Elite & Tawdry ✔ [COMPLETE]

Chapter 56

"So have you ever tried to sneak a sip of the good stuff?" Maddie asked.

Both she and Audrey were in the the massive walk-in liquor closet to retrieve the top-shelf whiskey the senior Westinghouse preferred. Alcoholic options were lined high on the wall, so a ladder had to be utilized. Maddie held the bottom while Audrey searched one of the literal highest shelves closest to the ceiling.

"Yeah, right." Audrey said, her eyes fixated on the task at hand. "I learned early on they've got surveillance cameras tucked under every nook and cranny of this mansion. I may be reckless, but I'm not stupid. The second I pilfer even a sip of some lighter fluid tequila, I'd be laid high and dry because I'd be caught red-handed."

"Cameras...?" Maddie eyed her surroundings suspiciously. Since she had set foot in Westinghouse Manor she had not seen a single camera. She was tempted to ask Audrey if she was pulling her leg, but got distracted as she watched  Audrey carefully descend the ladder.

When Audrey's were planted firmly back on the ground, she gave Maddie a wry smirk. "Were you checking me out?"

"No!" said Maddie, averting her gaze, but then waited a beat to speak again. "Well...your maid outfits don't leave much to the imagination. Sorry."

"You little perv!" teased Audrey, punching Maddie playfully on the shoulder, then leaned in to speak softly in her ear. "If you wanted to take a peek, all you had to do was ask..."

Mortified, Maddie's face went bright red. "Is that the top-shelf stuff?" she asked, pointing to the bottle of liquor nestled in Audrey's arms and desperately trying to change the subject.

"No..." Audrey said, slightly frowning. "It's strange, I could've sword he had half a bottle left, but there was nothing there when I went to search. Perhaps one of his kids drank it and didn't bother to replenish."

"It's after 4," said Maddie. "He's probably inside the mansion now."

"Right, guess this will have to do," said Audrey. "Come on, Red."

Maddie obeyed and followed Audrey out of the room. Normally she despised the nickname Red - it was a cruel moniker imposed upon her early in her time at Ivoree Gates. Anytime it was uttered, she knew it was out of malice. Disdain for her existence, for a student body who couldn't be bothered to learn her first name. When she hit puberty and her weight grew, other more cruel names started to gain prominence, but "Red" never really went away...

But with Audrey, it was different. It was the first time she heard where she could detect the affection in its bestowment. It was like a new identity for her. Or an old, powerful identity that had always been present, but required someone like Audrey to truly unlock its hidden potential.

Maddie and Audrey had only worked together for a few weeks, but they had spent so much time in each other's company that it felt like she knew her for years. It quickly blossomed into a relationship that she held in high regard, and through it she felt powerful feelings she hadn't experienced not since Tawny had set foot for the first time in her dorm room...

While lost in thought, Maddie thought she saw, in the corner of her eye, a familiar spector traversing the halls as they passed an open corridor.

"Was that...?" thought Maddie. She swore she had saw Prudence hastily walking down the hall. Her old best friend. Her mind was muddled with thoughts of old and new she convinced herself that she must have imagined her.

Maddie shook her head. She needed to stay focused on the task at hand, after all. The Patriarch of the Westinghouse had arrived, after all. And in the next few hours, depending on how things played out, things could change for all of them, forever.