The Summer I Went Wild Chapter 2 Part 1
The Summer I Went Wild
Chapter Two
Part One
Charlotte
It had been two days since the incident, and I hadn’t left my bed much. The blinds were closed, blocking the sun, and my blanket was pulled tightly over me like a shield.
The only time I’d emerged from my room was for breakfast and dinner, and even then, it was because Dad had practically dragged me to the table.
Mom didn’t ask me anything about college. She didn’t ask what I planned to do next. She just sat there, quiet and aloof as always. It was like she had given up on me.
The silence from her hurt more than anything she could have said.
A loud, persistent knock on my door snapped me out of my thoughts.
It was Dad, no doubt, dropping off another motivational quote.
But then, a familiar voice followed.
“Open this door before I bang the door.”
Maddy.
And I knew she would make good on that threat if I didn’t get up. She was that crazy.
“Shit,” I muttered as I scrambled out of bed to unlock the door.
The moment she stepped in, she scanned the room. “Christ, this place looks like a scary dungeon, not a bedroom.”
She wasted no time walking over to the blinds and yanking them open. Sunlight flooded the room, blinding me.
She’d dyed her hair brown, the tips bright pink. She wore a tight mini dress—bright yellow with black stripes—that clung to her like it was custom-made.
Her makeup was flawless. Bold eyeliner. Glossy lips.
Yeah. Maddy was living her best life.
“I’m fine,” I said, already knowing what was coming next.
“Then why have you been locked in your room for two days?” Her nose scrunched in disapproval.
“I knew Dad was the one who called you,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“He was worried. And I’m your best friend. I should make you feel better.”
“Thank you. Truly. But I don’t think you can.”
“What do you want?” she asked, sitting on the bed beside me.
What did I want?
Something Maddy couldn’t give me. She couldn’t reverse Harvard’s decision. She couldn’t make Mom see through me. And she definitely couldn’t stop me from feeling like a failure.
How did Jessica do it?
Was it just because she got into Harvard?
Or was it because she was perfect?
“Try me out, Char. Come on.”
“Honestly, I’m fine.”
“Argh,” Maddy groaned. “I knew you’d say that. Which is why I’m taking matters into my own hands.”
“I brought you two bits of good news.”
“Which is?” I asked, my voice flat.
“Westbridge College in Seattle accepted me…” She paused dramatically. “And you.”
I rolled my eyes. Going to Westbridge was the last thing I planned on doing.
“How did you know?”
“Your dad told me.”
Of course he did.
“It could be fun,” she said. “Me and you at the same college? We’d run that place.”
“I’m not going.”
“Harvard or nothing?”
I nodded.
“You could stay a year and then defer.”
“Nope.”
Maddy didn’t push. That silence told me everything.
“What are you up to?” I asked.
“Nothing much,” she said innocently.
Then she lunged at me, tickling my sides.
“Stop!” I yelped, laughing despite myself.
“I failed to excite you with the first news,” she said, still tickling me, “but you’ll love the second.”
“Then stop tickling me.”
“Promise you’ll listen with a positive mindset.”
“I promise.”
She stopped, grinning. “You promised, right?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
She leaned in. “Remember how we used to have fun as kids?”
“Nope.”
“Come on. Think of something.”
“Watching SpongeBob all day long?”