I walked up behind Tyler, peeking over his shoulder, immediately cringing. “Holy fuck.”
“What?” Tyler said, turning to face me. “You know who that is?”
The Maddox family turned their attention on me, and I recoiled, sick with embarrassment. “It’s Marco.”
“Who’s Marco?” Abby asked.
I looked up at Tyler from under my lashes, humiliated to even say the words. “My sister’s lady sitter. She must have sent him to keep an eye on me.”
Tyler pointed at the window. “I’ve seen him before.”
“Yeah, he took Finley and me home from the bar once.”
“No, I’ve seen him outside the magazine … outside my apartment. He’s been watching you for a long time.”
My expression morphed from confusion to disbelief to rage in a matter of moments, and I pushed past Tyler and out the door, stomping toward the Lexus. I could see the panic in Marco’s eyes as I crossed the street and yanked open his door.
“What in the ever-loving fuck are you doing here?”
Marco tossed the tabloid magazine in his hand. “Ellie! What a surprise!”
I shook my head, pulling my phone from the back pocket of my jeans. I held it to my ear, getting angrier with each ring.
“I can’t believe you’re not coming to Thanksgiving,” Finley answered. “I can’t believe you’re washing your hands of this family! They’re just trying to help you!”
“Send Marco home. Now, or I’m calling the police.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m standing right next to him … in Eakins, Illinois! What is wrong with you?” I yelled.
I heard quick footsteps coming closer, and turned to see Abby jogging across the street, before she draped Tyler’s coat over my shoulders. She crossed her arms across her middle, glaring at Marco. Her breath puffed out in a white cloud like a bull ready to charge. For the first time since I’d left the Alpine barracks, I felt like there was an army behind me.
“Ellison,” Finley began, “you won’t call us. Half the time we’re asking each other if anyone has heard from you or if you’re even alive. If you won’t answer or return my calls, you force my hand! I won’t apologize for loving you!”
I sighed, holding my hand to my face. “You’re right. I haven’t called. You still don’t get to send your goon to stalk me. Do you have any idea how humiliating this is? Tyler’s entire family is witnessing this!”
Abby touched my shoulder. “This isn’t the worst thing they’ve seen. Don’t be embarrassed.”
Finley sniffed.
“Damn it, Fin, don’t cry.”
“I miss you. You’re my best friend. I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”
“She’s crying?” Marco said, horror in his eyes.
“Tell Marco to come home. I’ll check in at least once a week, I promise. I just … I’m not one hundred percent yet. I’ve relapsed.”
“Ellie … we can help you with that. We want to help. There are amazing places you can go. Just say the word…”
“I can do it on my own.”
“Maybe you can … but why, if you don’t have to?”
I mulled over her suggestion, wanting it as much for me as I did for the people who loved me. I glanced back at the Maddox house. “I’ll think about it.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, baby sister. We miss you. We wish you were here … even Mom.”
I choked out a laugh. “Send home your slave.”
Marco held up his hands. “She pays me very well, Miss Edson, and I love so much what I do.”
I rolled my eyes. “Send him home. I’m sure he misses you.”
“Okay,” she said. “I love you.”
I hung up the phone, shut Marco’s door, and made sure his phone rang before tucking my own phone in my back pocket. Abby hooked her arm in mine as we walked across the street.
“Edson, huh? Like Edson Tech?”
“Yeah,” I said, cringing and squinting in the afternoon sun.
“Relapse?”
I sighed. No point in denying it any longer. “I’m a drunk, Abby. My parents invoked the last resort of tough love. I was pretty out of control.”
“My mom’s a drunk, too. I remember when she tried so hard not to be.”
“She couldn’t kick it?”
“Not alone, and she’s too proud to ask for help.”
I looked down at the ground, kicking at the uneven sidewalk with my boots. “I don’t deserve Fin’s help. I don’t deserve anyone’s help.”
“Did Tyler tell you about Travis and me?”
“Not a lot.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing back at the house. “I was sure he was wrong for me. My family was worse than dysfunctional. My father nearly got me killed. I pushed Travis away, thinking he was bad for me, and then I pushed him away again, thinking I was bad for him. Turns out, when I finally let him in, all the bullshit fell away, and we could just be good together.”
“I’ve known all along I was bad for Tyler. He won’t listen.”
“When a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever…” Abby mused.
“What?”
“If he’s in love with you—and just the fact that you’re here tells me he is—he’s not going to give up on you. I can see that you care about him.”