𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 ⇀ 𝗍𝗌

one

// CHAPTER ONE:: home atlas //

IT was an oddly chilly Spring day as Audrey Stewart exited the institution and inhaled the fresh air, not acknowledging the smell was gone. The grip on her book bag loosened as she let her eyes slip close and her body relax suddenly as she felt finally free.

Through her baggy clothes, the wind blew through, sending a chill up her spine when she opened her eyes again to see her mother standing by her car. She held a smile on her face as she seen her daughter in the distance, but Audrey felt the opposite. Her mood faltered and she came back to reality that she wasn't really free- she still had to deal with her mother and her crazed idea about having the perfect daughter. She was the reason Audrey was in the institution- or in rehab.

Audrey huffed silently and slowly walked to her mother, who would forever be dressed in formal attire. Audrey despised how the only time her mother could let loose was when she was going to bed, and she would still wear a button down pajama set.

Her mother, Roxanne, grinned widely and held her arms out when her daughter got closer, "Oh, my baby!" She quickly pulled Audrey into a hug, which Audrey barely responded to. She gave a light pat on her mother's back, causing her to pull away and stare at her child with a warm smile, "How've you been?"

Audrey shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Tired." Her mother nodded, choosing not to mention the obvious tension between them. While in rehab, Audrey only received phone calls from her mother in the past month, always telling her daughter that she is very busy and she would try to visit next time. There was never a next time.

"Okay, let me just take your bags then," She offered and Audrey obliged, quickly handing her bags to her mother for her to put in the trunk of their minivan as she got into the passenger seat. It wasn't long for Roxanne to shove the luggage in the car and get into driver side, wasting no time to leave the premises.

Audrey prayed for the ride to be quiet, but when her mother continued to glance away from the rode and at her, she knew a conversation would begin, so she spoke up, "What is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Can you just say what you have to say already instead of just staring," Audrey suggested, "Just rip it off like a bandaid."

Her mother glanced at her once more and gripped the wheel tightly when they came to a red light, "Uh, well, I wanted to apologize for not coming to check up on you or visit. It's just because work-"

"'Work'," Audrey interrupted and huffed, "It's always work. Don't you get tired of using the same excuse?" Her mother furrowed her brows, so Audrey continued, "I wish you'd be honest for once and tell me the real reason you didn't come."

This was one of the reasons as to why they grew even more distant. They used to be close before Audrey's father died in a car accident when Audrey was 9 and in the passenger seat. Somehow, they manage to both blame each other for his death.

The light soon switched back to green and Roxanne began driving again, still trying to spark up a conversation, "Are you at least excited to go back to school? See your friends?"

Audrey sat quietly, her eyes glued to the outside of the car, trying to find anything more fascinating than their conversation. Audrey wasn't one to make friends anymore.

Roxanne continued, despite her daughter silent response, "I got you some new clothes for school since it's spring time and a new notebook. I didn't know what kind of shoes you like nowadays, so we can stop by the store if you want. And for dinner, I wasn't really sure what you wanted-"

"Mom," Audrey called out, an agitated look restraining itself as she looked away from the window and at her mother, "Please, stop acting like everything is normal when it's not. It was never normal between us and it never will, so can we just sit in silence the rest of the way? Please?"

Her mother hesitantly nodded, watching her daughter reach forward and turn on the radio before staring out of the window again. Audrey no longer ached for her mother's affection or attention, which Audrey felt glad that the phase had passed, but Roxanne was beginning to feel her daughter's troubles when she became the one who didn't receive any affection.

They soon arrived at their home, and Audrey couldn't be happier to exit the car and grab her things so she could head inside to her room. She quickly took her bags and walked inside, not bothering to wait for her mother, before going in her room. She dropped her bags and looked around her bedroom, seeing everything was the way she left it, but tidier.

She inhaled deeply and involuntarily let a smile form on her face. She had been gone for the majority of winter, seeing she had been committed to rehab right after Christmas- right after the incident.

Audrey walked further into her room and stood by the window, looking out of it to notice kids running after each other, laughs and shouts filling the streets as they played rounds of tag. Audrey's heart warm at the sight, her childhood memories resurfacing, which caused her to look away from the kids and to the house directly across the street from her.

Is he home? She asked herself, but her question had been answered when her neighbor opened his front door and stepped out. He looked around him, ruffled his hair and yawned, as if he had just woken up, before walking down his porch steps.

He was about to walk off until he noticed Roxanne's car in front of her house before seeing Roxanne step into his vision. Audrey watched him gave a subtle wave to her, which she returned before incoherently talking him, which made Audrey furrow her brows as she stalked their conversation.

She was about to open her window to be nosy, but she was caught off guard when her neighbor looked above her mother and directly at Audrey, through her window. His brows was furrowed, but before he could even configure her face, she closed her curtains and stepped away from the window.

She placed her head in her hands and muffled a loud groaned through them. My day couldn't be worse, she thought, of course the first person to see me back in town is Harry Bingham.