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  “Umm…probably about three or four by the time we tidy up” Madison replied hopeful.

  “Can I walk you home?” Brendan asked, suddenly becoming shy.

  He began to edge backwards towards the dance floor.

  “Uh, sure” Madison said a little too excitedly.

  “Great. See you then” Brendan said before turning and walking across the dance floor to find his friend.

  Madison’s eyes followed Brendan until he was consumed in the crowds of people. She smiled happily to herself, her heart racing and the butterflies swarming in her stomach again. She swallowed hard - the few hours she had left would feel like days if she didn’t get a grip quickly.

  Quickly, Madison started tucking glasses from the table into the plastic glass carrier. Her mind was up in space and her body was floating underneath the stars. Once she had cleared the table she went back to the bar to put them into the dishwasher.

  “Who was that?” Scott asked angrily

  Madison ignored as she filled the dishwasher with dirty glasses.

  “That was Brendan” she spat, once she had switched it on.

  She could feel Scott’s hot breath on the side of her face as he breathed deeply, angered by another man talking to her. Scott infuriated her, not only did he make her feel uncomfortable and he had become difficult to work with, but he now thought he had an influence in her life and who she spoke to.

  “What‘s your problem Scott? He’s my friend, not that it‘s any of your business anyway!” she said angrily, eyeing him.

  “He looked more than a friend to me!” Scott shouted.

  “So what if he is… You are not my boyfriend and you can’t tell me what to do. So just fuck off” Madison screamed.

  The words hit him like a kick to the stomach. She watched as his expression turned from anger to hurt. Guilt dug in her like a knife – had she been too hard on him? She hadn’t felt anger like that in a long time and she had never intentionally meant to hurt his feelings, but it was about time she had made things clear.

  Scott lowered his head, his eyes falling to the floor and his face turning from hurt to sorrow. Her expression softened from anger to concern, she waited - unsure whether she was going to burst into tears or fly at her in a rage. Scott remained still for a moment, he looked thoughtful and then his features flickered back to anger. He spat something at Madison which she couldn’t make out over the heavy base line of the song and stormed out through the gap in the bar. Madison didn’t follow him or watch him storm across the dance floor, Faye caught her eye before she could look over to Scott. Faye stood at the far side of the bar, she had been watched the whole thing... Her wrinkled forehead frowned towards Madison. The two other girls behind the bar worked busily serving drinks; neither of them seemed to have noticed the conflicted.

  Madison stared at Faye uneasily; she threw Faye an apologetic look and smiled weakly. Faye rolled her eyes and mouthed the words ‘go get him’. Madison felt her stomach sink, all the excitement she had after seeing Brendan had down gone. Reluctantly Madison nodded, placed the glass carrier on the marble bar and slipped through the gap back out onto the dance floor. She didn’t see which direction Scott had stormed off in, so she began to do a sweep of the room. Scanning the faces in the crowd - she couldn’t see Scott amongst them. So she headed towards the sitting area to the right of the room, squeezing through the crowds of people that surrounded the sofas. Madison checked one set of sofas - Scott wasn’t there, so she headed to the next. Slipping through a gap in the crowd, her foot got stuck on something – she stumbled, falling forwards and crashing into the coffee table in the centre of the next set of sofas. A few glasses flew off the coffee table onto the floor, smashing instantly. Madison balanced herself and straightened up, looking up she caught a glimpse of the same beautiful crystal blue colour that had captured her attention earlier. Brendan sat on the back sofa, his arm draped around the shoulders of a very slim, beautiful blonde. Her features were waxy like Brendan’s under the multi-coloured lights. Her skin was flawless, not a blemish insight. Her long blonde hair was curled and flowed down over her breasts. Her eyes were a green, not as bright as Brendan’s but enchanting, drawing you in with every glance. Her lips were full and glossed red under smoky grey eye shadow - she was stunning. Madison couldn’t help but feel plain and ugly compared to this other woman. Her body was gestured towards Brendan, the sides of their bodies touching. Madison felt her face fall in horror, all the colour drained from her cheeks. Her heart stopped at the sight of Brendan with another woman and she struggled for breathe.

