Summer was sitting in a taxi looking out the window at the city going by, as a tear slid down her cheek from recalling what they had together. She didn't ask for the assignment, but here she was on her way to see the one man she never thought she'd see again. 

After the car pulled up to his house, she stepped out, taking a deep breath. She straightened out her knee-length black skirt and made her ascent up the stairs, her red heels clacking the entire way. She wanted answers, but that was not why she was there. This was an assignment and she needed to remember that. 

As the door opened, she saw a man standing there who appeared to be the butler. "Could you tell...," she swallowed hard, trying to force out the name she hadn't said in years. "...Maddox Altera that Summer Rayne is here from The Daily Reporter?"

Maddox was pouring over documents at his desk when one of his staff announced the journalist had arrived. Without looking up, he waved a hand inviting that she be let through. He still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but the business had changed since he took over. He was tired of the scrutiny from every federal agency in the country and the public perception was no longer good for profits. Still immersed in his work, he heard her entrance, but continued to read. 

"Please, Miss Ray....." The word caught in his throat when he glanced up to point her to a chair across the table. "Summer?"

Summer strolled in and walked over to the seat in which he had indicated and sat down, crossing her long legs and pulling out her notebook. "Hello, Mr. Altera. I'm Summer Rayne and I'm here to interview you for a piece we're doing." She looked up at him and smiled, but it was a cold smile, a forced smile. She was here on business, she kept reminding herself. "Now, where shall we begin?"

Maddox couldn't help staring; it had been years since he had seen her and she was as beautiful as he remembered. He had tried to keep track of her for awhile but she seemed to drop off the planet, now he knew why. Her name wasn't all that was different though, the way she looked at him was too. Summer smiled, but it was an expression that didn't touch her eyes. He saw only coldness there, and it hit Maddox in the chest like a knife. He wanted to apologize to her, tell her everything, but those weren't the words that came out. 

"Of course, Miss Rayne." Maddox spoke with a cool confidence, betraying no emotion, a practiced gift from a time when doing so might have cost him everything. "Where would you like to begin? As I told your editor, I envision this as a way to tell the city that I am not my father. My businesses are all very legal and no one gets hurt. When he died, I changed things; albeit slower than some would have liked, but these things take time."

Summer listened to him speak like there was nothing between them; as if nothing had ever happened between them, but she knew better than anyone that there had. So, his father finally died. He was a bastard, but he was his father. 

"I'm sorry about your father," she said softly as memories of her mother's funeral flashed across her mind. 

He had taken over the family business after all. All of those times he said he didn't want to take part in it and yet, here he was running the whole damn operation. 

Summer cleared her throat, in turn, clearing her thoughts. "So, tell me about the improvements you have made," she requested as she began taking notes.

"Yes. He died 10 years ago, near the end of May. The family managed to keep it out of the papers. I took over then; I didn't plan for it, but my sister, Sophia, and my brother, Francis, were still children and my mother couldn't do it alone," Maddox trailed off; it wasn't the question she had asked. He cleared his throat. "To your original question. We have made a lot of improvements in the business model. All our finances come from legitimate sources, taxes are paid and our more questionable side deals have been terminated."

Summer's head snapped up from her notebook as she heard him say the words 'May'. Was he trying to tell her what happened that day after Prom? She shifted nervously in her seat. Did she confront him about it? Did she stick to her professional questions? She bit her lip as she wrote down his response, but in the end, she couldn't take it. 

"I'm sorry. I thought I could do this," she said, standing up. "I need to go." She gathered up her things and headed for the door, practically running.

Maddox sat back in his chair, he's not sure what he expected. Seeing her had thrown him off guard, he hadn't intended to give her that little glimpse into the events 10 years ago. As collected as he pretended to be, he was awash with emotions and he wanted desperately for her to understand; to know the truth. He was frozen with indecision, he couldn't let her go, not this time. 

"Summer??!!!!" A squealing voice came from the foyer. "Oh my God. Is that you?" 

Maddox recognized Sophia's voice. Perfect timing, little sister.

Summer stopped as she heard someone call her name. She turned around to see Sophia standing there donning a huge grin. 

"Sophia!" She smiled brightly at the little girl, who was blossoming into a beautiful woman. "Oh, my God!" She said wrapping her in a hug. "You were, what? Five, the last time I saw you?"

"Seven. But I was short. Still am," she giggled. "I can't believe you're here. Wait. You're not leaving. Mom is cooking tonight. You have to stay. Maddox tell her she has to stay." She stopped rambling as her brother entered the room. 

Maddox wasn't about to let the opportunity pass. "You are of course welcome," he said. This time he couldn't keep the emotion off his face as he looked at her. She still took his breath away. 

Summer looked up as Maddox walked into the room. Her heart sank as she stared at him. Memories of their last night together trying to push their way back into her mind, but Sophia, it seemed, had made up her mind for her. "Ok, " she nodded. "I'll stay."

Sophia squealed again. "It's settled. Let me show you around. I am sure things have changed since the last time you were here."

