[2022 Wattys Winner] When love cynic Madison Watson starts university, she vows to follow three simple rules.
One: Work out at least twice a week.
Two: Get an internship.
Three: Stay away from men.
But after a chance encounter with th...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I released the silver cutlery in my hands. They clattered onto my plate, drawing more attention than had already been drawn. Anxiety rippled through my every nerve, blurring my vision as it threatened to take over.
"What's he doing here?"
My mother pursed her lips matter-of-factly. "I invited him."
"I got that." I tried to take a steady breath, tried to ball my hands into fists to stop them from trembling. "Why? Did you invite Lola, too?"
"Of course, dear." Her tone was alight with innocent bewilderment. "Regretfully, she and her family are out of town."
"You have got to be kidding me—"
"Madi ..." Eli stepped forward, his hands raised in front of him as though he was trying to surrender. His hazel eyes sparkled in the low light, pooling with a mixture of urgency and regret.
"No." I raised a finger warningly, tearing my gaze from his. "Not you."
"I told her that we needed to talk—"
"Is that all you told her?"
I wasn't looking at him, but I could feel his eyes on mine. Searing me so desperately. Begging me not to say any more than I already had.
After all, he had a reputation to uphold.
But maybe he should have thought about that before he crashed my birthday. Maybe he should have thought about it when he was screwing my best friend.
My mother placed the flowers down on the buffet, wringing her hands nervously as every eye in the room flickered between us. "Madison, we can discuss this in private."
"Jeez, can you stay out of this?" My anxiety compounded into anger, ricocheting through every part of me at the realization that this wasn't merely a birthday party. It wasn't even a mere surprise party.
It was an ambush.
They thought if they cornered me in front of a house full of guests that I'd be forced to talk to them. To listen to them. That I wouldn't make a scene.
They thought so, so wrong.
I jerked to my feet, my chair screeching on the marble tiles as it flew out behind me. "Can you stay out of my life for one second?"
My mother winced. She knew that her plan was backfiring, that I wouldn't back down because I had nothing left to lose. She saw that I didn't care about what the people in that room thought of me anymore, that I knew they were all hiding just as much as we were. But fear clouded her vision as she was hit with another realization—the realization that I knew she did care.
And that was my advantage.
"No, I can't." Her voice was shaky, her hands still fidgeting with the diamond rings on her dainty fingers. "You're my daughter, Madison, and I'm worried about you. You're not answering anyone's calls, you weren't on campus when I came to visit. Eli tells me that you had some strange boy in your room—"
