Trial And Error

Chapter Twenty-One

 Kian's POV

The sound of a fist against wood jarred Kian awake. Eyes snapping open, she bolted upright, rigid and disoriented. Panic set in as the insistent banging, her mind flashed to the hot desert. The sound of bullets whizzing past her at a constant rate, the smell of burning rubber filled her nostrils. The constant yelling, from her captors combined with her own. Her heart pounded as the phantom pains in her shoulder and torso intensified. She could feel the knife slicing her skin, the bullet piercing her flesh. Then it all stopped, she shook the memories away, allowing her brain to process reality. The banging finally registered - someone was at the door.

Quickly standing up she frantically searched for a t-shirt, only for the obnoxious knocks to continue again. The last thing she needed was for whoever was at the door, to see her scars. After grabbing a plain grey tee, she rushed out of her room glancing at the stove clock indicating it was 11 in the morning. She thanked the gods that it was only Saturday. Again the loud knocks echoed through the apartment, along with her skull. The sound waves bounced around her skull, adding to the splitting headache.

Kian reached for the handle aggressively pulling the door open, ready to scold and yell at whoever was on the other side. Her plan was soon destroyed as her eyes took in the clearly pissed-off Madison. The saying, 'if looks could kill' was perfect in this situation. Because if looks could kill, Kian would be six feet under. Her first instinct was to combat the glare she was receiving with a rude or snarky remark. But she knew it'd be best if she kept her mouth shut.

"Rise and shine, you don't know how much it means to me to see you this hungover." sarcasm rolled off the singer's tongue as she pushed past the half-naked woman in front of her. She stood in the kitchen staring at the Marine with a mean glare.

"Last time I checked you had a key so why don't you use it? Some of us are trying to sleep you know. " Kian rasped out, shutting the door.

Madison swiftly turned around pointing her finger, "Don't you even start with me, Shepard." She threatened, Kian groaned covering her ears in response due to the sudden loudness.

"Oh I'm sorry, was that too loud for you?" The woman taunted sarcastically increasing her volume purposefully.

"Yes. So can you please lower your voice?"

"No."

Kian stood there in nothing but her t-shirt and boxers, she felt like a child being scolded by a parent. All she wanted to do was tell Madison to leave so she could bury herself into her bed and try to sleep off this headache. But she couldn't, she was too scared, her feet felt like it was glued into the wooden floors. It was ironic considering what the marine had been through the past couple of months. But it was Madison, and she had never seen her this angry before.

Kian nervously rocked on her heels under Madison's piercing glare, waiting for her to say something, anything. But Madison just stood there, hazel eyes boring holes into Kian's face. Was she waiting for someone? Kian's mind wandered as she tried her best to figure out what it was that Madison wanted. After ten minutes it finally clicked, how stupid could she be?

She finally freed herself from the spot she was stuck in, walking onto the opposite side of the kick island. Leaning her elbows against the surface, she ran her hands through her disheveled hair, she knew that there was only one thing that could fix this.

letting out a sigh, she peer up towards the singer,

"I'm sorry." The woman mumbled, the serious facade remained her eyebrows perked up indicating she was waiting for more. Of course, she was, this is Madison Barnes.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk. And for fighting with those guys last night." Kian added, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously.

"And?"