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I think the man just likes to disagree with me for the sake of arguing.
I thought Madison needed this job, but I imagine the payout from the tabloid would keep her afloat for a while. I imagine she bargained for a high fee considering the details she gave. I wonder if the candid disclosure, the whispering, was part of the thrill in sharing those secrets or if it was suggested by the vlogger to make it sound even more clandestine than it actually was. The onlyreason I had for wanting to keep it secret was the gossip it would bring to this small town. The people around here don’t need a reason to whisper among themselves. They’d gossip about Old Man Hinkle using Sevin dust, then telling everyone the tomatoes he grew out behind his house were organic.
I run my hands along the front of my jeans, but I come up empty.
“I don’t have my keys or my phone,” I mutter. “Walker probably has them.”
Dad sighs as if being in my vicinity is stress-inducing.
“Give me a minute,” he says as he pulls his own phone from the old-man clip on his belt.
I shake my head, not bothering to wait for him to make his call. It’s early morning, but it’s already getting hot outside. I need a shower. I know a nap will have to wait, but maybe I can convince the boys to sit still long enough for a movie marathon, and I can get a quick nap then.
I pull off my shirt and wrap it around my fist before putting it through one of the small windows at the back of the house. Calling someone out to replace it is a lot less stressful than trying to track down my keys. Not having my phone isn’t much of a concern either because who do I need to speak with? No one as far as I’m concerned.
Reaching in to flip the lock on the window, I hiss at the pain in my shoulder. The old injury from my third year playing for the Crusaders flares up regularly, and it’s making it known it didn’t appreciate the way I fell asleep on it last night.
I haven’t crawled through a damn window since I was in high school, but I sure as hell don’t remember it being as hard as it is right now.
When my foot catches the edge of the sill, putting me on my ass inside the house, I spend a lot longer than I should debating if I couldn’t just lie there for an hour instead of getting up.
“Are you just going to lie there?”
I look up at my dad as he stares down at me. There’s less disappointment and more humor in his eyes.
“Why are you so tired, Daddy?” Cole asks, coming from behind my dad.
“Why were you sleeping on the porch?” Cale asks. “Did you break that window?”
I look at the shattered glass surrounding me.
“How did you get inside? I thought you said you didn’t have a key,” I grumble as I roll over and stand, doing my best not to put my hands in the glass shards.
“I called the Graves family. They told me they had a HIDE-A-KEY.”
“Papaw found a magical rock that opens the door!” Cole says excitedly.
“I’m going to take them to the kitchen for breakfast while you shower,” Dad says before ushering the boys from the hallway.
As if needing the reassurance, I take the stairs opposite of my room, using the tip of one finger to push open the door to Madison’s room. Like mine, it’s one room she hadn’t added any special touches to. The rest of the house looks amazing, and it makes me wonder if she always knew this was how things would end up or if she just hadn’t gotten around to this part of the house yet.
I pull the door closed, the snap of wood hitting wood having a certain kind of finality to it.
If only I could close off that part of myself I never should’ve given her the opportunity to reach in the first place, then maybe this betrayal wouldn’t hurt so badly.
Chapter 32
Madison
I can’t decide what’s worse, getting woken up to the sound of my parents going at it or bearing witness to all the chatter before the headboard meets the wall.
Instead of wasting energy trying to drown out the noise, I dress quickly and head out. I’ve made excuses and refused to take my life back for too long. I’ve left my fate up to others, and that’s not how anyone is supposed to live their lives. I might’ve done that subconsciously so I had someone else to blame, someone else to point a finger at when things didn’t go my way, but I can’t be that woman any longer.
I will not let others determine the trajectory of my life.
I settle inside my car, taking a deep breath before cranking the damn thing. I have a million decisions to make in my life, but unlike right after high school graduation when I saw each of those as a challenge and wanted to face them with enthusiasm, the thought of making any decisions right now exhausts me.
With a deep, fortifying breath, I start the car and head out, keeping my eyes diverted as I pass Henry Woodson on his way back to his house.
