“And when they see it, they’ll know that you were a victim.”
She shook her head. “No. They’ll see me as a laughing stock. I can’t do this. I can’t go back out there and serve customers who are watching this.” She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear escaped. “I just…” Her voice cracked.
Murphy walked over to Maddie, shooting Gray a strange look. “Maddie? You okay?”
She looked up at him, her eyes shining, and shook her head.
He glanced at the screen and frowned. “Is that you?”
Gray watched her hands shake as she passed him the phone. “You’ll probably want me to leave,” she said. “I understand.”
“You want to go home?” Murphy asked her.
“No, I mean you’ll want to fire me.”
His frown deepened. “Why would I fire my best worker?”
“Do you see what this is, Murph?” she asked him, showing him her phone again. “This is a sex tape. With me in it. And all your customers are going to know what I look like with my clothes off.”
“Maddie…”
She gasped in some air, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “I can’t deal with this. I can’t. I need to go…”
“I’ll take you home,” Gray said. “Becca’s waiting outside.”
“I can’t go home. Mom doesn’t know about this.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh god, Mom’s going to find out.”
She was starting to hyperventilate, her breath coming and going in shallow, ragged breaths. Gray reached out for her, but she recoiled as though his palm would burn her.
He felt helpless. And guilty. Because this was his fault. She’d been living with this secret for years. Nobody in town had known the real reason she’d left Ansell. But now, thanks to him, her name would be on everybody’s lips.
“I’ll shut the diner,” Murphy said, his voice quiet. “You go home, Maddie. Where you belong.” He glanced at Gray, then looked back at her. “You want me to drive you?”
“My car’s outside. I’ll drive myself.”
“I’ll come with you,” Gray said quickly. “We can talk about what to do next. Let me tell Becca, okay?”
Maddie’s voice was firm, in spite of her tears. “No. I need to be alone.” Her arms were wrapped around her torso, as though she was protecting herself. It felt like she was warding him off.
Christ, he felt useless. He wanted to do something. Anything to take away the hurt expression on her face. Wanted to pull her into his arms and protect her from everything.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” Murphy said quietly. Gray was warming to him by the minute.
She pulled her jacket on and grabbed her keys from her pocket. “I can’t be around people right now. I just need some time to think.” She pressed her lips together in a grim smile. “I’ll speak to you both later.”
“Are you sure?” Gray asked her.
She nodded, and it felt like a stab to his heart. “Yeah, I’m sure.” Then she walked out of the door that led to the paved back lot, pulling it softly closed behind her.
“Well, shit,” Murphy said when she was gone. “And she was only telling me a few minutes ago how happy she was.” He shrugged. “I guess we best go and close up.”
* * *
The first thing Gray noticed when they walked out of the kitchen was how many people had entered the diner in the last few minutes. The second was the fiery-eyed blonde standing at the counter, shooting flaming daggers in his direction.
“Ashleigh.” He nodded at her.
“Where’s Maddie?” she asked, her voice low. “Does she know about the video?”