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The house looked nothing like she remembered. Maybe it's because she was five when they moved out in 1982, but Maddie had a sneaking suspicion that it was because the house was a lot cleaner than it was the last time her family lived there.
It had been a stroke of luck, her mother had said. Bonnie had been on the phone with her old friend from camp, Nick, for the first time since they'd moved from Ohio to Georgia, and he'd mentioned that their old house was for sale again.
Maddie thought it was weird that this Nick guy hadn't spoken to her parents in over twelve years, but Bonnie seemed elated, making preparations to sell their house and move back into the house they'd owned in Shadyside.
Another thing that was different from what she remembered. Maddie had only been five when they moved, but now as a seventeen-year-old, she noticed that Shadyside sucked. That was the only way she could describe it. There was no sugarcoating it; Shadyside was the worst.
But, their house was fairly nice, and it was clean from the previous owners, and for the first time in a while, her parents had managed all day without a single nasty comment aimed at the other.
Maddie had just finished bringing in the last of the boxes to her bedroom. She and Andrew had done rock paper scissors for the biggest room and she'd lost, huffing sulkily as she trudged up the stairs.
As she wiped the sweat from her forehead, Maddie headed downstairs and was met with the familiar sound of her parents arguing. "All I'm asking for is a little help unpacking, Scott,"
Her father was sitting at the kitchen counter with a newspaper, not even looking up at his wife. "You were the one who wanted to move back to this shithole," He said matter-of-factly. "I don't see what was so bad about Georgia."
Bonnie sighed, gritting her teeth. "Yes you fucking do," she snapped. "It's a fresh start here. I organised an interview with you at the realtor's office, and I have a position as a writer that's open; Nick's recommending me."
Maddie heard her big brother sigh behind her. Andrew had gotten their father that interview, not Bonnie, but he didn't care enough to speak up about it. Neither of them cared about their parent's argument when they both knew it would be them unpacking the house. Sydney and Jack were playing in the front yard, Andrew's eyes automatically flicking out the window every so often to watch them. It was a habit both of the siblings had picked up over time. "Don't you understand, Bonnie? It doesn't fucking matter what jobs we have here when we're probably going to get murdered,"
Maddie knew Shadyside was a little... run down. But her dad seemed genuinely terrified that something would happen. Bonnie sighed exasperatedly. "We were one bill away from being fucking homeless in Georgia, Scott. We have a chance at a good life here for our kids,"
"Maybe we would have had more money if it weren't for you and your goddamn drinking!" Scott raised his voice at his wife, and Maddie didn't know if he wasn't aware of the presence of their two older kids or if neither of them cared.
