Page 55 of Before the Encore

“It’s not. You were sneaking around, pretending you didn’t like her, but you did, and then you pushed her away.”

Madison shrugged, trying to lift the weight sinking into her shoulders. “We had to keep things a secret from her husband.”

“Maddy!”

Which was always the response to that. She should’ve known better than to sleep with a married woman; she knew that now. But Meg was smart and funny and seemed to see something in Madison that everyone else overlooked. She believed in their music—in her. Until one day, after months of promises to leave her husband, after they’d dreamed up a life on the road together, Meg laughed it off.

It was just a bit of fun. It could never be serious with someone like you.

She exhaled through her nose. She didn’t care. She told herself she didn’t anyway.

The light blinked green, and the swarm of people hurried across the road.

“Whatever. Bonnie is also a lesbian, she’s exactly your type, and you’ve been spending months together.” Ruby counted each point on her fingers. “You’re telling me that it’s all just rumours?”

She didn’t like keeping things from Ruby, but she also wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Hook-ups were easy. Dating was hard. Madison liked to keep things simple. Though, now that she thought about it, Madison didn’t know much about Bonnie’s dating history. Everything she saw online had to be taken with a pinch of salt. She opened her mouth to ask Ruby what she knew but thought better of it.

Madison took in the busy street instead. A crowd had gathered around a street performer riding a unicycle around the paved square. A loose, flowing top and long hair cascaded behind him as he juggled pins in the air. “You’ll meet her on Friday. So, you’ll see then.”

“Oh, I will see.” She nodded, gaze burning into Madison’s face. “Don’t worry about that.”

Great. Detective Ruby on the case.

“I know you’re not the type to date.” Ruby stopped to admire another denim jacket displayed in a window. “But I don’t know why you’re so against it.”

She shrugged. “I don’t think I’m cut out for it…I don’t exactly have a great track record.”

Ruby’s attention switched to Madison, a serious pinch between her brows. “You’re not like Dad, you know.”

Heat pricked the back of Madison’s neck, and she steered Ruby away from the display. “Mum said—”

“I know what she said. But you’re not, Maddy. You need to let that go.”

Her voice had bite. “I don’t need to take advice from my baby sister.”

“Clearly, you do. You can’t avoid Mum forever. And you still carry that stupid iPod around, so you must still care about her—”

“Ruby. Not now.”

Her piece-of-shit dad came in and out of their lives like a revolving door. Madison hated the smell of him—expensive aftershave and cigarettes—and the ease with which he weaselled his way back into Mum’s life. He’d promise he’d change, cool blue eyes glinting on a chiselled face, pretending he hadn’t tangled himself in a string of different women, leaving his kids behind. Sometimes it lasted a few weeks; usually it was less than that, but he’d always leave, tearing a new wound in their mum and pushing her back towards the bottle.

The unicycle man successfully landed a front flip, and the crowd cheered. Madison moved into a gap, though the tightness in her chest stopped her from focusing on his performance.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby appeared beside her. “We don’t have to talk about it now. But we do at some point, Maddy.”

She clenched her jaw. Frustration bubbled under the surface. Partly because her sister possessed the same degree of annoying persistence as she did, and partly because she knew she was right. Madison might be seven years her senior, but Ruby had a smart head on her shoulders.

Madison hadn’t spoken to her mum in nearly a year, and though she missed her, she also felt…relief at having space from her. Her childhood was complicated; Ruby barely knew the half of it. There’d never be a right time to open that can of worms.

Plus, all of this with Bonnie took centre stage. Madison had tried to talk to her—and she thought she’d got through, but it still went tits up.

Relationships just weren’t Madison’s forte. Not long-term ones, anyway.

“You pick where we go next,” Ruby said, grimacing as the man lit some juggling clubs on fire. “And quickly. Before he realises his top is highly flammable.”

Madison combed her gaze over the various shops before finding the perfect one. A grin tugged at her mouth. “Come on.”

She sidestepped a throng of excited children, grinning wider as they stormed through the doors ahead. M&M World. Ruby was going to hate it.