“Okay?” she parroted.
“Okay.”
And somehow, she believed him.
The silence stretched for a bit until she broke it with a “So, can you actually give me a hand with this project I’ve got? I could really use the help.” She gave him a blinding smile, meant to persuade him.
Nate started chuckling, the tension between them evaporating. He rolled his eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t fall out.
“Was that speech only because you needed my help?” He tstsked. “That is just brutal, you know.” Nate might have said that but his eyes were now smiling.
And yet, help he did.
seven
Nate didn’t know what to make of that situation.
He certainly didn’t even know what to make of Madison.
He’d never been at such a loss for words.
He felt as if she’d barreled into his life, which she kind of had.
He hadn’t recognized her when she’d bumped against him on that fateful day, the impact so strong, it had been enough to fling her in the middle of traffic. It was instinct to follow after her and try to pull her to safety.
To say that it had been a shock to find himself waking up in his childhood bedroom would be an understatement. Every memory he’d had of this place had come rushing back, but it was only after he’d caught a glimpse of her amidst the school crowd that he’d fully remembered her and what had happened.
Ironically, the last thing he would have wished for, would have been to return to this precise moment in time, when life certainly hadn’t been easy for him and his family, when everything had felt like treading through water waist-deep—exhausting, crushing, no end in sight.
Except, this time, in the middle of it all, in the middle of all this absurdity, there was this girl that barely reached his shoulder, eyes wide and clear behind her glasses, who looked to him as if he was a lifeline and not someone who’d been adrift and helpless for such a long time.
Sure, he’d always had to be firm and steady as a rock, unyielding, especially when he’d been younger. It had been the only way not to be crushed by the ongoing waves that broke against him. But in this case, he felt as unsteady as she must feel.
He’d seen Madison a few times in school. Just in passing. He’d seen how she wouldn’t draw attention to herself. She’d sit quietly, mostly by herself, a book open in her lap, everyone else moving around her, Madison probably just a blur to them.
Her surprise had been evident when he’d mentioned that he’d noticed her—it’s true that they didn’t share any sort of common company, despite his supposed popularity.
He wanted to snort. He was popular because almost everyone seemed to flock to jocks, and being on the basketball team apparently made him instantly interesting and important. But apart from a couple of good friends, almost no one knew anything real about him. They wouldn’t bother to.
Looking at Madison now, how she was frowning, focusing intently on her homework, he couldn’t help but remember that one day, probably the first time he’d properly noticed her.
He’d been somewhere nearby when he heard, more than saw, her gasp out loud in outrage at something she was reading, her lips mouthing the words, her face red in anger, almost vibrating with tension. She’d looked so indignant as if the book had personally faulted her, and he’d chuckled, taken aback himself by his reaction.
Laughter wouldn’t come easy those days back then. His home situation had been somewhat improving by that time, but the balance had felt so fragile. One wrong move could have made everything collapse like a house of cards.
And now there they were, both of them entangled in an impossible situation, Madison chattering away the quiet, and Nate, mostly rendered speechless.
Well, there were worse partners to be stuck with in impossible situations.
He smiled inwardly at the thought.
eight
Maddy thought she could really use a good friend.
The only problem was that meeting her best friend was years into the future, not happening until mid-college at least. The reason why she could use a good friend was because it would have been really nice to have someone to discuss everything that had happened.
It would also have been nice to discuss what had eventually become a study date at Nate’s house.
