Chapter 4
Madeleine
I kind of hated a little bit when I only got to talk to Tristan on the road. He always focused more on the road than he did on me, which was sensible enough, I suppose, but I wished we’d have an opportunity to talk where he focused on me.
“Yeah, just had work on my plate,” he said. “Cam flubbed the analysis, so it’s on me again to take care of it.”
“Ugh. Sorry it keeps falling back on you.”
“Yeah. Well, whatever. Maybe I’m getting a raise at some point based on it all. Listen, I’m sorry to do this, but I’ve got to talk to Jason before I get to the office, can we do this another time?”
What, seriously? I’d just gotten down to the lobby. I was never getting to tell this guy about Sapphire. “Busy bee,” I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice as I turned back to the elevators and hit the up button, not two seconds after I’d stepped out of the elevator.
“Someone in this office has got to pull his weight.”
“All right, well, I’ll let you go then. But I’m telling you I have one hell of a story once you’re free.”
“Right. Well, see you later.”
“Yeah, see you. Love you, bye.”
“Bye,” he said, hanging up the call, and I slumped back against the wall. Britt had slipped upstairs ahead of me, judging by the text she sent, and I was sure she and Sapphire were getting on well. Britt could make friends with anyone. I kind of admired it—most of our friends were ones that she’d adopted after knowing them for two minutes, a million interests leading her to meet people at art shows or catching microscopic indie bands at local spots and making friends with them, while I couldn’t even hold a conversation with my own boyfriend.
And if I was going to keep seeing Sapphire in various states of undress and my boyfriend not knowing about it, it was going to start feeling like infidelity. I really needed to get the image out of my head… somehow I didn’t feel the keenest possible desire to forget the sight.
Christ, though, she had a figure. A figure I wasn’t going to think about.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket and headed into the elevator, making it up to the hall and padding down to the door, pushed into the room, and Sapphire looked up from where she sat on the ottoman at the base of the bed, eyebrows raised. “That was fast,” she said.
“He’s pretty busy right now,” I said. “Just checking in to let me know he’s okay.”
Britt rolled her eyes, holding up a brown paper bag and a coffee my way. “Busy man, huh?”
I knew the implication, but I wasn’t biting. “Finance is a tight industry. Thanks, Britt. I’ll Venmo you.”
“Don’t bother. I’m riding the cash from the Airbnb guy, so I’m still a sugar mommy for the next couple weeks.”
“All right, well, thank you. I’ll vacuum the floors tonight or something to make it even.” I took the bag and pulled the chair out from the desk to make three, sitting with the two of them and digging into the bagel egg sandwich. “How many inappropriately personal questions has Britt asked now?”
Sapphire stopped. “Oh. I… if I’m being honest, I don’t know what’s inappropriately personal or not.”
Britt finished knocking back a big sip of coffee and set it down on her knee. “I just asked her bra size.”
I knew a little too well what that was. I focused on my sandwich as Sapphire scrunched up her face. “You didn’t ask me that… it’s a thirty-two C though.”
Britt grinned. “Damn. You actually do just answer whatever.”
Sapphire cocked her head. “Was I not supposed to…?”
I closed my eyes. “Britt. Don’t make me regret bringing you.”
Sapphire looked between us, her brow furrowed. “I figured if we’re going clothes shopping…”
“Yeah, that’s what it is,” Britt said too quickly. I cleared my throat.
“They have fitting rooms. And Sapphire can pick out her own size. You have any styles you like, Sapphire? We’ll hit up clothes first so we don’t have to worry about anyone you know spotting you in this outfit while you’re out, and I’ll do your hair up again.”
Again was a mistake—Britt looked a little too interested—but Sapphire didn’t notice. She gave me a shy smile. “Um… cute stuff?”
“Cute stuff being?”
“I don’t know a lot. You’re much more fashionable than I am.”
“We’ll head up the road to Primark. Harrison Station is about two steps away from here. Out of curiosity… have you ever taken the metro before?”
Sapphire blushed, a hand over her face. “Um… the chauffeur just took me anywhere I needed to go.”
“Damn,” Britt laughed. “Chauffeur, butler. What else? Live-in chef?”
Sapphire grimaced. She’d probably had a live-in chef, and probably some other staff that I didn’t need Britt to embarrass her by talking about. I cut in. “Then we get to introduce you to the metro. It’s simple enough once you know how it works and you have a card.”
Sapphire gave me such a grateful, relieved smile, I thought she might cry. “You’re so good to me… I really don’t know what to say. I-I’m going to learn how to drive and everything—”
“Ugh, don’t bother,” Britt said. “Unless you go live outside the center, just forget it. I ditched my car when I moved downtown with Mads. Metro is where it’s at.”
