by W.J. Smith
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rain Cloud
The mood continued to be light on into the evening. When Skyler came home, bringing dinner with him, he was greeted by the ever so cheerful Chase. He didn't inquire of his roommate's glowing mood. Madison watched them interact with amusement. Chase was just begging for Skyler to ask of his day and his glee, and Skyler did very well in going on as if he didn't even notice. She knew he did. Between Chase's random humming and newly developed insistence to help set the table, it was hard to miss. Skyler hadn't missed. He gave a mocking smirk each time he turned away from him.
Madison wondered how long it was going to take him to boil over with Skyler not taking the bait. It was plain to see that Chase couldn't stand keeping it to himself any longer. They were not far into the meal when he finally announced his good day.
"I have a date!" he declared at the first opening. He shifted his gaze between the two and awaited their replies.
Madison helped him along when Skyler was slow to join in. "When is this date? I forgot to ask earlier."
"Thursday," he said with a confident smile. "We're going to go spend the evening in Uptown. Dinner and a movie."
Skyler still wasn't catching on so Madison nudged him under the table. "Good to hear," he blurted out with a sideways look at her. "Who are you going with?"
"Tabatha." Chase's tone sounded as if he wanted to sing her name. He was smitten.
"Strawberry," Madison added with a snicker. Her teasing didn't dampen his happiness.
Skyler kept up without any needed assistance. "So you two are back together?"
Chase was slower to answer that time. "Kind of. Maybe. I think it's just for old times' sake."
"You two will have a good time," Madison encouraged him as he seemed to wane.
"Why don't we do a double date?" Chase perked up. "Madison has been stuck in this apartment day in and day out. She needs some fresh air. Why don't you two come with us? Now that will be fun."
Skyler was rejecting the suggestion before Chase was finished. "No, no double dates. Madison is staying out of sight for a reason, you know that. That would be asking for trouble."
"But thank you," she added, hoping to soften Skyler's frank denial.
"You're being paranoid," Chase sighed. "It's just one evening out. Who would notice? Besides, they got along so well."
That was the wrong thing to say. Madison cringed. Skyler instantly questioned his meaning, "Who got along?"
"Tabatha and ..."
"She hardly noticed me." Madison tried to prevent Chase from digging himself into any more of a hole. "Don't worry about it."
Skyler peered at her, just shy of a glare. "You met her?"
"Of coarse she did. She was great." Chase wasn't noticing the dangerously cold look he was getting from his roommate.
Madison shook her head when Skyler turned his fretful gaze back to her. She hoped he would let it go and not press the subject. It was only a hope.
"Why would you do that? I know you haven't forgotten why you're here and what got you here in the first place." He wasn't going to let it go.
"Skyler, there isn't a problem. I assure you, she wasn't looking at my face. She wouldn't even recognize me if she walked in right now."
"You would bet your life on that?"
"I said there isn't a problem." She matched his stare. He was right, it was a reckless thing to do looking back. Her photo was still being posted in several papers. She figured a girl like Tabatha read more magazines than she did papers. Thus, she wouldn't put it together.
"Oh," Chase caught on, "I didn't think anything of it. I'm sorry. But I bet she's right, Tabatha wouldn't know her from the doorman."
Skyler's darkening glare was no longer on them. He had tuned back to his dinner and was mercilessly jabbing at it with his fork. Madison knew his silence. He was brooding. She didn't try to defuse him. It would be fruitless at this point. "Not a problem," he nodded sarcastically. "No need to worry." He wasn't agreeing with them.
Chase did his best to help. "No worries, no problem."
"Madison, do you know why you're sitting here with a bullet in you?" She didn't even attempt to follow him. He was being impossible. "Because they think you're dead. If these people knew you were alive, they'd put another in you, if not two more for the trouble."
She looked away as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Yes, thank you for that reminder."
Chase fidgeted with his fork and knife. Madison hoped he wouldn't try to smooth things over again. It wouldn't help.
No one said another word for a few nerve-racking moments. Everyone was still and kept to themselves. The atmosphere in the room was precariously charged. She took a faltering glance at Skyler and found him staring at her. The quivering muscles in his jaws told of him clinching his teeth. She lowered her eyes.
The sound of Skyler's fork and knife hitting his plate rang out in the silence. Madison refrained from looking to him as he shoved his chair back and strode across the room. She heard him swipe his coat from the coatrack and pull the door open.
"Where are you going?" Chase called after him.
Skyler's voice was low, but his answer carried across the apartment. "Out."
The door didn't slam. It closed with a gentle click. Madison had shut her eyes and held her breath waiting for the door to crash against its frame. His tempered exit didn't calm her any. She thought to run after him, but she held her place.
"I'm so sorry, Madison. This is my fault. I wasn't thinking."
"You're fine," she quietly assured Chase. "Don't worry about it. He's just under a lot of pressure right now."
"Are you really in that much trouble?"
She shook her head, "I don't know. He sure seems to think so, though."
"I hope he's wrong." He had returned to his dinner. The tone of his voice hinted that he was still unsettled.
Madison nodded in agreement. She too hoped Skyler was overreacting. Still, she had a feeling that he was right. She was in deep, and he was right there with her even if he wouldn't admit it.