Madeline went back to work the following Monday. She spent her entire weekend alone at home. She was too engrossed in her own despair that she hid herself from the outside world. David and Hannah tried to call her several times but she didn't pick up. David also went by her house but she didn't answer the door. She needed time to sort out her emotions before she was ready to face them again.
"What did you do all weekend? I was trying to call you." Hannah said while putting on her uniform. Madeline arrived earlier and was already dressed. She put her clothes inside her locker and closed it before looking at Hannah.
"Oh, you know I love to binge-watch my favorite show and then sleeping like a log afterwards. I'm sorry I didn't answer. I completely forgot about my phone." She answered with the biggest smile on her face. Hannah knew she was lying. They weren't best friends for nothing. She sighed and closed her locker after changing.
"Well, let's go." Hannah said. They went on their jobs as usual. After their shift, their manager called the both of them to his office. Madeline and Hannah were very good employees so they were wondering why they were called. When they entered, there was an unfamiliar man standing next to the manager.
"Ah, Maddie and Hannah come in and take a seat." The manager said. They did as they were told.
"This is Mr. Noah Laurent. His family owns this coffee shop." Noah smiled at the two girls as he reached out his hand. Hannah was the closest to him and so she introduced herself first.
"Hello there, I'm Hannah Flynn; I've been working here for almost 4 years now." She said with a smile. Noah doesn't seem to be affected by this.
"Have you graduated yet or are you still studying?" He asked. Hannah looked at Madeline before he answered.
"I only have a semester left before I graduate. I'm a fine arts major." She said. Noah nodded and smiled. He then turned his attention to Madeline who was waiting for her turn. His gaze on her was different compared to when he was talking to Hannah. Madeline felt weirdly comfortable around his presence. She stood up from her seat and shook his hand.
"Hi, I'm Madeline Granger. I've worked for the same number of years as my best friend. I'm also still studying at X University. I'm a business and finance major." She said. Noah smiled at her as they shook hands.
"Well, it's nice to meet both of you. As you know, my family owns this establishment but I will be formally taking charge as of today. I asked the manager to call you in because I wanted to pick one of you to be my assistant." He said. Madeline and Hannah looked at each other. Neither of them was expecting to be chosen for such a big responsibility. Madeline thought about the job and how much it would pay. She wanted to give the offer to Hannah since she came from a family of 6 and they need the extra income. But before she could speak up, Hannah went on ahead and spoke.
"I believe Madeline will be perfect for the job, sir. She's very hard-working and she's knowledgeable in business related work." Hannah said. Madeline looked at her with disbelief. She wanted to stop her but Hannah held her hand.
"Is that so? Well, I'll take your word for it." Noah said. Hannah turned to Madeline and smiled which made her even more confused about what's happening.
"Starting tomorrow, you'll be reporting to me at this address." Noah handed Madeline a calling card with the address to his office building. He looked at Madeline and smiled at her genuinely. Madeline accepted the card and Noah excused himself. When he left, Madeline pulled Hannah into the changing room and questioned her.
"Why did you do that?" She asked. Hannah looked at her and started giggling.
"I have a good reason. One, I already accepted the internship at this design company and I won't be able to manage if I become his assistant. Two, you haven't found a company for your internship yet and this is the perfect opportunity. And finally, you're perfect for the job. Don't worry about me and focus on yourself, okay?" Hannah said. Madeline sighed and gave her a hug.
"You're the best." She said. Hannah hugged her back and afterwards they went back outside to do their job. Much to Madeline's knowledge, there was another reason why Hannah gave the opportunity to her. She saw how Noah looked at Madeline and she thought it would be best for Madeline to forget about David and start looking for someone else; someone who'll make her his first priority. She knew Madeline was crying over David over the weekend. She just had to play matchmaker for her best friend.
After their shift, Hannah was the last one to clock out. Madeline waited for her to change so they'd walk home together like they usually do.