  Madison stared at the blonde before her eyes slowly shifted to Brendan who was watching her curiously. His face also fell as he realised what conclusion Madison had come to by the sight of the beautiful blonde. He shot a concerned looked to the blonde and then glanced back to Madison. The blonde picked up on the tension and began to eye Madison skeptically.

  At that very moment Madison had laid eyes on Brendan with the gorgeous blonde, the lift had drained from her. She almost felt the need to crumble to her knees and cry uncontrollably. Brendan had a girlfriend? She had high hope that there was something between herself and Brendan, but now she felt as if she had been punched in the face.

  Brendan shifted uncomfortably away from the blonde on the sofa, removing his arm from around her shoulders and placing it down by his side. He rubbed the stubble on his jaw with his other hand, searching for something to say. Madison broke free from her daze, she blink several times and grabbed unbroken glass from the coffee table in front of her.

  “I found it” she said awkwardly, holding the glass up in the air and waving it at Brendan and the blonde.

  Brendan’s stopped rubbing his jaw; he stared at Madison in confusion. Madison urged the ground to open up and swallow her whole, she felt completely ridiculous for the poor excuse she managed and she now had the sudden urge to laugh uncontrollably.

  “Who’s she?” the blonde asked eyeing Madison.

  Madison didn’t stay for a reply; she pushed her way back through the crowd and almost ran back to the bar. She slammed the one glass she had collected from the table down on the marble bar once she was safely behind it and almost buried her head in her hands in embarrassment. Her heart had kick started but she struggled to breathe through the mixed emotions. She took in short shallow breaths of oxygen like she was having a panic attack. Her chest was tight and painful; she rubbed it trying to sooth the pain. She lets out a quiet whimper, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She wanted to scream out in pain and collapse to the floor, but her mind urged her to get her emotions in check – what did she expect, she knew nothing about Brendan.

  “Get a bloody grip, you can cry later” she whispered to herself.

  A hand touched her shoulder - she jumped and spun around quickly. Faye stood behind her, a concerned look creasing her face.

  “What’s the matter? Where‘s Scott?” Faye asked.

  Madison shook her head. She struggled to reply, catching her breath. The two other barmaids threw Madison a worried look.

  “Nothing… I. Couldn’t. Find. Him” she said, taking a deep breath between each word. Faye continued to eye Madison with concern. She shook her head once more fighting back the tears and turned towards the few people stood at the bar.

  Two small circles of crystal blue pieced through the darkness surrounding the bar. Brendan stood a couple of feet away from the marble bar, his expression emotionless – concern flashing brightly in his eyes. Madison took a few deep breaths, her mild panic attack finally passing. Brendan had been watched as she struggled to suppress her emotions - struggling to gain control of them. He didn’t approach her; he just stared deep down into her. His eyes piecing her flesh, penetrating once again into her soul. Faye watched from behind Madison, she stared from Madison to Brendan. She signed loudly as she put two and two together. Brendan broke away from Madison’s gaze and disappeared back into the darkness of the dance floor. Madison face fell once again; she stared into
the empty space where Brendan had stood. Her hands shook and the emptiness that had been filled for a very short time crept back.

  The rest of the night dragged. Madison didn’t see Brendan again and she didn’t feel she was likely to considering what had happened. Brendan had left the club before closing; he had snuck out the back way, Madison presumed not wanting to bump into her again with his girlfriend. The way Brendan’s male friend had eyed her when she had first spotted him seemed to make sense now. He was probably curious as to why Brendan was talking to another woman when his girlfriend was waiting for him on the sofas.

