Red_Roses_and_Black_Dahlias_-_Macy_T

because, unlike my mama, I didn’t have a green thumb worth a dime. I put
pictures of Valentina and I, even one we had taken with Maddox, the three of
us at the diner on the day we first moved in. My wooden box stood proudly
on the dresser and my painting supplies were all collected in a corner of the
room in organized chaos.
I loved that room and I used to love to sleep in it.
But last night, my usually comfy mattress might as well have been granite,
the soft covers felt prickly and thorny and my pillow felt so hard against my
head I thought I’d have a stiff neck waking up today.
I slept like shit. All because I had gotten used to falling asleep in
Maddox’s arms, feeling safe and cared for.
I guess that’s just another thing that made me pissy about today. Added to
the fact that he didn’t call all day, he didn’t show up for dinner and didn’t
call to warn us like he usually would, and that Valentina had gone to bed
without getting to ask him the question she had spent all evening preparing
for.
My baby wanted to ask Maddox to be her prince to the Daddy-Daughter
dance her school organized. The theme was fairytales, so obviously
Valentina was out of her head with excitement.
The fact that she immediately thought of Maddox made me feel good and
worried at the same time. Good because I reveled at seeing their relationship
unfold, seeing how Valentina was finally letting herself trust someone that
wasn’t me. I loved how protective Maddox was of her, how he treated her
like she was his as much as mine.
That’s part of why I couldn’t keep on reproaching him our fight forever.
Sure, he hurt me when he suggested he would go over my head to bring
Valentina help, but in truth, I could admit I wasn’t the most reasonable person
to argue with at that time. I was caught off guard, and when he suggested
Mindy from the police department, I lost it.