"Thank you for waiting for me. You didn't have to, by the way." Hannah said. Madeline shook her head and smiled.
"After today, I won't be seeing you as often so I needed to do this." She said. Hannah smiled and held her best friend's hand.
"How about we go back to your place and binge-watch our favorite show?" Hannah suggested to which Madeline agreed to. They were talking and laughing while walking to Madeline's apartment when a car stopped in front of them. Madeline knew whose car it was. David got out of the driver's side and walked up to the two women.
"Hi Maddie, hi Hannah, did you guys just got out from work?" He asked. Madeline avoided his gaze and Hannah gave him a death glare. David noticed Madeline wasn't looking at him like she usually does.
"Is everything okay? By the way, here." He asked while putting his hand on Madeline's shoulder. He handed Madeline a pair of mittens since she always forgets hers at home. Hannah instinctively pushed David's hand away and pulled Madeline closer to her.
"Everything is fine. We're just on our way to celebrate Maddie's promotion so if you'll excuse us." Hannah tried to walk past David but he grabbed Madeline's arm and stopped her. Madeline looked up and met his gaze.
"You got a promotion? That's great. I'm so happy for you!" He said. Madeline felt her heart ache when she heard him say those words. She was torn between loving him and loving herself. She wanted to be the bigger person and let go of David but whenever he starts showing his affection, she can't help but sink deeper into an abyss.
"Thank you David. Hannah and I will be going now." She said. She wanted to avoid her complex emotions. As of now, she doesn't want to deal with them. She pulled her arm away from David's grasp and turned on her heel.
"Are you upset about what you saw last Friday?" David asked. Madeline stopped dead in her tracks. Hannah's curiosity peaked when she saw how affected Madeline was. She wanted to ask but she decided to keep her questions to herself just until they were alone. Madeline turned to look at David and smiled.
"What about last Friday? I don't remember being upset at you about something." She lied. David was skeptical about Madeline's words. She seemed upset over something but she won't tell him. David sighed and shook his head.
"So you didn't see me at the supermarket with Monique." David muttered under his breath. Madeline raised her eyebrow.
"Did you say something?" She asked but David shook his head.
"No, it was nothing." He said. Madeline smiled at him but behind her smiled, she wanted to cry. He didn't even bother explaining the situation. Of course, she had seen them and of course she was upset but it made her even more upset when David refused to tell her that they were together. Madeline was falling apart at the thought of being abandoned.
"I can take you to where you want to go." David offered but Hannah quickly refused.
"There's no need. We can walk." She said. Before they could leave, David pulled Madeline in for a hug.
"I'm so proud of you. Don't forget how much I care about you, okay?" He said. Madeline felt a pang on her chest. She lightly pushed him away and thanked him. She was about to cry if she were to stay in his embrace longer. She grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her to walk quickly, away from the stressful scenario. David got inside his car and drove off. When it was quiet and there was only the sound of the gentle breeze, Madeline stopped.
"Maddie…" Hannah said her name but she couldn't hear it. Her throat felt like it was on fire. The pain of holding back her tears had started to show until one by one, her tears fell from her eyes. Hannah noticed that her breathing had become rigid which meant that she was crying. Without a word, Hannah quickly pulled Madeline into her apartment building and unlocked her doors for her. She pushed Madeline onto the sofa and she sat next to her. Hannah looked straight in her eyes before speaking.
"You don't have to say a word. If you want to cry, just cry. I'll be here to comfort you and I'll be here to listen. You don't have to handle everything on our own. You have me." Hannah reassured her best friend. And with those words, Madeline cried.
"I'm pathetic…" Madeline kept repeating those words.
"No you are not. If anyone is pathetic in this situation, it's him. Keeping your hopes up for a relationship even he doesn't believe in: That's pathetic. Not you, you're brave and kind and he's lucky that someone like you even cares for a scumbag like him." Hannah said. She just kept brushing her fingers in Madeline's hair while she cried.
