Seventeen

Madison

Tyler and Rose spent another good hour chatting and, by the time they were done, Madison’s bladder was about to explode. She was sweating cold from the effort of not getting up and running to the restrooms—damn Chai Tea Latte. But if it would’ve been super awkward to be seen when they’d arrived, making her presence known after eavesdropping on them for two hours was not an option. Madison preferred to pee in her pants—or skirt, in this case. She even forced herself to wait ten good minutes after she heard them leave before hitting the ladies room.

After her break gone wrong, Madison needed a serious pick-me-up, and what better place to lift her spirits than the Widener Library? With its retro vibes and extensive book collection, it was the one place that put Madison in a great mood simply by stepping through its doors.

Madison took the long road to get to the library, cutting across Harvard Yard to avoid having to cross Harvard Square. Georgiana and Alice were probably gone too by now, but with her awful luck, Madison preferred not to take chances.

Jogging up the steps of the tall, rectangular building, Madison already felt more positive. She stepped inside, pausing a second to admire the twin monumental stairs leading to the upper floor, the huge vaulted windows, the dome, and the majestic chandeliers. Neck bent backward, eyes closed, Madison inhaled the scent of knowledge, of culture, of possibility…

She headed directly for the Loker Reading Room, reflecting as she walked if she should try again to finish her escape book or reread Don Quixote in a traditional way. It could help to have the whole narrative fresh in her mind before she went back to deconstructing the book. She pulled her—intact—copy of the classic novel out of her bag and, nose stuck into the first pages, she strolled on autopilot toward the Loker Room without paying much attention to where she was going. She was so familiar with the building that her feet led her there without much help from her brain.

Still concentrated on the book, Madison lifted her gaze briefly to find an empty chair and sat down, already completely absorbed by the story. No matter if she’d read it a thousand times, Don Quixote would forever be one of her favorite books. Madison could identify so well with the protagonist—even if he had a few loose screws. Alonso was a bookworm and a hopeless romantic who’d read so many romances he was convinced he could bring chivalry back and undo all wrongs. And he’d decided to do so under the pseudonym of Don Quixote de la Mancha. Like Alonso, Madison preferred to believe she lived in a more romanticized version of the world and often hoped her life would turn into a fantastic story. The reality of it was so dull…

If I ever write a novel, Madison thought, I’m definitely going to write under a pseudonym, something epic. She sighed. A girl can dream…

Forty-five minutes later, Madison was close to tears—she was reading the scene where all of Alonso’s books were burned and the poor knight, while desperately looking for his library, was told a magician had stolen all the books and made the room disappear—when an outburst of laughter distracted her from the most tragic passage.

With a pretty convincing stare of death in her eyes, Madison’s neck snapped up to search for the source of the noise. One thing she couldn’t stand was people being noisy at the library. The only two patrons who didn’t have their necks bent over a book were a boy and a girl sitting at the farthest table in the back of the room. They were facing the wall, so Madison couldn’t see their faces, but something about them sent alarm bells to her brain.

The boy said something, making the girl laugh again. Their tone was low enough for the voices not to carry over to where Madison was sitting, but the girl’s laugh was loud, and it was disrupting Madison’s concentration. Eyes squinted in reproach, Madison was about to get up to go ask them to keep it down or leave when the girl turned to the right, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Madison gasped as she recognized her best friend. Her jaw dropped open and her gaze snapped to the guy. His face was still hidden, but his dark hair, broad shoulders, and Harvard basketball team T-shirt were dead giveaways.

As she forced her mouth shut, a million questions and ugly emotions crossed Madison’s mind. What the hell is Haley doing with David Williams? Why do they look so cozy with each other? How can Haley be nice to him after what he did to me? How dare she do this to Scott?

And then Madison’s thoughts turned even uglier. Is she cheating on Scott? With his brother? Are they friends? How can she be friends with David? Does Scott know?

And finally the one thought Madison had never dared voice, not even to herself: She doesn’t deserve him.

I’m cursed, was Madison’s next realization. Why do I have to run into all kinds of awkward people and situations today?

