Hidden Gem (26 page)

 
Gemma felt her cheeks warm as she watched Damian walk away.
 
The pool water made his muscles glisten.
 
She bit her lip back to mask her lustful smile.
 
She barely noticed as two perfectly smooth, tan legs slid into the water beside her.
 
Gemma turned to see Madison pulling the hem of her dress to her knees and flinging her hair to the side.
 
She cocked her head as she looked at Gemma, a colorful cocktail in one hand.

“Why’d your boyfriend abandon you?”

“Oh, he just went to introduce Kate to Paul,” Gemma said.
 
She felt a chill on the back of her neck.
 
She hated how every encounter with Madison braced her body to go into fight or flight mode.

“It’s okay, even the closest couples need breaks from each other sometimes,” Madison smiled and shrugged her perfectly toned, golden shoulders.
 
She sipped from her bright pink drink.
 
“Ugh, this is so good.
 
Wanna
try?”

“It’s okay.”

“Oh, you have to,
hon
!” she insisted.
 
“It’s
so
good.”
 
Madison thrust the drink into Gemma’s hands, a large splash of pink liquid swishing out of the glass and onto Gemma’s white shorts.
 
Gemma gasped and Madison followed suit, though hers was rather exaggerated.

“Oh my God, clumsy me!” Her hands flew to her mouth.
 
She stood to her feet and helped Gemma up.
 
“I must be tipsy or something.
 
I am
so
sorry.”

“It’s fine, I can…I can just dry-clean it I’m sure,” Gemma said.
 
She wiped at the stain with a cocktail napkin only to watch it spread through the fine threads.
 
“Maybe I should go home and change.
 
I’ll go get Damian.”

“Oh no, don’t do that!” Madison exclaimed.
 
“I got the most delicious birthday cake for Lucas from Lady M and I know he’d want everyone here for that.
 
Especially you, Gemma.”
 
Gemma froze, startled.
 
Madison gently reached for her hand.
 
“You mean a lot to Lucas.
 
You’re like…a
baby sister
to him.
 
I know you guys don’t talk much anymore, but it’s just because he’s
so
busy, and whatever time he has left is for me.
 
You know?”
 
Her smile was far too sweet.
 
“So you have to stay.”
 

Next thing Gemma knew, she was in Madison’s room watching her rummage for shorts in her dresser.
 
Though something about the situation felt strange, Gemma wanted to believe in Madison’s sudden kindness.
 
She chalked it up to all the cocktails that Madison had been downing.
 
She always had a tendency to be more affectionate when drunk.
 

Through the sheer curtains of the second-floor window, Gemma could see Damian still trying to spark a conversation between an awkward Paul and an eager Kate.
 
The sounds of the party below were faint but still audible.
 
Gemma tried to see if she could make out the words among the three.

“I don’t know if these will fit you,” Madison said as she pulled out various shorts.
 
“Wait.
 
I might have something from when I gained weight after I sprained my ankle.”

Gemma shook off the insult with a roll of the eyes.
 
Madison was drunk after all.
 
In fact, her intoxicated state made Gemma almost hopeful about their relationship.
 
Gavin had always told her that the truth came out in people when they were drunk, so perhaps Madison had been truly longing to rekindle their friendship.

“Here we go!”
 
She handed Gemma a pair of cute denim shorts that matched her top.

“Thank you so much,” Gemma said cautiously, careful not to say anything that might send Madison spiraling back into hatred for her.

“No problem, sweetie!” Madison leaned in and hugged her.
 
The embrace felt so genuine that Gemma quickly relaxed.
 
“And I really do feel bad about the shorts, Gem, since they look so expensive.
 
Why don’t you give them to me so I can have them dry-cleaned for you?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Gemma brushed it off.

“I can just have someone walk it over! It’s down the block and we have an account with them,” Madison said.
 
“They
love
me there so I can probably have them ready before the end of the party.
 
Don’t even worry, babe.”
 
She twirled a lock of Gemma’s hair around her finger.
 

Gemma finally cracked a smile.
 
“Okay,” she slid her shorts off and handed them off to Madison.
 
“Thank you so much.”

Gemma had barely finished her sentence when she felt herself being knocked and pinned onto the bed.
 
She was too stunned to utter a word, but as she tried to turn her head to see what was happening, she noticed the closet door was suddenly open.

“What the hell?” she finally managed to squeak as she pushed against the weight on top of her.
 
The smell of beer wafted into her nostrils.

“She has to look like she wants it, Matt,” Madison said.
 
Gemma gasped as she caught a glance of Madison positioning her iPhone camera on her and Matt.
 
She felt Matt lift her, grabbing her bare legs so they were positioned around his waist as he sat up in the bed.
 
Gemma shrieked as she attempted to push away from him.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Gemma – I’m not actually going to do anything with you,” Matt sneered.

“Let go of me!” she screamed.
 
