30. Madelyn
Morgan and I have been downstairs eating lunch in the cafeteria, waiting for Miles to get back with Hudson’s smoothie while Nate keeps Hudson company upstairs.
I’ve been dying to know how Morgan and Hudson suddenly became a thing since I saw them holding hands, but she hasn’t said anything yet.
I’m starting to think I’m just going to have to flat out ask her, but I don’t want to pry.
I look down at my phone and check the time. Miles has been gone for an hour now and I’m getting concerned. Maybe there was a long line? I’ll just text him and see where he is.
Me: Are you almost back yet? I miss you!
Morgan has been talking this whole time, and I haven’t been paying her any attention. I don’t think she’s noticed though, so I just nod my head, hoping I don’t make it too obvious. When she stops talking, I decide I’ll just ask her about her and Hudson.
“So…you and Hudson? What’s going on there?”
She shoves a french fry in her mouth and looks away, trying to avoid the question. I feel weird trying to pry but I’m so excited for her, I just want to know how everything happened.
“Oh c’mon, Mor. Just tell me. You know I’m not judging you. I actually think you guys are perfect for each other and would make a super cute couple.”
This seems to shock her. “Really? You think so?”
It's true, I love Morgan, and I think she deserves just as much happiness as I feel with Miles. If I could wish this type of love on anyone, it would absolutely be her.
“I do. Does he make you happy?”
She grins, and I can see her mind drifting somewhere else. “He does.”
“Then that’s all that matters, babe! Who cares what everyone else thinks or has to say about it? You shouldn’t be ashamed about who you like. Y’all should just go for it.”
She smiles a real genuine smile before bringing me in for an unexpected tight hug I welcome.
“Thanks, Maddie. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course! What are friends for?”
She pulls me away from our embrace and I immediately grab my phone, checking to see if Miles has texted back yet, but there’s no notification. I scroll back to our message thread and find he hasn’t even opened the text yet.
What the hell is going on?
“Hey, are you okay?”
I look back up at Morgan, and the concern written across her face makes something in my chest tighten. I appreciate that she even notices something is wrong.
“It’s just…” I glance back down at my phone, my fingers tightening around it. “It’s been a while since Miles left, and I texted him to see if he’s almost back, but he hasn’t answered. He hasn’t even opened the message.”
I try to laugh it off, but it comes out forced. “I know it sounds stupid, but it’s just not like him. He always answers me. Even if he’s busy, he always finds a way to let me know he’s okay. I just have this feeling that something is wrong.”
Morgan nods slowly, but there’s something about the way she does it that makes my stomach twist. She looks like she’s trying to decide whether or not she should say something, and the hesitation alone is enough to send my anxiety spiraling.
“What?” I ask, my voice becoming more urgent. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” She shakes her head quickly, looking away from me. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Morgan.” I lean forward, watching her carefully. “If you know something, please just tell me.”
She looks back at me, and the worry in her eyes makes my chest tighten even more. For a second, she doesn’t say anything, and I already know whatever she’s about to tell me is something I’m not going to like.
“I lied to you when I said nothing happened between me and Miles.”
I don’t think I fully understand what she means, until I do, and then suddenly everything inside me goes cold.
She lied to me?
I hate this feeling. The feeling you get when someone you thought you knew suddenly becomes someone else entirely. The feeling of realizing there were pieces of the truth hidden from you while you were standing there believing everything was fine.
I don’t even have to say anything because Morgan immediately starts shaking her head, panic flashing across her face.
“No, no, please just listen to me, okay?” she says quickly. “Nothing is happening between us now. This was a long time ago. It was one time, and we were both really drunk. It didn’t mean anything. It still doesn’t mean anything. I swear.”
I stare at her, trying to process the words coming out of her mouth.
“If that’s true, then why did you lie to me when I asked you the first time?” My voice is quieter than I expect, but the hurt behind it is impossible to hide. I can’t stand being lied to.
I’ve spent my entire life being lied to by the people who were supposed to love me and protect me.
My father hid behind his cruelty. My mother hid behind her silence.
Everyone always had a reason for keeping things from me, but the outcome was always the same.
I was left to deal with the truth after everyone else had already made the decision for me.
“Because I thought you wouldn’t trust me anymore,” Morgan admits. “I thought you’d feel uncomfortable around me.”
