His sister bounded into the room with Leighanne following close behind. “Hey, Brian,” they said together.
“Leigh, can I talk to my sister alone for a few minutes?” Brian requested.
“Yeah, sure,” she replied. “I was going to go for a swim anyway. I’ll be back up in forty-five minutes or so.”
As the door closed, Brian sat down on the couch and motioned for Madeleine to sit next to him. “I’m going to ask you this once, and so help you God if you don’t tell the truth. What really happened when you and Nick were locked in his dressing room together?”
“Nothing,” Madeleine lied. “We just hung out and talked all night.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. Why? What brought this on?”
“I heard an interesting fact today from Loryn.”
Madeleine rolled her eyes in disdain. “Is that so? What did she say?”
“She said she heard you talking to Leighanne this afternoon.” Madeleine’s eyes shifted to the table, and Brian noticed her stir in her chair uncomfortably. “She said you told Leighanne that you and Nick had sex.”
“That’s…that’s ridiculous!” Madeleine exclaimed. “What made you believe her, Brian?”
“You’re the one that made me believe her, Mattie. Don’t think I didn’t notice your discomfort when I brought that up.”
“I was uncomfortable…” she said slowly. “…because I was discussing you with Leighanne today, and I-” Brian interrupted, and Madeleine was actually somewhat thankful because she wouldn’t have been able to think of anything else to say.
“Cut the crap, Mattie. I know you slept with him,” Brian accused.
“Brian, be reasonable. Why would I do that? I know we can’t be together, and I’m not going to fuck a guy if I can’t be with him,” Madeleine said flatly.
“For the love of God, Madeleine, will you please watch your language?” Brian shouted.
“God! Sorry! I’m not going to HAVE SEX with a guy if I can’t be with him,” Madeleine repeated.
“Hm. That’s funny. I don’t believe you,” Brian said sarcastically.
They glared at each other for several moments before she finally broke down. “Fine!” she confessed.
“I knew it!” Brian exclaimed.
She was quivering slightly and tears were stinging her eyelids, but Madeleine was determined not to let them fall, not to show Brian he had won. “Fine. I slept with him, but it wasn’t just to go against you. It was because we were…we are…in love. If I’m going to be kicked off the tour because of it, that really sucks, but I’ll just have to deal with that because I’m not in the mood to put up with your shit anymore, Brian,” she said calmly.
“You’re lucky. Fatima wouldn’t let me kick you off the tour. She said there’s no way we can teach another dancer the routines in such a short time unless it’s absolutely necessary. You can stay, but there’s no way in hell that I’m going to let Nick anywhere near you, no matter how miserable either of you are. Trust me. You’ll live to regret that night, Madeleine.” With that, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door. As soon as he was gone, Madeleine crumbled to the floor in a fit of harsh sobs.