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I sighed. “Rough. Car accident on the 405.”
Clay raised his eyebrows and glanced at me. “You okay?” he asked softly.
I nodded, leaning forward to place my soda on the coffee table, reaching behind me for the controller. I didn’t handle car accidents well, not since my mom passed. They used to be my favorite part of the job, hectic, but that was where I got to help people the most. After my mom was hit, it was hard for me to not see her in any of those people on the roads, no matter how banged up they were. All I saw was my mom.
I caught glances with Clay, his eyebrows still raised in concern.
I forced a chuckle. “I’m fine.”
Clay turned to the TV, leaving back into the couch. “I saw Madeline today,” he said, not so casually.
Even as the two-player game began, my interest piqued at the mention of Madeline’s name, but I did my best to tamp it down.
“Oh, yeah?” I said simply in return. He knew I was interested in her. Whenever Ophelia had come over these past few weeks, I had to force myself not to ask about her. I had a feeling Ophelia knew about the awkward kiss, even though she didn't directly say she did. But she and Madeline lived together; how could she not?
Clay nodded. “She looks good, getting ready for her finals.”
“As you should be too,” I said, hitting the trigger on the control harder than I intended. The avatar fell to the ground, and I ran back away, knowing his teammates didn't see his demise. “Don’t you have a final tomorrow morning?”
“Yeah,” Clay mumbled, “eight a.m.”
I looked at the clock above the stove. “And we are playingCall of Dutyat eleven p.m., why?” I asked, lowering my controller to my lap.
Clay shrugged. “I just wanted to tell you that…” He paused the game and looked over at me, his face serious. “Maddy asked about you.”
I widened my eyes, butterflies rising in my stomach.Madeline asked about me?“She did?”
Clay nodded and un-paused the game, turning his head back to the television. “She asked me how you were doing, if returning to school was an option.”
“Oh.” And just like that, the butterflies died. “That’s all she was concerned about?”
Clay frowned and shook his head. “No, I think she was asking more if you’d still be my roommate after the semester ended.”
My avatar was shot down after his comment. I relaxed my fingers on the joy sticks and watched my character respawn, not caring about the game anymore.
“I’d assumed so,” I replied. “Seeing as this isn’t a dorm, and we pay rent.” I furrowed my brow and set the controller next to me. “Why would she be concerned about that?”
Clay shrugged. “I don’t know, Milo, but she seems awfully interested if you’d be around.”
The round ended, and he clicked a few buttons, turning the Xbox off. Setting his controller down, he turned to me. “Why don’t you call her?” he asked, the corners of his mouth tipping up into a grin small grin.
I shrugged. “I told you. We both agreed there was no chemistry.”
“I saw you that night. There wasdefinitelychemistry.”
“At the bar maybe,” I rebutted. “Not afterward.”
Clay shrugged. “My first kiss with Ophelia was nothing to brag about.”
I glared, and he raised his hands in surrender. He stood and headed toward his bedroom. “I’m just saying, Milo, you may not think she's interested, but she definitely still is. You should call her.”
He closed the door to his bedroom, leaving me in the middle of the apartment, surrounded by his finance books.
Burying my head in my hands, I groaned and pushed myself off the couch. I had it in my head that Madeline wanted nothing to do with me, that I messed it up completely, but maybe Clay was right. Maybe allwasn’tlost when it came to Madeline.
Chapter Five
-Madeline-
