Mady

“And there’s supposed to be something going on here?” Larissa sounded skeptical as she glanced back and forth between the glowing orange sign that read Midnights and the wooden one with a raven on it, swinging peacefully back and forth.

“There’s always something going on here,” I laughed, pulling the girl through the door, into the inviting campus bar, where several students were already sitting at the wooden tables, playing some sort of drinking games, eating something, and talking excitedly.

“Are we even allowed to be here?” it came from Bayla, who looked around nervously. “I just turned eighteen.”

I whirled around. “Relax. British Columbia is different from California. Nobody gets kicked out here.” I led the two girls through the raised walkway that surrounded the bar. “Besides, you’re a student now, and that means a new phase of your life is starting, and that means you’re going to have to go out and party hard.”

“I like her,” Larissa laughed as Bayla continued to look around at Midnights.

Just then, Love Is a Bitch by Two Feet stopped playing, and the stereo started playing Eat Your Young by Hozier.

“Mady, honey!”

Frustration spread through me and – suppressing a sigh – I turned to Jenny Bexley.

The tall reporter girl was smiling, and the iPad and accompanying pen in her hand indicated nothing good.

“Would you like to make a statement about the DeLoughreys’ arrival?”

“I don’t even know them,” I replied, confused.

“But your boyfriend...”

“Ex-boyfriend,” I corrected her, and she pressed her fake lips together in frustration before rolling her eyes.

“Oh, come on, you guys were such a cute couple. And I’m sure he told you what was going on between his family and the DeLoughreys” Determined, she opened the note app on her iPad and passed her glittering handbag to her younger sister, who was hiding next to her. “Penny,” Her sister took the purse. “Hold.”

I sighed, absolutely not ready to make a statement to Jenny.

About what, anyway?

“Why don’t you just ask him yourself?”

Jenny looked up in surprise but then began to chuckle oddly.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mady” She waved her hand away. “Nash has never allowed himself to be interviewed before.”

For good reason.

I sighed and looked at her apologetically. She’d find someone to interview eventually.

“Ugh,” she snorted, slumping her shoulders. “Alright,” She snatched the purse from Penny’s arms. “Let me know if your mind changes.” Then she smiled at Larissa and Bayla and turned on her heel. “Come on, Penny. Someone has to know something.”

I had tried to like Jenny more than once, but it just didn’t work. A few times, I had been to Lola’s Diner with her, desperate to connect. Then, one day, I had read rumors about Nash and me breaking up that were worse than the sad reality.

Jenny was a gossip and if you talked to her, you could be sure that her newspaper was priority number one of the conversations, not you. And Penny let Jenny take advantage of her to play the gossip messenger quite often.

I turned to Larissa and Bayla. The first had her arms crossed and her brows raised, while the second looked thoughtfully after the Bexley daughters.

“Is she always so pushy?” Larissa asked.

“That girl doesn’t miss a beat,” I laughed dryly, looking around for available seats. “The campus drama here must be a feast for her.”

Everything around us was bustling. I myself still couldn’t believe that I was already old enough to be a student. Shortly after the accident, I had to repeat a year in high school, as my grades had dropped drastically.

“Vivienna at 9 o’clock,” Larissa suddenly whispered in my ear, and I looked at the side, where my former best friend was lounging on the edge of the pool table. Next to her were her friends, flirting with some older students from the basketball team.

“Please let us sit as far away from them as possible,” Bayla sighed, linking arms with Larissa.

“Don’t worry.”

I pointed to a side niche on the other side of the room, which was thankfully still empty.

We crossed the rustic bar, lit with vintage lamps, and sat down.

“And you don’t live on campus?” Larissa leaned forward.

I shook my head. “No, too expensive. I live at home.” Neither of them said anything, and Bayla’s pitying look hit me uncomfortably hard. “Would you guys like to come visit me sometime soon? You’re welcome to sleep at my place, too.”

It had been years since anyone had slept over. Back then, it had been Julie and Grace, or Vivienna. But then Nash had come into my life – the guy they’d all warned me about. They had stopped being my friends, and Mia and I had only known each other for two years.

“Yes, please free us from this bitch drama for one night,” Larissa begged, and Bayla gave her a punishing look.

“Come on, we were planning on giving the Blair cousins a chance.”

“Grace and Julie are actually okay,” I sighed and started playing with my car keys.

Larissa was about to say something when the waiter interrupted us.

“Since when do you have friends?”

Surprised, I looked up at Ezra and then rolled my eyes.

“Sorry, who are you and...”

“It’s all right, this is Ezra, my brother,” I reassured Larissa. She let herself fall backward and eyed him in silence.

Ezra just smiled, as he always did at work. But I could see that he had been working all day. I quickly looked around for Jenny, who was fortunately distracted by a group of girls. But something told me that Ezra was the reason she had come here in the first place.

“What do the pretty ladies want?”

Now, Larissa grinned confidently at Ezra. “A beer, please.”

Ezra just nodded with a smile and looked at Bayla.

“Fries will do.”