16 MADDY
MADDY
I’ve never seen you organize like this. Or at all.
The next afternoon, we’re all at Hazel & Bean after class, cleaning up what’s left from the break-in.
The police already caught the guys—two teenagers who apparently thought trashing a café was a brilliant idea. All they took was two hundred dollars… and probably a very expensive lesson.
Still, the place looks like shit. We made Dad stay home and rest. He tried to argue, obviously, but Noah and I won that argument pretty easily.
He didn’t need to see this place completely wrecked again.
The place that reminds him of Mom. Where he met her, fell in love with her, literally named after her.
I think he’d be better off with some extra sleep instead.
And if I’m being honest, I don’t think I slept more than a couple hours last night anyway. My brain kept running through every possible version of what could’ve happened if things had gone differently.
I push that thought away and focus on the table in front of me, dragging the cloth across the surface a little harder than necessary.
Around me, Noah is dealing with the busted lock near the door, Kiara and Ryan are working their way across the floor and Mel and Liam are at the windows, talking quietly while they clean. Music plays somewhere in the background, filling the space.
But every now and then, I notice them giving me these worried looks. They’re trying to be subtle about it, glancing over, then quickly looking away, but it’s obvious enough. So I just smile back. Hoping that will convince them I’m fine.
Noah walks over a second later, wiping his hands on a cloth as he stops beside me. “Hey,” he says, nudging my shoulder lightly. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I answer immediately, already nodding. “Yeah, I’m fine. This table just…doesn’t want to be cleaned.”
He huffs a small breath that might be a laugh, might be him not believing me at all. “Right.”
I keep scrubbing to prove my point. He watches me for a second longer, like he’s debating pushing it, but then he just nods once and steps away again. And right as he does, the music suddenly gets louder. And I recognize the song instantly.
You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift.
I pause, turning slightly and see exactly what I was expecting. Ryan stands by the speaker, one hand still resting near the controls, a smirk pulling at his mouth like he knows exactly what he just did.
I narrow my eyes at him, but I can’t stop the small smile that slips through anyway.
Kiara drops whatever she’s holding. “OH YEAH—” she practically yells, already bouncing on her feet as Mel lets out a laugh and Liam just shakes his head, grinning. Noah crosses his arms, watching the chaos unfold with a quiet laugh. “Here we go…”
Before I can even react, Mel and Kiara are in front of me, grabbing my hands.
“Come on,” Kiara insists, already pulling.
“Let’s dance,” Mel says, grabbing my hand.
I roll my eyes once, but I go with them anyway. As they drag me past the counter, I catch Ryan leaning back against it, arms loosely crossed, watching like his plan worked.
“You’re evil,” I mutter to him.
“I’ve seen this song do wonders,” he replies easily, that stupid smile still there. “Just wanna see those dance moves again.”
I shake my head, but I’m already getting pulled away.
Kiara climbs onto a chair like she’s about to headline a world tour, using a spray bottle as a microphone while Mel and I join in, singing way too loudly to even call it singing.
Noah groans from somewhere behind us. “Kiara, get down before you break your neck.”
“I will NEVER,” she yells back, pointing at him dramatically. “THIS IS ART.”
The boys end up standing off to the side, arms crossed, watching us like we’ve completely lost it.
Kiara spins, pointing straight at them. “COME ON, BOYBAND, JOIN US!”
Noah immediately backs up. “Absolutely not—”
But he’s too late. She grabs his shirt and drags him straight into the middle while Mel pulls Liam in with her, the two of them immediately breaking into the worst, most chaotic choreography I’ve ever seen. And in that moment, the tight feeling in my chest loosens just enough.
Then Ryan appears out of nowhere, grabbing my wrist and spinning me in a quick circle, steadying me before I can trip over my own feet.
“Still mad at me?” he says, that smirk still in place. I try to look annoyed, but my smile gives it away. “Maybe.”
He spins me in another quick circle, his grin deepening. “It did work though.”
“Oh, shut it,” I mutter, but a laugh escapes me anyway.
Eventually, the music fades back into the background and everyone drifts back to what we were actually here to do.
Cleaning. The energy settles, the laughter dies down a little, and the café slowly starts looking like itself again.
I busy myself with organizing everything behind the bar.
For a minute, it works. But the tight feeling creeps back in. My mind slips right back to Dad.
Because he says he’s okay, but is he really? I mean, he’s already under so much stress and now this break-in. He has to do a lot of paperwork for the police, a lot of people will ask about it, he still has the other cafe that’s gonna open soon—
“Okay, yeah—no. You need a break.”
I blink and look up to see Kiara standing in front of me, arms crossed.
“Uh… why?” I ask, even though I already know.
“I’ve known you since freshman year and never seen you organize like this” she says flatly. “Or at all.”
“I’m fine,” I say anyway, automatically.
Mel looks over from the windows. “You should take a break, Mads.”
“Yeah,” Liam adds. “Go to the movies or something.”
I blink at him. “Go to the movies? Alone?”
“I can take you.”
Ryan’s voice comes from behind him. Kiara immediately points at him. “Exactly. A good date night might actually fix your mood.”
I glance at Noah without thinking. He gives me a warm smile. “I think Kiara’s right.”
I exhale slowly. I can’t really say no to a date night, can I? That would actually be very strange-looking.
“Okay,” I say. “Well… thank you.”
Ryan pushes himself off the counter, grabbing his jacket and mine too. “Let’s go.”
I follow him, still not entirely convinced this is a good idea, but not really in the mood to argue either.
And a few seconds later, we’re heading out.