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So instead of telling them that she was a Gulls Girl and accidentally causing both heartbreak and hemorrhaging at the same time, she decided on something safe like a receptionist at a business company.

“It’s good, actually,” Madison replied.  She continued to go on about how annoyed she was about a particular co-worker named Faye, how she had made friends with another receptionist, Amanda, and how she was into a guy she went to school with.  The latter, she was happy to say – if only to herself – was actually the truth.

“Your father’s at work, or else I’d put him on so you can say hello,” her mother said.  “But Claire’s here and she’s been motioning to the phone ever since she knew it was you on the line.  I know you’re a California girl now, and probably incredibly busy, but do you have time to talk with her?”

Madison laughed at the ridiculousness of the question.  “Oh Mom, I am not a California girl,” she assured her.  “I don’t have blonde hair and big boobs.  I’m still Madison Montgomery, from South Haven.  And I have all the time in the world to talk to Claire.”

“Oh good!
  Honey, you don’t know how happy I am to hear that.  That you’re doing good.  You know I miss you and if you need anything, like you want to come home and go to Michigan so you could be closer to your family, I’d get your father to buy you the first ticket home!”

She chuckled, wishing she could take her up on her offer but knew that it was for the best that she was here.  “I know Mom.  I love you.”

“I love you too.  You should call here more often.”  There was a muffle – her mother probably put her hand over the phone – and then, “Claire!  Madison’s on the phone!  Come talk to your sister!” 

Madison pressed her lips together in order to hide a smile even though her mother and sister couldn’t see her.  Some things never changed.

Claire Montgomery was much like Madison in that the two were more smart than social.  But Claire had a mouth on her and was more interested in doing math and physics and solving problems that had definitive answers rather than things like English and history and interpretation.  She did like to read, however, but mostly biographies of people she admired.  Claire had the same sea-blue eyes and alabaster skin Madison had, but Claire’s hair was more dirty blonde in color rather than dark brown.  She and Madison shared the same slender body shape, but Madison was a few inches taller than Claire.

“Hello?”

“Claire?”

“Madison?”  She heard her sister smile as she spoke.  “Oh my God, you’ve been in California for what, maybe a couple of months, and you’ve already lost your accent.  I’m so jealous.”

“We don’t have accents, remember Claire?” Madison teased.

She missed her sister, too.  God, she missed Claire.  Even though Claire was just eighteen and a senior in high school, Madison could tell Claire anything and know that her younger sister wouldn’t tell anyone about it
at all.  Besides Stephanie and Rhine, and now Amanda, Claire wasn’t just a sister, but Madison’s best friend as well.

“Hang on a sec, I’m going to go to my room so we can talk more privately,” Claire said.  There was a shuffle, and it was a few seconds as Claire walked down to the basement, where Madison knew Claire’s bedroom was situated after Madison had moved out.  “Okay.  I’m back.”

“How do you like your new room?” Madison asked.

“I love it,” Claire said.  “It’s so private down here.  Well, as private as it can get in this place.  You know how Dad is.”

“Yeah.”

Madison did know.  Her father wasn’t just critical about his daughters’ appearance, but there was a lack of privacy in the house.  At random times, her father would come into their rooms without knocking, searching for things like drugs or hidden alcohol containers, just in case.  South Haven might have been a small town, but there did seem to be a never-ending supply of drugs for those who sought it out, and even Madison and Claire knew this, they both wished their father trusted them.

“I got asked out to homecoming by Aron,” Claire said in a whisper, despite the fact that she was in the basement and away from anyone who might overhear her omission and despite the fact that her father was at work.

“That’s great!” Madison exclaimed.  She knew Aron from Claire’s apt description of him being way smart, really cute – he wore glasses but they actually made him look cuter – and loved learning about Einstein as much as she did.  Claire had met him freshman year of high school and they had been friends ever since.  He had even met her parents, although apparently the girls’ father promptly ignored him, and after Aron left, her father told Claire she wasn’t allowed to see that boy ever again even though the two were just friends.

“No, it’s not great,” Claire murmured.  “You know how Dad is.  He’s never let me go to any dance ever.  The only one I can actually look forward to is prom, and that’s months away!  Who knows if Aron will even be interested in me?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down,” Madison said.  “First of all, are you guys going together, as in, a date?”

“I – I don’t know,” Claire admitted.  “He asked if I could go with a bouquet of roses and he never mentioned that we’d go as friends.  But I don’t know if that means he just thought I’d assume we’d be going as friends or” –

“Stop.”
  Madison felt herself grinning because she was the same way.  “You’re thinking too much about it.”

“I had to throw away the flowers,” Claire said.  “I couldn’t bring them home.  Dad would ask where I got them from and I just didn’t want to deal with that.  It’s like, no matter how convincing I am
, he knows when I’m lying.”

“Well, you’re going to have to lie if you want to go to that dance,” Madison pointed out.  “Maybe you can tell Mom that you’re spending the night with your friends – what are their names? 
Emily and Sara? – after the game.  Instead of actually sleeping, though, you guys get ready and go to the dance.”

“And how am I supposed to get a dress?”

“Go shopping, buy one – I know you have money saved up – and leave it at either Emily or Sara’s house.”

There was a long silence on the other end.  Madison knew Claire was trying to decide if the pros weighed out the cons when it came to this instance.

“Okay.”  Another pause, and then, “What about you, Maddy?  How’s California?  You know I’m going to be moving out with you right when I graduate.  No community college for me.”

“Do the parents know this?” Madison asked.

“Yup, and they agree,” Claire said, “if I get a scholarship of some sort.  Anyways, tell me how life is.  How’s
that job
?  School? 
Boys
?”

