Page 62 of Before the Encore

Madison lifted her eyebrows. “Ah…Yeah.”

“Was that the first time that’s happened to you?”

“Yeah.”

Bonnie groaned as she sat beside her on the concrete. Madison couldn’t stop her eyebrows from lifting again, surprised at Bonnie’s willingness to join the array of pigeon poop and dust. Bonnie readjusted her vest top while Madison pretended not to look at the swell of her breasts.

“The first time is really scary.” Bonnie nodded, her eyes someplace far away. “It catches you off guard, and when it spirals out of control, the fear can be paralysing. The world slows down, but the panic grips you and doesn’t let go.”

“Exactly!” She couldn’t hide her amazement at how easily Bonnie explained it. “I froze, and then I didn’t know what to do.”

“You need to be careful now when you head into busy places. Investing in some security wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

Guilt nipped at Madison’s insides, remembering their not-date on the pier. Something could have easily happened to Bonnie then. Madison had been naïve. Too blasé. Bonnie could’ve gotten hurt.

Madison scratched at her neck. “I’ve never really been recognised in public. I don’t think most of the crowd knew who I was, but the commotion from the first photos was enough to grab their attention, and then I couldn’t find my sister.” Fear spiked again at the memory. “If she hadn’t pulled the fire alarm, I don’t know what would’ve happened. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t protect her.”

“It’s okay. Nothing bad happened.”

“Not this time, but god, I’d never forgive myself if anything did. She said she was fine, just a little shook up, but I know it bothered her more than she’s letting on.”

Bonnie placed her hand on Madison’s thigh. “It’s not your fault.”

“I didn’t even think.” Madison turned to her, struck by the look in Bonnie’s eyes, a deep amber in the sunlight. “Somehow in all of this, I forgot about how much my life would change. I just thought, ‘oh yeah, that’ll be cool’, but I didn’t actually think about it.”

Bonnie gave her a small smile. “It takes some getting used to.” Then she moved her hand away, and Madison missed the weight immediately.

“Yeah.”

More pigeons landed on the roof. One nuzzled its beak into the other’s feathers. Kinda cute, in a gross way.

“Is your sister still coming to the show tonight?” Bonnie asked.

“Yep.” Madison rolled her eyes. “And she is ridiculously excited to meet you.”

“Is she?”

“She’s a big fan.”

“That’s surprising.” Bonnie smiled. “I imagined your sister to be more like you.”

“Unfortunately, she didn’t get my stellar music taste.”

“Hey!” Bonnie laughed, and dammit, the sound lit Madison up inside like a firework.

“I already told her not to get her hopes up.” She leaned into her, needing to hear it again. “Despite all the rainbows and sparkles, you’re not actually a real-life unicorn.”

Bonnie pushed her hair behind her ears with a giggle. It wasn’t the ugly cackle Madison adored, but it’d do. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

She grinned, admittedly feeling lighter. But when her eyes met Bonnie’s, she had to look away. Too much emotion swirled in those irises. Too many things were left unsaid. Kam was right; they needed to talk about this, but she didn’t know how or where to start.

Maybe she should’ve asked Ruby for some advice. That little know-it-all would’ve given her some pointers—but only after chanting ‘I told you so’ and teasing her relentlessly.

“Bonnie.” She focused on her jeans and not the gorgeous woman next to her. “Do you…” Nerves twisted in her stomach, and she picked a piece of lint from her trousers. “Do you have any family coming tonight?”

Pathetic.

The events at M&M World had thrown her off her game, yes, but the main reason she bottled it was because—despite appearances and popular belief, underneath the black and the eyeliner—rejection still terrified her.