SOCIAL • JEFF ATKINS

EIGHT ::

"YOU'RE IN CHARGE." Sarah De La Cruz said to her daughter. "What? Why is she in charge? I'm older!" Montgomery whined, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because she's more responsible." Their father, Abe, said with a chuckle. "I will hold down the fort while you're gone." Madison said with a mock salute, erupting a laugh from her parents. "There's money in the cookie jar, emergency numbers on the fridge. You know the rules; no drinking, partying, or smoking. Be good, be careful, I love you both." Sarah said, kissing both her children on the cheek before taking hold of her suitcase and walking towards the door. "Have fun guys." Abe laughed, hugging his children and chasing after his wife. "Bye!" The siblings called just as the door slammed shut.

It was their parents 20th anniversary and Abe surprised his wife with a trip to London, England. They'd be gone for two weeks, leaving Montgomery and Madison to fend for themselves. It was Friday night and Madison had planned on spending the night in her room watching Netflix.

Sticking true to her word, the teenaged girl climbed up the steps to her room and crawled onto her bed, the warmness of the duvets engulfing her. She clicked play on an episode of Last Man Standing and watched giddily as Tim Allen appeared on the screen.

After an episode or two, Montgomery had rudely interrupted the peaceful atmosphere of his sisters bedroom. "Some of the guys are coming over soon, they're probably gonna crash here." He said, sliding his sleek silver iPhone into the pocket of his jeans. "Aw, you're having a slumber party?" Madison teased. "Shut up." Her brother grumbled, exiting her room.

"You know the rules: keep your door open!" She called out, laughing at her own joke before resuming her show.

No more than an hour later, the quiet sounds of the De La Cruz house were disrupted by rowdy laughter and shouting. Madison had guessed that their friends were here and rolled her eyes, wishing to have the night to herself.

Rolling out from the comfort of her bed, Madison quickly closed her door before jumping back into the bed, already missing the warmth it provided.

The sounds of music could faintly be heard from Monty's room, causing Madison to turn up the volume on her show. She released a groan of frustration when the sound on her laptop could no longer go any higher.

The sound of a door opening snapped Madison's head up. "Oh, sorry I was looking for the washroom." The edge of Madison's lips curved up into a smirk as she looked at him. "Were you really?" She asked tauntingly. "No, I knew this was your room. I wanted to see you." A faint blush made its way onto her cheeks and she ducked her head down so he couldn't see.

"You're so cute." Jeff said with a chuckle, crawling over and sitting beside Madison on her bed. "You aren't bad yourself, Atkins." The two shared a lengthy glance before the brunette looked away, a blush creeping up her neck.

"I make you blush a lot, don't I?" Jeff teased, nudging the smaller girl with his elbow. "Shut it, Atkins."

"What are you watching?" Jeff asked as he repositioned himself on the bed so he was propped up on the pillows. "Last Man Standing. Ever seen it?" Jeff shook his head no and Madison pressed play. "We'll be prepared to fall in love." Jeff snaked an arm around Madison's waist, pulling her back to him so her back was against his chest. She shared the blanket with him and the two teens curled up together watching her favourite show.

In that moment, Madison couldn't think of a better way to spend her Friday night.