After a while, Hannah noticed that Madeline had gone quiet. She had fallen asleep in her arms. She slowly removed her arm from under Madeline's head and she placed a pillow to replace it. It was almost 9 pm and both of the women have not had their dinner. Hannah went on ahead and prepared something for Madeline when she wakes up. Right after she was finished cooking, she heard Madeline's phone ring.
"It's David." She said. She was infuriated when she saw the caller's ID. Hannah looked over at Madeline and saw that she was still asleep. She was reluctant about answering the call but she wanted to pour her anger out on David. Without thinking, she answered the call and was ready to give David a piece of her mind. She didn't even got a chance to say hello when she heard what was happening at the other line.
"Oh David…" It was the voice of another woman. She was clearly moaning and calling out David's name. Hannah was furious. She wanted to throw away the phone to protect her ears from hearing such disgusting sounds. She ended the call and blocked the number. Hannah thought that if Madeline heard them doing unspeakable things then she'll be heartbroken all over again.
"Hannah?" Madeline's soft voice could be heard from the bedroom. Hannah quickly put Madeline's phone on the table in the dining room before she went back to Madeline's room.
"Oh good, you're up. Let's have dinner. I have to go home soon too." She said to which Madeline nodded in response.
"Have you seen my phone?" Madeline asked. Hannah turned away to hide her face as she lied.
"Yeah, I think you left it on the dining room table." She said. Madeline went to the dining room and surely her phone was there. As Hannah was setting the table, she would occasionally take side glances at Madeline to see if she would notice that she had blocked David's number.
"Hannah?" Madeline called out. Hannah stiffened the moment she heard her voice.
"Y-yeah?" Hannah made her way to the dining room. Madeline looked at her like she knew her secret.
"Am I a bad person for wanting something better for myself?" She asked. Hannah made a beeline for her and gave her a hug.
"No! You should always put your happiness first. Stop trying to please everybody. It's okay to only think of yourself when it comes to these things." Hannah reassured her. Madeline smiled and wrapped her arms tighter around Hannah.
"Let's eat. I'm starving!" Madeline said. Hannah giggled and brought out the food. After dinner, Hannah went on her way and Madeline was left alone. She looked at her phone again. She knew Hannah blocked David's number. She also knew what made her do it. Madeline was already awake when Hannah answered David's call. She also knew what that phone call was about. She's been butt-dialed multiple times that it became normal for her. Madeline decided that she wants to pursue her own happiness. She unblocked David's number and a flood of messages came in.
"Maddie?"
"Did you answer my call just now?"
"I swear it's not what you think."
"Nothing happened between us."
"Please answer my calls."
Madeline sighed before putting her phone away. But before she could, her phone rang. She saw David's name pop up and she was reluctant about answering it but she did anyway.
"Maddie?" David's voice was a bit exasperated. He was trying to call Madeline a few times. Madeline kept silent.
"Maddie, about that call. Nothing happened between us. Monique got drunk and was clinging to me but nothing happened." David tried to explain. He was telling the truth but for Madeline, it was hard to believe since she's received calls like that even from before.
"It's fine. It's not the first time I've received a call like that." Madeline answered. David was silent on the other line.
"Maddie, please believe me. Nothing happened between us. Not now, not ever." David said. Madeline was tired of hearing any more excuses. She just wants to put this whole night behind her.
"I'm exhausted David. Aren't you?" Madeline said.
"Didn't you promise me that you'd always stay by my side?" David asked. Madeline cracked a weak smile.
"Have you ever thought about how I felt? I've always put your happiness before mine. Have you ever tried to put my happiness first?" Madeline was done. She just wanted to sleep and forget that this night ever happened.
"I'm sorry. Let's talk about this tomorrow." David said but Madeline didn't want to see him.
"Goodbye David." Before David could answer, she ended the call. Madeline has decided to start over.