“Oh.” Sapphire shifted, looking around uncertainly. “Should I live outside the center?”
“That’s a question to ask yourself once we’re into the apartment application process,” I said, cutting in before Britt could say something. Britt gave me a look.
“How’s she even going to do this?” she said. “She’s going to need a proper address to apply for jobs, and she’s going to need a job to apply for an apartment…”
I pursed my lips. “That’s a good question. Um… guess you can put down our apartment as your address? It’s just a formality anyway.”
Sapphire rubbed the back of her neck, shifting awkwardly. “It really means a lot that you’d do that… probably should have found a job first, huh?”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” Britt said, popping the last of her sandwich in her mouth. “What matters is that Madeleine found you, and she’s going to take really good care of you.”
I was going to strangle her. Sapphire just smiled softly at me, though, and she really did have the sweetest smile in the world—the kind of disarming smile where suddenly nothing was really a problem anymore. “She really has been,” she said, and now I was starting to feel a little embarrassed… I looked away.
“Hey, I told you, I’m just in it for the rewards points. Besides, I haven’t been to Primark in a second. Might be able to grab myself something.”
Sapphire smiled at Britt. “Does she refuse compliments from everyone, or just me?”
“Hey—” I started, and Britt broke out into her signature cackle.
“Absolutely everyone,” she said. “Once Mads isn’t scared our weird friends won’t scare you away, you can meet everyone else and see it for yourself. Don’t worry, though, Mads is obsessed with you. Called me as soon as you got to the hotel last night to tell me all about you.”
I cut in speaking too quickly, a little louder than I meant to. “Of course I did, I’d just helped someone escape from a creepy butler. How am I not going to tell you all about something like that?”
“She’s shy,” Britt said. “And easily flustered. But don’t worry, Sapph, you’re not a problem or anything. Mads likes you and she likes helping out.”
I wasn’t fighting it. I’d just be digging myself deeper. I hunched my shoulders, taking a bite of sandwich, and I found I couldn’t look at either of them. “Yeah… I mean, I told Britt how you’ve got serious guts and how I kind of admire it, so—here I am.”
At least I wasn’t the only one dying right now—a flush of pale pink color spread over Sapphire’s cheeks, and she cradled her coffee in both hands. “Thanks,” she said quietly. “Honestly, I don’t know how much is bravery and how much is me not knowing—”
“It’s bravery either way,” I said, and she looked up. “Every brave decision runs into risks and dangers you couldn’t have known about beforehand. That’s life. But hey. Here you are.” I paused. “Just comfort me please that you’re not running away from your family because you murdered someone.”
Sapphire laughed awkwardly. “No. Just killed the dream daughter my parents wanted and became me instead of my perfect sister.”
“That sounds like my kinda person,” Britt said. “And hey, Mads’s mom always wishes she’d had more than one kid. Maybe she could be your new mom.”
I knew full well where Britt was taking that, and I was not listening to another word. I finished my sandwich, standing up, and I dropped the bag in the trash. “Let’s talk about my mom another day,” I said. “For now—Sapphire, you wanna meet the metro?”
∞∞∞
Sapphire
It was probably really embarrassing how overwhelmed I got at the metro, but I was too scared to be embarrassed. The noise, the crowds—I clung to the wall on the way down, flicking my eyes over the crowd, checking every face along the way, as Britt and Madeleine got down to the platform ahead of me. Madeleine was the one to notice I was falling behind, glancing back at me, and she walked up the steps back to me and offered me an arm.
“No sign of him here,” she said, and I thought I’d cry a little bit. Maybe later. I linked my arm in hers, tugging my hood forward more.
“Thanks,” I said quietly, following her down. Britt gave us a sappy smile from the bottom of the stairs, and I clung to Madeleine the whole way over to the ticket machines, where she showed me through which buttons to press. I squealed out loud with surprise when the payment processed and it buzzed and spat out my card, and Britt doubled over laughing, leaning against the next machine for balance as I took the card, at least able to laugh at myself too.
I had a metro card. Wasn’t I a functioning member of society? I felt good about myself until I got to the turnstile and Britt went ahead of us, tapping her card and stepping through, and then Madeleine, and then I tapped my card and it buzzed with an X before I hit the turnstile and almost knocked the wind out of myself.
“Oh my god, I did something wrong,” I said, clasping a hand over my mouth, panic rising. I could see metro security out of the corner of my eye and for a split second, I viscerally pictured him dragging me out of here in handcuffs and my family finding out I’d been arrested for metro crimes, but—Madeleine leaned over the turnstile towards me.
“It happens. Try again.”
“O-oh.” I tapped the card. It pinged with a checkmark, and I pushed through, not quite sure how to get through the turnstile like a normal person. I stumbled a little on the other side, coming out exhilarated like I’d just finished a race, and I laughed breathlessly, looking down at my card. “Oh my god. It worked.”
