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Chapter Eight

'Maddie?'

He called her name in a gentle whisper as he tried to stare into the darkness of her room, he'd woken up in the early hours of the morning feeling vulnerable and so alone, he needed comfort, her comfort.

'Jake? Are you okay?' Her voice sounded out across the room and he began to make his way across to her bed.

'Can I stay with you tonight? I don't want to be alone,' he really was pathetic at times but he couldn't put it any other way, he had to be close to her.

'Uh I guess so, hold on a minute,' he heard her shuffling across the bed and waited until she had stopped moving before he pulled back the covers and crawled into her warm bed.

The pillows and the covers radiated with her sweet smell, rolling onto his side he reached out for her without saying a word. His hand came into contact with the side of her cheek and he gently began to run his fingers over her soft flesh whilst moving closer to her in the process.

'Jake what are you doing?' She whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers so he could stare at her.

'I need this Maddie, I need you,' before she could reply he used his fingers to find her lips and ran one finger across the perfectly smooth surface. 'You can make all this pain stop.' He leaned forward and replaced the finger trailing her lips with his mouth, she moaned against his mouth as he felt one of her hands move into his hair.

Not content with just kissing her lips he started to work his way down, first kissing around her jaw before moving to her neck as one of his hands continued to circle patterns on her cheek.

'Oh Jake…..'

Her body arched against him when he trailed kisses over her neck, he knew it was a weak spot for most women and she was no different. Her moans had given him the confidence to go a little further, opening his mouth slightly he let his tongue slide over her vanilla scented skin, this move made her push her other hand into his hair as she gasped out loud.

The sweet taste of her skin left him wanting and needing so much more, he was already lost in the warmth and beauty of her body and they weren't even naked yet. Moving his hand from her face he continued to kiss and suck at her neck whilst his hands trailed further down her body. As tempted as he was to let them explore her breasts first he avoided them completely and let his hands glide over her soft stomach which made his sweet Maddie whine.

'Tell me that you want me just as much as I want you,' he began to trail his kisses down from her neck to her collarbone as her body began to move against him.

'I do Jake, I do. I want you so much, I've wanted you from the first moment I saw you,' her words made his world spin. She felt the same as he did, he wouldn't have to be alone now, he had her.

He was about to lift her shirt up even higher so he could reveal her top half in all its glory when he felt himself shaking.

'Jake, Jake…..'

He awoke from his blissful dream with a start to see Maddie leaning over him.

'Sorry, you told me to come and wake you if you weren't up by ten,' she gave him a beautiful smile which made his insides melt, God how he fucking wished that dream had been a reality. 'I've made some breakfast for us, hope you like homemade pancakes and blueberries.'

'I thought you had to be in work this morning?' She shook her head.

'I called this morning and told them I needed the day off, got the next couple of weeks off too, luckily I have a very cool boss who likes me. Come on, breakfast is getting cold,' he waited until she'd left the room to get out of bed, after the dream he'd had he was a little….erect.

The only thing he had to put on were the clothes he'd worn to the funeral yesterday so somehow he managed to bundle himself into the black pants, thankfully his black shirt was long enough to cover the slight bulge in his trousers. He walked out into the lounge to find Maddie sat at the small breakfast bar tucking into the pile of pancakes that she had made.

'You didn't have to go to all this trouble just for me,' he said as he sat himself down on one of the high stools opposite her.

'I didn't, pancakes are my favourite. Plus I never usually have time for breakfast when I work so this is a treat just for me, you just so happen to be here to enjoy my treat too,' she smiled.

He couldn't help but smile back at her before he piled some pancakes onto the plate she'd set out for him and started to tuck in. She'd dropped everything to be there for him and he couldn't thank her enough for what she had done for him so far. They'd been up until the early hours of the morning talking about Chelsea, he wished that he'd taken Maddie to meet her so they could have got to know each other. He was sure that Maddie would have loved Chelsea just as much as he did, everyone that met his sister loved her.

