Chapter 25
Saturday afternoon, I found myself going on Babble on my laptop instead of my phone.
The web design was pretty sophisticated for someone in high school, thankfully, so I was able to filter the posts by a time frame.
With my computer open on my bed, I scrolled back to last fall, setting the months between August and October, with a keyword of football.
Thirty posts loaded, and I slowly went through the titles, looking for one in particular.
Brentwood vs. Jefferson Football Game.
Once again, the Cats crushed the Dogs—did anyone really think it would go any other way?
But for now, let's raise a digital toast to our boys for shutting it down and showing out. See you in the comments—unless you’re a sore loser.
I frowned. Typical Babble fashion, but no mention of Noah breaking his leg at all. I read it once more before scrolling to the comments.
BundlesOfBobcats: Connor Bray was on fire—he might as well have walked on the field with a crown
Hunt4Bulldogs: Bobcats > Bulldogs forever. This rivalry is starting to feel like a tradition of losing… for them
GirlWithBangs: At least the Bulldogs tried participation trophies all around!
MrTwister123: Anyone else hear the Bulldog QB’s leg snap? GROSS
BundlesOfBobcats: Y’all deserve a parade down Main Street after that game tbh
I blinked at the one, clicking on it to expand the thread. Only two people responded to their comment.
OraanjeJooce: I didn’t hear anything. He was probably faking it for attention
MrTwister123: nah, it definitely broke. they took him out on the ambulance.
And that was it. I scrolled through the forty-five other comments, but they were just congratulations or Connor quarterback speculations—nothing more about the ruined career of a Jefferson Bulldog.
Just before I closed the webpage, my eyes caught the article posted after that one—less than twelve hours later.
JANNOR IS OVER?!
That’s right, girls and Bobcats. Jannor is officially O.V.E.R. How do I know? I received a particularly trustworthy tip this morning. I’m not going to say it’s from our Bobcat Babe herself, but
Who else is hoping they reconcile their differences asap?
Jade and Connor had broken up and gotten back together too many times to remember clearly, but this one was an absolute blank spot on my memory.
I scrolled through the comments, finding a lot of heartbroken emojis, but one stood out to me. Not the comment itself, but the username. It was mine.
MOBobcatBabe02:
I’d made hundreds of comments on Babble over the course of high school, so it wasn’t surprising that I didn’t remember some, but this one—why had I commented a giggling emoji? On a post announcing Jannor’s breakup, why would I have commented a laughing emoji? It seemed totally out of place.
I scrolled back up, finding a post from October 8th.
The Lovebirds Couldn’t Stay Away – Jannor spotted holding hands in the halls!
A short breakup. What would’ve happened?
Or was this one of those times they just “broke up” for the publicity?
To overshadow what happened at the game?
There was a knock at my door, and since it was half open already, Mom poked her head in. She was wearing her casual clothes, with her hair out of its normal bun, definitely more Mom than Principal. “Can we have a chat?”
“Sure.” I closed my laptop lid and sat up. “Our day is tomorrow.”
“I know.” She pushed the door open all the way and ventured in further, coming to the edge of my bed. “I just want to talk to you.”
I patted my duvet.
Mom sat down on the edge of my bed, but didn’t face me. Something was clearly bothering her, and her being on edge made me nervous, but I forced myself to remain still. “You know I try to give you a lot of freedom,” she began. “As much as I can while still being an attentive parent.”
“Uh-huh.”
“When your dad moved, that was something I wanted to make sure I did right by you. That I wasn’t overbearing, but I was still the parent you needed me to be.”
“I’d say you’re doing a pretty good job.” Was that what she needed? A bit more reassurance? I reached for her shoulder. “Hey, a lot of parents wouldn’t have implemented a no-dating rule throughout high school, so you’ve definitely got that parenting thing down.”
Mom turned to look at me then, and while I’d meant to be supportive, her gaze was sharp on me. Sharp enough that I nearly snatched my hand back. “Where did you go last night after the game?”
“The jocks party at Ashton’s.”
Mom gave a slow, measured blink, as if giving me a chance to change my answer. “Jade called me last night,” she said. “Asked if you got home safe.”
My eyebrows immediately slammed together. “Jade called you?”
