Chapter 152: What Means More to You?

One Week Later

I rolled my shoulders back as I stood up. It was early, but Joey was still on bedrest, so Jane and I had been tending to things in the office while he rested. I was home by noon every day, where I would take a nap at the hospital before tending to Joey for the rest of the evening. But today I was leaving early. Miranda had texted me the night before to tell me that Judge Thomas was ready to sentence my mother. Jane raised her eyebrow at me.

“Where are you going, Madison?” She asked.

“I ummm…” I stammered, trying to buy time to figure out a lie that she would buy, making her narrow her eyes on me.

“Are you trying to go to your mother’s sentencing?” She asked.

“No! I just—”

“Are trying to lie to me. I’ll tell you what,” she said, looking at her watch. “It’s 8:22 AM. Why don’t I take you to the hearing, honey?”

I narrowed my eyes back on her. “You would go with me?”

“Of course. Are you ready?”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Are you lying to me?”

“Are you lying?” She retorted, meeting my eyes.

“No,” I answered stubbornly.

“Okay, then. I guess since neither of us are lying, we should head out.”

“Alright,” I said, too anxious over the way she was obviously lying but refusing to tell me about what, clearly not going to say anything else.

I cleared my throat as we stepped into the elevator. She gave me a smug look.

“Yes?” She asked. “Do you have something to say?”

“No!”

“Well, you cleared your throat, but if you don’t have anything to say, come along,” she said.

I groaned as I followed her out of the office building. I glanced at my car, wondering if I could make a dash for it, but I knew that with the stupid boot that Joey made me wear, Jane would catch me. When I tried to resist, he had Linda steal all of my left shoes while I slept, so I was literally forced to wear the boot. I huffed frustratedly as I climbed into the passenger seat of Jane’s car. She started it before turning to pin me with a disapproving look.

“Put your seatbelt on, Madison!”

“Whatever,” I mumbled as I put the belt on.

I shifted so that I was looking out of my window, watching the buildings go by as she drove. When she turned down the street where the courthouse was located, my heart started pounding. I ran my clammy hands down my suit pants as she pulled to a stop in front of the large government building. I sat still for a few minutes, studying it while I debated if I really wanted to go inside or not before sighing and opening the door.

“Madison?” Jane called my name softly, making me turn to look at her.

“Yes?”

“I need to ask you something.”

“Alright,” I said hesitantly.

“Is there anything more important to you than your mother?” She asked, holding my gaze.

My eyes immediately widened. “You know there is. Why are you asking me that?”

“Because there comes a time when you have to make a choice. And your time to choose is now. Option one: You go in to the courthouse and see what your mother’s sentence is.”

“Or?” I asked, eyeing her.

“Or you go with option two.”

“Which is?” I inquired impatiently, hating that she was drawing this out.

“You close the door and let me take you somewhere. You can’t ask questions about where we are going or what is waiting for us when we arrive. You have to just decide that you are done with your mother and move forward,” she told me.

I looked back at the courthouse, wanting to go inside, but something told me that it would be the wrong choice. I pulled the door closed before putting my seat belt back on before turning my head to look at her.

“Okay, Mom, let’s go. As much as I love her, I love Joey more. And if this is a way that I can prove it, then there is no choice. I will always choose him over everything else. So, I hope that wherever you are taking me, proves that,” I answered. I settled back into my seat, closing my eyes. “Wake me when we get there.”

“Will do, honey.”

A few minutes after she started driving down the road, the slight bumpiness of the ride lulled me into a nap that I more than needed.

******

“Maddie, honey, wake up,” Jane called softly as she gently shook me awake.

I rubbed my eyes sleepy as I shifted into a sitting-up position. “Jane? Are we there yet?”

“Not yet, sweetheart; I had to make a stop at my house before we got to our destination. This is our last stop before we get there. Linda said you could eat McDonalds. It’s not gonna hurt you too much. And you should eat before we get to where we’re going.”

I eyed her suspiciously. I wanted to ask where we were going and what we were going to be doing, but I knew better. I had agreed not to ask about her plans for me. I sighed as I nodded.

“I’ll take a 4C. Light mayo and add a piece of cheese, with a blue raspberry Icee. And can I please have a large? It’s been so long since I had McDonald’s fries. They are so goooooooood,” I sang.

She chuckled as she patted my hand. “Yes. Consider it a gift, but don’t tell Joey or Linda. I’m afraid if you do, I will disappear.”

I giggled as she shivered. When we pulled up to the speaker, she ordered our meals along with four chocolate chip cookies. I clapped my hands excitedly when the worker handed her our bag of food. She quickly checked it before handing me the bag. I immediately separated our food before opening the green and brown box my Deluxe McCrispy came in. I happily took a bite before taking a swig of my blue raspberry Icee. I hummed happily as I demolished my food, stuffing myself until I couldn’t eat any more of my meal. I frowned at the few fries that were left in the bottom of my container.

“God, do you think Linda would let me finish these later?” I asked hopefully.

“Not at all,” she laughed.

“Dammit!”

I put the container back in the bag before letting out a surprised squeal when I looked up as Jane pulled into a parking lot. I was stunned to see that we were sitting down the street from my wedding venue, where we were told that the bride would be getting ready. I looked at her.

“Why are we here?”

“Do you remember what I said about choices?” She asked.

“Yes. What about it?” I answered her.

“This is another one of those decision times. Option one,” she said, pointing at the building. “You continue to trust me and go inside. You let me do whatever I want to you. In exchange for your trust, I will allow you to ask me one question. Or, option two: I take you home. So, tell me right now, Madison, what’s it going to be?”

I ran my eyes over the building curiously before undoing my seatbelt. “It feels wrong to be here without Joey. This morning I left him at the hospital. So, I suppose my question has to be—is Joey here?”

She smiled softly at me. “Yes, he is. He is—”

I immediately flung my door open to climb out. I started heading up the walkway without any hesitation, rolling my eyes at Jane’s laughter behind me. She might think it was funny but I didn’t think anything was funny, when it came to Joey. He was mine. And if we were both here, there had to be a reason. It was time that I showed him that there was nothing more important than me and him. I had to show him that I was wrong about him when our relationship first started. He was not a cheater. He was not a manipulator. He was not the asshole my mother made me think he was capable of being. He was Joseph Morgan. He was mine. And he would always be mine. Just like I was always going to be his.