He'd cried and broken down so many times that he'd lost count, with Maddie he didn't need to pretend that everything was okay, he didn't have to be strong. The hardest part last night had been calling his parents to let them know that he wasn't coming home. He'd spoken to his mother after he'd recovered from the first crying session and he'd told her he was going to stay with Maddie for a few days. He was going over there today to pick up some belongings and he was sure that by now everyone in his family knew where he was, his friendship with Maddie would no longer be a secret to his immediate family and he was hoping that she would be willing to come with him to his parent's house so she could meet everyone.

'So what's the plan for today?' As if reading his thoughts she broke the silence between them.

'Well first off I need to get my car then I need to head over to my folks, I was hoping you'd come with me,' she stared at him nervously and bit down a little on her bottom lip.

'I don't know if that's a good idea Jake,' he put down his knife and fork and stopped eating.

'You don't have to be nervous, I think it's time you got to know them better, I should have let you come over when Chelsea….' His voice broke a little after mentioning her name.

'If you want me to come then I will, I guess your sister's will want to put a face to the name of the girl you're gonna be staying with for the next week or so,' she smiled back at him but he could tell that she was still nervous, he didn't blame her. Meeting four sisters who would probably want to know her life story was hardly anything to get excited about. Plus his family weren't exactly happy and in great spirits at the moment, they wouldn't be for a while. 'I've already taken a shower, I'll go and get changed into something a little nicer and sort out my hair and make-up, I need to look half decent if we're going to your parent's place.'

'You don't need to change and you don't need to do anything to your hair or put make-up on, you look lovely just as you are,' he disliked how critical she could be about her appearance at times, how could she not know just how beautiful she was?

'You think so?' They stared at each other from across the room for a few moments before he responded.

'Yeah, yeah I do,' he fought against his urges to get up and pull her towards him so he could kiss the life out of her. He'd never seen her look so vulnerable and unsure before, if he did make a move and it wasn't what she wanted their friendship would be ruined forever, he couldn't risk losing something that he needed so much right now. 'I'd uh better go and take a quick shower before we leave if that's okay?'

'Yeah that's fine! I put fresh towels out for you in the bathroom and there's plenty of shower gel and shampoo you can use,' she quickly replied.

He thanked her before crossing the room to go into the bathroom, leaving Maddie to clean up the kitchen after breakfast. When they came back later he was going to cook and clean for her to show that he wasn't just a lazy man who didn't know his way around a kitchen. For now though he was just glad to be away from her so he could get himself together, he couldn't be with her, not like that, he HAD to remember that at all times from now on and stop those silly thoughts from entering his head.

Maddie's POV

'Just pull in behind the blue car on the right hand side,' Jake pointed ahead to the blue Honda Civic that was parked just a few metres away.

This was it, she was going to meet Jake's entire family and she was more nervous than she had ever been in her life. She was used to meeting new people, she had to do it every single day in her job but the people she was about to meet could easily make or break her friendship with Jake. They hadn't exactly got off on the right foot, in their eyes Jake had left his parents alone to be with her when they needed him the most.

'Don't look so scared,' Jake commented as she pulled up behind the car and switched off the engine.

'Are you sure that me coming in with you is a good idea? Perhaps it's best if you go alone so you can sit everyone down and explain to them why you need to spend some time away…..'

'Maddie I'm not gonna force you to come inside, I just think that it might set everyone's mind's at ease if they get to put a face to the name and learn a little bit more about you,' at first she tried not to look at him because she knew her resolve would break down if she did. She made the mistake of taking a quick glance at him and she caught sight of his big blue eyes staring back at her, those eyes could persuade her to do anything, well almost anything, she probably wouldn't do anal….

'If I look really embarrassed or stressed out you need to come and save me okay? I'm not good with people asking me lots of questions, I start to swear and get all sweaty and shit, Hansen's don't like being interrogated,' her words brought a smile to Jake's face, it was nice to see that smile once again, after how upset he'd been last night she wasn't sure that she would ever see it again.

'I promise I will be your knight in shining armour if my sister's start to get too much,' he replied before looking past her at the house. 'We'd better go inside, someone was just looking at us through the window.'