“She did. And before you come up with a lie, in case you forgot, we have that tracker app on our phones. I could see where you were.” Mom turned to face me more fully. “So now, you’re going to tell me exactly where that was, and why you lied about going—”
“What did you tell Jade?” My world titled sharply, stomach rolling with it. No, no, no. “Did you tell her I wasn’t home? Did you tell her that you didn’t want me to come back? Did you say—”
“I told her that you did get home safe, but you weren’t feeling well, so you turned in early.” Mom raised an eyebrow at me. “I was a teenage girl once, too. It was obvious she was trying to catch you in a lie. Now you’re going to explain that lie to me, Madison Hannah Oliphant.”
Yikes. The middle name. If I weren’t so panicked at the idea of Jade finding out I’d lied, maybe Mom’s threatening tone would’ve scared me more.
Maybe the situation itself might’ve scared me more.
Instead, though, all I could think about was the fact that Jade had called Mom.
She hadn’t called me, hadn’t texted. She doubted me enough that she actually called to fact check with Mom.
“I went to another bonfire,” I admitted finally. “After Ashton’s party.”
“Who with?”
“A boy,” I said, and then shook my head at the answer that didn’t do Logan justice. “My… boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend.” Mom repeated it slowly, like it was in a different language. Then came the sigh. “I thought we could trust each other, Madison. Why have you kept it from me?”
For several reasons, and one of them being how awkward I felt sitting across from her talking about my love life. But the main one… “He goes to Jefferson.”
At that, Mom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise—maybe even disappointment. And that was when it all started to come out.
The relief of being able to finally let everything out had my story coming in slow, clumsy pieces.
I spoke things out of order—talking about the arcade date before even mentioning the Most Likely To list. I told her about how we met at Brentwood’s open house, how it’d actually been a dare, but it felt more like fate.
I told her how it felt different with Logan.
Real. And how scary that was, because being with someone from Jefferson wasn’t just frowned upon—it was practically social suicide.
Mom kept quiet through it all, listening, with not much change in her expression. That was her principal side coming out, I knew—calmly listening, processing, figuring out the best way to respond.
By the end, I could feel the weight of every secret I’d kept pressing against my ribs. And yet, saying it out loud made it feel just a little lighter. Like maybe I didn’t have to carry it alone anymore. And really, it was the first time I was saying it all aloud. It came out of me, undammed.
“I just didn’t want anything accidentally slipping out,” I told her. “Or else I would’ve told you. But this had to stay… between him and me.”
Mom thought about that. “How do you feel when you’re with him?”
“I feel good.” My voice wobbled, and I nodded, like I was realizing it as I told her.
“I feel… so good. When you meet him, you’ll understand.
It’s like—I don’t even know how to explain it.
Like something in me calms down when he’s around—he’d say it’s the opposite.
He’d say I ramble around him, which is funny, because I don’t really think I’m a rambler. ”
Around Jade, there wasn’t room to ramble. Not many people would’ve listened, anyway. After a while, Jade would rub her temples and say I was talking too much. But with Logan, he’d lay his chin in his upturned palm and listen for hours, eyes solely on me.
I let out a breath, searching for the right words. “He’s goofy. He likes weird things—like arcade games and theater and that kind of stuff. But when I’m with him, I laugh without trying. Like, really laugh. I don’t think about how loud it is, or how ugly it might sound. I just get to be me.”
I thought about the time Logan pulled me out into the rain, ruining my hair and makeup. His thumbs had been gentle when they’d swiped underneath my eyes. Don’t be afraid of soaked hair or smudged makeup. You’re beautiful either way.
“He’s taught me a lot about myself, I think. About the kind of person I want to be. And I… like how I feel when I’m with him.” I glanced up at Mom, feeling silly, but the words wouldn’t stop. “A lot.”
Mom’s eyes looked like they were shining under my bedroom lights, and even though she wasn’t smiling with her mouth, it kind of looked like she was.
I wondered if this was what she’d imagined would happen when she first walked in.
Maybe she’d thought it would be something worse—not that her daughter was secretly falling in love.
Mom reached out and nudged my knee, gentle and affectionate, and when she spoke, her voice sounded thick. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You’ll like him.”
Mom traced my face again, as if seeing something I couldn’t. “I like him already.”