𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

The shower did nothing to help.

I had stood under the scalding water for what felt like an eternity, trying to scrub away the exhaustion clinging to my body, trying to wash away the weight sitting heavy in my chest.

But no matter how hard I tried, no matter how many deep breaths I took, it was still there.

That awful, sinking feeling that had followed me around all day.

I had wrapped my scenes early, left set without lingering, without joking around with the others like I usually did.

Chase had been extra irritating today, pushing my buttons, rolling his eyes every time I delivered a line, muttering under his breath like he wanted me to snap.

I didn't. I didn't have the energy to. Because no matter how much I tried to focus on work, my mind kept dragging me back to her.

To last night. To waking up beside her. To that moment— that stupid, fleeting moment—where I actually let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, this time would be different.

But it wasn't. It never was.

I curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket tighter around myself, staring blankly at the TV. Some random show played on the screen, but I wasn't watching it. The voices blurred together, becoming nothing more than background noise.

I was numb. Completely, utterly numb. The front door opened, and I barely flinched.

Carlacia, Lili, JD, and Drew filed in, loud as always, but their energy dimmed the second they saw me.

JD, who had been laughing about something with Drew, stopped mid-sentence. Carlacia's expression softened instantly.

Drew shut the fridge a little too hard, his usual teasing expression hardening into something serious. Lili immediately looked me in my eyes. She knew who this was about already.

The room was too quiet.

For once, JD wasn't cracking a joke. Drew wasn't teasing. Carlacia wasn't trying to ease the tension. Lili stood stiff, her hand clenched around her phone, as if she were physically restraining herself from going off right then and there.

I hated this. I hated that they were looking at me like I was about to break into pieces. Carlacia came and sat by me as Drew and JD sat in front of me, Lili standing up.

Carlacia rubbed a slow, soothing circle on my back, her voice gentle. "Mads, tell us what happened." She knew.

I exhaled shakily, running a hand through my damp hair. I didn't know how to say it. Didn't know how to admit out loud that I had let myself fall into the same damn cycle, only to come crashing down again.

But the second I saw Lili's expression harden, I knew she wasn't going to let me sit in silence.

"Madelyn," she said, firm but not unkind. "Tell me what she did."

I swallowed hard. "We slept together."

JD blinked. Drew frowned. Carlacia exhaled like she already knew, like she had seen this coming from a mile away.

But Lili? Her expression didn't change. Not one bit. She just stared at me, waiting.

Because she knew that wasn't the whole story.

I let out a weak, humorless laugh, shaking my head. "I woke up next to her, and for a second, I thought..." My voice trailed off, my throat burning. "I thought maybe this time would be different."

Carlacia sighed, rubbing my back. "Oh, Mads..."

I blinked up at the ceiling, trying to will away the sting behind my eyes. "She pulled away. She acted like it didn't mean anything. Like we hadn't just spent the entire night—" I cut myself off, inhaling sharply. "And then she said she didn't know what it meant."

Lili's entire body stiffened. JD clenched his jaw. "Wait. After everything—after that—she still shut you down?"

I swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Drew scoffed. "That's fucking brutal."

Carlacia sighed, shaking her head. "You deserve better than this, Mads."

JD nodded. "Way better."

Drew leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "She either wants you or she doesn't. She can't keep doing this to you."

I pressed my lips together, fighting the lump in my throat. "She's just... scared."

Lili snapped. She let out a sharp, bitter laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "No. Nope. I'm not allowing this."

Carlacia frowned. "Lili—"

"No." Lili's voice was hard, unwavering. "Y/n needs to hear it."

I sat up straighter, shaking my head. "Lili, don't. Please don't make this a bigger deal than it is."

Lili turned, eyes flashing. "Bigger deal? Madelyn, you're crying over her."

I wiped my face quickly, embarrassed. "I'm just tired—"

"No," Lili snapped. "No excuses. This isn't right. She's breaking your heart, and you're just letting her."

JD nodded, his expression tight. "She's right."

Carlacia sighed, frustrated. "Someone needs to put Y/n in her place."

Drew muttered, "Wish it could be me."

Lili already had her phone out, scrolling with purpose.

My stomach twisted. "Lili, what are you doing?"

"Making sure she's at my house." she nodded her head and I knew, she checked Y/n's location and found where she was.

I stiffened. "Lili—"

"I'm not going to let her keep doing this, Madelyn," she said, her voice sharp but filled with something else, something deeper.

"I love her. You know I do, she's my best friend. But I'm not gonna sit here and watch her push away the best damn thing that's ever happened to her. When she introduced us to you, you also became one of Caleb and I's good friends and we're good enough friends to the point that we can be honest and tell her when she's in the wrong."

I swallowed, my chest aching. "I just don't want you to make this worse."

Lili's jaw clenched. "The only one making things worse is her."

JD sighed, rubbing his temples. "This is gonna get messy."

Drew shrugged. "Good. She needs to hear it."

Carlacia studied me carefully. "You really don't want her to say anything?"

I hesitated. Because deep down—deep, deep down—some part of me did want Lili to say something. Because if anyone could get through to Y/n, it was her and Caleb.

I looked up at Lili, my throat tight. "Just... don't go too hard on her." Part of me knows Y/n isn't just battling her feelings but, her past and whatever blocks her from being truly happy.

Lili's expression softened slightly. "I'm not gonna destroy her, Mads." Then, her jaw clenched again. "But I am gonna make sure she hears me."

Before I could stop her, she turned and stormed out the door.

. . .

𝐘/𝐍'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

The door swung open with more force than necessary, slamming shut behind Lili as she stepped inside. Caleb barely flinched, too focused on the game controller in his hands, but I felt the shift in the air instantly.

She was pissed.

I glanced at her from the couch, my fingers still wrapped around my controller. "You good?"

