Chapter 6

[MC POV]

° Later that Day

Walking up to Madison's house was always a treat for me and just about anyone close enough to the Laurel's in general, despite my reason for visiting being accompanied with the intent of making Madison pay for making me 'gay' in Eve's mind and whoever else she fucking told that sick joke to.

To be clear, not gay. Still a virgin, in this life and the last, but totally not gay. No offense to Mark's friend.

The thought of tickling her until she peed her panties was already a first consideration, as well as many other torturous endeavours that should satisfy my need for retribution.

The Laurel home was eye candy for the modernist architecturally inclined.

A wonderful 6000 square foot, 3-floor, striking geometric façade in a mix of concrete, steel, and glass. Filled with floor-to-ceiling glass windows, large open-concept spaces for the living room and kitchen, and a garden area that puts my house to shame.

It was a few levels above luxurious, that's for sure.

Mrs. Laurel worked as a lead scientist at an energy research company somewhere upstate. Not sure about the specifics as she was not the type to tell and it was not in my business to ask.

But whatever it was, it sure pays quite well.

I paused as I approached the large glass double doors, turning around just as a black sedan pulled up and the front passenger window rolled down to show the beautiful driver inside.

_Almost 2 decades and she still looks so good_

"Mattew? Is that you?" she asked.

"Hey, Mrs.Laurel" I smiled back.

Mrs.Laurel was one of those women that don't seem to age at all, whose beauty just gets even more accentuated over time as she adapted very well to her life as a single mother. Her long flowing black hair, striking grey eyes, smooth and flawless cream-colored skin, and impeccable sense of style gave off a sense of simple elegance to her. And she wasn't all looks either, she was smart as hell and very pleasant to be around.

Like her daughter. Too bad Mady was a full blonde, and a bit of an annoyance in comparison to her lovely mother.

She walked up to me as she exited her car, opening her arms wide and a radiant smile on her face. Going for a hug.

I only slightly hesitated as I slid into the hug, feeling all the squeezing warmth and smelling her wonderful perfume.

"My, you've grown so handsome!" she said, all smiles and compliments as she started to look over me like an authenticator looking over a piece of art.

"Thank you, Mrs.Laurel, but I don't think a few months is enough to make me that handsome"I replied.

She laughed lightly, "Well, you'll never know. Puberty changes all that".

I cringed. Puberty, yeah. Already well on my way through it.

"So" she finally let me go, "What brings you here, Matthew?".

"I was waiting for Madison. A classmate asked me to return something she borrowed since she wasn't around earlier" I said.

"I see. Well, I'm afraid you might have to wait a little bit longer. Madison is still not done with her violin practice" she said.

"Violin practice?" that caught me off guard, not gonna lie, "I thought she was sick?".

"Oh yes, she was, but she got better by the afternoon. I decided to have her take the whole day to make sure she was okay and had her tutor come for lessons to be productive. She's been taking them for over a year now" she looked at me and perked an eyebrow.

"But I guess she hasn't mentioned it to you yet?" she asked with a hint of a teasing smile.

I gave her a wry smile as I shook my head.

"Oh, poor boy" she held my cheeks and gave them a light tap, "Must be hard, your best friend keeping things from you"

"Not really" I spoke up quickly, "I was just surprised, I didn't see or expect Madison as the musical type"

She's been more of a physically dominating blonde bombshell type with a cheery personality. Any music preference was something I threw into either fantasy background music or sci-fi noises for her TTRPG or something.

But then again, everyone has their secrets.

And perhaps I've been slacking on our friendship to not notice the smaller things.

To my surprise, Mrs.Laurel laughed.

It took a minute to readjust, "What--"

"The look on your face, you looked like a puppy abandoned by the side of the road," she said, "Don't worry, Matthew. I'm sure she has her reasons. I mean, I haven't even heard her play a thing while in the house, so she might be shy about her progress or something along those lines".

"That's--that makes sense," I said, rubbing my chin.

"There you go," she said, tapping my shoulder as if to cheer me up, "Anyway, you should come in for a bit. We haven't gotten to talk for a while, and I wanted to know how my favorite boy among Mady's friends is doing".

I couldn't help smiling, her words made me feel really good. Not to mention, she always makes those delicious homemade cookies.

But I couldn't stay for long.

"I want to, Mrs.Laurel, but I have to go cook something for dinner. Otherwise, Mark will have to and it'll be egg goop for dinner instead of literally anything else" I said.

"I see" she said, disappointment clear in her voice, "Well, maybe next time then. You're welcome to come by anytime, Matt".

"Yes, Mrs.Laurel. Where can I leave this?" I asked, holding up the wrapped 'object' in my hand.

The look of instant recognition on her face made me feel embarrassed just by holding it out, her expression turned suspicious.

"Why--I mean, who...?" she let her words trail off, the full meaning didn't need to be said after all.

"Eve, a classmate of ours" I said.

Relief washed over her as her expression softened.

"Oh, thank goodness" she said, "You can just give that to me, Matt. I'll take care of it, besides I suspect it needs to be cleaned anyway".

I happily handed her the thing, grateful to rid my hands off it.

"I'll be going then, Mrs.Laurel. It was nice seeing you again" I said.

"You as well, Matt" she waved me off and closed the door behind her.

I turned to leave.

As I got to the side of the road, a strange sensation made my hair stand on end and my skin crawled.

I turned around quickly and raised my hands in a reflexive defense, looking around for whatever or whoever it was that was making me feel that.

But there was no one around.

Just the street, Mrs.Laurel's BMW, and the slowly emerging lights of the houses around as the evening slowly settled in.

No villain, no rodent, no visible cause and source of my discomfort.

I gave the surroundings one more look before I decided to fly off, as I was already very late.

****

[3rd POV]

As Matthew rose to the air and subsequently sped away with a blinding speed towards the horizon, a figure stood by the window and was watching him go with calm eyes.

"And there he goes" she said.

Mrs.Laurel's eyes followed the young man until he was no longer visible, a mere dot growing smaller in the setting sky.

There was a hint of absence in her eyes, as if she had taken a mental step back and was watching something else. Memories of her past.

A broken past she could barely remember.

She shook her head, shoving the memories aside as she turned and walked slowly towards the living room. The large house was empty despite the luxuries that dotted every wall and corner, but none of it was dearer to her eyes than the only daughter she had.

Thena made her way to the upper floors, to Madison's bedroom where she placed the 'object' among other 'objects' the girl had failed to hide.

She sighed, "Really, Mady. Why did you even let that girl borrow this?" she said.

Madison lay sleeping on the bed, arms lazily set about as she slept like a monkey with its stomach exposed. A sight that made Thena cringe internally.

"Already 18 and you still sleep like a chimp" she whispered to herself.

But she was her daughter after all, and so she stood beside the bed and began to slowly set things to order. Straightened her arms and neck, padded the pillow, and everything else to make her baby comfortable as she slept.

She paused moments later when she noticed a strange coloration slowly appear by the edges of her daughter's forehead. Its appearance did not seem to bother her as she traced her hand over it and the color returned to its normal state.

She sighed once more.

"Puberty, huh..." she said, looking at Madison with pity.

"Things will change drastically by then, for you. And for us. I just hope you won't freak out when it does, my baby" she said, almost like she was reassuring herself as well as the deeply sleeping Madison.

She gave Madison a kiss on the forehead before she left, gliding through the door without touching it as she made her way back to the first floor and to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Madison slept deeply, snoring as she tossed and turned. Her breathing went still for a moment as she seemed to calm unconsciously. An invisible force rippled from her, just enough to shake the lighter objects around her.

If she noticed at all, she didn't show it.