I blink at her, almost unable to believe what she’s saying.
“Trust you?” The words come out before I can stop them. “Morgan, trust isn’t something you get to keep by hiding things from someone. Trust is earned.”
My throat tightens as I look at her. “And this isn’t how you do it.”
I push myself up from the table, needing space before I say something I’ll regret.
Before I can take another step, her hand wraps around my wrist. The second she touches me, my body reacts before my mind does.
I pull away instinctively, and the hurt that crosses her face almost makes me feel guilty.
Almost. Because she’s looking at me like I’m the one who just betrayed her.
The irony of it makes my chest ache. She’s looking at me like she’s the one with a knife in her back, except I’m the one who’s been bleeding.
I shake my head, disappointment replacing the anger I was feeling moments ago. “I can’t do this right now, Morgan.”
I don’t give her the chance to respond. I turn away and walk toward the elevators, leaving her sitting there behind me. I don’t need this right now, not when Miles is still gone and every instinct I have is screaming that something is wrong.
When I step into the elevator, I immediately pull out my phone again to check for any notifications.
I don’t know why I keep expecting something to be different when I look, but a part of me is still holding onto the hope that maybe Miles responded and my phone just didn’t alert me.
Maybe he called and I somehow missed it.
Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for why I haven’t heard from him yet.
There’s nothing. No missed calls. No messages. No notifications. Just an empty screen staring back at me.
My stomach twists as I scroll through my contacts and stop on Julius’ name.
If Miles isn’t answering, maybe Julius will.
Maybe they’re together and they’re both just too distracted to check their phones.
I press the call button and bring the phone to my ear, waiting for the sound of it ringing, except it never comes.
After a few seconds, the call goes straight to voicemail.
I pull the phone away from my ear and stare down at the screen, confusion settling in. That’s weird. Maybe it’s just the elevator. I know service can be spotty in places like this, so I force myself not to overthink it. I’ll try again once I get upstairs.
When the elevator doors open, I make my way back toward Hudson’s room, trying my best to convince myself that everything is fine. I’m clearly just letting my anxiety get the better of me. There’s totally a perfectly logical explanation for why neither of them is answering.
I quietly step inside Hudson’s room and immediately see that he’s still asleep, his body resting peacefully beneath the hospital blankets while Nate sits beside him. Seeing them both there should calm me down, but instead, the worry only continues to grow.
I take one of the chairs beside the bed and pull out my phone again, dialing Julius’ number one more time.
Nothing.
The exact same thing happens. The call doesn’t ring. It doesn’t even attempt to connect. It just goes straight to voicemail.
“What the actual fuck?” I whisper under my breath.
A cold feeling starts to creep into my chest. I don’t want to acknowledge it.
I don’t want to give the thought any power because I already know where my mind is going to take me, and I don’t want to believe it’s possible.
But after everything that’s happened, after everything we’ve been through, I know better than anyone that bad things don’t just disappear because I want them to.
I scroll back through my contacts and press Miles’ name.
The same thing happens. Straight to voicemail.
My heart begins to pound harder, and I think I might get sick.
“Hey,” Nate says, noticing the expression on my face. “You alright over there?”
I look up at him, and I know I’m not hiding my fear very well because his expression immediately changes.
“No,” I admit, shaking my head. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of Julius and Miles, but every time I call them, nothing happens. It doesn’t ring or anything. It just goes straight to voicemail.”
I swallow hard, staring down at my phone. “Can you try calling them?”
Nate doesn’t hesitate. He pulls out his phone and dials one of their numbers while I watch him carefully, searching his face for any indication that I’m wrong and everything is okay. My stomach sinks when his brows pull together.
He slowly lowers his phone and looks at the screen with confusion.
“That’s weird,” he says quietly. “I got the same thing.”
Fuck. “Try Julius.”
He nods and immediately dials again. I already know what’s going to happen before he even brings the phone away from his ear.
Nothing. Nothing happens. It’s all the same.
“What the fuck is going on?”
The panic I’ve been trying to hold back finally starts pushing its way through. I stand up from the chair and begin pacing the room, unable to sit still. My thoughts are moving faster than I can process them, every possible scenario racing through my mind until I can barely breathe.
