prologue
It was great.
Madison Patrick was sixteen years and one week old, and not only had her driver’s license, but a new extended cab pick-up truck. Her parents, Mommy Dearest and Daddy Warbucks, had actually taken time out of their busy schedule to stop by and give her a birthday present. It was really more of a guilt gift than anything, but Maddie didn’t mind.
Maddie only saw her parents about a month out of the year. They were always on a business vacation or another second honeymoon and left their only daughter to fend for herself. They sent a check to her ever other week and called to check on her just about as often. Still, she held no grudges against them. On the contrary, Maddie enjoyed having the two story, four bedroom house all to herself. When her parents actually did visit home, they only served to complicate Maddie’s schedule.
Outside, the weather was calm and warm. “The perfect day for a drive,” Maddie mused to the empty truck. At just before noon, she already had most of the day planned out in her mind: First, she would pick up her boyfriend, Trevor Dunn - he was sixteen already, but he didn’t have a car of his own; next, the two of them would catch an early movie and then go to a park for a picnic; lastly, the she and Trevor would probably go for a drive.
Surprisingly, driving calmed Maddie. However, when she was outside of a vehicle, she wasn’t quite as relaxed. She had been hit by a car at the age of eight, and the scars that had never formed on her body were firmly embedded in her mind. And though she had managed to outgrow most of her fears, busy streets still got to her when she was walking near them. But when she was behind the wheel, the remaining panic and anxiety seemed to slip away.
As Maddie pulled down Trevor’s street, his house came into view. It was the same as always - off-orange siding, dirty windows, oil-stained driveway. It was strange; nearly every piece of cement in the neighborhood was oil-stained, whether it be in someone’s drive or in front of the party store. It wasn’t that it was a bad part of town, or even a poor one. There were just a lot of teenagers that owned older cars.
She turned her truck into Trevor’s drive, cut the engine, and went straight for the side door of the Dunn home. She knocked on the door and waited for Trevor to open it.
Maddie waited patiently. After a minute, she knocked again.
“Dammit, I’m coming!” called a voice from inside. A moment later, Trevor opened the door. Even he looked the same as always: Dark brown hair falling neatly into place, blue eyes smoky, jaw set. “What are you doing here so early on a Saturday?” he greeted.
“I thought we could go catch a movie,” Maddie said. “My mom and dad finally took enough time out of their schedule to stop by the house and drop off my birthday present. It’s a truck, Trevor. Now we don’t have to wait for your parents to let you use their car. Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah, sure,” he muttered.
As he said it, Maddie heard another voice from inside the house calling Trevor’s name. It wasn’t his mom or his step-dad - they were both at work. And, like herself, Trevor was an only child . . .
“Who was that?” she demanded, peering into the house.
The voice called for Trevor again. Maddie recognized it this time. It was Jenny Stoll, a girl she knew from school.
“Study group,” Trevor said casually, trying to edge Maddie away from the door.
Maddie held her ground. “It’s summer vacation,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Summer school,” he told her with a shrug.
“Please,” Maddie snapped. “You’re not going to summer school, and Jenny Stoll gets better grades than I do. What is she really doing over here?”
Trevor’s brow puckered. “Leave, Maddie,” he said softly.
She shook her head slowly. “No, Trevor,” she plead. “You promised -”
He didn’t listen. In a flash, a hot numbing sensation crossed Maddie’s right cheek and she was nearly sent sprawling onto the pavement. “Leave, Maddie,” he repeated.
She looked up through blurring eyes just in time to see Trevor walk back into his house. He didn’t once look back.
The same as always.