Madison's Journey

Chapter 20

It was a beautiful sunny April morning when the isolation and frustration made its way to the surface. Madison woke up one Saturday morning, two months after the accident feeling angry and depressed. She was getting tired of being in pain and tired of not being able to move properly. And of wheelchairs and walkers, of pain medication and of casts. She just wanted to go to school and be normal again. She hobbled into the kitchen with her walker, where Lisa and Bill were drinking coffee and reading the paper, with a scowl on her face.

“Good morning, Miss Madison,” Bill peered over his paper.

“Huh. What’s so good about it?” She grumbled as she banged around the kitchen with her walker.

Bill glanced over at Lisa with a raised eyebrow. They both cringed when she grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and banged it hard on the counter. She opened and closed the fridge door with more force than necessary.

Lisa put her paper down. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, why?” She growled at Lisa, and Bill smiled behind his paper.

Lisa bit her lip to disguise her own smile. “Oh, no reason. You just seem a little…unhappy.”

The scowl remained planted on her face as she growled again, “I’m fine.” She poured herself a glass of orange juice, drank it quickly and turned to go back to her room. “I’m having a shower.”

“Okay. Are you hungry?”

Madison didn’t turn around. “No. If I was, I would have eaten something.”

Bill and Lisa watched her move down the hallway and heard her door slam a few moments later. “Is that the teenage girl thing?”

“Bill, that’s terrible,” Lisa gasped.

“I know, I know. The teenager thing is worse.” 

Lisa giggled, “Yes. It is, much worse. I think that was an ‘I’m tired of being cooped up’ thing.”

Bill grinned, “So, we probably shouldn’t be making fun of her in case she comes back, right?”

“Right.”

Two hours later, when they all gathered for lunch, it was clear that Madison’s mood had not changed. She didn’t say a word to anyone when she sat down, but her face said it all. She only spoke when one of them spoke to her, and her responses were short and her voice unpleasant. Even Grace noticed and avoided looking and talking to Madison for the entire meal. When Kyle arrived just after lunch for their tutor session, Grace met him at the door with a warning.

“Hi, Grace.” 

“Hi, Kyle. Maddie’s grumpy today, be careful.”

Kyle chuckled at that and Lisa, who was standing behind Grace, gasped. “Grace!”

Grace turned around. “But mom, I’m not lying. She is grumpy. Very grumpy.” Grace turned back to Kyle. “Be very careful.”

Kyle chuckled again as Lisa grabbed Grace by the shoulders and turned her away from the door. “That’s enough, young lady. Why don’t you go play with your dolls?” Grace nodded and skipped off to her room, happy that she had done her duty in warning Kyle.

Lisa looked at Kyle, slightly embarrassed. “I’m sorry. You know kids.”

“They say the darndest things.”

Lisa and Kyle shared a laughed, and she waved him into the house. “But to be honest, Kyle, Maddie is a little…um…well, let’s just say she isn’t having the greatest day.”

Kyle nodded, his smile fading. “If she doesn’t want to do this today, I can go.”

Lisa shook her head as she led Kyle down the hall towards the dining room. “No. I think this’ll make her feel better. She needs some outside company.”

Kyle nodded. He walked into the dining room, but she was no where to be found. He surveyed the living room area, but she wasn’t in there either. He turned to head towards the kitchen when he heard the TV in the family room and wandered that way. He found her laying on the couch staring at the TV, and she most definitely did not look like her usual cheerful self. 

“Hey, Madison.”

She didn’t even look up as he entered the room and sat on the chair beside the couch. “Hey.”

He waited to see if she would say anything else, but she didn’t. After a few minutes, Kyle cleared his throat, “Are you feeling okay? Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Madison slowly turned to look at him, the angry face gone. In its place was the face of a sad girl who looked lost. “I’m just sad today.” Her voice was quiet, and her eyes filled with tears.

Kyle leaned forward and put his hand on her leg. “I’ll listen if you want to talk.”

Madison shook her head and wiped her eyes. “No, you’ll think I’m stupid and ungrateful.”

He snorted quietly in response. “There isn’t a thing you could say that would make me think that.”

She glanced at him, unsure if she believed that; even to herself she sounded selfish and ungrateful. But his smile of encouragement reassured her. “Are you sure you want to hear about my problems?”

Kyle smiled widely and nodded. “Absolutely. Just think of me as your own personal bartender, without the booze of course.”

She laughed, and her shoulders relaxed slightly. Kyle sat up straighter and gave her his full attention. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, Kyle was sitting very still, watching her and waiting. 

“Well, it’s nothing in particular really, it’s just…I guess I’m just frustrated. I was stuck in that wheelchair for so long, now I have the walker. I can barely walk ten feet without getting tired, and I hate it.”

Kyle nodded, compelling her to continue.