Nate gets up and walks over to me.
“Hey, hey, hey. Maddie, it’s okay,” he says, his voice calm and steady. “I’m sure they’re fine. They’re probably somewhere with no service, or maybe their phones died. There’s no reason to freak out yet.”
“Nate, I have a bad feeling.” My voice cracks, and I hate how scared I sound. “They’ve been gone too long, and neither of their phones are working. What if my stalker got to them?”
Nate doesn’t immediately answer.
Instead, he looks at me with the kind of sympathy that tells me he understands why I’m afraid. He can see the fear in my eyes, the panic I’m trying desperately to keep under control. Tears begin to gather along my lashes, threatening to spill over, and I force myself to take a deep breath.
Something is wrong. I know it is.
I look back down at my phone, hoping somehow there will be a message waiting for me. Some kind of reassurance. Anything.
But there’s nothing.
Just my empty home screen staring back at me, taunting me with every second that passes.
I look at Nate, silently begging him to fix this and tell me I’m wrong. To tell me that Miles is okay and Julius is okay and that this feeling twisting painfully in my chest is nothing more than fear.
His eyes flicker toward Hudson, who is still asleep, before returning to me.
Then he nods.
“Let’s go,” he says.
The tears finally escape.
“We’ll find them.”
We get into Nate’s car and start driving toward the closest smoothie place we can find on the map. It’s only fifteen minutes away, and somehow that makes everything feel worse, because if Miles and Julius were fine, they would have been back already.
The entire drive, I keep calling them. Over and over again, I don’t care how many times I hear their voicemails.
I don’t care how hopeless it feels. I just need one of them to answer.
I need Miles to tell me he’s okay, and I need Julius to tell me everything is fine.
But neither of them are answering, and with every unanswered call, the panic inside me grows stronger.
From the front seat, Nate glances down at his phone before quickly answering it. “Sir?”
He’s silent for a second before his expression hardens. “No… I don't know where he went.”
A beat of silence and then, “I've been trying to reach him too.”
My stomach twists. Who’s he talking to?
He glances into the rearview mirror for the briefest second before looking back to the road.
“Boss, Miles is missing.”
The words hit me like a punch to the chest. Missing? Why is he calling someone else? Why isn't he calling Julius?
He listens for another moment before giving a short nod. “Yeah. If I hear anything, you'll be the first to know.”
The call ends just as quickly as it started. Before I can ask who was on the other end, Nate's eyes widen.
“Oh, shit.” His panicked voice immediately pulls my attention away from the call.
I look up, and my heart stops.
There are ambulances parked ahead. Police cars line the road, their lights flashing against the pavement. The closer we get, the more my body starts to understand what my mind refuses to accept.
No, this can’t be happening.
Everything around me begins to slow down. The sounds become distant, the movement around me feels unreal, and it’s like I’m watching everything happen from outside my own body.
Before Nate even fully stops the car, I’m opening the door.
I run. I don’t think, I don’t even breathe. I just run.
“Ma’am! Ma’am, you can’t go over there!”
A police officer grabs me before I can get any closer, but I fight against his hold.
“Let me go!”
“Ma’am, you need to step back.”
“Hey! Get off of her!” Nate shouts as he runs up behind me. “Just let her through!”
But it doesn’t matter. Because I already see it. I see the stretcher, I see the white sheet, and then I see enough. The top half of Julius’ body lying there before someone covers him completely.
My brain stops working. No, no, no, this isn’t real. It can’t be. Not Julius.
Not the man who stayed when everyone else left. Not the person who raised Miles when he had no one else. Not the person who became family when he didn’t have anyone left.
I stop fighting. My body goes completely numb as Nate pulls me away from the officer. And then suddenly, everything inside me breaks.
Before I can stop it, my stomach turns violently, and I drop forward as I empty everything I ate onto the pavement.
I barely even notice. I barely feel anything. Until my phone vibrates and my head snaps up.
Miles. It has to be him. He’s okay. He’s telling me he’s okay.
With shaking hands, I pull my phone from my pocket and unlock it, but it isn’t Miles. It’s an unknown number.
My entire body goes cold as I open the message.
Unknown: Hello again, Madelyn. If you want your boyfriend to live, my suggestion is that you do everything I tell you to do. Do you understand?