Dysphoria

Chapter Thirty Five

I picked Maddy up for school the next day, feeling very relieved to have my car back. My tattoos were tender but healing nicely, I sent pictures to the girls, they loved them even if they thought the hammer was a bit weird I just passed it off as an inside joke between with me and Ash.

Last night I got a text from Nate.

Short King: I can't stop thinking about you.

Me: If you know what's good for you, you will. Stop texting me. Cassie will go through your phone.

Every other message he sent I ignored. I knew I felt something for him, whether it was some kind of attraction or maybe the need to fix him I don't know. I knew he was drawn to me too. But it wasn't like the love I felt for Fez. Fez made my heart burst with just a simple smile. I didn't want anything to ruin that and I knew Nate was the definition of playing with fire.

There had been something on my mind all night, I needed to know what had happened with him and Maddy.

I tried not to be nervous when I finally mustered the courage to asks her.

"So, you said yesterday Nate did something to you that made you see a different side of him. What did he do Maddy?"

She looked down at her phone and her mouth opened for a second like she was about to say something before she closed it and then just said, "I shouldn't say. It's...bad."

"Maddy I was there with you when he strangled you, I've seen him do bad things." I reminded her.

"This was worse." She said quietly, she had a far off look in her eye like she was remembering every detail of it.

She took in a deep breath. "He pulled a gun on me."

"What?" I ask in shock quickly merging into the next lane do I didn't miss the turn.

"It was like, just after the fight at Cassie's. Maybe the next day. I came home and he was in my room waiting for me." She scoffed and looked out the windscreen with a pained smile. "For a second I thought he had come over to apologize."

"What did he come over for?" I asked her almost scared at what the answer could possible be. It made me sick to know that day he kissed me and said he was going to be a better person, right afterwards he went to Maddy's house with a gun.

"I had taken something from his room before we broke up. What I did...I didn't know what I had taken. It was a disc with a sex tape on it...of his Dad" She said uncomfortably.

"Oh fuck! You had the disc?" I say to her almost driving into the back of the truck in front of us.

"Wait- how the fuck did you know about the disc??" Maddy asked turning in her chair to look at me. "Did you watch it?"

"Oh God no." I shake my head at the horrible thought. "Did you?"

She nodded silently.

"Oh Jesus Maddy."

We didn't need to say it out loud, we both knew what Cal Jacobs had done, we both knew Jules was on that tape. "It doesn't matter how I know about it but...I know what's on it. I know why Nate wanted it so badly."

"I told him I didn't know what he was talking about and he put the gun to his head...he was gonna shoot him self if I didn't give him the disc. So I did." She admitted, leaving a terrible silence between us as we drove into the school parking lot.

When we got out of the car I put my arms around her. I knew Maddy was strong and she wouldn't show how much that would affect her, but that's dark shit even for Nate to pull. And maybe what shook her most was she thought Nate would never turn on her like that.