Free The Ugly Truth by Cheryel Hutton Page B

know—”
    “Of course I do,” she snapped. “I’ll be in the car.”
    I watched her retreating back, while shame filled me with icy regret. What had I been thinking?
    “Nice to meet you,” Valerie said, then turned and hurried toward her daughter.
    “I’m sorry.”
    I faced Jake. “It’s not your fault. She’s my friend.”
    “She used to be mine.” I saw the flare of pain and regret in his dark eyes just before he turned and rushed after his sister.
    I took a deep breath, turned toward the door, and hoped I had all my body parts when Maddie was through with me.
    The parking lot was quickly emptying and Maddie’s Aveo was easy to spot. She’d pulled closer to the building, and the motor was running. I jumped in and she took off before I had my seatbelt fastened.
    Instead of taking the opportunity to chew me out, she was totally quiet on the ride back to her mother’s house. I probably should have been grateful, instead I was worried. I figured the odds were excellent she was plotting my demise. If I was lucky.
    Back at Margaret’s, Maddie rushed up the stairs as if Bigfoot himself was after her. I chose not to follow. Instead, I wandered into the living room where Margaret sat on the couch reading a book. She smiled. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
    “I did.” I cringed. “Until Maddie caught me talking to Jake and his sister.”
    Margaret shook her head in sympathy. “I’ll bet that went over like a gorilla at a formal state dinner.”
    “Pretty much.” I sighed long and hard.
    Margaret patted the seat beside her. “Wanna talk?”
    I collapsed onto the couch, suddenly completely, utterly, exhausted. “I’m so confused.”
    “So you met Valerie? She’s a sweet person.”
    “She seems to be. And her daughter is adorable.”
    Margaret smiled. “She’s a good mother. Was her husband there?”
    “I don’t really know. Nobody introduced me to a guy, but then Maddie came up and everything got severely uncomfortable.”
    “He was probably at the hospital. Casey is an emergency room physician. We’re all very proud of him.”
    I cringed. “Except Maddie.”
    “Madison isn’t thinking straight.”
    “What happened between Jake and Maddie? Why does she hate him so much?”
    Margaret stood and slowly walked to the doorway. She glanced up the stairway before sitting beside me again. “You have to understand, the fire scarred both of them, in different ways. You know Jake got trapped in the building, right? Virgil had to carry him out.”
    My stomach twisted painfully at the thought of what he must have gone through. “I knew he’d been hurt in the fire. I didn’t realize...” I looked away, reluctant to let Margaret see the tears well up in my eyes.
    “Both of them have deep scars. Some of Jake’s are on the outside, but it’s the scars we can’t see that hold them both hostage to the events the night of the fire. Until those wounds start to heal, nothing is going to change.”
    I was sorry for both of them, but I was also confused. “But why do they hate each other?”
    “They don’t. Not really. My theory is that to each of them the other represents what they lost in the fire.”
    “That doesn’t make sense.”
    “Not to you and me. And probably not consciously even to them. But deep down inside, neither of them has ever really dealt with what happened that night.”
    “The subconscious is a strange animal.”
    Margaret chuckled. “So are the two of them.”
    I had to agree. “I guess I’d better go face the firing squad.”
    “Good luck.”
    “Thanks. I’m pretty sure I’ll need it.”
    I took a long, deep breath, and headed up the stairs.”
    Maddie was sprawled on her stomach across her bed; she had a mystery novel in her hand and appeared completely caught up in the story. She might have convinced me, if the book hadn’t been upside down. All but overwhelming pain for my friend rushed through me. “Maddie, I’m sorry.”
    She shrugged without looking at me. “For