"And lastly, that's Madison, or Mads, my little sister who is also trying to climb up the broken lifeguard tower. We're only a year apart. When she's not doing some odd job for extra cash she is on the HMS Pogue with the rest of us. Most loyal perso...
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Four days, it had been four excruciatingly long days and all Madison wanted was five damn minutes to herself. JJ had barely spoken to her but apparently had no problem talking to the others as they set up a schedule. Pope was there every morning, Kiara was there every afternoon, and JJ had taken the night 'shift' as if she was on some stupid suicide watch unable to be left alone. She wanted to thank them for caring, for loving her so much that they didn't want anything to happen to her, but it was beyond suffocating and she needed just a few minutes to herself to breathe. Every time she walked past John B's room, which they now kept the door closed to, all she could think about was the razor blade sitting on the bedside table just waiting for her. She started closing her own door even when she wasn't in there. John B's door was closed, her dad's office door was closed, and it just felt right to do it to her own.
There was a knock on the front door and she tried to ignore it, it was barely eight in the morning and Pope's 'shift' didn't start until nine, not like he knocked anyway but then there was another one on the door, whoever it was wasn't leaving. She tried her best to stay quiet not wanting even one more neighbor to bring over a casserole as if that was supposed to make everything better. How was feeding someone supposed to fill a void in their heart? She didn't want to breathe let alone eat a mushy pile of potatoes that smelled like overcooked cheese. Whoever it was knocked again, this time a little louder and it only set her off. Anger had been the only emotion she had been able to hold onto because it was easier than breaking down every few minutes.
"What?!" She screamed, stomping over to the front door and nearly ripping it from its hinges as she opened it. She vaguely heard JJ come out of the bathroom to see what was going on but recently he had gotten too easy to ignore.
Heyward stared at her, no pity, just sympathy, and while she wanted to fall into his arms and let him make everything better she couldn't let go of her anger, it was the only thing keeping her together.
Her hand gripped the door so tightly her knuckles were white, glaring at the man on her porch. "What?"
"Maddie, I wanted to talk to you," he disregarded her attitude and stepped into the house she hadn't invited him into. Heyward met JJ's eyes and motioned with his head to give them a few minutes alone. The blonde nodded and left out the backdoor knowing Madison was in good hands.
She stood there for a second, taking a deep breath, and slamming the door shut. "Listen, Heyward, I don't have anything to say and I'm not in the mood for a therapy session. So, thank you for not bringing me like a pie or whatever but I really don't have time for this right now."
"Sit down," He pointed to the couch, picking up on the fact she hadn't called him 'Pops' like she always had but he wasn't about to hold it against her.
Madison stood there with her arms crossed but a raised eyebrow from Heyward had her rolling her eyes with an annoyed sigh and sat sarcastically in the chair next to the couch. "Now what? We share our feelings? I shed a few tears, you tell me everything is going to be fine, and then what? I'm fixed and everyone can get the fuck off my back?"
