Chapter 17 #2
The door eased open and Kel slipped inside, carrying a bottle of fresh water and a covered plate, moving with a gentle quiet that Madeline had come to love.
She didn’t say anything at first, simply set the items on the dresser and crossed to the bed, sinking down beside her.
Without asking, Kel took Madeline’s hand, lacing their fingers together.
“Hey,” Kel said softly, thumb tracing circles over Madeline’s knuckles. “How are you holding up?”
Madeline tried to smile, but it came out feeling wrong.
“I keep thinking I should feel… I don’t know.
Relieved? Triumphant? The commercial is done.
It’s actually good. People clapped, Kel.
For me. And yet—” She broke off, staring at the wall.
“I was almost killed by a falling tree limb. Because someone wanted to ruin this. Ruin me? Or Ms. Leighton? Or just… because.”
Kel’s grip tightened. “You’re safe now. Antonia and the security team have it under control. Whoever did this, he’s not getting another chance. I promise.”
“I believe you,” Madeline said with a shaky laugh. “I do. But I can’t stop wondering, what if it’s for nothing? What if I risked everything, came all this way, and the commercial goes nowhere? What if I’m still only the punchline? The sitcom mom who peaked too soon?”
Shifting closer, Kel tucked a strand of Madeline’s hair behind her ear.
“You’re not a punchline. You’re brilliant.
You were brave,” she said. “You showed up, you gave everything. Ruthi saw it. The crew saw it. I saw it. You changed today, Madeline. Even if Hollywood doesn’t notice right away, I promise you, I did. ”
Madeline blinked, tears threatening, the tension in her chest loosening a little. “I just… I want it so badly. Not even the fame. Just the chance. The chance to be seen for who I am. To matter again. Is that selfish?”
“No,” Kel said fiercely. “It’s human. And it’s okay to want more. You deserve more.”
Madeline leaned into Kel’s shoulder, letting her body sink into the comfort she found there.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
The weight of the day pressed in, but Kel’s presence made it bearable.
“I was so scared,” Madeline whispered. “Not only because of the tree. Of everything ending before it really started.”
Kel pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re here. You made it. And whatever happens next, I’m with you. We’ll face it together.”
Closing her eyes, Madeline let herself believe it. The ache in her chest eased, replaced by the simple relief of not being alone. She squeezed Kel’s hand, holding on tight. “Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything. For believing in me, even when I couldn’t.”
“Always.”
Lying beside Madeline on the bed, Kel listened to the slow, uneven cadence of her breathing.
Outside, the island had settled into night, with only the distant hush of the surf barely intruding on the cocoon of quiet that had formed around them.
Madeline’s head was tucked against Kel’s shoulder, their fingers still loosely intertwined.
Kel felt the tension slowly leaking from Madeline’s body, the exhaustion of the day finally overtaking adrenaline and fear.
She wanted to hold her like this forever, to shield her from every storm, every doubt, every blow the world tried to land.
But something restless twisted inside Kel.
A pressure, old and insistent, that had been building for months.
She kept looking at Madeline and seeing not only the woman she loved, but the person she’d written for, dreamed for, and believed in long before Madeline had believed in herself.
The words she poured onto the page, night after night in silent rooms, were burning at the back of her throat.
She wanted Madeline to know. Needed her to know, but the fear was there too.
The old, gnawing ache of what if she hated it.
She almost let the moment pass. Almost let the silence and Madeline’s warmth lull her into staying safe. But then Madeline shifted, turning her face up with vulnerable eyes. “What are you thinking about?” she whispered.
Kel hesitated, heart skittering. “I… There’s something I want to show you. Something I should have shown you a long time ago.”
Madeline’s brow furrowed in gentle concern. “What is it?”
With her mouth suddenly dry, Kel swallowed hard. She let go of Madeline’s hand and sat up, legs swinging over the edge of the bed. “It’s… a script,” she managed. “A screenplay. I wrote it. For you.”
For a second, Madeline blinked, surprise flickering across her face. “For me?”
Slowly, Kel nodded, her cheeks burning. She forced herself to keep going, words tumbling out in a rush.
“I started it back when the show ended. I was so angry for you,” she said.
“At how everyone kept seeing you as one thing, this punchline, when you’re so much more.
I wanted to write something that let you be messy and brave and complicated and real.
Something that would show the world what I see when I look at you. ”
Madeline sat up. “You wrote a whole movie? About me?”
“It’s not about you, not exactly,” Kel answered with a nervous laugh. “But you’re in it. Your heart, your humor, your courage. I didn’t tell you because… I was scared. Scared you’d think it was stupid, or that I was overstepping, or—” She broke off, unable to meet Madeline’s eyes.
But Madeline reached for her, fingers warm on Kel’s wrist. “Kel. Hey. Look at me.” When Kel finally did, Madeline’s expression was open, awed, a little incredulous. “You wrote a screenplay. For me. That’s… that’s the most incredible thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
Kel’s heart kicked in her chest. “You want to see it?”
Nodding, Madeline’s answer was immediate and sure. “Of course I do. How could I not?”
Bolstered by the gentleness in Madeline’s voice, Kel stood and crossed to her bag by the dresser.
She fumbled with the zipper, hands shaking as she pulled out the battered leather notebook.
The one she’d guarded like a secret. She hesitated, thumb tracing the spine, then turned to Madeline, who was waiting, knees drawn up.
Crossing the room, Kel’s whole body hummed with nerves and anticipation. She pressed the notebook into Madeline’s hands, her voice trembling but steady. “It’s yours. All of it. You can laugh, you can cry, you can tell me it’s terrible. I just… I need you to know I believe in you. I always have.”
Madeline took the notebook, holding it as if it were something precious. She ran her fingers over the cover, then looked up at Kel, her eyes wet but bright with wonder. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For seeing me.”
Kel felt something inside her crack open. A fierce, wild hope she had been afraid to name. She smiled, nerves and excitement tangling in her chest. “Read it whenever you’re ready. I’ll be here.”