Us [18+]

Chapter 8

Dedicated to LoveCoco06- thank you.

MADELINE'S POV ⛓️

As expected, I had fun in the second part of my drill. I fought with some of the bigger and more experienced guys and boy did I have a tough time. I had some unexpected wins but I lost most of them. I walked out of my "drilling" session with a new glint in my eye.

Even as I'm driving home, I don't feel as nervous as I did yesterday. I remembered Luca's voice and it made me giggle. He sounds completely different from what he looks like- it caught me by surprise. He sounds so sweet that I almost warned Kayden not to hurt him.

There was a spring in my step as I walked into my house. I was humming, too. Why shouldn't I? I'll get to fight those guys tomorrow, improve on using my hands- just like Kayden said and I'll win the match. Julia is coming to the gym tomorrow- I can't wait.

"Hey, Maddie." I turned my head and saw Iris in the hall. Her dress is shor and floral, her lips are glossy and she has a pair of sunglasses in her hair. Did she just come back from her shoot? She never ran this late.

"Are you just getting home?" Fuck. I'm not supposed to care.

"Yes. I- We went on a date." There it is- the reason I should have minded my business. I turned towards the kitchen and waved my hand dismissively.

"Great. See ya."

"Yeah." Was that guilt in her eyes? You've got to be kidding me. Deciding it wasn't my place anymore, I made a milkshake and grabbed my phone to text someone from the kitchen- I'm hungry. I'll take a shower and catch up on my socials while I eat. If Iris was with me, we would have talked about our day to kill time, but, it is what it is.
-
When I came out of my room to eat, I saw Iris walking back up the stairs, to hers. She had a bunch of snacks and water in her hands. Seems like she has the same idea I do. Too bad we can't watch one together. We locked eyes for what seemed like a second to onlookers, but, to us, it seemed like hours.

Unspoken words and feelings were exchanged and the air suddenly became heavy. Not wanting to risk ruining my perfect day, I took my gaze off her and went to seat at the dining table. My heart ached a little but the churning in my stomach seemed to have a different meaning when I saw the food.

I saw Mary standing by and smiled at her. Without thinking, I invited her to have dinner with me. It's not unusual for my staff to eat with me, so she took the invitation. I asked if she made the food and she said yes. I complemented it genuinely because it was heavenly.

"Pardon me, I know it's not my place to talk about this but you're closest to her and you'll know what to do." My brows furrowed a bit. What's she talking about?

"What?"

"Iris. She's been... sad? She's not been herself since the last party. I asked if she's okay and she said yes but I know she's not."

"I see." I noticed it too but I'm still too mad to care. Isn't she happy with him? She left me for him, he should have been worth it, right? I looked up to see Mary looking expectantly at me and I realized I didn't give her a response. "Oh- uhm, I'll talk to her. Don't worry about it, okay?

"Okay." We finished, I thanked her again and headed to my room. I suddenly don't feel like watching a movie. I decided to bother Kayden. I grabbed my phone to text him.

M: Hey, Kay... Watcha doing? It took a while before he responded.

K: What do you want Madeline?

M: Someone's grumpy. Are you with Luca?

K: What's it to you? Go play with Iris or something.

M: Iris is watching a movie.

K: You're not watching it with her?

M: If I was I wouldn't be texting you, would I? I don't want to watch a movie.

K: Whatever. Don't bother us.

M: "us"?? Is my big brother in love?

K: Bye Madison

M: MY NAME IS MADELINE!

K: Yes, yes. Now get out

M: Tell Luca I said hi

K: I will

Okay, that was relieving. I decided to check my socials since I didn't do it while I was eating with Mary. I saw that people were betting on who'd win between me and Julia. A huge chunk of people voted for Julia and I'd be lying if I said that didn't get me more excited.

As I plopped down on my bed, how much I miss Iris started to set in. I wouldn't waste my time on frivolities if she was with me. I've not seen her smile once in the last 3 days and I knew it was my fault somehow. I should be cooperative in making the most of what was left of our relationship.

But I'm hurt and she needs to understand that. I'm lonely but I won't let her take advantage of how much I love her. I drifted to sleep with a heavy heart and Iris's beautiful face on my mind.
-
I thought I was hallucinating when I opened my eyes and saw Iris with her face very close to mine. My reaction was slightly delayed so I used that time to compose myself.

"What is it? Are you okay?" My head was pounding a bit.

"Yes, are you okay? I came in here to say hey and saw you sleeping with your head hanging off the edge of the bed." Ugh, I actually fell asleep like that.

I stared at her wordlessly for a while. "Sorry? I didn't realize I-" I couldn't finish my sentence and she also wasn't thinking because before either of us could realize it, she placed a soft kiss on my forehead.
-

I know it seems like Maddie's house is small but it's really not. She's a millionaire and owns a big house but I'm too lazy to do any kind of research on how to write it.