Claire was the only one back home who knew that Madison was a Gulls Girl and had kept the secret to herself.  She never judged Madison and said that doing something like that might actually be fun – and it would definitely help her meet hot, California guys.

Madison told her sister a short but detailed version of everything that had happened since the last time they spoke, including her interaction with Alec Schumacher, Brady, and her classes.  Also that she was responsible for coming up with some sort of memorial for the owner of the Gulls.

“I can’t believe that guy’s dead,” Claire said in a hushed voice.  “I’ve heard Dad talk about it since
it’s hockey news and everything.  I just didn’t realize that you used to work for him.  I mean, before he died.  But Maddy, if no one has been arrested yet, if the cops haven’t made an arrest, that means that the person who did kill the owner is still out there.  You’re not in danger or anything, are you?”

“Oh no, definitely not,” Madison reassured her.  In all honesty, the thought had never crossed her mind until Claire had brought it up.  And even though she was still certain that her life wasn’t in danger, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t spooked at the thought that she might be interacting with a killer on a daily basis.

When the conversation wound down, Claire said, “I’d give the phone to Olivia, but she’s out with all her cool friends.”

Madison could have detected the disdain in her sister’s voice if Claire hadn’t made it as obvious as she had.  Claire and Olivia were about as opposite in personality as one could get and that tended to cause a lot of friction.  While Claire liked her independence and only had two close friends, Olivia – a sophomore – was one of the most popular girls in her class, though her grades were lacking in comparison to her two sisters.

“That’s okay.  Send her my love.  And hey, tell me how homecoming goes.  If you need anything, day or night, don’t hesitate to call.”

After they got off the phone, Madison decided to shower and change into some comfortable clothing.  When she finished washing her hair, she threw the dark locks up into a messy bun and headed out the door.  She wanted to pick up some books at the nearby Barnes & Noble.

Madison skimmed through the Mystery section.  She loved trying to solve the crime before the main character.  She grabbed a couple of paperbacks from two of her favorite series and decided to browse through the magazines, hoping for the newest edition of
Cosmo
.  Her father banned magazines that promoted sex, as he decided it did without actually cracking one open to actually check, but Madison would always sneak them back in South Haven.  Now she could buy them without worrying about her father finding them.  Hell, she might even buy a subscription.

“Well hello there Madison,” a familiar voice said from behind her.  “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

Madison jumped, the magazine already in her arms along with her paperback mysteries, and she turned, surprised to see none other than Brady standing there with a couple of books himself. 

His beige eyes immediately descended to Madison’s arms.  “
Cosmo
, eh?” he asked in an amused voice.

“What?”  God, why couldn’t she have put any effort into her appearance? 
“Oh, yeah.  I read it.  Religiously.”

Stop
babbling, stop babbling, please, for the love of God, stop babbling.

He said nothing, but his lips quirked up.  His mouth might have been closed, but it was obvious that his twinkling eyes were laughing at her.

“Interesting,” was all he said.  “How’s work at Sea Side.  I heard Brandon Thorpe was arrested yesterday.”

“Actually he was just brought in for questioning,” she snapped, harsher than she intended to.  She swallowed.  The mention of Brandon Thorpe and Sea Side brought up memories of Alec Schumacher and him walking her to her car – like she had any choice in the matter – and the story he told her. 
The story that he supposedly hadn’t told any other girl except her.  The fact that he would fight for the people he cared about, no matter what.

“Sorry,” she continued, shaking her head. 

“No, it’s fine,” he said.  “So, forgive me if this is a little blunt but I was wondering if you had plans for the rest of the day.”

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!

“No…”  Yes, she managed to get the word out.  But she sucked in her breath, waiting, hoping.

“Good.”  He smiled.  “I thought for a second you might have a lunch date with your boyfriend or something.”

Madison laughed – she hated to admit that it was her nervous, obnoxious laughter – and diligently shook her head so hard she was surprised her neck didn’t snap.  “Oh no,” she told him.  “No.  No.  I do
not
have a boyfriend.”

Brady’s smile only deepened.  “This is good news,” he said in a low voice.  “Well then, would you mind having lunch with me?  We can talk more about this whole hockey murder or, if that’s not appropriate lunchtime material, we could talk about social psychology and how we can manipulate people to say yes.”

“Yes,” Madison said, with a nod.  She chuckled at his little joke.  “Yes, I would love to.”

She didn’t sound too desperate, did she?

It didn’t matter.

She was going on a lunch date – because it had to be a date, right? –
with Brady. 
Brady
.  She couldn’t have been happier.    

26
.
 
Friday afternoon was the only time Emma could meet up with her three best friends at Farley’s, a chain restaurant and brewery.  She had fixed all the necessary mistakes and tightened up a couple of hits in her dance routine yesterday, and then practiced it over and over again this morning to make sure that every time she danced it, she nailed it.  This was her little break before she had to head back to UCI in order to teach her team the dance which meant she couldn’t eat a cheeseburger and fries like she wanted to lest she wanted to puke all over the dance floor.

“Looks like it’s a salad for me,” she muttered under her breath. 

Emma reached forward and grabbed the gaudy, gold seashell-shaped handle.  The dark oak door was heavy, and it took effort to open the door and slip inside.  Despite the fact that the restaurant opened maybe a half an hour ago, the lights were dim and different sports games on multiple flat screen televisions located at various places throughout rather than just at the bar were going off at the same time.  A few people were already scattered, a couple off in a booth, middle-aged men sitting at the bar and mumbling about how they would coach whatever team they were watching, businessmen at tables talking to their clients.  And there, located in the bar section of the restaurant at a high table with matching-in-height chairs, were Ariel, Michelle, and Carrie, Emma’s three best friends.