“Sapphire—” Madeleine took me by the arm, tugging me just as someone came through the turnstile behind me, and I squeaked a little as they bumped into me and pushed me out of the way.
“Oh—I’m so sorry, sir,” I called, and Madeleine put a finger to my lips.
“You could punch a guy in the face in the metro and everyone there will forget it happened two seconds later. Including the guy you punched. Don’t worry. But also keep moving.”
“R-right.” Lawless place down here. But Madeleine hooked her arm in mine again and led me forward, up to the edge of the platform—I felt excitement bubbling up seeing it, just like in the movies, the yellow line at the edge of the platform, the electronic signboard above it showing the next train arriving soon. The cold wind sweeping down the tunnel—it was all so real, so vivid, it was like living in technicolor. I found myself laughing breathlessly, and Madeleine gave me a lopsided, sidelong smile.
“All good?”
“I’m riding the metro,” I laughed. She smiled wider, and it was actually unbelievable how pretty she was when she smiled like that.
“We haven’t even gotten to the fun part yet.”
“Oh, jeez. Am I ready for the fun part?”
She nudged my side. “You’re clearly ready for anything.”
I laughed harder. “That’s patently not true.”
The wind picked up, the sound of a train rattling on the tracks coming up louder and louder, and I let out a startled sound and clutched tighter to Madeleine as a train whipped by in front of us—and my heart sank as it kept going.
“Oh! Um—were we supposed to do something?” I said, once the train left. Madeleine laughed.
“That was the fast train. They don’t all stop at every station.”
“Oh, lord. This is a lot of rules.”
“You’ll pick ‘em up. Lucky part is, you pay to enter the station and then can transfer between trains as much as you like, so if you get lost and have to take some more trains around various stations until you get to the right place, it’s not going to charge you for the extra rides.”
“So what you’re telling me is that I’m basically going to be living on the trains figuring them out.”
“I’ll show you how to read the maps once you have a phone. You’ll be a pro in no time.”
The wind picked up again, and this time a voice came on over the speakers, announcing the red line, and a train pulled into the station, this one coming to a stop. The doors slid open, and Madeleine caught me from walking forwards as a group of people pushed out of the train car first, and then she gestured me forward. I got inordinately scared stepping from the platform to the train, panicking that I’d somehow slip between them and fall onto the tracks—as if I was paper-thin—but it was exhilarating getting into the train, a sleek car that looked just like the pictures. Ads ran along the top, and I stood there just looking at them all, taking it in.
It wasn’t too crowded, thankfully—a couple seats open, but Madeleine just held onto the pole at the side as the doors shut. She slipped her hand into mine, holding on.
“Hold onto the pole, too,” she said, giving me a devilish smile. “And… bend your knees a little. Don’t stand too rigid. And be emotionally prepared for if you start falling.”
“Oh, god.” I clung onto the pole and squeezed her hand so hard both our hands whitened, but Britt didn’t even bother—just had her phone out, standing with a slouch. “Is Britt—”
“She’s used to it. Even I can’t do it like she can. She could be in a collapsing building and she’d be left standing straight upright in the rubble.”
The doors closed, and the train lurched, and for all my emotional preparing, I still squeaked, clinging to the pole like a scared child to her mom’s leg. My heart pounded faster than warranted for a metro trip, something so routine as to be mind-numbing for everyone else on this train, but when the train picked up speed, I felt a wild excitement settle in, and I even balanced out okay, relaxing my grip on the pole and on poor Madeleine’s hand.
“Having fun?” Madeleine laughed, and it was only then that I realized I was grinning like an idiot at the lights moving past outside the window.
“God, it’s just like in the movies and stuff,” I said.
“Uh-huh. You’re living that real life.”
“Look at me, I’m a cool unbothered urbanite.” I made my best bored, vaguely-annoyed face, staring off into the middle distance, and Madeleine snorted.
“Flawless. You’re ready for anything.”
The train slowed suddenly, and I let out a startled noise again, tumbling forward and falling straight into Madeleine, who caught me with an arm around my waist. I could feel Britt’s eyes on me, but nobody else in the train car even glanced up.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry—”
“I’m telling you, it’s exciting,” she laughed as I pried myself off from her, the train coming to a stop.
“Do we get off now?”
“Nah. Couple more stops. We’re getting off at Lake. This is where we welcome some new metro car visitors.”
“You make it sound so cute.”
She grinned. “Told me you like cute stuff.”
“I do! I just never thought the metro would be cute.”
“World’s full of wonders.”
The metro was cute when it was Madeleine in it with me… I’d known her for twelve hours and I’d never had such a big crush in my life.
But as long as we were going together. I just wasn’t going to make it weird.