Matt pulled her face into his, kissing her with his beer breath.
 
Gemma gagged.
 
His tight grip crushed her and just when she felt like she might suffocate, he let go.
 
Gemma crumpled onto the bed, gasping to catch her breath.
 
She turned to see Matt pulling up his pants, a repulsive grin on his face.

“Had to make it look real, you know?” he laughed.
 
“If you weren’t such a bitch, I might consider actually doing it with you.”

Gemma felt her chin quiver, her heart pounding.
 
She wasn’t sure if her trembling lips would let out a cry or a scream.
 
“
What the hell is wrong with you guys?”
She finally screamed as she jumped off the bed, grabbing her shorts from the ground and yanking them back on.
 
She noticed Madison was no longer in the room.
 
In a panic, Gemma ran downstairs and out to the yard, leaving her flip-flops behind.

She didn’t care if people saw her in tears.
 
She pushed through the crowds but couldn’t find Madison.
 
Whispers began quickly.
 
She knew she must have looked ridiculous with her bare feet, stained shorts and mascara-streaked face.
 
Finally, she spotted Madison standing by Lucas, fiddling with her phone as if nothing had happened at all.
 
Lucas had an arm around her, drinking a beer as he chatted with teammates.
 
Gemma stormed over, drawing attention with each stomp forward.

“Whoa,” Lucas’s eyebrows ascended, startled.
 
They quickly furrowed in concern.
 
“What happened? Are you okay?”

“Honey!” Madison gave another phony gasp.
 
“What’s going on?”

“You know exactly what’s going on!” Gemma fumed.
 
She grabbed Madison’s phone from her hand, pushing her back in the process.
 
Madison flailed exaggeratedly, knocking Lucas’s beer to the ground.
 
The bottle shattered, grabbing the attention of the entire party.
 
Those on the deck stopped to lean over the railing and stare.

“What are you doing, Gemma?” Madison demanded, struggling to sound calm despite the visible fury in her eyes as she reached for her phone.
 
Gemma jerked away from Madison’s reach and looked through the phone, confirming her suspicions.
 
The video was in the midst of uploading to share.
 
The
video of her in Madison’s bed with Matt.
 
Gemma clicked furiously at the buttons on the screen in attempts to cancel the upload.
 
Nothing seemed to work.

“Gemma, what’s going on? What are you doing?” Lucas asked with frustration.
 
She could see the disapproval in his eyes as he comforted Madison, but she didn’t stop.
 
She felt desperate.
 
She could see Damian jogging towards her from across the yard.
 
Gemma knew what the video looked like – what it was
meant
to look like – and the last thing she needed was for the entire school to see it.

The video continued to load despite Gemma’s efforts to stop it.
 
Everyone was already whispering.
 
She knew that the whispers would only grow once the video got out.
 
In desperation, she threw the phone to the ground.
 
Only the glass screen shattered.
 
Gemma picked the phone up only to hurl it into the pool.
 

“What the hell is
wrong
with you, Gemma?” Madison pushed away from Lucas’s grasp, rushing to her.
 
She stopped with her face just inches away.
 
Gemma could feel Madison’s angry breath on her.
 
She couldn’t believe her, how she had schemed such an elaborate plan.
 
She was a good performer, a convincing friend to their classmates.
 
But Gemma knew how vindictive and malicious Madison truly was.
 
She
was revolted by
her, by the subtle sneer she wore on her overly glossy pink lips.

Overwhelmed with her disgust, Gemma shoved Madison back.

The crowd gasped.

Immediately, Gemma regretted her decision.
 
She hadn’t realized just how many people were watching until that point.
 
Madison’s blue eyes quickly began to tear up.
 
Her face was wretched with fury, but being the performer that she was, she swiftly masked it with a wounded expression.
 
“I knew I shouldn’t have invited you with your stupid crush on Lucas.
 
I
knew
you’d explode some day!”
 
Madison sniffed pathetically as she threw herself into Lucas’s arms.
 
“This is my fault.
 
I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have ruined your party with this,” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.
 
Lucas embraced her and whispered soothingly her ear.
 
He stole a glance at Gemma before leading Madison away.

Damian approached Gemma carefully.
 
Matt snorted and looked him up and down.
 
“Oh look, the knight in shining armor, coming to save the girl who never wants him.”
 
Gemma watched helplessly as the party cleared.
 
“Save your energy, Damian,” Matt laughed.
 
He stood waiting for a reaction until Gavin approached threateningly.
 

Gavin shooed away the straggling spectators as Damian pulled Gemma in for a hug.
 
Over his shoulder, she could see Jillian shaking her head.
 
Leah and Kate looked at her cautiously, their foreheads knit in confusion.
 
It was over.
 
Any chance at a normal high school life was gone with Madison’s phone.
 
Gemma cried into Damian’s shirt, her vision blurring her from the crowd of questioning stares.

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