Madison's Journey

  A darkening pink hue enveloped the skies as fifteen-year-old Madison Montgomery strolled through the quiet neighborhood. It was just after six on a chilly Wednesday evening, and Madison was making her way home from her after school babysitting job. She pulled the zipper of her coat up as high as it would go, trying to shield her face from the cold October wind. Mr. Shipyard had offered to drive her, but she enjoyed the walk. The Shipyard’s home, where she babysat every day after school, was only a short ten-minute walk from her house. Madison loved walking at this time of the night; the streets of her sleepy little town were empty, and she enjoyed the peaceful serenity that came from them. She knew that the Shipyard’s worried about her walking in the dark, but she felt safe as she wound her way through the familiar streets and towards her home; not much happened in this town after the sun went down. Most people living in this neighborhood were either families or seniors, which meant that as soon as dark fell, they were all at home eating dinner and getting ready to button down for the night. She gazed around at the houses as she walked. They all looked the same; two story, square structures with balconies at the front of them, and she guessed that most of them had basement suites like the one she shared with her mom. When she got to her house, she strode around the back to the basement suite entrance and stood in the open doorway, surveying the scene before her. She closed her eyes and tried not to shed any tears as she looked around the living room and saw the beer bottles littering the floor. Her mother was passed out on the couch, a sight that was becoming more and more common. She put her backpack down and went about picking up the bottles. She tiptoed around the couch, being as quiet as possible to avoid waking her mother. Madison fought back tears as she remembered what her life had been like two years before. She had had a mother and father who loved and adored her. After several miscarriages, Madison had been their miracle baby. They hadn’t been able to conceive more children after her, so they did everything for her. Not that she was spoiled, she wasn’t, she was just loved and taken care of. Her father had been an architect and had made a decent living. They weren’t wealthy, but they had a nice home and a nice life. Her father, Edward, had doted on Madison and her mom, Carol. He spent his life making sure their lives were easy, and he had loved them both more than anything in the world. And they had felt the same about him. Madison could still picture her father; he had been a big man, tall, powerfully built but a big teddy bear at heart. He loved taking his two girls out to dinner or to the movies. His family was his life. Then in the blink of an eye, their lives changed forever. One minute they were all sitting around the dinner table, laughing and eating, and the next minute he was grabbing his heart. Madison glanced over at the photos on the mantle and her lips curved upwards at the happy family smiling back at her. She closed her eyes, and as she was transported back to that fateful day, her stomach began to tighten, and her lips trembled slightly. “Mom, that’s so bad, it’s almost funny!” “Yeah, honey, that was pretty bad!” Edward’s brown eyes wrinkled with humour. “Well, I thought it was very funny!” Carol pouted her pink lips and pretended to look hurt. Then all three of them burst into hysterical laughter. It was the last time Madison would ever hear her dad’s laugh. She instinctively grabbed the tiny gold elephant that dangled from the gold chain she wore around her neck and never took off. It was the last gift she had received from her father. A tear escaped her eye as her heart ached at the memory of that horrible day. A heart attack had taken her father away, and with him, her mother and her comfortable happy life. Without her father’s income, money became tight. Her mom had eventually sold her childhood home and moved them to this tiny two-bedroom basement suite. The suite was nice, but it was much smaller than they were used to, and it didn’t have quite the same cozy feel as the home Madison grew up in. The kitchen opened up into the living room, giving it the feel of one crowded open concept space. Both bedrooms were smaller than the one Madison grew up in, and there was only one bathroom, which had caused numerous challenges in the last year. They had sold most of their furniture, as well as many of their other belongings. Luckily, Madison was able to keep majority of the stuff from her old room, so whenever she sat in this new room, she felt a familiar sense of home. Her dad’s death had taken a toll on Madison’s mom, who had taken solace in the bottle. Sometimes, Madison felt like her mom forgot that she existed or just pretended that she didn’t. Madison wondered if it was because she was a carbon copy of her father; she had his big oval brown eyes and had the same shade of dark brown hair. She was petite like her mom, but everything else was her dad, right down to her slightly crooked, but bright, cheery smile. Madison often wondered if looking at her was too hard for her mom; if whenever she looked at her daughter, she saw her lost husband. Madison continued tidying the living room, thinking about the way things used to be and trying hard not to cry as she longed for the old days. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t hear Mark come in behind her. Mark was her mother’s latest boyfriend. There had been a parade of men since her dad’s passing, all of them creepier than the last. They were usually drunks, and Madison did her best to avoid them. Most of them had no interest in her, but Mark always stared at her in a way that made her uncomfortable. “Whatcha’ doin’, darlin?” Madison could smell the booze on him as he slurred his words. She didn’t turn around, but she could feel his body against her as he moved closer towards her.  