Page 19 of Real Forever
Lauren’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Yeah, Nikki came and put them up for me.”
Madison raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The women sat together, each silently contemplating Dave’s return, the crisping and crunching of dill pickle chips the only noise filling the basement. Lauren cuddled up closer to Madison, leaning her head across her lap. “What were you doing before I came down here?”
“Making a playlist.”
“Another one? How can you possibly still have any music you haven’t organized into a playlist?”
“It’s not for me.”
Lauren jolted back up. “Who’s it for?”
Madison cracked up, “Oh my god, calm your tits down, woman. You are truly ridiculous. You know that, right?”
“What? I just want you to find a nice guy and quit having one night stands with losers like Lucas,” Lauren said, adding an exaggerated gagging noise to his name.
Madison laughed. “It was one time. Besides, Lucas is not a bad guy, Laur.”
“I know he’s not a bad guy, but he is a guy who got so drunk at my grade twelve Halloween party he passed out on the couch in the basement and pissed himself. We had to throw the couch out, Mads.”
“Don’t be a know-it-all,” Madison snickered, “remember what Dad used to say?”
Lauren smirked. “You think you know fuck-all, but really you know fuck-nothing?”
Madison laughed and Lauren started giggling as well, both women making the other cackle harder until Madison was wiping tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her father’s Dodge Truck sweatshirt.
“Look, Mads. I just wish you had someone great who was there for you and loved you like you deserve to be loved.” She pushed her sister’s hair behind her ear. “You’re wonderful and you deserve someone wonderful.”
“I have you and Maisie. You two are wonderful. What do I need a guy for? So I can get all wrapped up in him, and wind my life up with his, and start relying on him so he can bail on me when I get used to needing him?”
“Why would you think he’s going to bail on you, Mads?”
Madison threw her hands up. “Because everyone bails, Laur. We both damn well know it. And I’m not putting myself through it. It’s not worth it. I’m happy with my life the way it is.”
Lauren’s voice dropped. “Are you though?”
Madison shot her a sarcastic, exasperated smile. Her phone buzzed in her lap. She flipped it over and swiped up. It was a direct message on Instagram.
Molly:Hey, you wanted dirt on Tammy? She’s screwing around on her husband, and it’s been going on for at least a year. Maybe more. I hope it helps and you can use it. Tammy is horrible.
Madison’s eyespopped wide open at the message. “Oh. My. God.”
“What?” Lauren asked.
Madison’s eyes shot back up to her sister. Shit. “Nothing. It’s nothing. Umm, it’s getting late. You should go to bed. You know Maisie is going to wake you up at the ass crack of dawn tomorrow.”
Lauren eyed her suspiciously but relented. “You’re right, I should. You get some sleep tonight too.” she said, pulling the throw blanket off her legs and standing up. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Laur,” she said, squeezing her sister’s hand.
As soon as Lauren was up the stairs she opened a message to Jake.
Madison:Holy fuck, guess what?
Jake: ???
She senthim a screenshot of the message from Instagram.
