Chapter 4: Laughter of Betrayal

Maddison’s POV

That laughter was coming from inside Tyler's room and cut into Maddison's chest, her arm froze, with her fist still wrapped in the air just above the door, and she wondered if she had come to the wrong door. All of the witty things that she had practiced telling him just disappeared, and then she was left with a chill, hollow fear. Her posture was rigid in her graduation robe as the diploma she held in her hand, her prize for five years of hardwork, was now heavy, and at this moment the only thing rightly in existence for Maddison was that sound…that laughter. It was a sound of someone who was comfortable Tyler's apartment that didn't belong there, especially not on a day like this.

Her mind spun with the other options. A sister, a cousin, or a friend's girlfriend waiting for him, but they didn't quite fit in her head, and that laugh sealed it. It sounded too comfortable in the room, like the person was supposed to be there.

She had an awful urge to know, even as she wanted to spin around and run. She needed to see for herself, to understand the truth behind the door, but her fingers were slow and numbed as if they belonged to someone else. She extended her hand and found the top of the door before she pushed. The door swung softly open, and then she was able to see more of Tyler's living room.

Her gaze took in the scene piece by piece. She saw things she was unaware of; two half-finished slices of pizza were left in a box on the coffee table, an open bottle of good whiskey, a brand he never drank, sat next to two glasses but one glass had red lipstick rimming it. And then she saw a green short dress spread over the arm of the couch. It was a woman's outfit, and it looked so refined in the messy, dull room, and it seemed so misplaced.

Tyler was reclining on a couch, relaxed, with his arm slung over the woman next to him but when she looked again, intently, she saw that the woman in that green dress was Brooke. It was the woman from his office. He had promised Maddison that Brooke was a friend, he even explained to her that her overbearing personality scared him, but tonight, huddled in next to him, she did not seem like someone scary. Tonight, she was standing tall, as if she had won and her head rested on his shoulder, her perfect blonde locks shining against his rumpled t-shirt.

Maddison's breath was caught in her throat, she stood still in the hallway as if she was invisible, then Tyler leaned forward and whispered softly but clearly in the still room.

"I'm telling to you, it's over," he said, speaking as though he were referring to work. "It was always going to end. She's a wonderful girl, truly. Just a sweet, simple girl, easy to figure out what she's thinking, but it was never going to work out. You are my future Brooke. All of it with her was just practice and getting ready to come meet you."

Sweet girl, Simple girl and Easy to know. They were little words, but they cut her so deeply. He used her name as if she was a thing he had finally gotten rid of, he made her deep love and trust seem like a weakness as to be ridiculed. Maddison held her fingers in a vise-like grip, and a sick sensation swept over her stomach.

Brooke moved and tilted her head to look at him, she had a radiant smile on her reddish lips. "What about her special day? The whole top student thing?" she said, and there was a mocking tone to her voice.

Tyler let out a short laugh; it was a sound Maddison had not heard him produce before, it was empty and callous. "I nearly sent a message this morning saying 'Not feeling well, sorry.' The best excuse but then again, she trusts me; she'd never question so I didn't send it." He shrugged, as though years of trust did not matter. And then he leaned in over to the messy side table and picked up a small, recognizable item.

Maddison's heart stopped because it was the little steel bridge piece that she had labored over more than 40 hours to create for their anniversary. She had carefully carved their initials and the date on the bottom because it was a symbol of her two loves, which were engineering and him.

He displayed it, turning it over between his fingers like trash. "Look what she gave me here," he taunted with a nasty little laugh. "She said that it represented our 'unbreakable bond.' Robust, solid, created to stand the test of time; can you believe it? She really thinks that life is like one of her blueprint designs that is all cleanlines and easy conclusions."

Brooke laughed again, and this time it destroyed the last piece of Maddison's control. Cheating was bad enough, but this…this happy wrecking of something so personal, was a nastier kind of betrayal, and for Brooke, it was not just about cheating; it was hate.

With her laughter fading, Brooke's black eyes moved in the direction of the door. For an instant, Maddison thought Brooke had not seen her, but then Brooke's eyes met hers. In shock, there was no horror, no guilt, but a cold glint of awareness, then a slow, sneering smile. It was a look that meant she had won.

Still locked onto Maddison, Brooke slid her hand along Tyler's neck, pulled him into her for a kiss with a slow, deliberate motion. Never looking away from Maddison down the corridor, she kissed him intensely, as if to signal that this was hers now, and at that moment, the message was very much clear.

Maddison's body eventually responded, and a squeaked, strangled sound came from her as she took a shaky step back, then her heel caught on the carpet before she stumbled backward. The door, pushed by her movement, swung shut with a clear click.