Tears

LEVI

“Jesus, what happened?” Liam said as soon as Levi and Ethan walked into the kitchen. “You guys look like shit!

“What do you think happened?” Ethan said, frowning as they sat down at the kitchen island.

“Well, you two look a lot worse than Ezra, so I can guess.” Liam handed them each a beer and then took one for himself. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Levi shrugged and took a sip of his beer. “Not your fault. We knew it would happen.”

“Where’s Madison?” Ethan asked.

“She cried herself to sleep. I was with her until just now.”

Levi felt like he’d taken another blow. “Goddammit,” he said, clenching his fists. “Can’t he see that this is hurting her ~more~?”

“Calm down, Levi,” Ethan said, resting a hand on his shoulder. “Madison feels guilty, which is understandable, and Ezra needs some time. He’ll come around.”

Liam nodded wearily as he sat down across from them.

“He came by to pack a bag, said he was going to stay away for a few days. I think he was already beating himself up for what happened.

“He seemed pretty shocked, definitely sad. But he’ll be back when he’s ready to deal with things.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever fought before,” Ethan said. “Not even when we were kids.”

“Nope, never,” Levi confirmed before taking another big swig of his beer. He pointed at the stairs and asked Liam, “Do you mind?”

“Of course not.”

He looked at Ethan. “You coming?”

“No, you go. I’ll go back to the office to finish cleaning up the mess.”

“Ethan…”

“Levi, just go. I’ll see you at home.” Ethan stood and drained the rest of his beer. “Thanks, Liam. Levi will be here, but call me if you need anything.” He left before anybody could say anything else.

Liam gave Levi an understanding smile. “You know how he is.”

Levi sighed. Though they were alike in so many ways, when it came to dealing with emotions, he and his twin had always been opposites.

“Yes, but she needs us.”

“And you’re here. Don’t blame your brother. Now go.”

“Thanks, Liam.”

“No problem. Go,” Liam repeated.

Levi nodded gratefully and went to Madison’s room. It was pretty dark inside, but thanks to some light still peeking through the blinds, he could see Madison curled up on top of her covers.

He gently closed the door behind him and crawled onto the bed to wrap his arms around her and spoon her.

She was trembling, like she was still crying in her sleep.

“Shh… It’s going to be fine.” He kissed her head, keeping her close as her sobs intensified. “Madison, love, don’t cry.”

“Levi?” She turned in his arms, and her red, puffy eyes hit him like a slap in the face.

She leaned in for an innocent kiss, but at his hiss of pain, she pulled back. “Oh, God,” she whispered hoarsely. “Your face! Oh Levi, it’s all my fault!”

“Madison, stop. It’s not your fault. Besides, it’s just a few cuts.” He closed the gap between them to kiss her carefully, ignoring the pain this time. “You see? I’m fine.”

He stroked her head softly, his heart sinking when she looked around for Ethan.

“I’m sorry, ’Flake. It’s just me.”

She looked down at his words, biting her lips before pressing them into a flat line. “Oh. I see.”

“I’m sorry. I tried, but you know Ethan—”

“I know. I’m just happy you’re here.” She gently outlined his bruised eyes with the tip of her finger. “I’ve never seen Ezra so angry. He said…”

Her words died in her throat as silent sobs took over and she hid her face in his chest.

~He wouldn’t have said to her what he said to us, right?~

“Whatever he said, he didn’t mean it. He was angry, and when people are angry, they don’t think.”

He hugged her closer, letting her curl up against his body as he caressed her back. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?”

“You’ll be here when I wake up?”

“I won’t move from here, I promise.” He kissed her head one more time and closed his eyes too.

MADISON

Madison woke up feeling completely numb under the weight of someone else’s body. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep.

A little smile lifted her lips when she smelled Levi but died the moment reality hit her in the face.

The shit had officially hit the fan.

She slid out of Levi’s embrace and walked to the bathroom with her phone. It was barely one in the morning.

Looking at the screen, she sighed and dialed Ethan’s number. He answered before the second ring.

“Hey.” His voice seemed so calm and low that if he’d been asleep, she couldn’t tell.

But the sound of it had her eyes tearing up again. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry for, ’Flake. What are you doing awake?”

“I just woke up and I couldn’t go back to bed.”

“Is Levi still there?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m sorry for not being there, Madison, I really am. I promise I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

“It’s okay, Ethan…I understand. I just needed to hear your voice.”

“I didn’t know until now that I needed that too.”

“Okay. See you in the morning.”

“Yeah.”

With a small smile on her face, she walked back to the room where Levi was now awake, waiting for her.

“Hey, come here.” He opened his arms for her when she crawled back into the bed.

“How is he?” he asked against her hair.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

All she wanted was to let her mind shut off and to sleep.

ETHAN

Madison and Levi were both asleep when Ethan quietly opened the door to her room.

He tip-toed in then sat on one of the poufs she had scattered around the room and watched her sleep, snuggled up to his brother, feeling like the odd man out.

Being a twin, it wasn’t a feeling he was used to.

He took a deep breath and sighed it out.

Maybe this was his punishment for not having been there when she needed him.

He’d been up when she called, hatching plans, worrying about the evil trio, and drafting emails to Sara and clients in preparation for the next few days. And afterward, he hadn’t felt like going back to bed alone.

Madison stirred, almost like she could sense him watching, and he got up and slipped into bed on her other side.

“Mm. Hi, love,” he murmured against her hair.

She mumbled something sleepily, then stilled. “Ethan?”

“I’m sorry, Madison. I really am.”

She melted against him, and he knew that he was forgiven. For this at least. They would need to talk soon, but not now.

MADISON

Madison gradually gained consciousness, becoming aware of a tangle of bodies, legs intertwined with legs, arms wrapped around chests, and more legs between other legs.

She kept her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of being with both of her guys, and when Ethan tried to roll away from her, she tightened her grip around his waist.

“She won’t let you go,” she heard Levi whisper, and by the sound of his hoarse chuckle, he wasn’t quite ready to wake up either.

“Mm, I know.” Ethan’s voice was muffled in her soft hair. “It’s important that I talk to her before they show up, Levi.”

“Yeah, but that’s a conversation for all of us…and I’m not sure when Ezra’ll be ready.”

“Knowing how good Liam is at bringing everybody back to their senses, probably just a day or two.”

“So he’ll let us know, and we can come right back.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Madison mumbled sleepily, not appreciating being reminded of that painful scene from yesterday.

And were the twins going somewhere? She hoped not.

“Nothing,” Ethan said, pulling her closer as Levi rolled on his side to spoon her.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Just past eight,” Levi replied.

“Wait…” She opened her eyes. “Don’t you have to work?”

“Not today.” Moving a lock of her hair aside, Ethan stroked her face gently. His thumb brushed over her lower lip while his own injured pair curved into a warm smile. “And neither do you. Liam wants you to take a few days off.”

That made sense. Ezra was needed at the gym more than she was.

“So what do you think about going for a boat ride? Get your mind off things?”

“I’d like that. We can—”

But her words were cut off by a couple of loud knocks on the door.

“Yes?”