Between the lines

Chapter 2

A week had passed since Madison got stuck in the stairwell with Ryan, and she hadn't thought much about him since. Well, not much. Just... occasionally. Like when she saw him in the corridor at school, leaning against the lockers, that relaxed, quiet presence that made him seem different from everyone else. Not that she'd admit it—not even to herself.

Saturday arrived, bringing with it a break in the rain. Madison left the house with her sketchbook tucked under her arm and no clear idea where she was going. Her mum had been on her case about "focus" and "commitment" ever since her report card came back with a big fat needs improvement.

She needed air. And space.

Her wandering led her to the old railway bridge on the edge of Llyndarren. It was the kind of place her mum would lose it over if she knew Madison went there: crumbling bricks, streaks of rust from rain-soaked metal, and walls covered in graffiti. The whole thing was hidden behind overgrown hedgerows, like a secret the town didn't want to deal with.

Madison stopped beneath the bridge, her gaze landing on the mural that always drew her in: the man falling through shattered glass. It was massive, taking up an entire stretch of the wall, the shards seeming to leap out at her. She tilted her head, trying to figure out why it made her chest feel so tight.

"It's intense, isn't it?"

She spun around, her heart jumping to her throat. Ryan stood a few feet away, hands shoved in the pocket of his hoodie.

"You scared me," she said, recovering quickly. "What are you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing."

Madison crossed her arms, taking a step back. "I walk here sometimes. It's peaceful."

Ryan gave a small nod, his gaze shifting back to the mural. "Yeah. I get that."

They stood in silence for a moment. Madison couldn't decide if it was awkward or not—Ryan didn't seem to notice either way. He just stood there, staring at the wall like he could see something she couldn't.

"You like this one?" she asked finally.

Ryan nodded. "It's... different."

"Different how?"

"It's not just art. It feels like... someone's saying something." He glanced at her. "Does that make sense?"

Madison blinked. It did, but she didn't expect someone like Ryan to think that way. "Yeah, it does."

"What about you?" he asked. "You draw, don't you?"

Madison hesitated. "What makes you say that?"

"You were sketching in the stairwell last week," he said simply.

"Oh." She hugged her sketchbook closer to her chest. "Yeah, I draw. Nothing like this, though."

"You could," Ryan said, his tone matter-of-fact.

Madison frowned. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Ryan shrugged. "Just seems like you've got something to say."

She opened her mouth to respond, but he was already stepping away, walking toward the edge of the bridge.

"Wait," she called after him. "Do you know who painted this?"

Ryan paused, glancing over his shoulder. His green eyes held something she couldn't place—like he was holding a secret just out of her reach.

"Not a clue," he said. Then he turned and disappeared down the overgrown path.

Madison stood there for a long time, staring after him, the echo of his words stuck in her head.

Later that night, Madison sat cross-legged on her bed, her sketchbook open in front of her. She wasn't working on anything serious, just aimlessly sketching lines and shapes. Her mind kept drifting back to the mural, the jagged shards of glass, the falling man, and Ryan's words.

"You've got something to say."

Did she?

Her pencil moved before she could think, scribbling lines onto the page. But every time the pieces started to come together, her hand faltered. She tore the page out, crumpling it into a ball, and tossed it across the room.

Her phone buzzed on the mattress beside her. It was a text from Evie, her best friend since primary school:

Evie: Pub quiz tomorrow night? You promised.

Madison sighed, replying with a quick "Yeah, see you there." She tossed her phone aside and closed the sketchbook, pushing the thought of Ryan and the mural out of her mind. For now.