Maddox was already at school when she arrived. Excited she walked over to where he stood with his friends.

"Hi," she said as he kissed her.

"Hi." He slung his arm around her.

It felt like things were getting back to normal. She put her arm around his waist and let him tuck her into his side.

Then she saw Logan, making his way to the entrance of the school, alone.

"I need to do something," she murmured to Maddox. His gaze followed hers to Logan and he nodded. His arm left her shoulder.

She hurried to catch up with Logan.

"Logan," she said, trying to catch his attention.

He stopped and turned to face her. She stopped a couple of feet from him.

"I wanted to talk to you." Now that she had his attention she wasn't sure what to say. "I tried to call you last night."

"I'm didn't want to talk."

Silence fell between them.

"What do you want Ash?" he sounded irritated. His eyes moved past her to where Maddox stood watching.

"I want to know why you lied?"

He lowered his gaze before his met hers again. "I might have done some things I'm not proud of to get back at you." He took a breath. "But when I saw the the bruises he left on you, I understood who was the baddie in this whole situation and it wasn't Maddox. If he hadn't taught Jim a lesson, I would have."

She was speechless.

"You don't have to thank me. I did what was right. I want to be able to look myself in the mirror and now I can. "

And there was the guy she had seen, the one she had said yes to when he had asked her out. He was still in there somewhere and she was relieved she hadn't damaged that part of him.

"Because of you I can put it behind me. And I appreciate that."

He gave her a nod, then he walked away.

She stood watching him, still blown away by his revelation.

Maddox came to stand beside her.

"He saw the photos of the bruises and knew Jim had deserved what he got." She looked to him. "He said if you hadn't gone after Jim he would have."

"Maybe he isn't as bad as I originally thought."

"He is a good guy."

If anyone had told her she would be saying this after everything he had done to her she would have told them they were crazy.

What happened travelled around the school and everyone was talking about it.

That day went quickly and at lunch she moved her friends to Maddox's table. They sat together. He rested his hand on her leg as he spoke to Jasper. She leaned her head against his shoulder and she signed.

In that moment everything felt right in the world but no matter how much she tried she couldn't stop thinking about what would happen when they graduated. She was still planning on staying and working. If she managed to save up some money she was going to try and do some courses.

But she didn't want to ruin the warm and fuzzy feeling in her stomach. She wanted to grab it with both hands and worry about the future another day.

That afternoon Maddox came around to her house.

"I think I'm ready for all those ways you were going to make it up to me," she told him as he lifted her. Her legs locked around his waist as he carried her upstairs to her bedroom. Once inside the kicked the door closed.

"Anything you want." His mouth covered hers. Her hands held around his neck and caressed his tongue with hers.

"I want you," she whispered against his lips, slightly surprised by her boldness.

The memories of their last union was still raw in her mind. Maybe it was the hormones but she could only think of one thing. And that was to be as close to him as possible. With all her insecurities and fear of the future she still had him right now and she wanted to live second they had together to the fullest.

"You sure?" His eyes held hers.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

"What about the bruises?" he asked.

"I'll go on top."

He smiled. "I like the way your minds works."

"Do you have protection?" she asked, know they couldn't take the risk.

He nodded. "I never leave home without it."

"Good."

He released her and she slid down his body to her feet.

She led him to the bed. Even though it was only the second time, she felt a confidence in what to expect that she had never had before. It made her more assertive in what she wanted and Maddox was happy to go along with whatever she wanted.

This time there was no nervousness, or fear. There was only love and trust. And for that time there was no future without each other.

They were in sync, as if on a deeper level their bodies knew how to move together with only one goal in mind and that was earth shattering sex.

There was a moment of apprehension afterward when Maddox checked the protection.

"Its fine."

She sighed out loud.

He disappeared into the bathroom before he came back into the room and got in the bed with her.

His kissed her cheek as she settled on her side with her head resting on his shoulder. His arm around her shoulders made her feel a cocoon of warmth.

"I need to tell you something."

The tone of his voice put her on alert and she frowned slightly as she looked up to meet his gaze.

"What?"

All sorts of things raced through her mind, some settled permanently, others fleeting. None of them good.

"Don't look so concerned," he teased her before pressing his lips to hers.

"It's just I'm so happy. Like I've never felt this happy Mad." She was serious and her feelings for him scared the daylights out of her. While he was with her and things were going well it was fine, but how hard would it be to carry on without him? That was what kept her up some nights.

"Well I'm glad to hear that."

"Really?"

He nodded. "I need to tell you something and I need you to promise me that it's not going to scare you off."

What on earth did he think was going to send her running in the opposite direction?

"Just spit it out already Mad."

"I love it when you say my name like that Rae." He murmured. He caressed her cheek gently.

She smiled.

"I love you when you smile like that." He added.

"I love you when you get mad and sometimes you look like you want to throttle me."

There had been a few times she had wanted to so badly.

"I love you when you whisper my name when you're about to come."

"I love you."

It was only when he only said the three words without any others linked to them, did it dawn on her what he was trying to say.

"You love me?"

He nodded. "Remember you promised not to make a run for it."

She took a deep breath as his words and their meaning sunk in. The she smiled.

"You love me."

"I do." His voice was husky. She like how saying those words affected him physically. Just like her feelings for him affected her.

"So I'm still here."

"Don't worry I'm counting my luck stars you haven't run for the closest exit yet."

She laughed.

He stared at her. "I remember the girl who wanted nothing to do with me. The one who was afraid to see what was happening between us. The girl I had to wait for her to be comfortable with the idea of us being together before we told anyone. That's the one I'm scared will figure out she deserves better than me and hight tail it out of here."

He truly had no idea that he held her heart in his hands. He owned it.

He was about to say something and she lifted herself to put a finger on his lips to keep him quiet so she could talk.

"I'm not going anywhere Mad because I love you."

He blinked. "I think I might be hallucinating."

She shook her head. "Trust me I never thought I would ever feel alive but you make me feel that way. I don't need to pull some stupid prank or do something dangerous. Just being with you is enough. When I'm not with you, you're on my mind. But I've never feared losing something before, I'm scared to lose you. I love you so much it hurts."

"Love isn't supposed to hurt. It's supposed to lift you up, not tear you down."

"I've seen it tear my parents down. I know how destructive it can be."

"But we aren't them. We won't let that happen."

She allowed the confidence of his words to blanket her and chase away her fears.