Bruises- Shane Madej

7. Laundromat Confrontation

"It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so deeply." -David Jones

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It was a rainy Saturday morning, around 10:00 am. Maddie was carrying her laundry hurriedly into the laundromat, trying not to get wet. 

A tall gentleman, also carrying a laundry basket, opened the door for her. She looked up to thank him and was caught off guard when she saw the one and only Shane Madej. 

Maddie stuttered a little before turning around and heading into the laundromat. "Hi," she said, not looking at him. 

"Hey." 

"Fancy seeing you here," she laughed nervously. 

"Mhm."

"I thought your building had laundry machines," she said, loading her clothes into the washer. 

Shane did the same, using the machine right next to hers. "Yeah, they're being replaced." 

"Cool beans." 

Maddie scolded herself mentally. 

Cool beans? Really? You've barely talked to this man for a week and all you have to say is "cool beans"? 

Shane cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you've got any plans while we wait for our clothes to get cleaned?" 

Maddie shrugged. "Um- nope, yeah, nope, I've got nothing." 

"Do you want to grab coffee? Or something?" 

She'd already had her share of caffeine for the morning, but she really missed Shane and didn't want to miss this opportunity to talk to him. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds good, sounds great." 

Shane slapped his thighs. "Mkay," He said, closing the washing machine door and grabbing his laundry basket to take out to his car. Maddie did the same. 

"Did you just slap your thighs?" Maddie giggled. "You never told me you were a middle aged dad." 

"Oh, haha, very funny." 

"You know, now that I look at your face, I definitely see it in the mustache." 

Shane rolled his eyes, chuckling as they got into his car to drive to a nearby coffee shop. 

Things between them were weird. One second, they were laughing and joking like the old times, then, an uncomfortable silence fell and Maddie could tell they were both thinking about the same thing. 

After yet another one of these awkward pauses, Maddie cleared her throat, deciding to confront Shane about it.

"Are you mad at me?" 

His face hardened. He shrugged. 

Maddie whooshed out air through her lips. "I guess that's a yes." 

Shane remained silent, sipping on his coffee and looking out the window at the rain soaked streets. 

"You know, I can date whoever I want. Its not fair of you to get mad when I start dating someone in the office." 

"Its not about-" He took a breath and seemed to dial himself back. "I just think that when you guys break up it's gonna complicate things a lot more." 

"Excuse me? When?" 

"C'mon, Maddie, it's clear that he's not really right for you." 

"That's not for you to decide, Shane! God, you don't know me better than I do!" 

He sighed and leaned back, seemingly conflicted about what to say next. To be frank, he wasn't saying what was on his mind at all. 

He wondered how long Maddie would buy the story that Shane didn't want her dating Alvin because they were coworkers. 

"You're right. That's what Ryan told me, too." 

Maddie relaxed in her seat. "Thank you for listening." 

Shane pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess I'm just a bit of a control freak." 

"Tell me about it," Maddie scoffed. 

He made eye contact with her and laughed. Soon, they were both a giggling mess. Maddie forgot how good it felt to laugh with Shane. 

Once they left the coffee shop to finish their laundry, Maddie felt as if they'd never fought at all. 

Shane, on the other hand, felt as if there was a hand, twisting his insides and making him feel a sort of despair and sadness that he'd seldom felt before. 

That night, Shane sat in Ryan's apartment with his head in his hands. 

"God, I want her to be happy, Ry, I do, but I just..." He pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a frustrated sigh. 

"Yeah, I know," Ryan patted him on the back. "It sucks, Shane, it really sucks." 

Shane nodded, getting up and uncorking a bottle of wine. 

"Eventually, you've just gotta accept that she's with somebody else. Maybe, one day, your time will come. Maybe it won't. You can't get mad at her for it." 

Shane took a long gulp of wine and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "God, I hate feelings." 

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Author's Note:

sorry for the kind of short chapter! i hope to get the ball rolling a little in the next chapter, though!