Into the Crowd. ✔

CHAPTER 8

“What happened?” The minute he walked back into the room I knew something was wrong. I could sense it. He has been gone longer that I expected. In that time Vicky had to rush back to a forgotten meeting with her grew, leaving Taylor with
me until she can come and pick her up later. Taylor was sitting on the chair next to me telling me all about the new things she learned at school and a dozen of get well letters from my third grade students. Josh came in, putting the cups down on the
table next to my bed. I noticed the ice packet in his hands. He still couldn’t meet my eyes. I quickly tried to think about a plan. I looked down at Taylor.
“Tay, honey. Can you walk to the nurse’s station outside and ask them for a piece of paper and a pen, please?” She nods her approval a silently slipped out of the room.
So I could write a thank you note to my students with it.
“Josh, what happened?” I reach for his right hand but winces as I took it. I looked down at his hand and saw the angry red burn marks. He looked up into his face and that’s when I saw his puffy eye. I gasp at the marks left on his beautiful face. His blue eyes looked hollow and sad mixed in with a little bit of anger.
“Josh?” I asked again, softly this time. I hear him talking a deep breath before he sat down where Taylor once was a few seconds ago.
“I-I had a run in with-with your dad.”
“What?!” he looked down at his hands as he reach for the ice pack, bringing it to his eye.
“Did he hit you?” My own anger stating to boil. Just hiding beneath the surface like a volcano ready to blow. A low blow. I thought my father would back off, but that
doesn’t seem to be an options. He’s started to be a real thorn in my life, after all these lies and he still tries to control my life and everyone in it.
“He caught me of guard and then I spilled the stupid coffee all over my hand.” I reach for his face, pushing away the ice, slightly touching the redness.
“Did-did you hit him back?” I asked him, my voice shaky. Josh was never a violent person, so I doubt that he would have taken a hit himself. My only answer was his
shaking head.
“I would never hit your father, Maddie. Even though he’s a jerk and probably would deserved a few punches.” he said sucking in a deep breathe.
“What did he want?”
“Nothing I hadn’t heard before.” He says, shaking his head. Graham Price always had something to say when it came to Josh. Why he hates him nobody knows.
“I’m so sorry Josh.” He reaches for me with his other hand.
“Not your fault, honey. It never was. He’ll just have to accept that I am here to stay and that none of his power will take me away from you…and Taylor. Nothing, okay?” I could only manage a nod before Taylor came back into the room, clutching papers in her arms. I swiped away a lone tear on my cheek.
“Thank you, baby. Why don’t you pull the other chair closer then you can drink your sweet tea and help me write this thank you notes?”
“Okay.” She reached pass her father taking the cup in both hands before turning to Josh.
“Thank you.” She said to him. I smiled at her well taught manners, but before she went to sit down she looked up at him. Looking at his face. With one hand on her
cup she reached up and touched his cheek just beneath his eye. Something tightened in my chest seeing her interacting with her father as if she knew him all her life.
“Does it hurt, daddy?” she asked him. I saw his eyes widen when she called him ‘daddy’. He looked at me and back at her, as if asking if it was alright, but I said nothing. I could only concentrate on their first interaction as father and daughter
with me in the same room.
“Oh!” she led out a strange sound, buffering my senses.
“I probably shouldn’t call you that. I am sorry, Josh.” She mumbles another apology. I felt my heart ache at her admission. I looked at him, but he stared blankly ahead, before she could move an inch he stopped her.
“No.” he shook his head like he is trying to slip out of his daze.
“Taylor, don’t be sorry. Never be sorry for ever calling me that. I want to be your daddy more than anything. So if you want to call me daddy, I would be honored, but if you want to call me Josh, I would be fine. I can wait until YOU are ready.” She looked up into his eyes. And I knew she was lost in the blue of them just like I am. She looked at me, asking silent permission. I could only manage a nod. Smiling until
my cheeks hurt.
“I-I want to call you daddy.” She finally admitted. I could see relieve in his eyes as he smiled that million dollar smile.
“I would love that. I would love that very much...”
