Chapter 29 25–27 May 2017 #2
For the next hour, Hannah kept tabs on Madison, casually following her movements around the penthouse.
When Madison had tired of dancing, she took a turn out on the balcony, then swung into the kitchen to pick up a glass of champagne.
Once, she stepped into a bathroom, but no one followed, and she was back out in under two minutes, hands still dripping from the tap.
It was looking hopeless, but the desire to get Ami the leverage she craved burned in her belly.
Madison had cast a long shadow over the second half of her little sister’s sophomore year, beginning with her exclusion from the Montauk wedding in December, then the events of the Orchard everyone was in the kitchen devouring the freshly replenished gourmet fries; dancing in the living room to Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Lorde, or stealing a few moments with their prom date on the DuPonts’ large and well-furnished balcony.
Hannah burrowed deeper under the throw, pulling it over her head and breathing in the soft, woolly smell.
After a few minutes – Peter Bjorn and John was now piping through the speakers – she began to drift off.
‘In here. Now.’
Beneath the blanket, she stiffened. Madison’s voice was instantly recognisable, and getting closer.
‘You’re the one who broke the pact. I don’t know why you’re being pissy with me.’
The second voice belonged to Theo. Hannah stopped breathing.
‘Keep your voice down,’ Madison hissed. They were in the lounge now, mere feet from her.
The doorknob to Madison’s adjoining bedroom twisted, and through the soft loops of fabric, Hannah watched Madison’s grip tighten around Theo’s hand.
She pulled him inside, then closed the door.
A long sigh of relief slipped through her lips.
They’d been too absorbed in whatever they were bickering about to notice her.
The sectional sofa was pressed up against the wall separating Madison’s bedroom from the lounge.
Hannah rolled over and pressed her ear to the wall, hoping the acoustics in this pre-war building fell short of soundproofing.
This might be her best shot at learning who Madison had been involved with. Especially if it was… Theo.
‘I am not being pissy,’ Madison snapped. ‘This is serious.’
Theo’s deep sigh was just audible through the wall. ‘It’s only serious because you made it serious. Basically coercing me into breaking up with Elle.’
Hannah’s breath caught. What?
Theo was still talking. ‘Now we’re about to graduate, and all go our separate ways, and I miss her, okay? This entire thing was a mistake.’
Madison huffed. ‘Coerce is such a strong word. I’m sorry, but Elle is meant to shine, and you were holding her back. She was considering following you to Princeton, you know.’
‘She was never—’
But Madison didn’t let him finish. ‘And I was doing you a favour too. Elle never loved you back, Theo. She’s too focused on Elle Harrington to be a good partner. She was only in love with the idea of you.’
‘Even so,’ Theo conceded, ‘that should have been my problem. My decision to make.’
‘Whatever.’ Madison sounded smug. ‘I was looking out for you. You deserve better.’
A thin huff of breath. Theo’s. ‘Then why this pact at all? Break up with Elle, then no dating senior year. You and me, single together. If you really believe I deserve better, shouldn’t I be putting myself out there?’
Madison and Theo made a pact to be single? Maybe Alex and Ami had this all wrong.
‘No, absolutely not. You have all of college for that. As we discussed, this year was supposed to be about focusing on the future. But then you didn’t break up with her, did you? I had to move things along.’
‘That’s one way to put it.’
‘Whatever. Gemma deserved everything she got, and you needed a little nudge.’
‘That’s what you call starting the rumours that I was the guy in the photos with Gemma? A little nudge?’
Hannah’s eyes widened. That Madison had been Gemma’s biggest bully after the photos came out was no secret. But the revelation that Madison had been the one to start the Theo rumours was nevertheless shocking.
It probably shouldn’t have been, though. Really, it was just like Madison. Manipulating her friends to get her way. For whatever reason – she didn’t believe the altruistic excuses Madison had given – she’d wanted Elle and Theo split apart. And she’d made sure it happened.
‘I did what it took,’ she said flatly. ‘Elle broke, and you broke up with her. We didn’t have to do it the hard way, but that was your choice.’
‘You’re insane. Certifiable.’
‘Anyway, I’m not the one who broke the pact. You started seeing Colette—’
‘Claudette.’
‘Whatever. Claudette in Paris over winter break. I know you never broke things off.’
It sounded like Theo was the one in a secret relationship, not Madison. Hannah’s legs were starting to cramp. She stretched them out, then pressed her ear against the wall again.
‘And you’re seeing Bradley Fairfax. Two long-distance relationships. We’re both even.’
‘Oh please, Bradley was a bit of fun over winter break. We’re not together, and we never were. Your thing with Mademoiselle Frenchy is entirely different.’
‘Give it up, Madison. You’ve been in a relationship all spring, don’t even try to deny it. I heard you on the phone last week, out in the courtyard. Maybe it’s not Bradley, but you’re seeing someone.’
Hannah’s breath caught. This was it.
Madison’s voice had turned shrill. ‘Whatever you think you heard has nothing to do with Bradley Fairfax. And it’s none of your concern.’
Theo laughed, short and sharp. ‘You’re such a hypocrite, Mads. You never had my best interests at heart, or Elle’s. Say what you want, but our relationship made you crazy. It gave Elle social capital, enough to make her serious competition for you, and you couldn’t stand it.’
Ah – there it was.
Theo wasn’t done. ‘I let you manipulate me, let you drive a wedge between us, and that’s on me. But don’t even dare say you drove us apart for our own good. And don’t get me started on poor Gemma Phipps.’
‘Fuck Gemma Phipps!’ Madison snarled. ‘And fuck you too.’
For a moment, there was only silence on the other side of the wall. Hannah’s heart pounded.
‘You’re a child,’ Theo said finally. ‘I should have done this months ago, but better late than never. The pact is over, and so is our friendship.’
Madison laughed cruelly. ‘Nice try, Theo, but you can’t hurt me.
Now that the year is almost over, I was going to reveal the true identity of Gemma’s paramour to The Upper Edge, but now I don’t think I will.
Your name will stay tied to Gemma forever, where it belongs.
The scandal won’t die at graduation. I’ll make sure it follows you to college, that—’
Without warning, the door flew open, banging against the wall, and Hannah stiffened beneath the blanket.
‘Shut up,’ Theo said. ‘You know who was in the pictures with Gemma?’
‘Of course I do. But now I’ll never tell.’
‘You have to tell me who it was.’ A pleading note crept into Theo’s voice. ‘For Elle’s sake.’
Madison didn’t respond. The hard beating of blood in Hannah’s ears was almost deafening. She lay very still, barely breathing.
‘What the fuck?’ Madison’s voice was cold. Then, so was Hannah. The chenille throw was ripped off her and cast to the floor. She pulled her legs to her chest, an automatic gesture. Her gold sneakers must have been sticking out from the end of the blanket. Fuck.
Hesitantly, she peered up. Madison and Theo stood over her. His mouth hung slightly open, snared in surprise, but Madison’s eyes burned.
‘You eavesdropping bitch.’