The nobody i fell for

Chapter 8

THE NOBODY I FELL FOR

Chapter Eight — Maddison’s POV

People call me Maddy.

Almost nobody calls me Maddison unless they're angry with me, filling out some important document, or my mother is standing in the doorway with that look that immediately tells me I've done something wrong.

I'm nineteen years old, and if there is one thing I've learned about life, it's that people don't always get the families they imagine they'll have.

My mother is a nurse.

She has spent most of her life taking care of other people, even when she barely had enough energy left to take care of herself. She works long shifts, comes home exhausted, kicks off her shoes by the door, and somehow still asks me whether I've eaten.

My father?

Deadbeat.

That's the simplest way to put it.

He wasn't really around while I was growing up, so I learned early that the word father doesn't automatically mean someone who shows up.

I was raised by my mother and her family.

My grandmother taught me how to cook.

My aunt taught me how to stand up for myself.

My cousins taught me how loud a family could get when everyone was gathered around the same table.

And my mother taught me how to keep going even when life became difficult.

Our house was never some enormous mansion with fountains outside and expensive cars parked in the driveway.

It was simply home.

Warm.

Lived-in.

Sometimes chaotic.

Sometimes loud.

But home.

And maybe that's why I never cared much about money.

I've met plenty of people with expensive clothes and cars who thought their bank accounts made them better than everyone else.

I've also met people who had almost nothing but would give you the last thing they owned if you needed it.

Blake was the second kind.

I'd been dating him for a year.

One whole year.

And somehow, after all that time, he could still make me smile just by looking at me.

Blake wasn't rich.

Not even close.

But he was genuine.

He was smart too.

Way too smart, I swear.

Sometimes I'd be talking to him about something completely random and he'd somehow know facts about it that I didn't even know existed.

He was kind.

Loving.

Caring.

Patient.

And he never made me feel like I had to compete with anyone else.

That was what I loved about him.

He didn't need to prove himself.

He didn't walk into a room expecting everyone to notice him.

He didn't flash money around.

He didn't brag about what his family owned.

He didn't act like having expensive things made him important.

He just worked.

He studied.

He took care of his grandmother.

And somehow, even with everything he had going on, he still found time to check whether I was okay.

That meant more to me than any expensive gift ever could.

Because I've dated rich guys before.

And I'm going to be honest about something.

Yes.

I'm dating two guys at once.

I know how bad that sounds.

I'm not going to sit here and pretend it's some beautiful, innocent situation.

It's complicated.

Very complicated.

Blake is my boyfriend.

Then there's Usher.

Usher is everything Blake isn't financially.

Money.

Cars.

Designer clothes.

Restaurants where the menus don't even have prices printed on them.

The kind of guy who can buy something expensive without thinking twice.

And somehow, I'm caught between two completely different worlds.

But if someone asked me who I cared about more?

Blake.

Without hesitation.

Maybe that's what makes the situation even worse.

Because Usher has money, and sometimes I've accepted his help.

And some of that money has helped Blake too.

The first time I offered Blake money, he looked at me like I'd insulted him.

"Maddy, I don't need your money."

I remember staring at him.

"You do."

"No."

"Blake."

"I said I'm fine."

He wasn't fine.

I knew it.

He knew it.

We both knew it.

His grandmother needed medication, and medication wasn't cheap.

I didn't give him money because I thought he was incapable.

I gave it because I cared.

At first, he refused every time.

He'd tell me he would figure something out.

He'd say he'd work extra hours.

He'd tell me not to worry.

But eventually, he had no choice.

And I never held it over his head.

Not once.

I didn't want him feeling like he owed me anything.

I wanted to help.

That was all.

Still, there was something about the situation that sometimes made me uncomfortable.

Because Blake didn't know everything.

He didn't know where some of the money came from.

He didn't know about Usher.

And every time I looked at him, I wondered how long I could keep two completely separate parts of my life from crashing into each other.

I hated that feeling.

But I wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

Not today.

Today, Blake was sitting beside me beneath the tree in my backyard.

His shoulder was warm against mine, and the afternoon breeze moved gently through the leaves above us.

I looked at him.

He was staring across the yard, completely lost in his thoughts.

"You seem happy," I said.

He glanced at me.

"I am."

"Because of the job?"

"Yeah."

His smile was small.

But genuine.

"I finally feel like things are getting better."

My heart softened.

I knew what that job meant to him.

It wasn't just a part-time job.

It was medication for his grandmother.

It was groceries.

It was one less thing keeping him awake at night.

"I'm proud of you," I said.

He looked at me.

"For what?"

"For not giving up."

His expression changed.

For a moment, he didn't say anything.

Then he smiled.

"Thank you."

I leaned back against the tree.

There was something peaceful about sitting there with him.

No expensive restaurants.

No fancy cars.

No expectations.

Just us.

And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew peace like this couldn't last forever.

Secrets rarely stay buried.

Eventually, they find a way to the surface.

I just hoped that when mine did, Blake would understand why I'd made the choices I had.

Because I loved him.

I knew that.

But love didn't automatically make me good at making decisions.

Sometimes people could have good intentions and still make a mess of everything.

And lately, I had been making one hell of a mess.

I looked at Blake again.

He was smiling at something on his phone.

I smiled too.

For now, I pushed everything else away.

Tomorrow could deal with tomorrow.

Today, I just wanted to enjoy the boy who had somehow become such an important part of my life.

Even if I knew I was keeping something from him.

Even if I knew that someday, he was going to find out.