One Who Flees - A Modern Cinderella Story

Chapter 18 - Our Further Complications

Chapter 18 – Our further complications

                Working at the bakery the next morning was a very tense experience. I was working hard while making small talk with Madison and John but I was also constantly looking around to see if Ethan had arrived yet. It was a good hour or so before he pushed open the door to the work room. He walked into the room with Mel and Karen behind him. I finished icing the cupcake in my hand before putting down the piping bag and looking up at Ethan. I gave him a subtle nod and he nodded back at me.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Madison whispered to me.

“I might.” I whispered back. “But you just have to wait and listen.” Before she could ask anything further Ethan coughed awkwardly and we all looked at him. He looked worried for a second but I shot a smile at him and he seemed to relax a little.

“I have something I need to tell you all.” He was wringing his hands nervously. “It’s something that I really should have told you a long time ago but up until recently it was something that I hated about myself.” I saw Mel and John giving each other a look. I wondered if they might have worked out Ethan’s secret already. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if they had. I was sure Madison hadn’t because if she had I would have been on the end of a good amount of crazy gossip and rumours.

A gasp from beside me snapped me out of my thoughts. I realised that Ethan had been talking while I had been having my own internal debate. He was currently explaining that he didn’t want who he was and who his family was to change how we treated him. “I just want things to go on here exactly like before I told you.” Of course we all willingly agreed. The only person who might have trouble with it was Madison. After he had said this he seemed to be done so we all got back to work.

“Now you have to talk to Madison.” Ethan muttered as he passed me.

“What?!” I exclaimed. “Why do I have to tell her?” I glared at him.

“She’s your friend. You wanted to tell her. That means you have to explain everything.” He smirked. “You have fun with that.”

“Jerk.” I called after him as he made a quick getaway. I turned back only to jump out of my skin when I was all of a sudden face to face with Madison. “Geez! Could you not sneak up on me?” She stuck a tongue out at me and I rolled my eyes.

“So how long have you known?” She asked.

“Since Christmas.” I replied quickly. “You get that you have to keep this a secret right? You can’t tell Maia and Kara.”

“Of course I know that.” Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Who do you think I am?” I shot her a look and she laughed. “Yeah ok. But I can keep a secret if I absolutely have to.”

“You’d better.” I chuckled as I picked up my piping bag again. We worked in silence for a while before Madison piped up again.

“So Ethan’s really the heir to a multimillion dollar fortune but he spends his days instead working in a bakery that his family knows nothing about. So he’s kind of like Oliver Queen except instead of going out at night shooting bad guys with arrows, he’s at a bakery making cupcakes.” She seemed to be thinking out loud.

“If Oliver Queen’s secret was that he worked in a bakery, Arrow would be a very different show.” I teased but I don’t think she was listening.

“Why do you think he decided to tell us now?” She pondered. This was my opportunity to explain to her what was going on. I tapped her on the arm and she looked over to me.