sweet instigator

twelve.

Madeleine sat on her little balcony at home. Her ankles dangled over the edge as she had a cigarette in her mouth and a glass of rosé wine in her hand. The sun shone down in the evening and soon enough, it'd get a little too chilly to still sit here.

But Madeleine tried to make the most out of her free day. The moment she'd think too much, she'd be reminded of the pile of work waiting for her tomorrow morning on her desk. She'd be reminded of the fact she had to see or hear Connor on a daily basis - just now that she was getting over him. Seeing him constantly felt like a weight she couldn't shake, and it was so incredibly difficult Madeleine didn't always know what to do with herself.

And today, she took a day off. Not even a full day - she worked a little bit that morning - but the afternoon and evening. She only felt partly guilty about that.

So when her phone buzzed, Maddie immediately felt her heartbeat picking up dangerously. She wasn't sure why she immediately assumed it'd be bad news. Either Connor to nag her and rush her, or maybe someone from her family who wondered why they hadn't seen her in ages. Or maybe Liz. Who now knew that Maddie saw Cameron every single day yet hadn't brought it up to her.

Instead, her face turned into a frown when she saw Cam's number on her screen. Madeleine huffed as she straightened up a bit and then answered the phone, "Hello?" Her heart slammed in her throat and she quickly took another drag of the cigarette.

Things with her and Cam were... fine. Madeleine tried to keep the boundaries and keep the distance, but it got harder and harder due to Theodora. Madeleine adored her, she was so sweet and funny - but it gnawed at her how she had sex with her father.

"Hey." Cameron mumbled on the other side of the line, "What - uh... what're you doing?"

Maddie pressed her lips together as she blew out her puff of smoke through her nostrils, "I'm just at home." She softly responded.

Cameron exhaled a breath, "Do you by any chance feel like coming over?" His voice sounded a little raspy.

"I..." Madeleine leaned back in her chair, "I'm on my period." She admitted.

"Oh. Well, I mean - I didn't necessarily call you for sex."

Maddie's brows raised as she nibbled the inside of her cheek, "Right."

"Just..." He sighed sharply, "I've had a really shitty day." Cam admitted in a soft voice, "And I just... I wanna do something, or talk to someone. I just want some company."

Madeleine closed her eyes for a second, "Cameron... If you feel the need to talk to someone, I suggest you ring up one of your friends." She murmured, "I'm... I'm not much of a talker."

"Neither am I." He breathed, "Look, we don't even really have to talk. Just... I don't know. I just don't want to be alone."

Madeleine hesitated and apparently, Cameron noticed, "Maybe we could just grab a drink? I promise, you don't have to say anything. Just sit next to me."

Her heart squeezed a bit at the tone of his voice and Madeleine softly nodded, "Alright." She wasn't sure why she was agreeing. It wasn't sex. But Madeleine could also use some distraction. She knew that if she tried to wrap up her evening now, cook dinner and get to bed - she'd lay tossing and turning in anxiety until the early hours. She needed to tire herself out a bit. Furthermore, she could use some distracting from the jabbing pain in her ovaries.

"Really?" Cameron couldn't hide the tone of surprise and Madeleine leaned forward, resting her forehead in her palm as she swallowed, "Mhm."

"Okay."