Madeline was in the shower, under the warm water, rinsing off the shampoo on her hair and stopped as she poked her head through the curtain when she heard the phone ringing.
She turned off the water and grabbed the towel, wrapped it around herself with her hair dripping wet as she looked at the ID caller.
"Hi, mom."
"Hey, sweetie. Hope I'm not interrupting something."
"No, you aren't. I was just talking a shower. So, what's up? Is everyone okay?"
"Oh, yes. Everyone's fine, but... I'm in the city and I want to see you today, maybe at lunch time. We could talk a little about the wedding or not, you know. I just miss you and want to have some fun with you. Girls hanging out and all."
She chuckled. "Yeah, of course, it would be nice seeing you, mom. Um, does 2:00 sound good?"
"Uh-huh."
"Okay we could meet up at this restaurant for Italian food. I know you love Italian."
"Alright. Text me the address then and I'll see you there at 2:00, sweetie."
"Kay. Love you, mom."
..................................................
Around 1:30 PM, Madeline was wrapping up her work before her lunch with her mom, but she also kept thinking about whether to call Wren or not. It's been two days since their argument and Wren only sent her the apology voicemail that she keeps hearing over and over again.
Antony walked in the office and blocked her view as she was staring at the opened door and she smiled at him.
"Hey." she said.
"Hey. You doing okay?"
She sighed. "I don't know. I'm debating with myself whether to call her or not."
"Still mad at her?"
She squinted her eyes and brought her thumb and index finger together indicating the amount. "A little. I keep replaying everything in my mind and I know for sure that she didn't kiss Georgina but at the same time I know that she lied to me. That's what's bothering me."
"Just take your time, Madeline. Even though I think you already had enough time alone to think things through, right?"
She gave him a small smile. "Right" She glanced at her watch, standing up, packing her things. "I've to go now, okay? I'm having lunch with my mom."
"Alright. See ya!"
A little while later, she drove to the restaurant and stopped in the parking zone. She grabbed her phone with her as she stepped out of the car. Madeline made her way to the restaurant door but halted in her tracks when she saw ambulance car by the side of the rode and paramedics were rushing to help someone that was lying on the ground and people were gathered around the scene.
The paramedics cleared the way to transport the person lying on the ground and Madeline saw a brunette woman being carried by them on the gurney and that's when the panic look came across her face.
She ran through the street and rushed by the side of the paramedics as tears filled her eyes.
..................................................
Inside the office, she drummed the pen on the paper a few times in a row, followed by the tapping of her feet on the ground. Wren sighed, closed her eyes and slammed the pen on the desk from the misery and frustration.
Emily knocked on the door and entered, handing her the folder and noticed Wren's long face.
"You okay?"
"No, I'm not. I had a fight with Madeline and I haven't seen her for two days. It's killing me! I wish if I just told her everything from the beginning."
Emily stood silent listening to Wren as she continued her talk. She was clueless but seeing Wren angry and frustrated meant that she needs to zip her mouth and listen to her friend ranting about whatever made her upset.
"I hid something from her and I can't tell you about it too, so don't ask me what it was, okay?"
"I'm just here to listen, Wren."
Wren took a shaky breath. "Sorry. It's been a rough couple of days."
"It's fine." She waved it away. "You don't have to explain anything"
Emily was about to continue her talk but Wren's phone interrupted her. Wren saw the caller's ID and answered immediately.
"Madeline... I've been meaning to call you, I'm so so sorry-"
"Wren... my mom had a car accident... and I don't know what to do... I-It was a horrible accident and the ambul-lance is taking her to the hospital..." She was talking with a cracked, shaky voice and that made Wren stand up abruptly, getting frightened and Emily frowned in concern.
"Where are you now?" she asked while grabbing her jacket from the coat stand.
"At Emory's hospital!"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming over. Calm down, I'm on my way."
She hung up on her and walked past Emily, and Georgina gave Wren a confused look because she walked fast, taking the stairs and not the elevator, rushing downstairs.