She spoke in a whisper, trying not to wake her mom. “Just tidying things up. I was about to start making dinner. Are you hungry?” She took a step forward to try to move away from him, but he grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall. “Ow,” she yelped in surprise, her eyes flashing towards her mom. Carol was still passed out on the couch. Mark pressed his body against hers, pinning her against the wall. Panic began to rise within her as he put a hand on her throat. “Where do yea think you’re going? I think I’d like to have a little fun with you. Wouldn’t you like that?”  “No. Mark, please stop.” The words were faint as he clutched her throat. “You’re hurting me.”  He smiled wickedly at her. “That’s what I intend to do.” Madison looked towards her mom again, “Mom, mom, wake up,” her words were barely a whisper.  “What’s your problem, b***h? You don’t want to show Marky a good time?” He grabbed both her arms and forced them above her head. She tried to kick him, but he had her entire body pinned. “Mark, please. Stop.” Madison watched Mark’s face turn a bright shade of red, and without warning, he slapped her across the face. “Don’t tell me what to do, bitch.”  “Ow,” she cried out and could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. Fear rose inside her as she realized she wasn’t going to be able to stop whatever he was planning. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he was twice her size; she was no match for him. She tried to scream, but Mark pushed his lips onto hers, hard. It was so forceful that her head slammed, hard against the wall. His kiss was so strong, and he had her pinned so tightly that she couldn’t move her face away from him. Then, out of nowhere, Madison heard a gasp, and Mark’s grip loosened causing her to fall to the floor. “Madison, what the hell are you doing?” Her mom was standing right behind Mark, and her gaze was focused on her daughter. There was anger in her dark eyes, and her short red hair was sticking out in all sorts of directions, making her appear even more crazed and furious. “Mom,” Madison’s voice was weak, and she fought to get to her feet. She managed to stand up, leaning heavily against the wall. Mark moved behind Carol when he realized that Madison was the focus of her anger. “It—it wasn’t me. Mark hurt me. He threw me against the wall, and I hit my head.” “Don’t you say that, you little b***h. I’ve seen you around Mark. You’ve been waiting for your opportunity to steal him away from me,” she yelled, and Madison was mortified. “You wanted him for yourself, didn’t you?”  “No, mom. No. No, I didn’t.” “Shut up and get out of my house! I can’t stand to look at you,” her eyes were filled with misplaced betrayal as she glared at Madison. “What? Mom, please?” Madison was dumbfounded, frozen by her mother’s words. Tears streamed down her face and she could see Mark smiling with victory. When she didn’t move, her mother grabbed her arm and shoved her towards the front door. “You heard me. Get out of my house. Now!” The door was opened before Madison had time to think. “My own flesh and blood. What an ungrateful brat.” Her mother’s words were dripping with venom as she pushed Madison out into the cold. “Don’t come back until tomorrow, so I have time to think about what to do with you.” The door slammed behind her, and she was left alone outside, shaking and scared, with no shoes, no coat and no money. She was dressed in only her t-shirt and jeans. The wind had picked up, and the night had gotten much colder since she had arrived home twenty minutes earlier. She sat down on the front stoop, holding her knees against her chest for warmth. “What am I supposed to do now?” All her money, clothes, and schoolwork were in the house. “How am I supposed to go to school like this? Or babysitting?” She was speaking into the dark night, and panic was starting to rise within her for the second time that evening. As she was sitting there, looking around in despair, her eyes rested on the neighbor’s house. She sprang up from the porch and headed next door. The neighbors were in their fifties and had built a small treehouse in their back yard for their own children. Their children were grown now and the treehouse now sat unused. Madison had discovered it the first time her mother’s temper had flared. It was the perfect size for her to hang out in for a couple hours at a time, and she had stashed a blanket and some snacks inside for times like this. She had just settled into the cold hard tree-house floor and was feasting on one of the chocolate bars from her stash when she heard a door slam. Voices reached her ears in the darkness and as she strained to listen, she realized it was her mom and Mark. She stood up and could see her driveway where Mark’s massive truck was parked. The two of them were giggling as he threw her mom’s suitcase in the back, then they both jumped in the truck and drove away. Madison was shocked. Where was her mom going at this hour, and why did she have a suitcase? After several minutes of staring at the spot where Mark’s truck had been, she decided to go back to the house. She knew that if her mom came home before morning, she would be in a ton of trouble, but despite the blanket, the treehouse was cold, and she still had homework to do. She folded the blanket and grabbed her garbage while she made a plan. “I’ll pack some clothes in a bag in case mom comes back. Oh, and my schoolwork, wallet, and keys…oh god.” She stopped what she was doing when she realized that she didn’t have her keys with her, they were in the house. She got down from the treehouse and walked with swift steps out of the neighbor’s yard, searching her memory as she walked, trying to remember if any of the windows were open. Taking a deep breath, a slight wave of nausea as she reached the door overwhelmed her. She turned the handle and let out a sigh of relief when the door opened. A feeling of loneliness enveloped her when she stepped inside. Flopping down on to the couch, she wrapped the blanket around herself and began to cry loud sad sobs. The events of the night kept replaying in her mind. She fell into a restless sleep on the couch, with tears puddling on the blanket beneath her, as images of her mother and Mark haunted her dreams all night long.