Page 51 of Interview with a Sadist
“That jealousy is a bitch!” Jackson shouts.
“Fucking haters everywhere,” Ethan says.
“They’re on the outside mad as hell, while we’re on the inside having a blast,” Nolan says with a shrug.
“Sucks to be them,” says Ethan.
“Sucks to be plain, bland, and boring as fuck,” Jackson agrees.
“Fuck them all,” says Nolan, and the other two join in.
“Fuck them all!” they shout together, before all three burst into laughter. You would think the three of them had been drinking, but there isn’t any alcohol around. This is just their usual banter, and it makes me wonder if I was ever really friends with Melissa and Teagan, because we never had camaraderie like this.
“Don’t worry about it, Bree,” Ethan says, still chuckling to himself. “We got your back. If you need friends, we got you.”
I smile wide and proud, but before I can respond, I’m cut off by the sound of feet stomping up the stairs. All four of us watch the top step, waiting for whoever has entered the club to emerge, and I swear, all of the joy is sucked out of the room when we see Maddy come into view. She’s dressed for work, wearing all-black, with her blond hair hanging down in tight curls. She’s truly a beautiful woman, but she looks miserable all the time, and when she sees me sitting next to Nolan, she stops at the top step and just stands there.
“What’s up, Maddy?” Nolan says, greeting her because no one else had.
Maddy’s eyes stay on me for far too long before she finally tears them away to look at Nolan. When the two of them lock eyes, her demeanor noticeably softens.
“Hi,” she says to Nolan and to Nolan only. “Can we talk?”
Nolan keeps his eyes on Maddy. “Is it about business?”
Maddy pinches her lips together.
“Business,” she says, before pointing to the group of us. “Isthisbusiness?”
Nolan sighs. “Maddy, I’m having lunch with my people.”
“Yeah? Then what’sshedoing here?”
Everything stills, ice forming all over the furniture just from the coldness in Maddy’s glare.
“What’s the matter?” she goes on, and for the first time, I hear the pure rage in her tone. There’s something inside Maddy that I’ve never seen before, but I get the feeling everyone else in here has, and they’re doing their best to avoid it. “She doesn’t have enough info for her little article?”
“Why does it matter, Maddy?” Nolan asks, and it’s obvious he’s the designated spokesperson for the group when it comes to dealing with Maddy.
“Because she’s here … in my VIP section … and it doesn’t look like there’s an interview going on,” Maddy snips. “It looks like she’s having lunch with you all—somethingI’venever even done. Not to mention I could hear all of you whooping and hollering from downstairs. Sounds like the four of you are just having a good old time. The happy couple of E and J, and now Nolan … and the journalist.”
“Maddy, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nolan says, but Maddy seems to know more than he cares to admit.
“I don’t? Have you fucked?”
The ice that was forming before explodes into a giant ball of freezing snow that sticks to all of us. My heart begins to race a million beats per second as I’m overcome with anxiety, because Maddy looks furious when no one answers. Her face twists into a glare of both anger and pain as she eyes Nolan, but the pain melts away when her eyes shift and she gawks at me.
I gasp, flinching as Maddy stares daggers at me. If looks could kill, they’d be planning my funeral right now, and from the way she’s staring, I’m not sure Maddy isn’t already planning it for real. The look on her face terrifies me to the point of shock, and all I can do is stare back. My lungs stop working as I hold my breath, but she doesn’t turn away.
“Maddy,” Nolan barks, and the sound of his voice finally breaks the trance.
Maddy looks at Nolan for a second, and I sense the pleading in her eyes before she whirls around and walks back down the stairs. We listen to her stomp all the way toward the exit and slam the door shut behind her.
“Damn, is she okay?” I ask, my heart still pounding from the most intense stare down I’ve ever had.
“She’ll be fine,” Nolan says, but from the look on his face, I know there’s no confidence in his words.
ChapterThirty-One
