear if I do not. Her sobs are like shards of glass slicing through my mind and heart. Her whole body is shaking in my arms, I do not blame her. Nick did mean a lot to her and now he is letting her go and leaving for good. It is too much change for her.

"I-I'm s-o...sorr-ry." She sobs and I hold her tighter. I will be damned if she apologizes for crying.

"Do not apologize, Madelyn. Never, not for this. Everything is going to be okay." I say in a soft tone and kiss the top of her head while she cries. My mother used to comfort me like this whenever my father got angry at me. And it really made me feel better. I can only hope holding Madelyn like this is helping her, making her feel safe or like she is not alone.
After a few more minutes her sobs die down and she is left breathing heavily in my arms.

"I...I should he happy. B-but I feel like.." I wait for her, patiently, to find her words as I run my hand over her hair and rock her a little in my lap like a kid. She takes a deep breath. "I feel like I just lost my best friend." She finishes and I hear her hold her breath. I kiss the top of her head and nod, understanding. Well, while I might never forgive him for hurting her I guess she has a strong bond with him.

"I understand." I tell her and smile softly. "It is not your fault." I mutter and she looks up at me, her eyes tired and red.

"I love you.." she whispers and a tear rolls down her cheek. I smile down at her and lean down to place a kiss at the tip of her nose. She closes her eyes as I do and holds them like that after I pull away.

"Is there still time?" I ask and she knows what I mean. She shakes her head and my eyes soften.

"He's leaving tonight.." she mutters and my eyes light up slightly.

"That means we still have time. Madelyn look at me." I tell her, my voice still soft. She looks up at me, meeting my eyes. "If you do not want to then that is fine. But if you want a closure then I will be more than happy to drive you there." I do not like Nick, nor will I even understand why they were together in the first place but what I like and do not like does not matter. This is about Madelyn. And just a tad bit about Nick. But I am doing this for Madelyn. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with emotion.

"You'd do that for me?" She whispers, her eyes widening slightly. I smile and nod. I would set this world on fire if it she would ask me to. Just a pretty please and I would be on my knees for her.

"There is nothing I would not do for you." I lean in and place a single, gentle kiss on her jaw and I hear her intake of breaths. I smile a little to myself before pulling away. "What do you say?" I ask and she nods.

"I want to say something to him before he leaves." She mutters and I nod, understandingly.

"Then I will wait for you by the door until you are ready." I whisper in her ear and then gently lift her body from my own, placing her back on the floor next to me before I get up. I get out of the shower and out of the bathroom to give her some privacy before we leave and to change my clothes because my clothes are soaking wet and I am as well. Still, I will do it again if it means I get to hold her like that. I go to my room and change and smile when I hear the shower turn off. That's my girl.

I wait for her by the door to get ready and when she comes out of the room she looks beautiful and I feel the urge to pull her to me and never let go. But instead I open the door for her and we go together to my car before driving to Nick's.