Mateo and I walk down the corridor toward the Premium dormitories at University of Washington. It's not very busy since it's the middle of August. Because we'd be with Vittorio, Sandro and Zio Alessio let the 2 of us come to Seattle without one of my brothers. Gerald drove us from the airport.
"He's in this room," Mateo says, knocking on one of the doors.
A few moments later, Vittorio answers the door, he has on a pair of khakis and a white button-up underneath a simple blazer. Considering it's August, I'd usually ask if he was sweltering, but we've found ourselves in a particularly cool weather, with it only being 67 degrees with a lot of refreshing air coming past every now and then.
"What's with the pompous get-up?" Mateo says.
Vittorio doesn't retort sarcastically, "Just finished at an orientation. Ready to go?" He says.
We get in the car and Gerald's first stop is Jess's house.
"Gerald, would you call for them?" Vittorio says politely.
"No, I'll do it!" I say eagerly, "I haven't seen her parents in a while."
"Alright," Vittorio says and he and Mateo climb out, following me to the door of the beautiful home, it's grand, but not too over the top.
I knock on the door, and a moment later, Jess opens it up excitedly, almost knocking me back in a hug, "Maddie! It's been so long!"
The last time we'd seen each other was in February for our Harvard tour. It was now the August before 10th grade. I hug her back just as tightly and we rock back and forth a while. Jess grabs my hand and pulls me aside, letting in Mateo and Vittorio.
"Hey, I'm Jessica. Welcome to our abode."
Her parents have turned her into the epitome of cordiality and hospitality and so I don't even blink twice at her words, but Vittorio looks a surprise at her politeness, "Thank you, it's lovely."
"Wicked! Is that vintage?"
Mateo's attention is drawn to an electric guitar on the wall. It belongs to Mr. Lawson, it's more of a collectible than an actual guitar.
"Elvis' own." Mr. and Mrs. Lawson walk out and Mr. Lawson gives me a hug as he answers Mateo, "'Gifted it by the son of Elvis' old manager."
"Maddie!" Mrs. Lawson exclaims, pulling me away from her husband and into a firm hug. She begins fussing over my hair and clothes, "You look wonderful, am I allowed to assume your family has been treating you well then?"
"Yeah" I respond simply, I know that's all she needs to hear, any other response will be drowned out by the rest of her questions that were sure to follow before Mr. Lawson cuts it short. "How have your skating sessions been going?"
"Oh! I'm on an actual team now!" I say.
"Really?!" Jess says excitedly.
"Yup," Mateo brags on my behalf, "She's a center and the best damn player on her team."
"That's wonderful! I still hope you'll pursue figure skating as well, less chance of injury as an ice dancer," Mrs. Lawson suggests.
We all chat for a while. After a bit, the conversation steers towards business, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson own something of a billion dollar company. "Maddie, if you're looking for something to do next summer, we'd love to offer you an internship with the Lawson foundation? We'd love to host you at our home for a few months should you accept." Mrs. Lawson says.
The Lawson foundation is the charity aspect of their corporation. It's directed toward giving opportunities to orphaned and foster children who are living without parents or children with both parents in the military.
They've always been incredibly generous toward me specifically, while it was never a part of the foundation, they gave me money as a gift pretty often, they paid for my extracurriculars, they wrote the check to enroll me to the school with Jess and Chase before I moved to New York. It made me wonder how much they assumed I was dealing with at home. I don't think they suspected abuse, and while they had the tact t not make it a charity case, I felt cared for by them, and I'll never be able to repay them for that.
"I would love that."
Jess grabs my hands squealing excitedly, "It'll be amazing!"
Vittorio glances at his phone, "We should get going, we're picking up her other friend and his mother is expecting us in a bit."
"Ah yes, tell Diane I've said hello, we've missed her," Mrs. Lawson says.
"Pleasure meeting you," Mr. Lawson says, shaking Mateo and Vittorio's hands.
And then we're off with Jess in tow now.
"Couldn't he have just came to Jessica's house and we picked them both up at the same time?" Mateo says.
"Chase couldn't get out of the house for some reason," Jess says as we park outside the large house. 'The Emory Estate' or so it's called has been in Ms. Emory's family for a while, it's big and it looks old but sophisticated. It's a beautiful home with lots of antique details.
I knock on the door and Chase answers almost immediately, he looks frustrated, "Beware."
"Chase," I hear someone call, "Come back!"
I frown, "Is that Ava?"
He huffs, "The one and only."
When she walks out, somehow she's exactly as I remember, "Hi, Ava."
She smiles, "Oh, hey Maddie. Welcome back," She turns toward Chase and frowns, "Don't tell me you're seeing other people."
Chase lights up at the opportunity, "Yes! Yes, sorry I didn't tell you. I'm dating Maddie."
"What?! No, he's not," I say quickly.
"Er...Jess, I meant Jess," He tries to save.
"No," Jess says firmly, but she thinks quick, pulling Mateo forward and I help her, practically shoving Mateo into Chase. I won't take the fall, but I'll help Chase out, "He's dating Mateo."
"Him?" Ava sneers.
