Page 5 of The Last Special Thing

“Of course,” Weston remarked, deflated. He patted her leg. They also didn’t have the same taste in music.

“So, I got a roommate,” Max said between hits, his eyes glazed. He let out another mouthful of smoke and then handed the pipe to Madisson.

Amelia evaluated the apartment. There was the couch she and Weston occupied, and the recliner where Madisson was curled. The flat-screen TV dominated nearly the entire wall, perched above an entertainment center cluttered with a few game center consoles. An ashtray that Madisson had made for Max in her ceramics class sat on the coffee table.

Behind them was a compact kitchen, but Max didn’t strike Amelia as the cooking type anyway. There was a bedroom door on either side of the living room, but she had assumed Max would use it as storage. He'd also taken up two bedrooms in his parents' house.

“Who’s the roommate?” Amelia asked.

“I found him on social media. We’ve texted a couple of times.” Max grabbed back the pipe from Madisson as she coughed into her elbow.

“Found him how?” Her brows furrowed as she lifted her head from Weston.

“I follow the local pizza shop’s Instagram account, and he commented below one of their posts that he wants to move here and can’t wait to try a slice.” Max shrugged. “Figured I might as well ask if he already had a place. His account looks normal.”

She laughed, but Madisson didn’t meet her eyes.

“You’re not serious?” Amelia asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

Tension spread across the room as noticeable as the growing stench of weed. She didn’t say anything else. Lauren had warned her about killers who met their victims online under the guise of selling a toaster. Even Weston had the decency to look appalled at the admission. Madisson, always quick to diffuse anything uncomfortable, spoke next.

“How about a round of Mario Kart, hmm?” she asked with a tight smile.

“Great idea, Babe.” Max moved to the entertainment center and powered on the game system.

When Max’s back was turned, Amelia widened her eyes to convey her horror to Madisson. She must have already known about the new roommate's origin. Madisson kept her small smile but gave an incremental shake of her head, warning Amelia to drop it. She would have to ask her about it later.

Max grumbled as he untangled the controllers on the floor. Amelia hadn’t meant to tick him off; it was an honest question. But she and Max found themselves in a push-and-pull dynamic, which affected Madisson more than either of them. Moving in a stranger from the internet, though? He might as well have left Madisson out on the street to befriend the homeless.

Max held a game controller up. Amelia removed herself from Weston, who hadn’t embraced her the way she had wanted anyway. Apparently, today would not be one of those days that they pretended like they were still together.

Max untangled the remaining controllers, and Amelia distributed them. Green for Madisson, red for Weston, and she kept the blue one for herself. Once everyone was ready, Max chose the course, and the group started the game.

They played round after round. As the person closest to sober, Amelia won a fair amount. However, Max, even stoned, was undoubtedly the best. The entire afternoon was filled with Nintendo characters racing around in outdated graphics, talking about aliens, and hitting the pipe during breaks.

When the sun finally descended through the living room window, Amelia's chest fell in disappointment. She vowed then and there that she wouldn’t let her whole summer be this mundane.

CHAPTER FOUR

Days passed, and Amelia felt no closer to her goal of an incredible summer. Madisson had been holed up at Max’s, and as much as Amelia hadn’t felt enthralled by her visit there, she missed her friend.

They had spent all four high school years together in at least three classes each semester. They saw each other in every school play. Amelia was on the stage, and Madisson built the sets. Amelia once told Madisson she was too pretty to be behind the scenes. Madisson had taken offense. She shared that there was more to life than beauty alone and was proud to learn real skills. They didn’t talk for two weeks after that. Finally, they were brought together by mutual apologies over a tub of sherbet ice cream. Besides that incident, which they both worked to forget, this felt like the longest time Amelia had gone without Madisson at her side. This was supposed to be their summer together. Max could have Madisson all to himself after Amelia left for UCLA.

Which is how she found herself back at the apartment that housed her best friend's boyfriend and, apparently, a pizza enthusiast stranger. Weston knocked, with Amelia standing behind. They waited for Madisson’s drawn-out "Come in!” before entering.

Amelia’s nose crinkled at the state of the apartment. It had only been a few days, but styrofoam take-out containers littered the countertops, and a stack of crusted dishes sat in the sink. She tried not to be judgmental. In fact, her intent for the new year was to stop giving a fuck what other people did. Six months into the year, and she still hadn’t mastered the control and emotional peace that letting people do whatever they wanted was supposed to provide her.

Amelia stopped her surveying and instead admired her freshly manicured nails. During her last appointment, she opted for red with glitter tips in celebration of Independence Day, coming later in the week. Amelia loved dressing up, on and off stage.

“Hey, honey.” Madisson rushed over and hugged Amelia.

Amelia draped her arms around her friend. “I was thinking we could go have a girls’ mission for burritos?”

“I’m down,” Max called from the kitchen. At her five-foot stature, Madisson looked up at Amelia. Her arms were still around Amelia’s waist, and she squeezed tighter as Amelia sighed. Madisson smiled with her doe eyes. “It’ll be fun if we all go, right?”

Amelia pursed her lips but agreed. Like everyone else, she also found it hard to say no to Madisson.