BEYOND THE EUPHORIA

Chapter 11: Anything for you

It's raining heavily, as we gather around for the burial of Young Maddison. I'm in a black tee shirt, tucked in a black jeans. Emily's standing next to me with an umbrella. After the burial, people start to leave one by one until it's just me left, I stare at Maddison's grave with a heavy heart. Shortly after Emily comes back to find me still at the grave.

"What are you still doing here?" She asks as she stands beside me.
"I just can't bring myself to believe she's really gone."
"Yeah, life's not fair." She brings out a piece of paper from her bag and gives it to me.
"What's this?" I ask curiously.
"It's what Maddison was drawing while you were away, she was probably planning to give it to you." She sighs. "Look Alex, about the whole thing, the sex we had, the sex tape I made, my boyfriend, your girlfriend leaving and now this. I'm really really sorry, I never meant to hurt you like that, I'd take it all back if i could."
"It's alright, shii happens and we gotta live through it one way or the other."
She hugs me, kisses me on the cheek then leaves. I go home, light a blunt and relax on the couch. I stare at the paper for a while before finally opening it. My heart becomes even more heavy as I stare at the paper, I didn't even know when tears started falling from my eyes. It's a drawing of Maddie and I holding hands with Maddison in the middle holding ice cream. On the other side of the drawing is a say no to drugs logo, it's poorly drawn but one could easily tell what it is. She also left a note under the drawing, her hand writing is funny. It reads " Mister and his wife are going to take me to get ice cream when I'm well and we're going to ice cream island together and live happily. Mister will stop smoking and be a good ice cream man."
I clean the tears from my eyes and smile and i turn off the blunt, I decide it's time to get back the love of my life as a promise to Maddison. But before I'm ready to face Maddie again, I decide it's time to get over my addiction. I check myself into a rehab for over a year and i come out as a new man. I immediately visit Maddison's grave with three ice creams, one for me, one for her and one for Maddie.
"Hey, so I'm clean now. Uhh i brought you ice cream, I know you want to meet Maddie and i promise you the next time I'm here to visit you I'll be here with her." I say as I sit beside her grave licking ice cream. I go around town for over a week in search of Maddie but no one seems to have seen or heard from her. Later that night I go to a bar to sit and clear my head.
"What can I get you?" Bar tender asks.
"Scotch, neat." I reply.
Emily suddenly pulls up beside me with a big smile and excitement on her face.
"Hey handsome."
"Emily!?" I give her a big hug. "Oh my God, it's been a while, you look pretty good."
"Yeah I know right, I mean look at you too, I almost couldn't recognize you." She says as she checks me out, I had grown out my beards and cut my hair to a low cut so I look pretty different.
"What are you doing her anyway?" I ask.
"Well, I'm here with a friend and i just happened to stumble upon you." She brings out a blunt. "You wanna puff with us?"
My brain instantly flashes back to the sex scene with her. "Nah I'm good and besides I don't smoke or pop pills anymore."
"Really!? Wow! That's amazing and sad at the same time." Her friend suddenly comes and drag her . "Catch you later Alex." She says as her friend pull her away to the dance floor.
I smile and finish my drink before leaving. I go home and lay on the bed, lost in my thoughts and wondering where Maddie could be. That's when it instantly pops up in my head, there is a place Maddie has always said she wants to settle down in. I search around the whole house, scattering everywhere looking for the flyer of it and I finally find it.
"Found you." I say as I stare at it, hoping and believing she'll be there.
I take a night bus to Deerfield Beach and spend the night in a motel. The next morning I go to the beach in search of Maddie but she's no where to be found. I sigh loudly and lay on the ground staring at the sun, feeling frustrated and tired. That's when it hits me that there's a speaker up in the bay house used to pass emergency information. I sneak in and lock the door from behind, I turn on the microphone.

"Umn hi. I actually don't know what I'm doing." I take a long sigh and finally speak. "Maddie if you're here and you're hearing this, I want you to know that I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry. I'd never hurt you like that, I was drugged and wasted, I didn't even know what I was doing." Security comes to the bay house, hitting the door and asking me to open up but I ignore. "And I'm sorry I didn't come find you earlier, i needed to get clean before I could be ready to face you. I also met this awesome kid, her name is also Maddison and she'd like to meet you." I sigh loudly. "I don't even know what I'm saying, all I know is I love you and I miss you and I will go through hell and back just to be with you, i..." the security breaks the door and grabs me. I grab the mic and say my final word. "I'll be waiting at the ice cream shop at the entrance of the beach!" They throw me out of the beach, I go to the entrance of the beach, sit on the couch and wait. Minutes turn to hours until it gets to mid night. Maddie finally shows up and sits beside me.

WALKING ON A DREAM BY EMPIRE OF THE SUN PLAYS SOFTLY IN THE BACKGROUND

We keep staring forward not looking at each other.
"What took you so long?" She asks.
"I'm sorry, I had to go to rehab to clean myself before I knew I was ready."
"Well I'm glad you're clean cause I'm clean too, each time i popped a pill it just reminded me of you and I wanted to forget about you soooo baldy. Each day was basically a nightmare. And the bay house thing? Really? That was soooooo stupid and very embarrassing." She pauses for a while before continuing. "But it was very romantic."
"I'd do anything to get you back." I say.
She leans her head on my shoulder.
"Do you want some ice cream?" I ask.
She nods her head in a positive direction.

WALKING ON A DREAM BY EMPIRE OF THE SUN PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

The End...