𝔖𝔞𝔩𝔱𝔟𝔲𝔯𝔫

𝔖𝔦𝔵

I made Venetia wait until I was sober so we could smoke. She understood. I've already been cross faded once at college; not something I was interested in doing again.

I was sitting in the green room, sipping on coffee when I heard footsteps approach. I tried to cross my arms in attempt to cover myself since I was only in a small nightgown for bed.

Oliver was the person to turn the corner into the room. He seemed surprised to see me and immediately got nervous. I smiled.

"Oliver." I put my coffee down, walked over and held out my hand.

"I'm Madelyn. I never got the chance to formally introduce myself."

He took my hand and shook it softly.

"Oliver. But, um, you already knew that."

I chuckled at his stammering as I walked back over to sip on my coffee.

"I didn't mean to disturb you. I kind of lost my way."

I shrugged.

"Its easy for people to get lost in Saltburn."

It was the truth. For people like me and Oliver, the estate took some getting used to.

I looked him up and down. He wasn't dressed in black tie anymore, but casual clothing that made him seem like an actual normal person. It was refreshing.

"How was your first day?" I wondered.

"Your family's been so kind to me." He answered. I could tell he was worried about saying the wrong thing.

"Yeah, the Cattan's are kind to everyone."

Oliver looked curious about why I was talking about them like I wasn't one of them. I was "apart of the family" as Elspeth would say. But I would never be a Cattan.

I took the last sip of my coffee, leaving my cup on the coffee table. I didn't want to take it to the kitchen to disturb any of the maid's that were cleaning up. I'd rather them find it tomorrow while they were actually working.

I then looked over at Oliver. I could tell he was staring at me, similar to how I noticed he was earlier that evening at dinner.

"Oliver..." I said. He seemed startled as his eyes jumped from my body back to my own. I couldn't help but smirk at how nervous he then got.

"Your room is that way..in case you were looking." I pointed in the direction further from us. I then touched Oliver's shoulder as I started leaving the room.

"Thanks. Thank you." He said, clearing his throat.

I gave him one last smile before I dissapeared to find Venetia outside. It took me a bit of walking, but eventually I found her standing there in the middle of the garden, staring at the moon.

"And to think you started without me." I spoke up, letting my presence be known. She smiled over.

"You were taking too long. I thought you passed out."

She held the blunt out to me, which I walked over and happily took.

"No, I wasn't that drunk."