Don't Stop | Michael Clifford

Chapter 63

"What!?" I say, louder than I intended as Luke just nods, his breath shaky. "Why?"

"She's moving." I freeze. She's freaking moving?! I just stare at Luke, him nodding before he makes his way upstairs. Or more like he's dragging himself upstairs, and I can just imagine he's trying not to do something stupid.

"Did you know about this?" Michael asks as I shake my head before I grab my bag, my head keep shaking.

"I have to see her," I say, leaving without giving Michael a chance to say anything. I probably should've said something, or given him a quick kiss on the cheek, but my mind was set on Maddie and why the hell I hadn't heard she was moving. I mean, I get that she should tell her boyfriend too, but what about her best friend? Did Mia know?

As I arrive, I don't even knock or anything, I just open the door, storming in. The door hits a box, me almost tripping over one. I look around, the only sign of life was the little puppy in a cage by a door, chewing happily on some toy. A lot of stuff was already in boxes, making me think of long she's been planning this? "MADDIE?!" I yell, making the sound of something clattering being heard from the kitchen. Soon Maddie walks out from there.

"E-El, what are you doing here?" Maddie stammers, drying off her nose, as she had bags under her eyes that were puffy and red. I storm over to her, my jaw clenched.

"I have to find out you're moving from a heartbroken Luke?" I say, my rage now replaced by sorrow. She was actually moving. And she didn't even tell me? Just doing this? Was she planning on telling me? Or just move to wherever and let me find out when she didn't want to meet up somewhere?

"I got an amazing job offer in San Francisco I couldn't turn down." She looks down as she speaks with the smallest voice I think I've ever heard. She looks up again, both of us just staring at each other. It was silent between us for a while before I finally speak up again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I don't know," she says, shrugging. "I didn't know how."

"You must be quite good, you've only been working there for three months... and the guys are only home for this week, and you break up with him already? They're not leaving just yet." I know that talking about it would make her cry, and I honestly didn't want to make her cry, but I had to say what was on my mind. I was also on the verge of tears.

"El, I just... I'm leaving at the end of the week."

"Already?" She nods, looking down at her feet. "Well, I can't let you turn that down, but I can help you pack..." I honestly want to make her stay, but she has made up her mind. She smiles, giving me a slight nod, before going over, pulling me in for a hug. I can't help but to hug her back. I couldn't be mad at her for this, but I had really thought she was the kind of person who would choose Luke over her job, with this. She's the kind of person who would choose love over anything else (beside friendship I hope). I never thought she would actually leave New York, but I guess with never really seeing Luke, it makes it easier to just end it. But I still don't understand.

I can't help but to let a tear go down my cheek, I wonder if Mia even knew? She had just moved to New York, we were finally the three of us again. The three musketeers. But now it would just me Mia and me. No Maddie. No more my perverted friend, only the one we had been working on making as perverted as us. Without her, I wouldn't have talked more with Michael, I would still hate him. Without her, I wouldn't be where I am now.

I pull away, drying off my cheeks, sighing as I follow her to the kitchen, packing down the plates. It was silent between us, it was clear that Maddie was in the worst possible mood she could be, since there was no music. When she was down, she would usually listen to silent music, depressing music. She didn't this time. "I-I'm going to use the bathroom," I tell her after a while as she just nods. I sigh as I make my way down the hall I had been walking down at so many times. I felt the tears go down my cheeks. One time when James and I had gotten into a fight, I had basically lived here for two weeks, and after Maddie got her heart broken I was here as well for quite some time. And now, if anything like that happened, we couldn't do that.