Author's Note: The song for this chapter is "Breathless" by Taylor Swift. It fits the chapter really well, and I absolutely adore the song. I've attached a youtube link on the side if you want to listen to it. (:
You've all been very patient with me whilst waiting for this upload, so I hope it was worth the wait and that you enjoy it.
-Please vote as this story is for the Watty Awards-*******
Chapter Nineteen.
Madeline’s Point of View.“When you, feel the world is crashing, all around your feet, come, running headlong into my arms, breathless.”
Sharing some of my load with Kyle had had a bizarre effect on me. My heart felt lighter, as though a burden had been lifted from it. I supposed that the saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ would apply to this particular situation. It was a brilliant feeling- knowing that I could now talk to Kyle about the entire situation with my previously absent father.
I found that I trusted Kyle more and more with each day that passed, and it was extremely relieving to know that he was there for me. Kyle was the first person that I had actually allowed to be there for me since the day that my father had left almost four years ago. I felt comforted by the fact that I now had Kyle. Deep down in the pit of my heart, I knew that I should not trust him as much as I was; I should not be opening up to him at all. He would hurt me in the end, and it would certainly leave me more broken and bruised than I already was. I had no idea why I was allowing myself to take this chance. The chance that could make me insanely happy, but at the same time make my heart shatter into a million pieces.
I had absolutely no clue as to what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t sure if I should continue to trust Kyle with parts of me that no one else was aware of, or if I should just build up those walls again and wrap them with steel chains and padlocks to keep him out. It was a difficult decision to make, and it left me feeling enormously confused and frustrated. On the one hand, I had found what I had desperately wanted- someone that I could trust.
However, I really didn’t know if Kyle would be here to stay, or if he would leave at the slightest hint of trouble. The irritating thing was that I wouldn’t be able to find out unless I took the risk and let myself fall. Would Kyle be there to catch me, or would he let me crash to the ground?I sighed for what felt like the millionth time, and drummed the fingertips of my right hand on my thigh. I was becoming more and more stuck in my thoughts lately, and to be honest, it was not a good thing. Thinking so much was merely serving to drive me absolutely insane. It felt as though there was a monkey in my mind, constantly screeching and clawing at me and making my temples throb with the strain of it all. It wasn’t exactly helping that I was also extremely preoccupied with my upcoming meeting with my father.
With every day that had passed, I had become increasingly nervous, my stomach clenching at the mere thought- which meant that it was clenched almost all of the time.It was a tiring feat, having to be constantly listening to my thoughts running amuck. I was barely sleeping, and felt as though I was permanently exhausted. The thin skin beneath my eyes was slightly puffy, and held a deep blue colour. The only thing that was keeping me going was knowing that I had to look after William. Another contributing factor was the fact that I now had my new set of friends- Ellie, Kyle and Charlie.
I wasn’t as ‘buddy’ with Charlie as I was with Ellie and of course, Kyle, but he was a nice enough guy and I could tell that he was a brilliant friend to my new sort of boyfriend. Even thinking of the words ‘sort of boyfriend’ was strange. I had never even kissed a boy before I had moved here, and suddenly I was in a sort of relationship? Don’t get me wrong, I was mostly pleased, though it was still rather bizarre to think about.
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Safe and Sound (Watty Awards 2012).
Teen FictionMeet Madeline Harwell, a bruised and broken young girl who is new to the town. She has had to grow up faster than most teenagers; looking after her three year old brother and protecting him from their alcoholic abusive mother. She has no friends and...