Maddox watched as Sophia led Summer away and it was nearly an hour before they returned, his sister still babbling away. By that time, they were being beckoned for dinner and they gathered in a large dining room where a spread of roast chicken, fresh bread and an array of vegetables were laid out on the table. 

Maddox's mother put her hand to her chest in sincere surprise when she saw Summer walk in the room, her look a mix of concern and regret. "Hello, Summer," she said looking at Maddox. "What an unexpected, and lovely, surprise." 

Summer smiled as soon as she saw Maddox's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Altera. It's good to see you again."

"Am I late," another voice said from behind them. 

Maddox's mother looked up. "Fashionably. As always, Francis," she said to the young man who entered. 

"And who is this," he said, giving Summer the once over. He couldn't hide his embarrassment when Sophia reminded him with a smack to the head. Francis turned to Maddox, "I thought dad forbade..." 

"Francis, just sit down," his mother interjected.

As Francis entered the room and didn't know her, she blushed a light red hue of embarrassment. It's not like she hadn't seen him before, but it had been a long time and he made that very clear with his query. She heard Francis say the words 'dad forbade' before his mother managed to interrupt him. It left her with so many questions; questions she was afraid might go unanswered. 

She looked up at Maddox, her heart breaking some more. It was painful to be so close to him, knowing he left her without so much as a good bye, just when she had given him all of her. Tears started to fill her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, Mrs. Altera. Sophia invited me to stay and she seemed very adamant, but I should probably just go."

"Of course not, there is plenty for everyone. Please. Call me Adelle, we're all adults. Now, everyone sit and eat," she commanded. 

Summer smiled at Maddox's mother, "Of course, Adelle. Thank you." 

The first few moments of dinner were quiet, even Sophia, who had been hard pressed to breathe between sentences for the past hour, fidgeted as she picked at the food. Maddox glanced periodically at Summer and his heart swelled but the heavy burden of regret weighed at him. He had hurt her terribly and the there was nothing that could change that. 

Summer had taken a seat across from Maddox- not really by choice, but that was where his mother had set an extra place setting. Summer knew the silent dinner was because she was there. There was no way a family got together like this to eat dinner and not talk during it. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 

She saw Maddox peak at her now and then, making her wonder if he had ever thought of her again until today. She thought about him most days; it was hard not to. He was the reason her relationships had always failed. She still loved him and couldn't seem to let him go.

Finally, Adelle broke the silence. "Summer. It was such a tragedy to hear of your mother's passing. I only met her a couple times, but she was a wonderful woman."

Summer was brought back to reality when Adelle asked her about her mother. Her head snapped up and she looked at Maddox's mother confused. "Umm....yes, she was amazing, but...pardon me if this comes off rude, but how did you know she passed away?"

Maddox seemed to flinch at his mother's statement and Adelle returned Summer's query with a confused look. There was an awkward silence until Maddox finally sighed. "I told her," he said. He paused, considering. There is no going back now. "Just before I went to the funeral."

Summer accidentally dropped her fork and it clanked against the dinner plate. He did what? Summer thought back to her mother's funeral. She interacted with everyone that came and she would've remembered Maddox there. 

"I'm sorry," she said shaking her head in disbelief. "But I don't think I heard you right. Did you say that you came to my mother's funeral?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "A funeral that happened 6 years after you up and left me? You're effing kidding me, right?" Her tone displayed her anger over the new information.

Maddox's mother stood up and looked at her other two children. "Could you two help me in the kitchen, please." 

Neither needed a second invitation and too quickly to be subtle retreated to a safe distance. 

Maddox crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, for a moment he just looked at Summer, considering. If this was fate giving him a second chance with the woman he had loved- still loved- it wasn't making it easy. "I kept my distance. In the church and at the cemetery. I didn't want to be intrusive...or...cause a scene," his voice wavered a bit and he ran a hand absently through his hair. "I didn't intend to skulk in the background, but when I saw you I didn't know what to do, so I kept my distance...I tried to help in other ways."

As Summer listened to his explanation, she grew angrier. She couldn't believe that after what he had done to her, he would just show up. "Why were you there in the first place? After everything that happened, did you think you could just show up and I'd forgive you? H-how did you even know my mom had passed away?"

Maddox stood and paced his side of the table. He looked like a caged lion. Finally, he stopped and placed his palms on the table and looked at her, his eyes softer than his demeanor. "You were never far from my mind. I couldn't let you go completely. I would check in from time to time; that is how I knew she had died. I never wanted to leave you." His voice raised slightly not in anger, more of an impassioned plea. "My heart is yours...was yours. I didn't have a choice." He sat back down and pressed his palms to his eyes as though he was trying to push some horrible memory from his mind.

Summer watched this vulnerability come out of Maddox and it made her heart ache even more than it already did, but she still didn't understand. If his heart was hers, then why did he leave? When she spoke, her voice was calmer. "You have no idea what you did to me. I waited for you to call...for months. I looked for you at graduation. I called your house until finally the number was disconnected. I was terrified that something bad had happened to you." Her eyes filled with tears that overflowed onto her cheeks, her voice reflecting her sorrow. "I loved you and you broke my heart. Permanently...I...I...," she gulped, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "I...needed you...and you were just...gone."