“Everything is ten times harder. It takes so much longer to do everything. And I have to do all these stupid exercises everyday. My hip hurts, my leg hurts, my head hurts, my arm hurts. I miss my life. I miss my friends. I’ve barely seen any of them, they’re all too busy with school, and boyfriends, and other things, and Amy ditched me again last night. She was going to come for a sleepover, but I don’t know what happened, she canceled at the last minute,” she sighed loudly and threw her head back against the pillow, trying to hold back her tears. He didn’t speak. After a few moments, she looked at him. “I just feel so…so lonely and left out. And now I feel guilty about feeling that way because I’m so lucky for everything I do have, and if I wasn’t in this situation than Gracie would be…and I would never want that.” She looked down at her hands, which were clasped in her lap. “And Bill and Lisa have been amazing, and I’ve been so cranky today. They’re probably rethinking this whole arrangement. And now you probably think I’m a selfish, crazy spoiled brat.” She chanced a glance up at him, and his eyes were shimmering with tears. He moved off the chair and knelt down beside her so that he could grab her hands.

“Madison, I could never think anything like that of you. And I don’t think Bill and Lisa would ever think that either or rethink anything they’ve done. You’re an amazing person, their hero, but even heroes get to have bad days. Can I tell you what I think?”

She nodded, biting her lip. 

“I think you’ve been through a lot, and if you need to slam a door or spend a Saturday moodily staring at the TV, you should be allowed. You really are an incredible person, Madison. I hope you know that, and I’m so lucky, happy, and ecstatic that I get to know you.”

Madison could feel herself blushing as she looked down at her hands in his. She glanced back up and smiled. The tears in her eyes matched his as they just sat silently looking at each other for a few seconds.

He was the first to break the silence, “Hey, I have an idea. It might make you feel better.” 

“What?”

“Why don’t we do a movie night tonight? You and me?”

Her breath caught at his random suggestion. “Really?”

“Absolutely, it’ll be great. No schoolwork, just junk food and movies. And I can bring pizza, and we can do dinner too. We’ll just hang out. What do you think?” He had let go of her hands but was still kneeling in front of her. His face lit up with excitement.

“Yeah, that sounds really fun, but don’t you have better things to do than hang out with me on a Saturday night?”

“What? Better things? No way. Hanging out with you sounds like a perfect night. I’ll grab pizza and whatever snacks you want.”

Madison smiled at his enthusiasm, and then felt her heart begin to race. A date-like night with Kyle Barker was a girl’s dream come true, and it was happening to her. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, and she had to take a moment to calm herself down before she spoke. “Okay, if you’re sure, I’d like that. But I better ask Lisa first.” He nodded and stood up. She stood up beside him, and he moved her walker in front of her.

They found Lisa at the kitchen table, working on some photo albums. She looked up when she heard Madison’s walker and was surprised to see the two of them grinning from ear to ear in front of her. Whatever Kyle had done had caused a complete one eighty of Madison’s mood, and Lisa was grateful.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Well, we were wondering if it would be okay if Kyle came back over tonight to hang out and watch movies?”

“Oh?” Lisa was a bit surprised but tried to recover as quickly as possible. “Um, of course. What time?”

“Well, we should be done here at four-ish, and I have a few chores to do at home, so maybe six-ish, if that’s okay?”

“Sure. Would you like to join us for dinner?”

Kyle looked at Madison, smiled, and then turned back to Lisa. “Well, actually, I was going to pick up a pizza for Madison and me, but I can grab a couple for everyone.”

Lisa shook her head. “Oh, no, Kyle you don’t have to do that. In fact, Gracie’s having a friend over tonight, so since you guys are set for dinner, maybe Bill and I will take the girls out for burgers.”

Madison was beaming as she thanked Lisa. Then, Kyle and Madison headed into the dining room to begin their studying. Lisa could hear them talking about movies and pizza as she went to find Bill and fill him in on the change to their evening plans.

When the doorbell chimed just after six, Madison could hardly contain herself. Kyle was back. Her whole body had been tingling with excitement for the past hour, but as she walked down the hallway to the door, she felt a knot begin to form in her stomach. She took several deep breaths. When she opened the door, she hoped that he couldn’t see the slight tremble of her smile.

“Hey,” Kyle was grinning when she opened the door, and he raised the pizza box for her to see. “I got barbecue chicken; you’re favourite.”

She felt her nervousness subside slightly at the pure look of joy on his face. “What? How did you know that?”

“I called earlier. You were sleeping, but Lisa told me what you like.”

“Awesome. Thanks!” She breathed in deeply, “That smells so good. Should we eat in front of the TV?”

“Sure.” He followed her to the family room and watched as she got herself situated on the couch. Once she was settled, they dug into the pizza, and Kyle got comfy into the recliner while Madison surfed the channels.

“See anything you like?”

Kyle shook his head. “Whatever you want is fine. We can look for a movie now if you want?”

She turned towards him, a slight apologetic smile on her face. “Actually, sorry, but would it be okay if we wait until after pizza? I want to get a bit more comfortable for the movie.” She looked down at her legs, and Kyle nodded.

“Of course.” She flashed him a thank you smile.