....................................................
At the hospital, Madeline was standing in the hallway, wriggling her hands from the fear and her body was shaking from the worry. She didn't think about who she should call first. The person who was on her mind the last few days was Wren and only Wren.
Just as she was thinking about her, Wren rushed over to her and Madeline wrapped her arms around her as she cried softly. Wren tightened her grip around her, rubbing her back gently for comfort.
Madeline pulled away from the hug with red eyes and wet cheeks and Wren cupped her face, stroking her thumbs over her cheeks wiping the tears away.
"I don't know what happened. I-I was just on my way and saw the accident. We were supposed t-to have lunch together..." She sniffled and another tear rolled down her cheek and again Wren wiped it for her.
"Hey, she's gonna be okay." She kissed her forehead and pulled her in again for an embrace and started stroking her brown locks. "Don't worry, I'm here with you. I'm not leaving your side."
........................................................
Two hours later, the whole family gathered outside with Wren and Madeline. Madeline was getting tired, she rested her head on Wren's shoulder and Wren kept rubbing her arm soothingly.
The whole family were in their own world worried about Lena inside the operation room especially Joseph as he was talking with Dan and Rose, reassuring them that their mother is strong and they shared a small smile with him.
Madeline was calm at the moment and she loved Wren's consoling affection towards her whenever there was a problem. She played with Wren's jacket, grabbing her attention.
"Wren?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry abo-"
"Don't. Don't you dare apologize about something that was my fault, okay?"
"But I do owe you one. I jumped into conclusions-"
"You didn't. You were right. I lied to you, and I really regret doing it. You don't deserve it, Madeline. I love you and I should've been honest with you from the beginning. I'm sorry and I do trust you. You're the only one I trust in the whole world. I'm so, so sorry if I made you feel like you aren't someone who could be trusted." She kissed her forehead and Madeline snuggled closer to her, closing her eyes.
"It was Heidi."
"What?"
"Heidi was the one who took your photo with Georgina. I confronted her and she apologized and quit her job after Eva scared her." They both chuckled softly.
"I can imagine."
The doctor came out from the emergency room, lowering down his mask and smiled at the family as they all stood up. He told them about Lena's condition. She had a small concussion from the car hit, a few bruises in her body and a broken arm, other than that she was fine. They all released a sigh of relief as the doctor walked past them after sharing the good news.
Joseph turned to Wren and Madeline, especially his daughter. "You should go home. You stayed here for a long time and you need some rest."
"But I want to be here when she wakes up."
"No, you could go home. Visiting hours starts from tomorrow anyway and your mom will be transferred to another room tomorrow." He looked at Wren with a soft smile. "Thank you for being with us today, Wren."
She returned the smile. "It was nothing."
He turned to the rest and told them to go home as well. Wren rubbed the back of her head nervously, not sure if Madeline wanted to go home with her or back to her apartment and Madeline took the hint.
She took a step closer to Wren and grabbed her hand, interlacing their fingers together slowly as a smile crept across their faces.
"Take me home, Wren. Our home."
.................................................
Madeline was sitting on the bed, leaning her back against the headboard and staring blankly at nothing across the room. She snapped out of her thoughts when Wren came to the room, handing her the glass of water.
"Thanks."
She nodded back and sat on the side of the bed, tucked a strand behind Madeline's ear.
"I believe you when you said that you didn't kiss her back."
Wren smiled softly at her and kissed her cheek. "I wouldn't cheat on you. No matter how many women tried to seduce me because my eyes are on you, Madeline." She grabbed her chin and made her look at her, meeting her loving gaze. "I'm engaged to you and I'm in love with you and they aren't you. You are Madeline, my Madeline. No one would take me away from you, no matter how hard they try."
A small smile played across her lips and her hands found Wren's and grabbed it, pulling her for a small sweet kiss.
Wren took place in the bed beside Madeline, opened her arms for Madeline to join her to sleep in her embrace after being away for two days from each other.