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So I nod.
When she jumps down from the counter, excusing herself as she needs to finish getting ready, I know I’m screwed.
As we begin our run around Central Park, I know Madison is angry with me.
Her clipped responses are a sure sign she’s thinking of ways to tell me to take a hike in the opposite direction. Not that I can blame her. I am telling myself the same thing. But this is the push I needed. I’ve put it off for long enough. She needs to know.
I’m winded, and it’s not because I’m running. For the first time in my life, I am absolutely petrified. I know there is no way to soften the blow of what I’m about to reveal. Hunter’s advice plays over in my head, and although it’s the worst piece of advice to follow, I decide to put my spin on it and hope it works.
I plan to declare my feelings for her before I tell her what a lowlife scumbag I really am. Here’s hoping she’ll focus on the positives rather than the negatives. But I realize this is all wishful thinking. Once I’m done telling her the truth, she’ll want nothing more to do with me.
“So this is nice.” Not the lead-in I wanted to start with, but it’ll have to do.
Maddy turns to look at me and nods, waiting for me to elaborate. I don’t. She huffs and kicks up her speed, darting ahead of me. Normally, I would check out her ass, but today the sight is too depressing as it’s a sight I’m unlikely to see again.
I catch up to her, but she continues to focus ahead as she runs with determination.
“Maddy, about this morning…”
“Don’t worry about it,” she breathlessly says, avoiding eye contact.
“No, I am worrying about it. I need to tell you something.”
That has her sharp focus wavering as she turns. “What do you need to tell me?”
My voice catches in my throat, and my heart begins hammering. “I need to tell you the truth.”
“The truth about what, Dixon?” She slows down her strides and watches me, silently begging me to explain.
I too slow down, as I’m afraid I’ll fall over my feet once I tell her who I really am. “I…remember when you asked if I knew Juliet?”
The moment I say her stepsister’s name, she stops running and spins around to face me. She slowly nods. Her eyes reveal she’s scared, anxious, and confused, and the sight, no matter how painful, goads me to go on.
Threading both hands through my hair, I come to a halt and sigh. We’re standing face-to-face, and I’ve got nowhere to hide. “Well…I lied.”
She takes a step backward, her chest rising and falling so quickly I’m afraid she’s about to pass out. “You…w-what?”
They say the truth will set you free. I can only hope that’s true. “I lied, Maddy. I do know her.”
She blinks.
“I do know Juliet,” I clarify in case she’s misunderstood me.
“You—how?” she manages to choke out, her face turning a ghastly shade of white.
Watching the world explode before me, I confess, “I know her…because I…fuck—” I pause, placing my hands on my hips and taking a deep breath. This is just like a Band-Aid—do it quick. “I know her because I, she was—”
“Sunny?”
That one simple word, which would usually convey light and warmth, shrouds Madison’s face with nothing but darkness. I don’t need to turn around to see who stands behind me because only one vile human being calls Madison that. It’s been his nickname for her ever since they were kids.
Instinctively, I reach for Maddy, who has solidified into stone. Her entire body is taut, and her heavy breathing has turned into tiny exhalations filled with pain. Her eyes are stretched wide, and she blinks once, appearing to disbelieve who stands in front of her. But when her brain processes that her asshole brother stands before her, she begins to break down.
Her body begins to tremble so fiercely, I’m actually afraid she’ll faint. As I scoop her up in my arms, I observe that her previous shade of white looked like a rainbow compared to the color she is now. I’ve never seen her so afraid.
“It is you,” the motherfucker has the gall to say. I want to cut out his tongue as Maddy whimpers and buries herself into my chest.
“Maddy, let’s go,” I whisper, looking down at the zombie in my arms.
