Dynasty Boys

Chapter 30

Elle

"So... can you tell me who she is and why you both acted like she was a ghost from Christmas past?" I asked, my arms crossed tightly as I glanced around the cafeteria. My gaze met Lila's, her big eyes wide and guilty.

Nicole, who was sitting beside me, looked like she was trying to pull herself together, but there was a shift in her demeanor. She wasn't the bubbly, happy Nicole from this morning. Now, she looked like the old version of herself, the one always bracing for something bad to happen. Small. Vulnerable. A part of me just wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her everything would be okay, even if I didn't know how to make that true.

"Her name is Madelyn Cartier. Maddie, for short," Nicole spoke up, her voice softer than usual. "She used to live here before."

Lila cleared her throat, adjusting her posture, then added, "She was the quiet girl. Always reading a book, kind of in her own world. Not shy, just... well, she always wanted to be left alone."

I was trying to make sense of it all, but the way they spoke about her made it clear that something had happened. Something big. My stomach twisted with unease.

Lila shifted in her seat, her eyes flicking to Nicole before focusing back on me. "Anyway, it all started that night. It was game night. The football team was playing against their rivals, so it was pretty important. Everyone was hyped, caught up in the game."

I leaned in a little, trying to follow the story. I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well.

"Maddie was inside the school that night," Lila continued, her voice lowering as if she was reliving something painful. "She was working on a school project. That's when she met Dylan." She let out a long sigh, shaking her head. She seemed to be struggling with how to continue.

I moved closer, my curiosity eating at me. Whatever this was, I needed to know.

Lila paused again, clearly reluctant to go on, but the tension in the air was too thick to ignore. "And... and then things went wrong. Really wrong."

"Dylan was also on the football team, and he started showing an interest in Maddie. We don't really know why, but every day, he'd offer her flowers, and then he started inviting her on dates. Maddie always turned him down, though," Lila said, her voice heavy with something unspoken. "She hated attention. She hated being the center of things. But, of course, that didn't stop the other girls from hating her, because she unexpectedly caught Dylan's attention."

I nodded, feeling the weight of what Lila was saying. The more I heard, the more I understood that Maddie's life wasn't as simple as I'd imagined. But then Lila's words took a darker turn, and I could feel my chest tighten.

"After the game, there was a party. Dylan invited her, and for once, Maddie accepted. He told her it was at his house, but when she showed up..." Lila paused, looking at her hands, her voice barely above a whisper, "...there was no one there."

My eyes widened, a knot of confusion and disbelief forming in my stomach. "There was no one? At the party?"

Nicole, who had been quietly listening, nodded solemnly, adjusting her glasses as if they could somehow shield her from the weight of the story. "He lied to her."

Lila's face twisted with a mix of frustration and sorrow, and she stared down at the table, her fingers playing nervously with the edge of her sleeve. She seemed to be struggling with how to continue, like she wasn't sure if she even wanted to finish the story.

"The party wasn't at his house," Lila finally murmured, her voice dropping even lower. "We don't know exactly what happened after that. But Dylan... he—" She trailed off, her eyes flickering around the room as if searching for a way to make sense of it all. "We don't know the details, but Dylan... he was there. And he did things."