“Hey, guys,” Lisa’s face poked into the room, “We’re heading out. The girls are starving. Won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Madison responded and Kyle, whose mouth was full of pizza, nodded.

Lisa paused before she left the room, she glanced at Madison, then at Kyle and then back at Madison. “We’re going to pick up some ice cream. Any particular kind you guys want?”

“Mint Chocolate,” they said in unison, and all three of them laughed.

“Okay, mint chocolate it is.” Lisa left the room, and Kyle and Madison turned towards each other and giggled. 

Kyle took another bite of pizza and then glanced at Madison. “So, barbeque chicken is your fav pizza and mint chocolate is your fav ice cream.”

“Mmhmm. What about you? Mint chocolate is your favourite ice cream, but what’s your favourite pizza?”

Kyle got up from the recliner to grab another slice. “Anything, I love pizza. But I guess if I had to choose, it’d be meat lovers.”

She nodded and smiled sheepishly as they both ate quietly for a bit. After devouring his second slice of pizza, Kyle turned his attention from the TV to her. “Favourite color?”

Madison shifted her head to face him. “I’m a girl, so pink, of course. You?”

“Well, I’m a boy, so blue, of course,” they both laughed.

“Okay, smart guy. Favourite animal?”

“Gorilla,” he said with a wink and a grin.

She laughed, “Gorilla? Really?”

He nodded.

“Why gorilla?”

His hand flew to his chest and he gasped in pretend offence. “What do you mean? Gorillas are cool.”

She giggled and bit into another slice of pizza.

“What about you, favourite animal?” 

“Elephant.”

“Oh, yeah, elephants. I should have guessed that.” She raised an eyebrow at him and he pointed to her necklace. “You always wear an elephant around your neck.”

“Oh, right.” She grabbed the elephant. “My dad gave this to me.” Her voice had a tinge of sadness to it.

He nodded but didn’t speak.

She shook her head and then smiled at him. “Sorry. Where were we? Oh yeah, favourite things.”

Kyle gazed at her with kind eyes, causing her heart to pound loudly in her chest, then he smiled, and they continued to quiz each other as they ate. Once they were both full of pizza, Kyle cleaned everything up, and Madison made her way to the bathroom. When she got back to the family room, she let out a loud gasp. “What the?” The coffee table was full of every imaginable treat you could think of, licorice, sours, gummy bears, gummy worms, different types of chips and chocolates. “Holy cow.”

Kyle turned around with a broad smile on his face. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, and I didn’t want to run out. Besides, you can never have too much junk food.”

“True.” She grabbed a piece of licorice and sat down on the couch. She positioned a couple pillows behind her back and under her arm. It took her several minutes to get comfortable as Kyle stood and watched. When she was settled, he moved the table closer to her so she could reach everything. Then he looked at her and had a thought. “I know you just got settled, but I was thinking it might be more fun if we were both on the couch. I can sit right at the end and you can use me as a pillow for your legs.”

Her heart skipped a beat at his suggestion. “Um, yeah, okay. If you don’t mind.”

“Nope. Should we do lights off or on?”

“Off, but leave the door open, so Bill and Lisa don’t freak out.”

He chuckled, then turned the lights out and lifted her legs up so he could position himself underneath them. Once they were both settled, he grinned at her, “I’m ready.” He had his hands resting on her legs, and she felt a shiver work its way up her spine. Kyle Barker was touching her.

She pointed the remote at the TV, and they went about picking a movie. It turned out that they were both big fans of action movies, and it didn’t take them long to find one they both wanted to see. About halfway into the movie, there was a commotion in the hallway and suddenly two little girls came bursting into the room. Both Madison and Kyle were startled, and Madison paused the movie. “Hey, munchkins.”

“Hi, Maddie. Hi, Kyle.” Gracie smiled at them, and when she saw all the treats on the table, her eyes grew wide. Both her and Casey rushed to the table, but Bill was close behind them.

“Hey you two. You’ve had enough sweets, and those are for Madison and Kyle.”

“But daddy.”

“No buts, let’s go.” Bill quickly guided the girls out of the room and smiled at Madison and Kyle. “Sorry about that, go back to your movie.”

“Thanks, Bill.” Madison smiled up at Bill.

They watched Bill leave, and Madison turned the movie back on. By the time Kyle left, it was after midnight. They had watched two movies, talked, laughed, and thoroughly enjoyed each others company. They talked about school, their plans for the future, and about Kyle’s baseball team. She could tell by the way he spoke that he loved the game, his teammates, and his coaches. He talked about coaching a little league team next year, and she smiled. She didn’t mention her mom or her life in the past year, and he was respectful enough not to ask. When they said good night, she stood at the door and watched him walk to his car. Her heart began to race when he turned around and smiled at her before he got into his car. She couldn’t seem to pull herself away as he waved and drove away. Her eyes stayed focused on his car as it made its way down the street. After closing the door, she walked to her bedroom thinking, no, daydreaming, about Kyle. His cheery laugh, his sky blue eyes, and his face lighting up when he talked about baseball danced through her mind as she fell asleep that night.