She didn't answer. She walked right past the kitchen, past Caleb's pile of sneakers by the door, stopping only when she reached us.

I barely had time to register the look on her face before she snatched the controller out of my hands and tossed it onto the coffee table.

"What the hell?" I snapped, sitting up straight. Caleb blinked, his hands still on his own controller, looking between us. "Uh... Lili?"

She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were locked onto mine, blazing with anger I hadn't seen from her in years. "You're a fucking coward, you know that?"

The words hit like a punch. My stomach twisted on instinct. "What?"

"You heard me," she shot back, her voice sharp, unwavering. "You don't get to sit here and pretend everything's fine. You don't get to sit on this couch, playing PlayStation like you didn't wreck someone last night."

I felt my pulse hammer in my ears. Caleb straightened beside me. "Wait, what?"

Lili ignored him. She took a step closer, arms crossed tightly, like she was physically holding herself back from shakingme.

"I just came from Madelyn's," she said, voice quieter now, but no less dangerous. "Do you have any fucking idea what you did to her?"

My throat tightened. I swallowed hard. "Lili—"

"No." She held up a hand, stopping me before I could even try. "You don't get to talk. You're listening."

Caleb, still completely in the dark, let out a short breath. "Uh—can someone tell me what's going on? What did she do?"

Lili turned toward him, exhaling sharply through her nose. "She slept with Madelyn," she said flatly. "And then, right after, she shut her down."

Caleb froze. I clenched my jaw, my stomach twisting tighter.

Lili turned back to me, shaking her head. "Do you know what she said to me, Y/n?" she asked, voice quieter now, but somehow worse than when she was yelling. "She told me that for a second—a single fucking second—she actually thought you chose her."

I looked down, unable to meet her eyes. "She was crying over you," Lili went on, her voice breaking slightly. "And you just—what? Went back to pretending it didn't mean anything?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Because what the hell was I supposed to say to that? Lili scoffed, running a hand through her hair. "You gave her everything last night, and then you made her feel like she was nothing."

Caleb, still stunned, finally spoke. "Shit, Y/n..."

I stayed quiet.

I felt guilt creep up my spine, sinking into my chest, but I didn't know what to do with it.

"You keep saying you don't know what this means," Lili continued. "But you know what it means to her, don't you? Or are you really that blind?"

I clenched my jaw. "It's not that simple."

Lili let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, it's not? Because it seems pretty damn simple to me."

I exhaled sharply, looking away. Lili watched me for a second, then shook her head. "You know, I've seen people be assholes in relationships, but you? You don't even let yourself have one."

I swallowed thickly, my nails digging into my palms. Lili exhaled, looking me over like she didn't even recognize me anymore. "Well, congrats, Y/n," she muttered, voice softer now. "You broke her."

And somehow, hearing it out loud—hearing her say it—felt worse than anything else. The room was suffocating.

Lili stood in front of me, arms crossed so tightly her knuckles turned white, eyes burning into mine, waiting. Daring me to say something—anything.

Caleb exhaled, rubbing his temple before reaching for the remote and turning off the PlayStation.

The room was silent now. No background noise, no distractions. Just the weight of Lili's fury and Caleb's confusion pressing down on me like a vice.

Lili scoffed. "So? Explain yourself."

I ran a hand over my face, exhaling sharply. "What do you want me to say, Lili?"

She stared at me like I was dense. "How about why? Why you would do this to her? Why you let it get to this point just to shut her down all over again?"

I swallowed, shifting in my seat. Caleb finally stood, stepping toward her, resting a hand on her back, rubbing slow, soothing circles like he was trying to reel her in before she completely snapped on me.

I sighed, leaning forward, my elbows resting on my knees. "I didn't mean to hurt her." Lili laughed. A sharp, bitter sound. "Oh, great! That makes it all better, then!"

Caleb gently squeezed her arm, his voice calmer. "Lils..."

Lili huffed, shaking her head but stepping back slightly, letting Caleb take over.

He turned to me, his face still full of disbelief but not anger. At least, not like Lili's. "Just talk to us, dude." His voice was steady, even. "Tell me what happened."

I sighed, rubbing my hands together, still feeling the ghost of Madelyn's skin beneath my fingertips. "She showed up late last night, dropping off Storm's jacket," I started, voice low. "We talked. Argued a little. And then—" I hesitated.

Lili lifted an eyebrow, daring me to lie. I clenched my jaw. "And then we hooked up."

Lili scoffed, shaking her head. Caleb sighed, sitting back down across from me, still rubbing her back. "Okay," he said carefully. "And after?"

I exhaled, looking away. "After... we woke up. And I freaked out."

Lili's eyes flared again. "You think?"

Caleb shot her a look before turning back to me. "What did you say to her?"

I hesitated. Then, quieter, "That I didn't know what it meant."

Lili inhaled sharply, pressing her fingers against her temple like she was physically restraining herself from grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. Caleb sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Come on, Y/n..."

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling up inside me. "I didn't plan for it to happen, okay?"

Lili threw her hands up. "Oh, that makes it better—"

Caleb cut her off before she could start again. "Okay, okay. Chill for a sec." He turned back to me, voice level. "I need you to understand something, Y/n. You can't keep doing this to her."

I swallowed hard.

Caleb shook his head. "I get it, okay? I do. You've had to be the strong one for so long that letting someone in probably feels impossible. But you did let her in." He sighed, shaking his head. "You can't keep acting like you didn't."

I clenched my jaw, my fingers curling against my palms.

"Dude," Caleb continued, his voice softer now. "You know where you messed up. And I know you know it."

I exhaled sharply, my throat tight. Because he was right. I did know. I knew exactly what I had done. And I knew exactly why it hurt Madelyn so much.

But the worst part? I didn't know how to fix it.