  Madison had spent most of the remainder of the night shuffling around the bar with a blank expression - feeling sorry for herself. Faye had asked a few times if she was alright, which of course Madison insisted she was fine and was only tired. Scott surfaced about an hour after he walked off in a strop and informed Faye he had been helping in the VIP lounge. Which Faye thought was a likely story, he was more likely to have gone down to the cellar and helped himself to a few bottles of beer. Neither Scott nor Madison had made eye contact for the rest of the night. They walked past each other as if the other had not been there.

  Madison decided to stay behind later after her shift had finished to help Faye restock the bar and sweep up the broken glass – some of which she had caused. She didn’t expect Brendan to walk her home after what she had witnessed, so she thought we might as well kill some time and help Faye. After all, her mind would only keep her up all night – replying the moment she had since Brendan with the blonde, his arm draped around her shoulders.

  They both worked in silence, Faye wasn’t much of a small talker and Madison didn’t feel the need to make idol conversation. Once the club was looking pristine and ready for another night of high-end clubbing, Madison said goodbye and left Faye to finish cashing up. She pulled her phone from her handbag and flipped it open. 3.42am it read. She flipped it shut and placed it back into her handbag. She yawned and headed towards the entrance of the club. She unlocked the two double doors with the key that was left in the keyhole and opened the right door. She stepped out into the cold morning air, the breeze was bitter and it took her breath away, sending a shiver flowing down her spine. She closed the door behind her and stared out into the empty street. It was still pitch black and the street was blissfully silent. Madison couldn’t stop her mind whirling. She felt hopeless after tonight, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed and cry for the remainder of the night. Uncontrollably, her eyes began to well - tears threatened to spill out over her cheeks. She fought them back, sniffing in the cold air to distract herself. Slowly, she stepped down the long concrete steps and began to walk down the pavement home.

  “Madison?” said a voice from behind her.

  Her heart skipped a beat and her skin started to tingle causing all the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. She span around turning towards the direction of the voice. Brendan stood in the middle of the pavement, his forehead creased with concern.

  “Are you ok?” Brendan asked, noticing the forming tears and rushing towards her. He cupped her face in his hands - his touch was ice cold. Madison almost flinched away from his icy touch, but she found the cold oddly pleasurable on her warm face. His skin was soft and his touch was tender. She imagined Brendan must have been waiting outside the club since closing for his hands to be so icy cold. A flicker of guilt ate away at her from inside her stomach. Appreciatively she brushed his hands away from her face, not wanting to hurt his feelings. It wasn’t because she didn’t want him to touch her that was something he longed for that more than anything, but she couldn’t get the image of the blonde out of her head and how she would feel if her boyfriend was touching another woman behind her back.

  “I‘m fine, just tired” she lied.

  His face warmed with her words.

  “You’re late. I’ve been waiting” he said a little more happily.

  “Well, I didn’t think you were going to meet me after what happened in the club” Madison frowned, turning to walk down the street.

  He shot to the side of her in seconds. He was so fast she didn’t even see him move until he was at her side.

  “Look, about that. You’ve got the wrong idea, it’s not like that” he said, matching her pace.

  “So, what exactly is it like?” she asked a little too sarcastically.

  “It’s not like that! She wants it to be, but it’s not!” he said, eyeing her expression.

  Madison frowned in confusion.

  “But you had your arm around her?” she said strongly.

  “I’ve known her for a very long time. We…grew up together. I think of Gabby as a sister – nothing more” he protested.

  “But, she likes you?” Madison asked, feeling slightly better.

  “Yeah, well, I think so? But even so, she knows I don’t feel that way about her and she knows nothing would ever happen” he said awkwardly.

  “What do you mean, you think so?”

  “Look. It’s complicated. I’ll tell you one day, just trust me” he chuckled.

  That was one thing Madison struggled to do with people, trust them.

  They walked side by side along the pavement; she allowed the conversation to vary from interests and hobbies. They discovered they had the same taste in music and even liked some of the same bands. They had more in common then she had first imagined. The conversation was endless and relaxed, flowing naturally with no silence and neither of them fighting for something to say. Brendan liked to draw and ask whether he could sketch Madison sometime. She accepted reluctantly, but she was intrigued to see his artistic side.

