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Chapter 2

     Madilyn's family, was a suburban household of four. It used to be five of them, but with their father leaving them, after having an affair, it shrunk to four of them.

Their mother Hanna was a housewife. Her love of cooking, with her plans of becoming a chef at her own restaurant, came to an end, when she became pregnant with her first child, their oldest sister Zara. She, like her mother, shares the same love of cooking. Zara, managed to get a degree in culinary arts and has been trying to open her own restaurant, right there in her home town, which was the main reason why she was back at home. The money she saved by not paying for an apartment in a big city, was now invested into the opening.

Having two people who loved cooking as much as they did, their meals were rich, in both quality and quantity. But once their father decided to leave them, with Adrian moving to London, and with Hanna's newfound state of depression, cooking restaurant- like meals was scarce. It came down to Zara, who had already enough obligations, to cook for the three of them. 

Hearing that her son is coming back home, for a visit, jolted Hanna right back into her housewife mode. 

Madilyn came into the kitchen, after saying goodbye to Amelia, and saw her mother at the stove, with one hand stirring something in the bowl, and the other firmly placed on the cooking book. Her gaze was fixated on the recipe she was reading. It's been a while since this happened. After that dreadful night, Hanna has been spending her days sleeping away in her room, with pulled up curtains, and a bottle of sleeping pills next to her nightstand. Zara and Madilyn would alterate on which one of them would bring the meals up to her.

"Maddy, sweetheart, will you go and help your brother and Jennifer unpack?" 

" And why can't Zara do it?" She said taking the bite of an apple from the bowl.

"She already is, but since there's two of them, they probably need some help."Then started mumbling something about not having enough of flour.

"Fine." Madilyn wasn't really in the mood for socializing , but she managed to drag herself off to his room, which was on the first floor and right next to hers. She didn't knock,  since the door was already open. 

His room was a typical boy's room, and in the same shape, as he left it. The walls were painted a dark shade of green, and you could clearly see the places where many posters of his favorite bands were once plastered on. He took them down, once he moved out. Those walls were also a home to many ''naked girls'' posters, but were also taken down, once their mother saw them. That was a fun day.

She walked in, and sat on his bed, positioned in the middle of the wall, to her right. She could smell lavender in the white sheets. Zara has made sure everything in that room was clean and ready for him. 

Adrian was assembling some game gadgets on his desk, while Zara and Jennifer were taking  clothes out of their suitcases, and arranging them into the closet, and empty drawers. They were talking and giggling, not really noticing Madilyn.

"So, does anyone need help?" She cleared her throat to notify them she was there.

Both of them turned around. "No, sis'. We're almost finished." Zara told her sister, still smiling from whatever they were talking about.

"Zara has been telling me about how you used to have dark brown hair." Jennifer spoke, with Zara's fast input, "And curly. It was so curly. We used to think she was adopted."

Everyone in the family was blonde, except for Madilyn. Whenever she would ask her mother about it, she would just laugh it off and assure her that she must've inherited it from Hanna's sister, who was also known for her dark curls.

"And, now it's red and straight. Do you prefer it like that?" Jennifer seemed genuinely curious.

Ah, we're having a girl talk. She frowned, not really int the mood fot it. "Yeah, I do."

"I liked it curly and brown." A deep voice said. Her brother has been silent from the moment she walked in, and probably before she did. He spoke without taking his eyes off of those gadgets. Men and their toys.

"Good. That's why I dyed it." She said sharply. 

In that moment their mother came up the stairs. " Girls, I need your help. Jennifer, if you wouldn't mind helping out, too. Sam just called, and he and the whole family are coming over for dinner to see Adrian. You know that's a lot of mouth to feed."

"Of course."

"Sure, mum."

Both of them hurried out, leaving Madilyn and her brother.

"I'm right behind you." Madilyn told her sister, after she gestured to her to follow them. She was at the door when she stopped. She turned around to look at Adrian, who still had his back to her. There was a mirror positioned on the right side of his desk. She could see his face, and how he frowned, while he was searching for some parts. 

He looked up, and into the mirror, as if he knew she was watching him. He looked mildly irritated, and she knew that the games weren't the reason for it.

Nothing. He didn't say anything. So, she looked away, and left the room.