Peyton stared at Madison, waiting for a punch line. Then she laughed.
“Is there something you want to say?” Rebecca asked, her expression calm.
“Nope,” Peyton managed to say. “Since everything she says is bullshit.”
“No, it’s not,” Madison said. “I’m trying to apologize.”
“If that’s the best you’ve got, then you should just give up now.”
“Is that really fair?” Madison’s mom—Leena—said. “I know you girls have been through a lot, but so has Madison.”
“This is just a lot to process all at once,” Courtney jumped in. “I don’t think any of us know what to do.”
“What do you mean?” Adrian asked.
“Savannah, Peyton and I—we’re sisters,” she explained. “We’ve gone through everything together, and we know everything about each other. I’m not sure that anyone could have the same bond with us that we do with each other.”
“I know that.” Madison scuffed at the floor with her feet, her hands clenched on her lap. “And I don’t expect to suddenly have a magical sisterly bond with you. But I was hoping we could get to know each other. Try being friends.”
“And how do you think we should do that?” Peyton asked. “Get a table at Myst and party all night? That might be okay for a few minutes...until you started throwing yourself at whatever guy we each were interested in, and taking pictures of us that we don’t want taken and sending them to your friends, so that they can post them online and ruin our lives.”
Madison’s lip curled—there was the bitch hiding behind her trying-to-be-friendly exterior. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Seriously?” Peyton leaned forward, narrowing her eyes. “You want to go there?”
“Girls!” Madison’s mom clapped her hands, silencing them. “What’s going on here? This sounds like more than a ‘few misunderstandings.’”
“It’s nothing.” Madison shot Peyton a look, clearly telling her to shut up.
“Nothing?” Peyton snorted. She didn’t care if their parents were there or not—she was not letting Madison bully them. “Is that what we’re calling it when you made Savannah cry in front of all your friends the first week we were here?”
“Is this true?” Rebecca asked Savannah, her eyes full of concern. Savannah glanced down at her hands. “Why didn’t you say anything to us?”
“Of course it’s true,” Peyton said. “I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t—”
“I can speak for myself,” Savannah interrupted, surprising Peyton enough to make her stop talking midsentence. She took a deep breath, looking each one of them in the eyes. “Yes, something happened this summer, and yes, it upset me. But it happened forever ago. It’s done with now. So let’s drop it, okay?”
“I’m still sorry about it,” Madison said.
Peyton just sighed and rolled her eyes.
“For the past few months, Madison’s been under so much stress that she stopped going out with her friends,” Madison’s mom said. “Then after what happened to Oliver...this has been an extremely difficult time for her. I was hoping—we were all hoping—that the four of you could have a fresh start.”
“And we have just the idea for how that can happen,” Adrian continued. “Spring break is next week, and Rebecca and I want to take you to the house in Aspen.”
“All of us?” Peyton asked. “Meaning Madison’s parents, too?”
“No.” Rebecca smiled. “Although we have discussed it with them, and we all agree that this will be a great opportunity for the four of you girls to get to know each other. Brett will be coming, too, and the house is big enough that you can bring friends.”
“Aspen...” Savannah repeated. “Isn’t that a ski town?”
“Aspen’s more than just any old ski town.” Madison sat straighter and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “It’s the best place to ski in the world. Tons of movie stars and celebrities vacation there.”
“Sounds exciting,” Peyton said, completely void of emotion. “Except that I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are,” Adrian said. “This trip isn’t an option. You can stay in the house the entire time, but you’re coming to Aspen.”
“Whatever.” Peyton sat back and crossed her arms. What were they going to do—have her bodyguard force her onto the plane?
“What about the two of you?” Adrian asked, looking at Savannah and Courtney. “What do you think about this plan?”
“You said that celebrities go there?” Savannah asked.
“I’m sure you’ll come across one or two,” he said with a knowing smile.
“It sounds fun.” She bounced her legs, as if she suddenly couldn’t wait for this trip that they’d learned about all of five minutes ago. Peyton rolled her eyes, because it was so typically Savannah. One mention of celebrities, and everything else was forgotten.
“We’re forgetting one big thing,” Courtney said, and every head in the room turned to look at her. “We don’t know how to ski.”
“That’s not a problem at all,” Adrian said. “You’ll have a private ski instructor, and you’ll learn fast. The point is for us to spend time together.”
“Great,” Peyton said in a tone that made it obvious that she thought it was anything but. She mainly just said it to shut them up, because clearly nothing important was going to be said with the adults in the room. “But do you all think that my sisters and I can talk to Madison? Alone?”
“Is that all right with you?” Madison’s mom asked her.
“Yeah,” Madison said. “It’s fine.”
“Well, then,” Rebecca said brightly. “We’ll do that. I’m sure you have a lot to discuss. Remember that we’re down the hall if you need anything, okay?”
The adults left within minutes, leaving the four of them in the condo.
