The Part of Me That You Don't See~a Dance Moms Maddie AND Mackenzie story~

Ch 22: The Beginning of Abuse???

Mackenzie's POV

"Mackenzie, you haven't come out in 4 days! What have you eaten?" Maddie worriedly inquired. I pointed to the mini fridge, and she nodded her head.

"But, it, it ran out of food two days ago." I mumbled.

"What!?" Maddie exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders. "Mackenzie, you have got to eat! No wonder you're so thin! You look like a stick!" She cried. A delighted smile spread across my face.

"What's wrong with you? This is not exciting this is terrible! You haven't eaten in two whole days!" She said.

"You said I'm thin!" I said, still smiling. Maddie shook her head. 

"Mackenzie, that's not good! You need to eat!" She shouted. 

"NO!" I yelled more forcefully than I meant to. I startled both myself and Maddie, as her eyes widened, then relaxed. 

"I can't eat. I'll be too fat. I don't look like a dancer, I look like an elephant." I remark sadly. 

 Maddie's crystal blue eyes filled with sadness. 

"Kenz, you are beautiful and you're not even close to being fat! AT ALL!" She says in a sincere whisper, since we can hear Mom doing laundry in the next room, and the garage door has just opened. Our stepdad was home from work. We are forced to call him "Dad."

"I'm going to get you food!" Maddie says.

"NO!"  I whisper sharply. "You can't! Greg just got home!" 

"So?" Maddie asks nonchalantly. 

"He'll hurt you, Maddie! Mom told him to!"

"What are you talking about?" She asked me. I had forgotten that Greg was nothing but sweet to Maddie. 

I sighed. "When you first came in here, you went into the bathroom to look at your bruises and cuts-" I stopped.

"Yeah? Go on." She prompts. 

"Well, Mom was out in the hallway. I heard her call Greg. She told him that today we both attacked her. And she said-" I was now sniffling. "She told him to hurt us, and I just know he's going to. She said "Thanks babe. I knew you would." and then hung up." I informed Maddie, tears quietly streaming down my face.

"Shh. It's okay," She soothes. But then her expression changes to determination. 

"I don't care. I care more about you than what Greg could ever do to me." She harshly said.

"Maddie keep your voice down!" I urged.

"I don't care," She replies. "I'm going down.

"Maddie!" I cried, grabbing the bottom of her shirt. All she did was pull away.

"I'm going Mackenzie. You can't do anything about it." She fumed as she shut the door.

Maddie's POV:

I was so scared to go downstairs now, but I needed to get Mackenzie something to eat. I knew she wouldn't eat if I didn't make her.

 I closed the door as quietly as possible, cringing at the little click sound that it made. I tiptoed down the hall, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. I stopped at the laundry room door, watching my mom load the dryer. She looked furious so I quietly slipped past the door. I quietly went down the stairs, avoiding the 5th step. That one always creaked. Once I got to the bottom, I rounded the corner and stopped to listen for sounds that would indicate Greg's presence.