An hour later Vicky was back to pick up Taylor. Not long after, she left leaving just me and Josh. I looked over at the clock and it read just after six pm. I pushed away the dinner tray and made space for Josh on the bed. Needing him close. I watched my daughter and her dad interacting the past hour and I couldn’t be happier in the way she accepted him. I know it’s going to be a long road ahead, a lot of patience
and time to heal from old emotional wounds. Luckily I am blessed with such a daughter with the heart like her father’s. I could see it for the first time and it felt good. Luckily Taylor didn’t ask questions about what happened with Josh when he
went downstairs to the cafeteria, which was good, because I really don’t want her in contact with the conflict between my parents, Josh and me. I watched as she had drawn a picture and gave it to him. The shimmer of tears in his eyes. I wish I knew what was running through his mind, what he was thinking, but I could feel it in his touch, see it in his eyes. The instant love for our daughter. Man, it feels to say ‘ours’.
He joined me on the bed, sighing as he wraps his arms around me. For a while I lay there, listening to his heartbeat. Hoping and praying that this was not a dream. There was still so much he should know. Things I don’t want to keep from him any
longer. I’m afraid if I wait too long he would run.
“Josh?”
“M-m?” he softly replied, while I listened to the rumble of his voice against his chest.
“When are you going back to Adelaide?” I knew he lived there with his friends and brother. I knew he has to go back some time soon. Leaving me behind for who
knows long.
“Soon.” It’s the only thing he says. His breathing picking up as the seconds pass.
“O-okay.” I hit my face in his chest. Silently begging him not to go.
“I have to go back, Maddie. Only for a little while until I can pack up my things and talk with the guys, before I can make the move here.” I sat up turning to him to make sure I heard it all.
“You’re moving back?” I was unsure if he would only visit every once in a while and make a permanent move to be with us.
“Of course! It makes sense. You’re here, Taylor is here and so will I. I don’t want to live out of a hotel room. I had enough of that for the last two years. I want to be close
to you and Taylor, I’ll even throw Vicky in there to.” He said and smiled.
“But what about the band?” The band was highly successful and means everything to him and the others. To move back to Sydney would be a huge commitment and
one I don’t know how the rest of them would take.
“They’ll just have to accept that my life is here now. With you. And where not going to start performing again for at least a year. We’re off for the next eight months and the rest is for the recording of the new album.”
“Are you sure about this, Josh? There is still time to run.”
“Never.” He said. His good hand reaching for me, cupping my cheek. I leaned in closer, seeking his warmth.
“Madison Price. For the first time in ten years, I am home. And that’s with both of you.” He says, it has to take courage to do this, but he was being sincere. In the way his blue eyes shines with the truth.
“Oh Josh. How can you be like this?” I grab onto his shirt nearly at tears again.
“A lot has change, Maddie. It was inevitable, but one thing still stays the same. My heart. And you have owned it for so long, no matter the lost time, the lies and the memories. It was always you. Never somebody else.”
“Josh, I have never been with anybody else, but you.” I admitted. I never moved on, not with all the missing pieces. I had to put all my focus on caring for Taylor. He
cups my jaw, caressing the flesh covered in bruises caused by the impact.
“That’s good. I mean for a minute, yesterday, I thought there was another man holding your heart or another man Taylor calls ‘daddy’.”
“I could never. Something always held me back. Know I know why. You.” He pulls me in, folding his lips over mine in a deep kiss. I felt my body relax against his, savoring the deep impact he has over my heart.
“And for the record,’ he said as he pulled my.
“I haven’t been with anybody else ether.” I gasped at his admission. My mind running in a million different directions.
“What?” I was shocked. I mean look at the man! No women can look past him. He has heartbreaker written all over him. But I knew the truth. The man beneath the beautiful mask.
“It’s true, Maddie.”
“But you’re a superstar! You have woman falling over you at every moment. I saw them at the concert, the way they went on and on about you. I read about it online and seen the reviews. Don’t deny the effect you have on every woman in this world.”
“Faceless people, honey. I do it for the love of music not the fame. I do it because it was the only place I could ever feel close to you. You are why I do what I do. You always had my heart, my body and my soul. I couldn’t share that with anybody else, not even for one night. I have been on countless of dates, but it never went past dinner.” He wipes away a tear just like the million time he did before.
