Once they'd finally made it downstairs, both her parents were waiting for them on the couch. Her mom massaging her temples with her pointer fingers, still in her pajamas, her dad, dressed for work an hour too early, his body slouched against the couch.
"We tried having this conversation with the two of you separately to save you the embarrassment," her mom began for the two of them, "but seeing as none of it got through to either one of you, we're going to try this thing again."
"Mary-" Elijah tried to cut in, but her mom wasn't having it.
"No. I need to say this, and I need the two of you to listen. I love you both. I'd go to the ends of the Earth to protect either one of you, but this time I need to protect you from each other. I thought losing you would be the worst pain in my life, but watching Maddie lose you was a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I can't watch that again, Elijah."
"You don't have to," he told her, "Because I'm not going anywhere."
Her dad sat up from his slouched position, taking off his glasses as if it'd help him see the truth better. "I'm sorry, what?"
'He isn't going anywhere.' Something told Madeline that hearing 'I love you' pass his lips for the first time wouldn't top that. She'd waited for what felt like a lifetime for Elijah to finally come back to her, and now that he did, he wasn't going anywhere.
Elijah let out an almost silent laugh and scratched at the ever-growing stubble on his face. Then, the sweetest, almost longing look graced his face as he looked back at her. "I'll have to go back to get my things, but I'm not leaving. This is my family, and Maddie... she isn't someone I can just walk away from."
YOU ARE READING
Brighter Than The Stars: Book One
Romance"We always have the North Star, M&M," Elijah reminded her. "It shines bright, just like you do. No matter where I am, I can follow that star, and it'll lead me to you." "That's not how the North Star works." "It does when the person I'm looking for...
