(Previously on What Happens Between Us…
Elian and Maddy stood on opposite sides of the life they built together, each clinging to a different version of the truth. Dee tried to hold a relationship that was already slipping through her fingers. Miley disappeared after crossing a line she swore she wouldn’t cross. And Landon, desperate for connection, found himself orbiting a woman he barely understood.
Everyone thought they had time.
Everyone was wrong.
Today, the divorce becomes real.
And nothing—and no one—walks away untouched.)
Irretrievably Broken (Ep 11)
Elian sits in his car in the courthouse parking lot.
He’s stunned. He can’t believe that it’s over.
One single moment that he can’t stop replaying…
“Do you attest under oath that the relationship is irretrievably broken?”
His stomach turned. He couldn’t look at Maddy while he said it, and he certainly couldn’t look at her while she said it.
Was it? He knew that their relationship was a monumental catastrophe—but was it irretrievably broken?
For two years of separation—drowning in cortisol, terrible choices, and broken dreams—all he could do was march stubbornly to this moment.
So that he could lie in a courtroom?
So that he could pretend that this woman who seemed merciless and cruel wasn’t still the love of his entire world?
He pushed for this, and strangely, it wasn’t for Dee, or for himself, or for freedom…
It was simply because he wanted to know if she really loved him.
If she would continue to put on such a show and fight for him when she no longer had a reason to…
When the eyes of everyone they knew were no longer on her and she didn’t have to perform for everyone’s expectations…
When the mark of being the cheater faded and they all accepted that she had done what she could to make it right…
Now here he was, numb in the parking lot.
And he knew what she would choose.
He typed into his phone.
Elian: It’s done. Love you.
Dee: Are you okay?
He didn’t answer.
Out of instinct, Maddy drove to the lake.
It was too cold and too windy to get out of the car, but she did it anyway.
She stared at the waves as they rose and fell.
The world was upset.
Mourning a love that couldn’t be saved.
She wrapped her arms around herself—not because she was cold, but because she was alone.
Landon had stood her up, Miley had gone cold, and her “rock” was gone.
Fuck you, Elian. Fuck you.
I loved you the best I could.
I did everything I could to get you to turn back.
She tried to make it make sense.
She knew that he didn’t love Dee—
the Elian she knew would never treat someone he loved the way he treated her.
What happens now?
Tears streamed down her face.
He fucked it all up.
From the edge of her consciousness, a siren wailed, then went silent.
A familiar voice called out.
“Ma’am, you’re not gonna jump, are you? ’Cause I’d be obliged to save you, and that water is not as warm as it looks.”
She didn’t smile when she heard Landon’s voice.
She also didn’t question where he had been, why he failed to show up the other night, or why the text messages had stopped.
She simply decided.
She walked over to his car, opened the passenger door, and said, “Take me somewhere and fuck me.”
He laughed hesitantly.
“I don’t get off for another three hours…”
“I’m sure it won’t take you long.”
It was hard to tell if her tone was cold or playful.
“Isn’t that your car running? Do you want to grab the keys first?”
She looked ahead.
“That’s not my car.”
“Maddy, I know your car.”
“Landon, go! Before I change my mind.”
He never was one to argue his way out of a good thing.
Sometimes the best way to deal with emptiness is to fill it.
With something. With anything.
Attention. Desire. Power.
The hard cock of pathetic desperation.
The moment they set foot into his house, clothes started coming off.
They didn’t even close the door.
The sound of frenzied breathing, buttons popping, and wet kisses drifted toward the bedroom—echoed back by the hydraulics and rickety creak of the closing screen door.
She wasn’t aware of cleanliness or the décor—where his pants fell or what he did with his gun.
When a vampire is starving, all it thinks about is one thing—blood.
She wanted to feel him inside her.
She pushes and watches him fall to the bed.
He’s definitely not the man of her dreams, but he is the man of opportunity.
She climbs, straddles, and drops.
Like a needle pressing into the veins of a junkie—the world stops.
Like someone pressed mute.
She takes in the way he feels, exploring his lust with a sixth sense.
He looks like he’s dying—kind of pathetic but cute.
She’s glad she can’t hear whatever sounds he’s making.
He feels—different. Curved, maybe?
She laughs for a moment—internally, externally; it doesn’t really matter.
After Miley met him at the station, she’d taken to calling him “Captain Hook.”
She never figured out why, but it felt kind of appropriate.
If she only knew…
Angela walks up to the front door, hands filled with groceries.
The front door is open.
She pauses. His shift isn’t supposed to end for another three hours.
She calls from just outside the door:
“Landon, can you open this door for me? My hands are full!”
Maddy can tell he won’t last long—she’s riding him like she wants her money’s worth.
He’s looking at her like she’s his pornstar crush.
Angela struggles her way in through the screen door on her own.
“Damnit, Landon, are you kidding me?”
She pauses; she can hear sounds coming from down the hall.
She walks slowly.
Did he come home from work early to fucking watch porn?
Jesus, Landon.
“I’m almost there. Don’t finish yet!”
She’s grinding on top of him.
The bedroom door drifts open behind her.
His eyes open in shock.
“Not yet, Landon, not yet…”
A voice calls out from behind her: “Landon, what the fuck!?”
Maddy turns around and sees her—face white as a sheet.
Stunned.
Groceries scattered around her feet.
No, not now. Not yet.
Just a few seconds longer.
She makes him throw her off.
He chases the woman out of the room.
She lies there.
As if this day couldn’t get any worse.
And somewhere, her car was still running.
Elian had no idea where he was.
He just continued to drive.
Turning when he felt like it and going straight when he felt like it.
Corn, cattle, and rotting barns as far as the eye could see.
His phone vibrated on the seat next to him. He reached over to grab it.
Six missed messages from Dee. Three missed calls.
But it was another notification that caught his eye.
Miley.
His heart stops.
Miley: I know it’s none of my business and I’m probably the last person you want to hear from… but I know today was the day. Just wanted to say I’m thinking about you. Hope you’re okay.
It’s crazy that a considerate text from a kid was what pushed him over the edge, but the dam burst…
And Elian wept.
(To be continued…)