LEARNING TO FORGIVE YOU

2.

[Alex nodded. "I'm guessing i'm not going back to my place?"]

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"Not now," Madison responded, driving off towards her house. "Are your parents home?" she asked, taking a turn around the corner.

"No." Alex mumbled quietly.

"Where are they?" the older woman asked.

Alex softly shrugged her good shoulder before responding, "They're dead." Madison's mouth hung slightly ajar at this revelation, unsure of what to say next.

"Mom died in a car wreck. My pops couldn't live without her, so he shot himself. Found him, with his brains painting the walls." Alex continued, her voice flat and emotionless.

"Oh my god, I-I'm so sorry. I di-" Madison apologized, her voice trembling.

"Don't be." Alex said, cutting her off and sniffing back her tears. "It was years ago, I'm fine."

The older woman left it at that, and the rest of the ride was dead silent. On the way to the Clark's house, Alex laid her head against the window, observing as numerous people they passed appeared to be packing their cars.

When they pulled up to Madison's house, the two quickly got out of the car and entered the house. Upon entering, Alex heard Alicia question why she was there. Alicia had never liked Alex, always blaming her brother's addiction on her.

Rolling her eyes, Alex ignored the question and rushed over to Nick, who was lying on the couch. He looked terrible, his face covered in cold sweat as he trembled slightly.

"Did Travis call?" Madison asked her daughter as she hung up her coat.

"No." Alicia replied, frustration and boredom in her voice.

"He went full Grand mal on me." Alex heard Alicia say to her mother, pointing at Nick as the older girl pulled the OxyContin from her jacket pocket. "Of course she has stuff." the brunette mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Alicia, not now!" Madison exclaimed, walking towards the couch. "Give him two." she told Alex, who nodded and took two pills from the bottle.

Handing them to Nick, who accepted them gratefully. He sat up, placing the pills on the table before grabbing a glass to crush them. As Nick crushed the pills, Alex stood back up wincing slightly in pain, her shoulder hurting from the movement.

She looked down at her hands and shirt, gagging at the sight of the now dried blood and brain parts. Without saying another word, she ran to the bathroom, falling to her knees and throwing up in the toilet as soon as she reached it. All she could think about at that moment was Artie's bashed-in head on the school floor.

The sound of the bathroom door opening made her turn her head. Madison stood there with a wet rag and a pair of scissors. "Take off your jacket and wash your hands," she said, handing the younger girl the rag. "After that, I'm going to cut your shirt off so I can take a look at your shoulder."

"Okay," Alex said quietly, groaning in pain as she took off her jacket before beginning to scrub her hands with the rag. The blood came off easily, and soon the rag was stained red before being discarded into the trash can. Madison then helped the girl stand up. Just as Alex was on her feet, Alicia walked into the bathroom, shooting the older girl an unimpressed look.

"Why is your shirt covered in blood?" Alicia asked, staring at Alex's shirt as it was being cut off.

"Alicia, not now, please." Madison sighed, removing the shirt from Alex's body, leaving her in only her sports bra. Madison gasped as she looked at Alex's fully exposed shoulder, clearly out of place. Alicia also gasped, her eyes fixed on the older girl's shoulder. But then her eyes started traveling down her body looking at the abrasion on her side before landing on her toned abs.

"It's definitely dislocated." the older woman said, reaching into her pocket. Alex kept her eyes on Madison's daughter. Alicia's gaze returned to Alex's shoulder, then shifted to her face, locking eyes with her. Alex raised her eyebrows slightly at Alicia, smirking. In response, Alicia rolled her eyes, looking away, but she couldn't fight the small smile that crept onto her lips.

"Here, take this for the pain." Madison said, attempting to hand Alex an Oxycodone, having missed the whole interaction between her daughter and Alex. The girl's eyes snapped to the older woman's hand, where the drug was. She quickly shook her head, denying it.

"I can't." she told Madison. She had been clean for over a year, and she didn't need pain medicine to set her back.

Alicia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "The addict denying drugs." she scoffed with a mocking chuckle. "Never thought I'd see that."

"Alex is clean." Madison said, sending her daughter a glare. "For over a year. Now stop being such a smartass and go get the ibuprofen from my bathroom."

The brunette rolled her eyes, clearly not believing her mother but going to retrieve the medicine anyway. While she was gone, Madison shot the light-skinned girl an apologetic look, which she simply shrugged off.

When Alicia finally came back with the ibuprofen, she handed them to her mother, who gave one to Alex. The girl quickly turned on the sink, placing the pill in her mouth before using her hand as a makeshift cup to swallow the pill with some water.

"Are you going to tell me what happened, now?" Alicia asked with an annoyed tone.

"I fell." Alex answered flatly, not entirely lying.

"And you ended up with my mom, how?" the younger girl pressed.

"Alex was at the school for the same reason I was, Alicia. Nick had texted her, asking for drugs, and she knew where to find them." Madison said, cutting in on the conversation.

"Why'd she have to come back here?" Alicia asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alicia, look at her shoulder! Obviously, she needed help." Madison exclaimed angrily.

Alicia sighed, rolling her eyes. "The hospital was out of the question?"

"Yes." the other two women said in sync, causing Alicia to raise a suspicious eyebrow in their direction.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Alicia asked, serious this time, dropping her arms and staring at her mother with a questioning gaze.

Madison glanced at Alex, who subtly nodded at her. "People are getting sick, Alicia. It's not safe out there anymore," the older woman told her daughter, stepping a little closer to her.

"That still doesn't explain why Alex is here, covered in blood with a dislocated shoulder and an abrasion on her side," Alicia replied, pointing her hand at Alex. There was slight concern in her voice that she tried to hide by raising her voice.

"She saved me." Madison said. "That's all you need to know for now."

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