  “So… Madison, where were you running from on the night we first met?” he asked, shifting the conversation to more serious conversation.

  “There you go with the awkward questions again” she said jokingly.

  “Seriously?” he said a little more seriously, but still continued to smile widely at her.

  “Umm…well….Thatcham” she stuttered.

  “Thatcham. Huh, that’s a nice place” he lied, a smile stretched across his face.

  Madison rolled her eyes and laughed.

  “You’re a very bad liar, you know that?” she laughed.

  Brendan laughed at her, his face directed down to the concrete.

  “Where were you running from when I first met you?” she asked, trying to play him at his own game.

  “I was on my way back from a business trip actually” he said casually.

  “Oh yeah, what sort of business are you in?” Madison asked curiously.

  “Umm…like the private sector. I kind of find people - hunt them down if you like” Brendan explained.

  “Really? Wow” she said a little stunned.

  “I don’t want to bore you with the details. You may not want to see me again, if I do that!” he smiled.

  Madison blushed at his words. A tingling feeling spread across her skin, the butterflies returned to her stomach flying wildly around performing loops and swirls. The happiness Brendan shone on her began to fill the emptiness once again.

  They were approaching the hell house; the walk down the long dark alleyway had taken no time at all while she was in Brendan’s company. Madison hadn’t noticed one shadow threatening shadow or a single strange noise while she was with Brendan. She felt safe with Brendan. He was her protector and fought away the things that haunted her. With Brendan all the badness melted away and she felt real again - human.

  Silence fell over them both as the approach the front gate of the bed-sit. Madison wished the walk home was longer, she still had questions for Brendan and wanted to hear every detail of his life up until the point they had met.

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” Brendan said breaking the silence.

  “Umm… tomorrow? Not a lot. I probably won’t wake up until lunch time, but that’s about it” Madison said eagerly.

  “Did you want to do something in the afternoon?” Brendan asked, becoming shy again.
/>   “Yes!” Madison asked instantly.

  She didn’t want Brendan ever leave her again, not now she had him all to herself.

  “Do you want to come in for a coffee?” she asked, suddenly wondering whether she was being too hasty.

  Brendan’s eyes moved from Madison towards the house, he hadn’t examined it properly until he was confronted with the prospect of going inside.

  “You live here?” he asked a little shocked, his eyes scanning every inch of the house. Madison was used to this reaction; everyone who saw where she lived said the same thing. Faye had dropped her home one night, which Madison soon regretted as Faye was completely stunned by the sight of the bedsit.

  “Umm…yeah, but only until I can afford something better” Madison said embarrassed.

  ““It certainly is something else” Brendan laughed.

  “I know it’s a house of hell, but it’s all that I could afford!” Madison said defensively, feeling slightly offended.

  She knew the house was awful, but she also felt a little defensive of the hell house – it was her hell house. It was her temporary home and she had made her room as homely as possible. The house may have a variety of different smells, not all of them pleasant and her house mates might be a little different, but Madison had gone attached to her small four walls.

  Brendan didn’t reply - he stared at the house suspiciously.

  “It’s fine. You don’t have to come in” she said finally, disappointed at his reaction.

  “No. Coffee sounds great!” he replied.

  Madison smiled, opening the garden gate and wandered up the garden path – Brendan in toe. She pulled her keys from her handbag and climbed the doorsteps, unlocking the front door. Madison had the opening of the front door down to a fine art now, forcing it slightly with her shoulder as she twisted the key. A gust of wind caught the front door from Madison’s loose grip, causing it to fly open and bounce of the wall.

  She grabbed the door before it could bang against the wall again and pulled her keys out - she turned smiling weakly at Brendan. Brendan flashed a look of concern at Madison but she ignored it, placing one foot inside the entrance. Brendan grabbed her arm, his grip tight - catching her off guard. She turned to look at him and frowned in confusion, she smiled trying to shake off his grip.