“Maddie, I never stopped loving you, not even for a minute.” I lay back down, resting my head back where it belongs. I went on a date, once, five years ago, but I never made it past the meal. It just felt wrong from the beginning. My conscious knew I
already belonged to another man, I just didn’t know who. I knew something was missing and I lived with that feeling every day. Until one day, I heard this song on the radio. A new band making headlines with their first single called ‘Into the
Crowd’ for some reason I felt I an emotional connection with the words. The heart that was poured out into the lyrics. The first time I saw a photo of him I thought to
myself that this was the most beautiful man I have ever seen. Since then I followed the band. Listening to their music, but never got the courage to go to one of their
shows. Not until a few days ago, when I couldn’t stay away any longer. One may say I developed a crush on the lead singer over the years, never knowing who he was
and the story he played in my life. Now I can remember what true happiness feels like.
“There is one thing I regret the most though.” He says, breaking the silence.
“And what is that?” I looked up and saw that his eyes was closed.
“That day, the day of our accident. The things I said about you being just like your parents. I didn’t mean it. I was angry and devastated that you were leaving me. I didn’t mean it, I swear Maddie. I hated myself every day because of it. Forgive me,
please.”
“We both said hurtful things that day. What I was doing to you wasn’t right. I don’t know why I went with their plans. I was confused and scared, I didn’t know what
to do.”
“I lost myself that day. Watching you take those last breaths in my arms. It scared me for life. I went to look for you. But everybody kept pushing me away. I never knew they were able to revive you. You’re father made me believe that you died that day. And how I have wished every day that it was me instead. I thought I lost you and the baby.” He buried his face in my hair. Silent sobs rushing through his body. I never knew the lengths of the lies my parents told, until this moment. I was so angry
and sad. I wanted to throw something just to take the pain away, but somehow through it all the hurt and anger I felt the calmness in the wake of his arms.
“It was my fault. Everything. I should have stopped their influence. I should have said yes, when you asked me to marry you. I should have stayed calm and trusted that you are what was best for me. It’s my fault you lost ten years with our
daughter.”
“Don’t say it like that. We made our choices and said some things we can’t take back, whether it was right or not. And I guess in the end it made us stronger. We can’t control the things that already happened in the past, but we can control the
future.”
“You’re right. We have the time. I have you, now I am home as well.” We stayed silent for a few minutes. Watched as the room darkened. He held me against him like he never want to let go.
“Listen Maddie. I know it’s been practically a day, and probably too soon, but I am here, you’re alive and I have the honor to be a father to such a beautiful, sweet and caring girl. So much like her mother. I don’t want to go another day without saying this and meaning it. Maddie, I love you so damn much. I never stopped. I know you might take a while to catch up, but I have to at least try. If you don’t feel the same, I can wait, I am a patient man.” He sucked in a deep breathe.
“What I am trying to say is. Maddie, will you marry me? Be my wife? Be my family? I can understand if you don’t want to, but I’ll wait as long as you want, but I can’t go another minute without you being mine, forever.” My heart stopped as I took in the meaning of his words. Out of my own stubbornness I let go of his hold on me, sat up straight, even though my aching body was protesting, and looked out of the
window. I could feel his body stiffen and then relax at my silence. A million reasons to say yes, yet I couldn’t find one good reason to say no. Still I remained silent. My voice nowhere to be found, nor the courage. I could almost feel his breath on my neck, imaging all the hurt he must have felt when he thought he lost me after the first time he asked and I said no. The courage it took to propose for the second time. The strength it took to take this chance with my. Finally I found the courage to give him his answer.
“Yes.” I chokes out. Clearing my throat, not trusting the volume of my answer.
“What?” He asks again, but I knew he heard me the first time.
“Yes.” I said louder turning back around. His eyes were closed, but when he finally looked at me I knew I made the right choice. A smile like no other stretches across his face, meeting his eyes. It feels right. It always did, it just took a detour of ten years. It may seem sudden, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Screw the people who thinks differently.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I said again as I crash our lips together. His tongue swept in, taking what he knew was his. Mine joined in the battle of wills, the battle of love. After a moment he tears his mouth away.
“What you do to me, Maddie… Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, for making me the happiest man ever. I swear you won’t regret anything.” He buries his face in my
neck.
“Regret never crossed my mind. My answer would forever be yes. I don’t care if it is too soon. We already lost ten years, I can’t lose any more.” I reached out running my fingers through his hair. Feeling the rush of our heart beats and the way his was
beating with mine. And I knew, it was all mine.

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