“Even though you don’t believe me, I really am sorry.” Madison crossed her legs, balancing her hands on her knees. “I’ve changed a lot since last summer. I know I wasn’t the nicest when you first moved here—”
“Understatement of the century,” Peyton said. “You were a total bitch.”
“I was,” she said. “Then I found out that my entire life was a lie. These last few months have been hell. I wish I could take back the things I did this summer, but I can’t, and I don’t know what to do to make you all realize that I want to make things right between us.”
“I just don’t get it,” Savannah said. “This summer, you knew I was interested in Damien. Then you made out with him in front of everyone—and you were just using him to embarrass me. I don’t understand why you hated me so much when you didn’t even know me.”
Madison took a deep breath, pressing her hands together. “I was jealous, okay?” she finally said. “Damien had always had a thing for me, and I thought it meant that he would always be there for me. Then when I saw him with you, I worried that I’d made a mistake. I was afraid I would lose him. I wondered if I did have feelings for him. So I kissed him. And all it did was made him hate me.”
“At least we know that Damien has some sense,” Peyton muttered.
Madison flinched, her eyes flashing with hurt. “I was wrong,” she said. “I know that. I can’t take it back, but Savannah—I really think you still have a chance with him.”
Savannah sat up straighter, her eyes bright. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
“Don’t fall for it,” Peyton warned Savannah. She turned back to Madison, and asked, “Why should we trust anything you say?”
“Because I want to be your sister,” she said. “And remember—you’re not exactly a perfect angel, either. You tried to blackmail Oliver into sleeping with me. Shouldn’t that be enough to consider us even?”
“You certainly enjoyed gloating about it at Savannah’s party,” she said. “Which, by the way, was the reason Oliver took off and got in that accident. I hope you’re proud of yourself for that.”
“Oliver got in that accident because he drove when he was drunk.” Peyton leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at Madison. “Not because of what I said at the party.”
“Well, it was a crappy time to suddenly decide to tell me the truth.”
“He was flirting with you so much that I thought he was still trying to go through with the bet,” Peyton said. “I was doing you a favor.”
“How do you not feel guilty about what happened to him?” Tears glinted in Madison’s eyes, and her voice wavered. “If you hadn’t called him out that night, he wouldn’t have left the party, and the accident never would have happened.”
“Oliver made his own decision,” Peyton repeated, clenching her hands into fists. “No one forced him to drive that night.”
“But I should have done more to stop him,” Madison said. “I would have been able to stop him, if I hadn’t been so upset.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that,” Savannah said. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“She’s right,” Courtney said. “And I’ve been wanting to ask—how’s he doing? I heard he’s recovering, but he hasn’t been in school...”
“I don’t know,” Madison said. “He hasn’t seen anyone besides his family.”
“Isn’t he one of your ‘best friends’?” Peyton asked. “I thought you would have seen him by now.”
“Well, I haven’t,” she snapped. “I’ve tried, but he hasn’t wanted to see me, or any of his friends. It sucks, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine with me.” Peyton chipped at her nail polish and leaned back in the couch. Neither of them looked at each other.
Courtney broke the silence. “I still can’t understand how you knew we were your sisters for months and you didn’t say anything,” she said. “How could you see us every day—you even talked to us a few times—and never say anything?”
“I hated every second of it,” Madison said. “I was so stressed that I stopped going out, and I gained ten pounds in less than a month. I know you still probably don’t like me very much...but I’m glad you finally know the truth.”
As much as Peyton hated it, she was glad to know the truth, too.
But that didn’t mean she would ever truly feel like Madison was her sister.
chapter 12:
On Sunday evening, Madison waited with Damien in the lobby of the Villas at the Gates, pacing around the marble floor. The man working the front desk kept his eyes on her—maybe he thought it strange that she wasn’t sitting down on the red velvet sofas that looked fit for a palace—but she had too much energy to sit.
“Are you sure you’re okay doing this now?” Damien asked again, his dark eyes flashing with concern.
Before they’d come to the Gates, she’d told him everything that had happened over the past few months: from her blood-type test not giving the results she expected, to her confrontation with her parents, to the “meeting” with Adrian, Rebecca, her parents and the Diamond girls that morning. It was going to come out eventually, and now that their friendship was finally on the mend, she wanted him to hear it from her before anyone else. He was taking it in stride.
Or maybe it was such a convoluted story that he was having trouble taking it in at all.
“It’s too late to turn back now,” she said. “Ellen Prescott’s already on her way out here to talk to us.”
Damien checked his watch. “What’s taking her so long?”
“Hopefully she’s talking to Oliver,” Madison said. “Trying to convince him to see us.”
Fifteen minutes later, Ellen walked into the lobby. As usual, she looked completely put together—a knee-length pencil skirt, purple blouse and her short hair sprayed into place.
“Good evening,” she said as she approached them.