I don't remember her being this much of a bitch. "Yeah, well you're enough to make any guy gay, so I guess so."
"You talk too much," She says to me angrily.
But Mateo is offended by the first comment though, "What do you mean 'him'?!" He says offended-like.
"Mateo, don't," Vittorio sighs resignedly, already aware of the drama Mateo intends to brew.
"I mean, what do you have that I don't?! And who do you think you are? You don't even know Chase. Otherwise, I'd have seen you before. And not to mention your face leaves much to be desired," Ava says.
"That's ironic. Have you ever seen Peter Pettigrew?" Mateo asks, cocking his head to the side.
Jess snorts, Vittorio smacks Mateo in the back of the head, "Ow! I was only saying!" Mateo protests, rubbing his head.
"Don't be rude," Vittorio scolds.
Ava is fuming, "You can't fool me that easily. I'll see you tomorrow, Chase."
She stomps out of the house, "Well she's pleasant," I say.
"Madison, is that you?"
I hear the clicking of high heels enter the foyer, and Ms. Emory walks in, her blonde-white is cropped and curled at shoulder length, her serious expression is enhanced by her makeup.
"Hi, Ms. Emory," I smile.
She pulls my hair out of the ponytail it was in, clicking her tongue, "That won't do." She tresses it over my shoulders before looking me over once, "Perfect. I hope you've been well?"
I forgot how much she detests ponytails. "I have, thank you for asking," I respond.
"When you'd left, I had the city's investigator look into your whereabouts to ensure you were well. I have no doubt your brothers are capable of ensuring your care," She says. Her sure expression tips me off. She has her political professionalism down pat. And I realize she knows, I don't know how much she knows, but I do know that she at least knows. I've learned to never underestimate her ability to find things like this out.
"Well! This has been swell," Chase says quickly, "We should go now."
"And where do you think you're going in that detestable sweatshirt?" Ms. Emory says immediately.
"Mom! I'm gonna be freezing," He argues.
"It's 70 degrees outside, no you won't be, and if you are, take your cardigan."
"Okay, lets not get too ahead of ourselves," He backtracks instantly, "Bye, love you, mom."
"And the Lawsons say they miss you," I add, almost forgetting.
"Tell them to prove it by endorsing my campaign."
"I will, good luck."
And then we're out. Gerald stays withing distance but we decide to just walk around a bit outside, the weather is amazing and the sky is slightly cloudy. Plus, I miss being here.
"We should visit Szn Ice Creamery," I suggest.
"What's that?" Mateo asks.
"Its the best ice cream near here. They're only open in the summer, you two have to try," He says.
"Why? You wanna treat your boyfriend to some ice cream?" Mateo says tauntingly.
"Is that you asking to be my boyfriend?" Chase challenges teasingly right back.
"What made you ask Ava out?" I say confused.
Chase shrugs, "She was hot, and she was interested."
"A lot of people were interested I'm certain, why'd you choose her?" I say.
"Glad you noticed," He says.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Draco Malfoy," I roll my eyes, "Why her? Really."
"Well mom was always saying if I got a boy or girlfriend, then she'd demand that Sebastian came home for a double date. Ava was the best option I could think of that mom would approve of and so when she showed interest, I decided to ask her out."
"Who's Sebastian?" Mateo asks.
"My brother," Chase says.
"Why do you care about him so much suddenly?" I ask curiously, "You weren't even like this when he first left, now you seem to want him to practically walk you through life?"
"I mean, can you blame me for wanting my only brother to come back home?" He says, he hesitates, "And Ava really likes me. She'll be around for a while."
"What do you mean?" I say.
"I mean who else will be around?!" He sounds like we're just not understanding, "Sebastian is off in Massachusetts with his own girl, you're living in New York, Jess is being sent to boarding school in Georgia next week. Who else am I supposed to have? At least Ava is staying."
We're all quiet. Jess told us last month that her parents were sending her to Madame LaFaix's Academy for Girls. I didn't even think about the fact that Chase would be left here all alone.
"Well how do you think I feel?" Jess says, "My parents are sending me across the country to go live with a bunch of people I don't know in a place I've never been."
"And I have Rowan and Logan, but they'll never be you guys. I miss both of you every day."
"You guys could always fly out to see each other," Vittorio suggests empathetically.
"Can't," Jess says, "The school doesn't allow non-familial visits or trips home. Only summer break. We spend the rest of the year at school."
It's quiet for a while, "We'll call every weekend," I say.
"And on holidays," Jess adds.
"And birthdays."
"Well I'd hope we do more than call on my birthday," Chase says, "My birthday's in the middle of August, there's no school."
"Oh I know, but I'd never voluntarily look at your face," Jess says teasingly.
Chase rolls his eyes but the mood is a lot lighter than it was a moment ago as we arrive to the ice cream shop.
"Come on," Mateo says, "I believe someone owes me an ice cream?"
"I wonder who that unlucky fool could be," Chase says.
"Unlucky fool?" Jess says, "I thought your name was Chase."
He rolls his eyes, "Ha ha," He says dryly, holding the door open for us all to walk in.
I sigh happily, "I miss this."