Beneath

17 WHAT A REAL FRIEND MIGHT DO

C A M I L A

Maddie's blonde hair is piled messily on top of her head as she hums a pop song, something I vaguely recognize.

"Morning, sunshine," she chirps, flipping a pancake with zero skill. It lands on the counter. "Ah, shoot."

I groan, rubbing my eyes.

"You okay? Weird night."

"When'd you get back?" I mumble.

"Hour ago. I stayed with Paige at Fox's place. We had a girls' night. Wine, movies, gossip, it was so much fun." She turns to me, a glint in her eye. "I heard about Fox punching Adam. Wish I'd been there to see it."

I sigh, grabbing a protein bar from the fridge. "Is Fox okay?"

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, I met Faro." Maddie spins on me and starts fanning herself. "Camila, oh my god."

I raise an eyebrow, taking a bite of my chalky protein bar. All my nice ones from Noah are gone. Still, I grin. My lips remember the shape they took against Noah's. Maybe I'll never stop smiling.

"Babes, it was crazy. He's gorgeous."

I stop smiling. "Wait, what? Faro?"

Maddie shrugs. "He's so different from Fox but just as hot. He has this...dangerous vibe. Like he could break me and put me back together just for fun"

"You can't say stuff like that about someone who's not Fox."

She laughs, flipping another pancake with the same lack of skill. This one lands on the stove, sizzling sadly. "Oh, please. Faro wouldn't even speak to me. He barely said a word at all."

"You're dating Fox. This isn't The Bachelorette: Family Edition."

She laughs. "Okay, fair."

"Yeah, fair," I reiterate, leaning against the counter. "Just remember who's who."

Maddie grins at me, grabbing a piece of burnt pancake and popping it into her mouth. "Relax, Cam. God, you're so uptight these days. Everything's under control. Speaking of control, how was your night with Noah?" She wiggles her pale brows.

I feel my cheeks heat up and look away. "Jed showed up and—"

Her eyes widen, and she puts down the spatula, giving me her full attention. "No way! You were going to sleep with him weren't you? That little freaking weirdo! Ugh, Jed's so annoying."

"He's not annoying, Maddie!"

"What did he even want?" Maddie asks, popping out a hip. "A threesome?"

"What is wrong with you? He just took me home!"

Our phone rings.

I lock up, staring at it.

Maddie wipes her hands and plucks it off the wall. "Yeah? Yeah." She hands it to me with a laugh. "He said he could hear us talking about him. Oh my god."

With a frown, I shuffle around and take the phone, pressing the plastic to my ear. "Jed, that you?"

"Hello, Camila Delgado."

"Hey. You okay? What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Speak, earthling."

He pauses. "Did you—Were you talking to—Did you?"

I blink. "Are you having a stroke?"

"The guiltiest of men seek the sea. The stars were screaming last night. Did you hear it too?"