Brighter Than The Stars: Book One

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐸𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉: 𝒫𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎

The music was so damn loud, and all Madeline wished to do was swing around and head right back out the front door before she was spotted, then wriggle beneath her covers and read the letter as many times as it took to fall asleep to it. But that wasn't an option. Her parents had forbidden her from coming home before eleven, and it was only nine now.

Plus, she was already discovered by Claire, whose eyes beamed at her as she made her way through the cramped living room, trying to take large steps in a tight silver dress that wouldn't allow it. Madeline was waiting to hear a tear at any moment. Because Claire wore silver and begged her to coordinate, Madeline wore gold. Hers may have been almost as short as Claire's, but it didn't especially hug anything, and hung loosely on her form.

"You look beautiful," Claire squealed, wrapping her arms around her. "So why do you look like you'd rather be anywhere else right now?"

"Because I'd rather be anywhere else right now," Madeline replied genuinely. "It's loud, it's smoky, and I've never talked to half these people."

Claire let her go, seized her hand, and drew her through the crowd toward the kitchen. "Well, a drink or two should loosen you up."

"I don't drink," she reminded her friend.

It was a vow she made Elijah when she was seven, after she awakened in the middle of the night, saw him drinking booze straight from the bottle on his front porch, and went outside to scold him. 'Scold' wasn't exactly the correct word for it. That's what Madeline had gone out there to do, but instead broke into tears assuming that drinking would mean he'd turn into his father.

Though alcoholism was absolutely something that could be passed down, Madeline hadn't grasped that. But Elijah seemed to. Once she said the words and began bawling, it seemed to turn into his worst fear in an instant. Seeing as he was already a little drunk, he thought it was a good idea to make Madeline promise to never drink.

She promised, and now here she was, at age eighteen, and still had never taken so much as a sip.

"Not even tonight?" Claire asked, a pout taking over her face.

Like tonight was anything extraordinary. They graduated high school, which may have been an triumph in some areas, but around here, you seldom had a dropout. Except for Elijah, of course. He'd only been a quarter of the way through his senior year when he pulled his disappearing act. 

Arms draped around Madeline's stomach, and instead of feeling all tingly inside and having a smile take over her face, her body went rigid.

"What's wrong, baby?" Marty asked, pressing a kiss against the crook of her neck. "You know what tonight is, right?"

This was the night they were meant to have sex. She'd agreed to it after prom, when she'd chickened out. It should have been on her mind all day; losing her virginity to her boyfriend of over two years. Needless to say, her mind had been on other things, and Madeline still wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"About that... Can we talk?"

Marty's arms freed her, and he whirled her body around to face him. "You're fucking kidding me, right, Maddie? How much time do you fucking need?"

When he spewed the words at her, Madeline could smell it. "You're drunk, Marty," she pointed out. "Did you honestly think I'd want to have sex for the first time with someone who can barely stand straight?"

Marty rolled his eyes at her. "I've had three damn drinks, Maddie. Maybe if you had one, you'd quit acting like a bitchy parent and start acting like my fucking girlfriend for once."

She noticed conversations around them had seized. She felt eyes of the crowd on them. She even noticed the crappy music had been turned down. They may have been graduates, but this was classic high school drama she was thoroughly over. If he thought her stating she wasn't ready, and pointing out he was already drunk, was bitchy, Marty was in for a harsh awakening.

"I've had a long fucking day. I had my heart put through the ringer, and cried for three damn hours. I'm exhausted. The last thing I need tonight is a shitty first time, because we've tried fooling around when you're drunk, and it's an epic failure every time. I leave the room confused and disappointed while you're puking in the bathroom.

Though Marty was glaring a hole straight through her skull, Claire nudged her way around him to place her hands on Madeline's arm. "Maddie, you're shaking right now. What the hell happened today?"

Madeline willed the building tears not to fall as she shook her head. "Elijah was here. He went to graduation, dropped a letter and a present in the mailbox, and I never even got to see him."

It was no mystery who Elijah was. When she and Claire met in the seventh grade, and Claire asked her if she wanted to go on a family trip with her, because her mom said she could bring her best friend, Madeline brazenly told her the spot of her best friend was permanently taken. It was a jackass move, but they had a laugh about it later. Now Claire called herself a second-place best friend.

She'd shared all her stories, talked about what her dad said to his dad the night after Elijah left, and even let her read the letter from Freshman year. Madeline and Claire celebrated his birthday every year. Well, they lit a candle on a cupcake and said 'happy birthday'.

While Claire thought it was all charming, Marty hadn't been quite so accepting. Elijah had always been a sore spot for him, so Madeline did her best not to bring him up around him. But it didn't make it any less noticeable during all the big moments, like getting her license and going to prom, that it just wasn't as exciting without him there.

"That fucking guy again?" Marty asked loud enough where the people in the backyard probably heard him. "I'm done competing with this guy, Maddie. News flash. He doesn't give a shit about you. Where has he been this whole fucking time, huh? You wait around for this dick like he's the fucking Messiah. And surprise, he shows up in town, and he still doesn't want to be in your life.

"If you're holding off with me because you're waiting for your bestie, who you haven't seen in almost ten fucking years, to pop your cherry, you're going to be waiting a hell of a long time. Guess what? If he wanted that shit, he would have stuck around today. And I bet you would have given it to him after five minutes, when you've had me waiting for over two years."

And then they fell. There was nothing Madeline could do anymore to hold the tears back. She wasn't sure which hit her hardest, the anguish or the anger. Still, she'd only be giving into one right now. "You're drunk, you're an asshole, and now you're single. Congratulations."

When it looked like recognition was beginning to kick in for Marty, Claire grabbed her hand, and led her away, not giving her now ex-boyfriend a chance to grovel. "Let's go catch a movie. We're done here."