Madison stood straighter and repeated the greeting. Damien also took on better posture. Being in Ellen Prescott’s presence tended to do that to people.
“I apologize for having you wait out here all this time,” she said. “I just finished talking with Oliver. It took quite a bit of convincing, but he’s ready to see you. You can come inside.”
“Really?” Madison’s eyes widened.
“Yes, really,” Ellen said. “That is what you wanted, correct?”
“Of course,” she said quickly. “It’s just that after all this time, we weren’t expecting it to be so easy.”
“Oh, it was anything but easy.” Ellen shook her head and buzzed them into the hall that led to the Villas. “I’ve been trying to convince Oliver to see his friends for weeks. You’re the first two who’ve stopped by unannounced. People dropped by when he was still at the hospital, but he only wanted to see family while there, and once he came back home, everyone gave up. He’s barely left his room. I hope seeing his friends will get him out of this funk.”
Damien walked right next to Madison, and whispered, “If he’s barely left his room, what’s he been doing all day?”
“Logan and I hired a tutor to make sure Oliver stays on top of his classes,” Ellen said casually over her shoulder. “He also works with him on his SAT prep. This is the most focused he’s ever been on his studies.”
“So he’s been studying all the time?” Damien didn’t sound convinced.
“He’s also been doing physical therapy.” Ellen stopped in front of the grand two-door entrance to the Prescotts’ villa, straightened her skirt, and eyed both of them up and down. “He’s waiting in his room. You know where it is.”
“Wait.” Damien stopped her before she opened the door. “There’s nothing we need to be warned about, right? He didn’t get some severe disfiguration in the accident or anything?”
Madison pressed her lips together at how insensitive that sounded—but she was glad he’d asked. Better to be prepared for something like that.
“His knee took the worst of it,” Ellen said softly, as if Oliver could be listening from inside the villa. “He had surgery to get it reconstructed, and he’s off his crutches, but it’ll be about five months until he can resume normal activity. He has a few scars from the glass shattering, but other than that, he’s physically okay.”
“Thanks again for letting us see him, Mrs. Prescott,” Madison said. “We—and all his other friends at school—have been really worried.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “He needs to see his friends. But try to act normal, all right? He hates when people treat him differently because of what happened.”
With that, she opened the door and let them inside.
* * *
Oliver was lying in his king-size bed, watching snowboarding on ESPN. If it hadn’t been for the crutches leaning against the wall near the window, the bottles of prescription medications on his nightstand and the well-worn SAT book on the other side of the bed, Madison would have thought this was no different from the many times in the past that she’d stopped by to hang out.
He picked up the remote and muted the volume. “Hey,” he said, his gaze meeting Madison’s. She stopped in place, surprised by how different he looked. Normally his deep brown eyes were full of life and enjoyment. Now, they looked dull and...lifeless. It was like a stranger had taken over his body.
“Hey, man.” Damien strolled over to Oliver’s desk and made himself comfortable in the chair. “How’s it going?”
Oliver stayed focused on Madison, as if Damien hadn’t spoken. “You don’t have to stand there in the doorway looking at me like that,” he said. “Like you think I’m
about to break.”
“Sorry.” Madison shook herself out of it. “It’s just been such a long time since I’ve seen you. I missed you.”
“Really?” He tilted his head. “Because after Savannah’s party, I thought you hated me.”
Damien looked back and forth between the two of them and stood up. “I’m going to grab some drinks from the kitchen,” he said. “Do you guys want anything?”
“Sprite for me,” Oliver said.
“I’ll have a Diet Coke.” Madison shot Damien a grateful look, glad he was giving her and Oliver time alone.
She kicked off her boots and sat on Oliver’s bed, leaving a friendly amount of space between them. She’d sat with him like this so many times before. So why could she think only about when they’d been on this bed together over Thanksgiving break—the way his lips felt on hers, her body pressed against his, and how they couldn’t get enough of each other?
But he’d been with her only because of that bet with Peyton. Madison had been an idiot to fall for it. And before all that, they were best friends. She couldn’t desert him now, when he needed her...even if seeing him made her stomach flutter with unwanted butterflies.
“I could never hate you,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Yes, I was angry about what Peyton told me at Savannah’s party. But after what happened that night...” Her eyes filled with tears, and she swallowed to compose herself. Ellen had asked her not to mention the accident, and to act like everything was normal. But everything wasn’t normal. And Madison couldn’t pretend otherwise. “I had no idea if you were going to make it or not. Do you have any idea how terrifying that was? I couldn’t focus on anything but worrying about you. And you didn’t even want to talk to me.”
“I don’t need anyone to worry about me,” he said. “I’m fine.”
She studied him, noticing the tiny scars near his temple. They were new—they must have been from glass during the crash. “I care about you.” She reached for him, but stopped herself. “Of course I worried about you. I had no idea what was going on with you, besides Brianna telling me that you would be okay. But it wasn’t the same as seeing you.”
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