Two opposite impulses took hold of her. One side of her wanted to get up and run outside as fast as she could. The other wanted to stay and watch—absorb the evidence of Haley’s betrayal toward her, and toward Scott. When Madison’s thoughts spiraled from observing from a distance to taking a picture and sending it to Scott anonymously, she realized how poisoned she was by the sheer, bilious envy she felt for Haley and Scott’s relationship. She had to leave before she did something stupid and reckless that she wouldn’t be able to take back.

Wondering what in the hell had possessed her when she’d thought to get out of the house to relax, Madison slammed her copy of Don Quixote shut and stormed out of the library.

***

“You’re not going to believe the day I had,” Madison said to Alice, sagging on the couch next to her in their apartment.

“That bad, huh? What happened? I thought I’d spared you the worst…”

“Maybe you did, but the second and third worst definitely happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Guess who I ran into?”

“Who?”

“Who else would want to steer clear of the place where you were meeting Georgiana?”

Alice stared at her blankly.

“Tyler and Rose, catching up,” Madison announced.

Alice’s eyes widened in horror. “No!”

“Uh-huh. They had the same idea and chose a café on the opposite side of campus. Pity I was there already.”

“Did they see you?”

“No, I managed to stay hidden the entire time and almost peed my pants for the effort.”

Alice chuckled. “Oh, gosh. Please tell me about it…”

Madison was just finishing relating the first horrible half of the afternoon when Haley glided inside the apartment as if walking on a cloud.

“Hi, girls,” she greeted them. “I’ll be out in a sec, save some of the juicy gossip for me.” And then Haley disappeared into her room.

Madison narrowed her eyes at the door.

“She’s definitely more cheerful these days,” Alice said. “I mean, a month ago, when Scott left, she didn’t want to get out of bed, and now she’s dancing on air.”

Now that Madison thought about it, Haley hadn’t been heartbroken over Scott leaving for a while. Not that Haley had ever complained openly, but her sadness had been evident to those who loved her. Until Madison had stopped noticing Haley being inconsolable. Because her friend had not been that sad anymore.

“Hey.” Alice snapped her fingers to attract Madison’s attention. “What’s with the pouty face?”

Madison stopped staring daggers at Haley’s door and turned toward Alice. “I might know why she’s so cheerful.”

“And?”

“I saw her at the library getting all cozy with David.”

“Williams?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Cozy how?”

“They were making a mess of the place with their laughing fits.”

“Madison, what are you implying?”

“Nothing, just telling you what I saw. Haley doesn’t seem heartbroken over Scott leaving anymore and she’s shacking up with his brother while he’s gone.”

Alice scowled at her. “Haley would never cheat on Scott.”

“So what was she doing with David?”

“Maybe they’re friends.” Alice shrugged.

“Since when? Since she’s found out he was the kiss of her life?”

“You’re jumping to conclusions and it’s not fair.”

“I’m not jumping to anything; I’m only saying that something is off here. Has she told you she was seeing David in any capacity: friend or lover?”

“No, but—”

“Me neither,” Madison interrupted. “So why hide it if she’s doing nothing wrong?”

“I don’t know, maybe the topic simply didn’t come up?”

“Seriously, Alice?”

“What do you want me to s—”

“Shh,” Madison whispered. “She’s coming out. Humor me; let’s see if she lies about it.”

Alice threw her a reproachful stare that said: We shouldn’t pull this bullshit on each other. But she kept silent all the same.

“So,” Haley said, settling herself on the armchair opposite to them. “What are you girls up to?”

“I was just telling Alice what an awful day I had.” Madison tried to keep her tone calm, even if all she wanted to do was scream, “You have the best boyfriend in the world; how can you be so disloyal to him? You don’t deserve Scott’s love!”

“Really?” Haley asked. “Why? What happened?”

Madison gave her the short version of her unfortunate encounter with Tyler and Rose, and then asked, “What about you? What did you do today?”

“Oh, nothing special, I was at the library all day, studying.”

No mention of David.

Madison flashed an I-told-you-so stare at Alice, who said, “I thought you didn’t like the library. Were you working on a group project?”

“No, I was alone,” Haley lied through her teeth, and Madison bristled on the couch. “I just needed to get out of the house, and I’m digging the library lately.”

The library, or David Williams?

Alice stared at Madison, at a loss for words, Haley had straight out lied, and now even Alice couldn’t deny something was up.