A Long Way From Home

Chapter 9

Maddi

Pap and I were sitting at the table waiting on Liv to finish her shower. Pap looks at me and says "now I hope you girls don't mind, but I invited Alex and Andrew in for dinner before they head home for the evening." I laughed and said "I don't mind, but knowing Liv she's going to be in shorts, a t-shirt, and her hair is going to be in a messy bun so she might be just a little embarrassed." He shook his head and then the two boys we had just met walked right in and sat down at the table with us. With his hat off I got a good look at Alex's eyes and they were blue. I then noticed for the first time that they looked identical which made me believe they were twins, just like Liv and I.

I see Alex looking at me and give him a small smile. They started talking with Pap so I decided to bring the food to the table. Once everything was set up I hear Liv come down the steps. Once at the bottom she yells out "Maddi Hatter, do you know where my good bra is?" I started laughing and she came into the dining room and her cheeks flushed red. I stopped laughing and said "Yeah it's in your closet with the rest of your unicorn undies." I started laughing harder and harder not noticing that she was about to pounce on me. Before she could pap stopped her by saying "Girls, there will be no rough housing while we have guests."

Before I could even open my mouth Pap says "Mads, don't even say it!" I looked at him and said "Come on! She's asking for it!!" She laughed at me so I looked into her eyes and said "Livvy-poo do you want your cookie back?" She gagged which caused me to laugh more. Finally once we were settled down I looked at the food that pap had made. He made Porkchops, corn, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh apple pie. My stomach growled loudly just looking at the food and everyone at the table laughed.

After dinner

Once we were done with dinner it was my turn to wash the dishes so I headed off to the kitchen. Once I was started I noticed that Alex had come in and began to dry and put away the dishes I had already washed. I smiled at him and said "Thank you for helping me, but you didn't have to." "It's my pleasure. I was raised that a man and woman are equal. I'll help in anyway that I can." He finished and gave me a crooked grin. We started talking about school and everything.

They were just about to leave when Alex turned to me and said "Andy and I will meet you and your sister at the doors of the school tomorrow morning. See you then Addi." He sent me a wink and blew me a kiss. I'll admit I blushed a little bit until I remembered what Jason had done to me. I had to remind myself that Alex and Pigface are two different people and Alex looks like he genuinely cares. I give him an eye roll and then send him a secret wink back before walking back into the house from the porch. Liv wouldn't walk out with me because she was embarrassed by how she was dressed.

Walking back into the house I go into the living room where Pap was sitting in his chair that was beside grandmas. No one sits in that chair out of respect for her. I sat down on the couch and just watched the fire in the fireplace dance about before I glance at pap. I decided that I needed to talk to him about what's been going on with me since the accident. Especially since Liv was upstairs in bed, most likely playing on her phone.

"Pap, can we go out on the porch and talk?" I asked quietly but I knew he could hear me. He nodded his head and said "Yeah take a blanket and head on out. I'll be there in a second." I grabbed the blanket that was on the back of the couch and went out on the bench. I waited for him and he finally came out and he was holding a bottle of Jim Beam and two coffee mugs. "Now, I know I condone this, but please me responsible with it." I nodded my head and gave him a smile. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk about Mads?"

I took a deep breath before speaking. "Ever since you told me momma and daddy didn't make it in the accident I've been carrying the guilt. It was my fault Pap. If I had been a big girl and dealt with Jason cheating on me then they wouldn't have been out in that storm, dad wouldn't have been yelling at me and not paying attention to the road. He would have seen the truck come into our lane and they would both be alive. How am I supposed to live my life if all I think about it how I got our parents killed?" By the end of my rant I was sobbing. I couldn't hold it in anymore I just let it go and when he wrapped me into a hug I sobbed even harder. I needed this. I had to tell him. He would tell me the truth either way.

"Oh Maddison. Look at me child." He stated in a soft voice. I looked into his eyes and they held sadness. "You did NOT kill your parents. You did what every single girl would do when they find their boyfriends cheating, you called your mom. The one person you needed at that moment. I am so glad that you didn't drive home because it could be you that this family is missing. I miss your parents so very much Mads, but you lived for a reason. They wouldn't want you feeling guilty because YOU were not driving the semi that hit you. You are too young to be carrying guilt like that around. I brought you and your sister out here for a fresh start because you needed to get away from everyone there. I promise things will get better Maddi. You just have to grieve with your sister and hey maybe even Alex can help you heal. I did hear him call you Addi and NO ONE has ever called you that so that must mean that he likes you."

I groaned "I told him not to call me that in front of you. I don't even know if he likes me like that but for now I will be friends with him and play nice at the new school. No promises about staying out of trouble though. I am my fathers daughter." I gave him a mischievous grin. "That you are Mads. That you are. You're the trouble maker while your sister is the goody goody." He chuckled. "Now take a drink of this and then head up to bed. You have a long morning ahead of you since the horses need let out before school." He handed me the mug, kissed the top of my head and then went back inside.

I sat there for a minute before I downed the cup. I walked into the house and went to my room. I opened the door and my room was a light blue. My bed was a full size and it had a bed set of black stallions on it that looked like Spartan. My dresser was a pearl color and on the dresser was a picture of momma, daddy, Liv, Grandma, Pap, and I on it. I smiled at the picture and whispered a goodnight to the three people who were no longer with us. I put on some shorts, one of dads shirts, and then crawled into bed holding onto my stuffed Spartan plush and fell into a blissful sleep. For once there were no nightmares of the accident.