mess it up, ˢᵃᵐ ᶜᵃʳᵖᵉⁿᵗᵉʳ

𝟎𝟎𝟏.

The past year and a half had been interesting, to say the least. The twins had graduated from high school, and Madison and their mom nearly deafened everyone around them with their screams of excitement.

Then came the packing, the bittersweet process of boxing up childhood bedrooms, shoving years of memories into suitcases, and preparing to leave behind the haunted town they'd grown up in.

New York was supposed to be a fresh start. An escape. A chance to finally breathe without the weight of Woodsboro pressing down on them.

What did the twins conveniently fail to mention to their older sister? Tara had also applied to the same college and got in.

Which meant she'd be moving with them.

Madison didn't mind. Tara had always felt like an extra younger sibling anyway, and her presence wasn't the problem.

Sam was.

The overprotective older sister wouldn't let Tara out of her sight unless she was at the Meeks-Martin house or school, so naturally, Sam decided she was moving to New York, too.

How fucking fabulous.

The move itself was chaotic. Instead of flying, they opted for a road trip, it was cheaper, and it felt like one last adventure before their new lives began.

The cars were stuffed to the brim, space was nonexistent, and somehow, Chad had ended up driving with the Carpenters.

Much to Madison's irritation.

But after the first few hours of screaming along to songs with her sister, she stopped caring.

Fifteen hours in, they decided to stop at a tiny café on the side of the road. Squeezed into a booth, Madison found herself directly across from Sam.

The tension sat thick between them, like a storm cloud getting ready to rain, but she ignored it, pretending not to notice the glances Sam kept stealing while she watched Tara and Chad fling fries at each other like children.

Tara and Mindy took over driving next, but it wasn't long before their sisters forced them to switch back, letting them get some much-needed sleep.

Madison hated driving knowing that Sam was in the car behind her. Sam, the person she had spent so long trying to forget.

The person she knew she never truly would.

They had never talked about it. About what happened. And Madison didn't see the point in opening that door now.

Sam left. That was it.

Nothing to discuss. Nothing to fix. It didn't matter that she was back, Madison refused to fall into that trap again.

And now? Six months into her new life in New York, she was finally starting to feel content with her life.

The night terrors weren't as frequent. The weight pressing on her chest had lessened. She still needed her medication, but she wasn't relying on it to simply exist anymore.

Some days, she even smiled without forcing it.

Tonight, though, was about distractions. Madison sat curled up on the couch, eating ice cream straight from the tub while watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Her new favourite pastime? Yelling at couples in romcoms.

Why did they get to be in love when she didn't?

Her thoughts were abruptly cut short when her front door slammed open.