Page 91 of Sinister Legacy
“Are you kidding me?” She takes another bite of carrot cake, smiling around a mouthful. “I get to gossip and eat cake to my heart’s content. This beats school any day. Just don’t let my parents know.”
I reach for my coffee and take a sip of the now lukewarm drink. Madison cleans her plate in seconds.
“I couldn’t talk to Cassie about this.”
Madison scoffs, wiping her mouth with a paper napkin before crumpling it up and tossing it on the plate. “No kidding. That girl loves her seat atop the soapbox she guards with her misplaced morals.”
There’s bitterness in her tone, but I don’t question it.
I love how relaxed Madison is. A few weeks back, she was stabbed by a madman. But here she is, listening to me rant.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I reach for the paper napkin and begin tearing it into strips.
“For what?”
“For listening.” I line the stripes up, three in total, then tear off another. “For making me feel better. I’m hurt about the dare, but… I don’t know… It feels stupid to make it into a big thing, you know? Four people are dead. I don’t have it in me to make a big drama.”
Madison drains the last of her coffee. “Hayley was fucking King before you, wasn’t she?” She puts the cup down and wipes her mouth with her hand. “Maybe she just wanted you out of the way. Plain old jealousy masquerading as concern.”
“You think? It didn’t seem to me like she wanted Ava to tell me.”
“I don’t know, but don’t let it get to you either way.” She slides the plate forward and puts her forearms on the table with a coy smile. “Even if you broke up with him today because of some juvenile dare, he wouldn’t leave you alone. He’d corner you and fuck you silly.”
“Madison,” I laugh. “You’re so crude sometimes.”
Her eyes sparkle with humor. “Are you denying it?”
I bite down on my lip to stop myself from returning her simpering. My head shakes as I relent with a soft laugh. “He wouldn’t leave me alone if I broke up with him.”
“There you go. So why give the dare any more of your energy? You like him, don’t you?”
There’s no point denying the truth. I’m crazy about King.
“Yes, I like him.”
“Problem solved. Now you can tell Hayley and Ava where to stick it.”
“I thought you were friends with them?”
“I have a lot of friends,” she says with a small shrug. “But I’m loyal to few.”
“I hope I make that list.”
She snorts, her arms crossed. “You’re my closest friend, Keira. If anyone messes with you, they mess with me.”
That makes me laugh. “I think you’re my closest friend, too.”
“Did I knock Cassie down a step?”
I wet my lips, looking out through the window at the snowflakes outside. “She took care of that herself.”
“Do I sense some animosity?”
A waitress clears our table and asks if we want anything else. Madison shakes her head.
When she’s gone, I reply, “It’s hard to be friends with someone who judges your decisions, you know? Of course I know it was wrong to cheat on Liam. I never claimed to be a good person.” I sit back and scrub my face before looking at Madison again. “Liam and I weren’t in love. He was using me as much as I was using him. So I guess it didn’t seem like a big deal to keep my thing with King a secret.”
“Girl, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. Liam had some strange obsession with you, but it was an unhealthy one.”
