maddiehans said:

tatiana gets divorced and ends up drunk dialing chim. chimney doesn't tell maddie cause he doesn't want to hurt her feelings and she gets so upset when she finds out that he lied about it.

A/N: I'm switching this up a little but the heart of the prompt will be there :) ~Meowser

He'd left his phone on the counter, and Maddie caught the name as it rang out. The ringer wasn't on, but she saw the screen light up. The name read clearly: Tatiana.

She stood there frozen, in the middle of making popcorn for their night together, and she didn't know what to say.

Chimney returned from the restroom, grabbed his phone, and frowned when he saw the screen. Maddie waited for him to say something, but instead, he smiled at her. "Hey, Bobby just texted, I'm going to go call him back," he said lightly. "Be right back."

"Yeah," she said, staring after him. Had he really just...lied about it? And he was going to call Tatiana back?

She felt sick, truly sick. She grabbed the popcorn and blindly walked to the couch, picking at the popcorn and not tasting a thing. Chimney came back in after a bit, and she looked away.

She could feel how the feel in the room instantly changed. Chimney wasn't dumb; he could always pick up on her moods. "Maddie," he said softly, coming to sit by her. "I'm sorry, I know it's no shop talk, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't important."

He tried to put his arm around her, but she shrugged away, and Chimney brought his hands back to his lap. She could feel how still he'd gone.

"Maddie, are you okay?" He finally asked.

She shook her head, but she couldn't find the words right now. She just didn't know what to say. She could believe that Tatiana would call, but it was a lie to say her feelings weren't hurt by the fact that he still had her in his contacts. She also could not believe that he'd said it was Bobby. Her stomach hurt.

But this...silent person...that's not who she was anymore. She had to work every day to not devolve into old patterns she'd had with Doug, and that was so difficult when things like this happened, but she refused to let him win. Doug didn't dictate her life anymore.

"Do you want me to leave?" Chimney asked, breaking the silence.

"I saw her name," Maddie said, her voice surprisingly still. She stared ahead, not able to look at him. "Tatiana."

"Oh," Chimney exhaled. "Maddie, it's not what you think."

"Please don't tell me what I'm thinking right now," Maddie said, and Chimney froze again.

"I'm sorry," he said, and was silent for a minute. "Yes, Tatiana called. And yes, I lied about talking to Bobby. I just didn't want to upset you."

"Good job on that one," Maddie said, laughing mirthlessly.

"She left a voicemail," he admitted. "And yes, there was a part of me that wanted to know what she said. But I was wrong to hide it from you." He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "I just didn't want to stress you out. You know I don't care about her."

She didn't answer, she didn't have words yet, and Chimney sighed.

"I shouldn't have lied," he said. "And that is 100% my bad, but you have to believe me when I say that I lied to protect your feelings. I'm sorry."

She felt her heart loosen, just a little. She knew Chimney wasn't a bad guy, far from it. But she also knew that, while some of her response had been due to old scars with Doug, it hadn't been an overreaction. He'd still lied.

"I don't need that," she said. "To be protected. I'm not a child, and that's not the relationship we have. I know that I myself have fucked up in the past, but I think we both know where my lying got us."

She could hear him exhale.

"Our relationship won't survive if you think you have to lie to protect me," she said. "Don't treat me like I'm glass."

"Maddie," he whispered, and she finally turned to face him. She could see so many things on his face: regret, compassion, sorrow. "I promise that the next time my old flame calls me, you will be the first to know. But also, I blocked her. So it won't happen again."

She felt the ache in her heart finally ease the last bit, and she was able to crack a small smile at him.

"Can I give you a hug?" Chimney murmured, and she nodded, moving into his arms. Even in moments like these, he always waited to make sure she was okay with something before he did it. His arms were warm around her, and she breathed into the embrace.

She pulled back, and Chimney reached up to wipe a lone tear away. "So what did she say in the voice mail?" She asked, and Chimney shook his head.

"She's divorced, and she wanted to know if I wanted to hook up," he said. Maddie's eyes widened, and Chimney laughed. "Okay, that was mean," he said. "And not true. It was a butt dial."

"I'm not speaking to you," Maddie said, but her lips twitched, and she leaned down to press a kiss to his lips.

Chimney reached for his phone, and pressed play on the message. "Listen," he said.

"Listen, sweetie, mama has to buckle you up. Stop squirming. You can't have my phone if you're going to act like this. Oh my god, did you dial someone?"

"She also texted to say it was an accident," Chimney said. "I deleted that one though."

Maddie sighed, leaning on Chimney's shoulder. "Do you think our little one is going to be as antsy as hers?" She asked.

"Kids are usually a handful, yes," Chimney said. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."