Page 90 of Ravaged For You

“You must be cold,” I reply. I fetch her a towel from the plane’s bathroom. I wrap her in it and hold her close against my warmth until she stops shaking. Maddie doesn’t protest.

“Thank you,” she murmurs.

I let her sit before I take off my hoodie. “Wear this,” I say to her as I hand it over.

“Thank you,” she repeats.

“My hoodie looks better on you,” I remark when she fits it over her head. She blushes.

The rest of Ravaged board the plane. They all apologize for Oz’s behavior.

Maddie just smiles along.

“I see what you guys mean,” she says, just as the plane takes off. “Tainted Lives are pretty shit.”

That makes us all laugh.

* * *

Maddie naps once the plane reaches altitude. She must be pretty tired, and so am I.

I watch her sleep. She leans back in her seat with my hoodie on. Her soft cheeks glisten with the water. Her hair is still wet.

She looks so goddamn cute.

Maybe this is what life is all about. Finding someone. Maybe that would bring me more joy than trying to live that rockstar lifestyle I crave. That’s what Mom would have me think, anyway.

Maybe I need a girl like Maddie to feel complete.

But she rejected me last night when I made my advances. And, somehow, that hurts me more than I ever thought a rejection would.

This girl, man. This girl…

39

MADDIE

Lucas takes Axel and me straight into a separate limousine, separating us from the other members of Ravaged when the private plane lands in Vancouver.

“I’ve got to talk to you two,” he tells us when he gestures towards the limousine on the runway. We both follow him.

“A few days ago I’d never been in a limo,” I say when I take a seat inside the vehicle. “Today I’ve been in two.”

“Welcome to my world,” Axel nudges me.

“Are you going to keep saying that?”

“Only if you keep expressing how amazed you are by everything.”

“Well, I am.”

“Stop getting so sulky,” Axel teases. “It’s too adorable.”

“Ugh. Don’t call me adorable.”

Lucas shuts the door and orders the driver to take us to the downtown hotel we’re going to be staying at.

“What do you want to talk to us about, Lucas?” Axel asks as we pull away from the airport. “Sounds pretty ominous making us get in here with you like this. Alone.”