She watched as Jake stepped out of the car and took a deep breathe to try and calm herself down. If things got too much she could always make her excuses and leave, it's not as if she was going to be trapped inside with nowhere else to go, it was time for her to put her big girl panties on and suck it up.

No sooner had she stepped out of her car to join Jake on the sidewalk the front door to his parent's house opened and his mother came running out to greet them.

'I'm so glad you're here!' She stood back and watched as mother and son embraced, she couldn't imagine how difficult things were for his mom right now, she'd just lost one of her babies and last night she'd probably convinced herself that something bad had happened to her only son.

When Jake and his mom pulled away from each other after a minute or so she nervously waited to greet her not knowing what her reaction would be. She was a little taken aback when his mother walked over to her and embraced her just like she'd embraced Jake.

'Thank you for finding him and keeping him safe,' the pain and sadness that was so evident in her voice as she whispered to her almost made her cry on the spot. She couldn't pretend that she knew what she was going through right now, the pain of losing a child was greater than anything that she could imagine and she hoped that she would never have to experience such a traumatic event.

'Thank you for letting me come here, I can't really figure out what to say, I'm just so sorry for your loss, I won't even pretend to understand how you're feeling right now,' she replied, hoping that the words she'd chosen were adequate, she didn't know what else to say.

'Jake,' his mother pulled away from her without replying to what she'd said, she immediately began to panic, thinking that she'd sounded like an insensitive bitch or something. 'Why don't you go inside and let me talk to Maddie alone for a couple of minutes?'

'Mom I…..'

'It's okay Jake,' she interrupted him before he could respond negatively to his mother's request. She didn't want to cause an argument between mother and son, not at a time like this.

'Are you sure?' He replied, locking eyes with her. She just nodded and smiled a little to try and reassure him.

'I'm not going to hurt her Jake or argue with her so go inside, your father and your sister's all want to see you,' Jake kept staring at her for a few seconds before he started to make his way up the front path to his home. Once he reached the front door he looked back again before going inside. She couldn't deny that she was nervous about what his mother had to say to her but she had to toughen up and listen, even if what she was going to hear wouldn't be pleasant.

'You don't have to look so afraid, I don't bite,' his mom broke the awkward silence first a minute or two after Jake had gone inside.

'I just want to say that I'm sorry for not bringing Jake back here last night and I don't want you to feel like I'm taking him away because that's not what I'm trying to do I promise…' she started to ramble, a trait she always displayed when she was nervous before his mother stepped in.

'Maddie I'm just glad that he has someone he can talk to and somewhere safe that he can call home for a while so he can grieve,' her body relaxed a little hearing her words, confrontation wasn't the point of the private conversation after all. 'He's tried to be so strong for me, his dad and his sisters but I know my son, I know that inside he's hurting so much right now, you probably know that too.'

She nodded. 'I know that he loves all of you so much and he doesn't want to break down and admit to you that he's not doing well. I think he feels like he'd be letting you all down if he admitted that he was in pain you know? Sorry, I'm talking to you as if you don't know anything about him, I don't mean to sound so condescending and stupid…'

'You don't sound condescending or stupid, you sound like you care about my son,' his mother reached out and placed a hand on her arm as she spoke.

'I do care about him, I really do,' she stopped herself from saying anything more but was shocked at what his mother had to say next.

'You're in love with him aren't you?'

The question lingered in the air as she let her eyes fall down to the ground hoping it would swallow her up. She didn't want to give an answer, she either had to tell the truth or blatantly lie and she couldn't do either of those things.

'We'd better go inside before Jake comes out to look for us, come on, follow me,' Maddie was in a daze when she started to follow Jake's mom up the path to her house, she'd expected to be pushed to give an answer to her. Had his mother figured out the truth without her having to say anything at all?

She was usually a really good liar, it wasn't something to be proud of but living with a dad who didn't want you to date until your late forties kind of meant that she had to get used to lying from a young age so really her skills as a liar were totally her father's fault, not hers. For some reason, and she didn't know why or how, she just knew that his mother had worked out the truth and that meant that she could say something to Jake at any moment. Now she was beginning to wonder whether it would just be best to tell Jake how she really felt before someone else got there before her.