Maddox looked at her, there was a glassiness to his eyes. "The night I left, my dad had been shot. It took him three days to die, there was nothing the doctors could do." He paused and sighed, shaking slightly as he relived the memory. "I learned a lot in those three days- why he was the way he was. It didn't excuse the things he did...but I understood." The pause was longer this time, his composure was failing. "I had to take over the business. If I hadn't my family would have been at risk. I couldn't tell you, I couldn't come back. You would have wanted to be with me and I would not have been able to say no. You deserved better."

Summer listened to his story, hearing his own pain reflecting in his voice. She felt terrible for him. She wanted to go to him, wanted to comfort him, but she wasn't sure if she should. She couldn't seem to stop herself though. She stood up and hurried around the table, pulling out the chair next to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry that you went through that, Maddox," she said, soothingly as she rubbed his shoulder gently.

Maddox looked at her, he never thought he'd be this close to her again. Summer's scent made his heart race, it was like time rewound 10 years and he was with the woman who had always been able to make him feel free, alive, safe. Her touch shot through him like lightning, but mixed with the exhilaration were pangs of guilt. She had shown him why he had vanished all those years ago. Here she was, angry with him, resentful, with every right, but she couldn't resist going to him. 

In one phrase he had stolen her pain and turned it around on her. Taking Summers hand Maddox held it for a moment and then released her. "I don't deserve your sympathy."

Summer's mouth dropped open in shock, but just as quickly, clamped shut. She stood up and stared him down. "You're right Maddox. You don't deserve my sympathy. I deserve your apology." She crossed her arms across her chest, under her breasts. "So, go ahead, Maddox, apologize to me. Apologize for all the years you pretended to love me. Apologize for all of the affection you forced yourself to show me. Apologize for telling me you loved me when you didn't. Apologize for not taking my virginity and walking out sooner. Go ahead. I'm waiting."

Maddox's look hardened. It was so easy to transport himself back to a time when they were something else, when he was something else. While his feelings for her might not have changed in ten years, he had. So much had happened, things he couldn't tell her. He could stand this look, angry, sad, even the hurt. The disgust at who he had to be for the past decade, that was too much for him to bear. Maddox felt every accusation she hurled at him like a punch to the gut. He couldn't blame Summer for thinking that way, but it couldn't be farther from the truth. 

"I can't. It wasn't like that. It never was like that." He looked at her, and fought the urge to cross his arms too, wondering if she beat him to it on purpose. "I am sorry for having to leave. You deserved better."

She threw her arms up in the air. "You have no idea what I deserved! You were what I wanted and you walked out, but yet I...," she hesitated to say what she wanted to, dismissing it altogether. She was not going to go there just yet. "Nevermind. Just know, I'm not all that innocent either. We all do things we regret, Maddox. You can shut me out if you want, but it will only eat at you more." She looked at him with so much sadness, tears still staining her cheeks. "I shouldn't have stayed. Please apologize to your mother for me." She started to gather her things to leave, but stopped and without turning around, spoke again. "I'll get your story reassigned to someone else."

Maddox knew he should let Summer go. Take the hurt and the pain of the loss again, but his mind and his heart were at odds. "Alright," he said, the resignation felt like releasing a breath he had been holding too long. "I will tell you everything. On one condition. You're the one who writes my story at the end, for better or worse. You might come to regret this. Some things are better not knowing...There is a warehouse on Riverfront and 23rd. I will send your editor the address. Meet me there tomorrow morning."

Summer didn't turn around. She couldn't. She only nodded and walked out his door. She traveled three blocks before she finally hailed a cab and got in. She gave the driver her address and laid back against the seat. She didn't know how to get through it, through seeing him another day. There were too many memories and what made it harder was that they were wonderful. She sighed to herself. She didn't know why he chose to shut her out of his life suddenly. Maybe he thought he was protecting her; she didn't know, but he was right about one thing, however- some things are better not knowing.

"Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have let you give up so much," Maddox's mother's voice came from behind him. 

Maddox frowned, but didn't turn to face her. "That is exactly why I didn't," he replied. He heard his mother's voice trembling, she was crying. 

"Your father was a cruel and abusive man, he didn't deserve your loyalty." 

Maddox sighed, on the surface she was absolutely right about that fact, as hypocritical as it might have been for her to say it. "He had his reasons. I hate that I understand that now," Maddox said as he walked back to his study and closed the door. 

His evening was a complete right off. All the work he tried to do was interrupted by thoughts of Summer. The sound of her voice, her scent, the way she crossed her legs causing her skirt to sneak up her thigh. The harder he tried to push her from his mind, the more aggressive the memories became. He relived their last night together over and over, the emotions it evoked- a confusing mishmash of bliss and misery. 

He awoke early the next day to get ready for their second meeting. The short ride to the warehouse seemed to take hours. 

This is it...he sighed to himself. Now, she will learn the truth...