𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬

25

Zach's hair was disheveled, he had sweat on his forehead, and he looked to be out of breath. "You're on your tape." Zach said his chest still unevenly rising. "Uh..yeah.." Maddie said and you could hear in her voice that it all still felt surreal to her, as if she wasn't really on her tape, and that's what she wanted to happen, she most definitely didn't want to be on her tape, she didn't even want to have a tape, but she does and she's on it. "Why didn't you take the car?" Maddie asked looking to her brother who obviously skipped his last class and ran all the way home to his little sister.

"They won't all fit in Bryce's car and they're going out, they're bringing the car back home at six since mom won't be home till eight." Maddie nodded as if she didn't really care what her brother was saying. "Do you want me to stay with you." Maddie looked up at Zach and all she could see what eleven year old Zach. The Zach who made sure she was protected, he was the first person to ever make her safe, the first person she ever trusted, and the first person she was ever honest with.

Maddie nodded and moved over so Zach would have more room. Zach took the Walkman from Maddie and put the tape into her old cassette player and hit play. Maddie wanted to object but he'd already heard it, she knew he would need him. And he knew it too. As soon as Zach sat down he grabbed Maddie's hand and squeezed it. His hand held hers without their fingers intertwining, Maddie let out a breath and closed her eyes waiting for the words to start back up again.

"Madison Dempsey. Or should I say Maddison Marie Dawn Damico." That one sentence was enough to make Maddie choke on air, and Zach even heard it. How could she? I told her this in private! "After I got over my hatred for you and you for me we became quite good friends. And you told me so much stuff about you, but see, I was never invested in our friendship and neither were you. The things you told me in private wasn't because I was your friend was it? It was because you wanted my pity, you thought I would stop going after Justin, or someone else." Maddie's eyebrows scrunched together. "She thought I didn't trust her? I trusted her with everything Zach. Even about-"

"I know." Zach stopped his sister hearing the pain in her voice. "Just know that everyone who hears this tape still loves you." Zach wasn't sure if his words were good enough for Maddie but they continued to listen to the tape anyways.

"But at one point I finally started to value our friendship. I wasn't just using you because I was lonely and I was sure you weren't just using me to keep me from Justin. So I came to you with all my problems, and maybe that's where it started. I should of had a different person to talk to, you had other things and I forced you to listen to me, but really Maddie I listened to you." Maddie felt sick to her stomach. She always valued her friendship with Hannah, sure she was cautious of it at first but soon after that she loved the girl as if there was no past problems.

"I listened to-" Hannah's voice started to get loud and Zach's hand squeezed Maddie's a little tighter, Maddie looked down at their hands and then up to her brothers face, seeing the harsh lines of a frown upset her but hearing Hannah's next lines she forgot all about it.

"I listened to how you were adopted but the Dempsey's and never felt like their real daughter. How Mrs. Dempsey never seemed to want to be your mother after your dad pasted away. But I also listened to your past, the one with your abusing father, abusing uncle, drug addict mother, and your little sister." Maddie's breath caught. She's putting out my personal information! How could she? I never said a thing about Zach and her or anything else she told me. It was like the room was crushing around her, nobody else knew these things, Justin didn't even know them to their full extent the way Zach and Hannah did.

"Now everyone knows, I'm not going into full detail, that's your job. But maybe now you can have other people's pity  instead of trying to get mine. You never listened to me, this friendship was truly one sided, and you never wanted it, you just wanted a diary that talked back."

Maddie winced as the tape ended. There were hot tears on her cheeks and her breathing was hard. "I never did anything? She just put my life out there? I never asked for her pity." Her voice sounded so broken and desperate that Zach felt like he was caught in gunfire. "I know, and it's unfair of her but nobodies looking at you any different, okay Mads? We'll get through this together.

A weak nod was all she would manage.

~~~Authors Note~~~
So the way I've been building this character I'm honestly not sure exactly what to put into the tape, and obviously what's on the tape is not what fully happened or even the secrets. Because I'm saving those to be unfolded in the part that will be Season 2. Sorry the tape wasn't better if you don't like it or what more stuff added please message me or comment any ideas you want. I kind of left the tape without a proper ending so if anyone had ideas or I have some I can continue on the next chapter. And if you don't like it at all please tell me and I will rewrite this chapter. Thank you for all the love in support on this book it means the world to me!🧡

{1.22.18}