"Sweetheart?"
The voice did nothing to snap Maddie from her stupor. "Sweetheart, will you look at me?" the voice asked again, and this time Maddie finally looked up; kneeling in front of her was a nice older woman with a bob haircut, smiling gently as she asked, "is there anything I can get for you? Anything you want at all? Are you hungry?" "...I'm a bad person," Maddie mumbled. "You are not a bad person, Maddison," the woman said, putting her hand on Maddie's knee, "you were given an awful choice, and you made the right decision. You saved your fathers life. If anyone is a bad person here, it's your mother, alright? Now, your father will be okay, he is resting right now, but they're going to want to do more tests later. Why don't you sit here for a bit, and I'll go get you something to eat, okay? Something good and fun, like fast food?" Maddie smiled and nodded, appreciative of the womans help. As she watched the woman walk away, she looked back down at the floor and kicked her feet, which now were beginning to reach the ground. When had she gotten so tall? When had she grown up so much? She was so busy looking after her parents she was losing track of her childhood. Maddie heard the sounds of heels walking across the floor in front of her, and recognized them. She looked up and saw Lilian. "Lily?" she asked, causing Lilian to stop in her tracks, back up and come back to Maddie. "Maddi, honey, what are you doing here?" she asked. "...I called the cops on my mom," she whispered, "...what are you doing here?" Lilian didn't know what to tell her. Does a child even understand what an overdose is? Sure, Maddison was intelligent, but...no. She needed to be honest with her. No other adult was. "Alexis had an accident," Lilian said weakly, kneeling in front of Maddie's chair, "uh, we don't know how she's gonna be right now, it could...it could be bad. It's so nice to see you though. I'm proud of you for doing the right thing." Maddie leaned in and hugged Lilian, and Lilian hugged her back, and together they cried. Just two sad, scared little girls lost in a big, mean world. *** John was sitting next to Alexis's bed, his face on the sheet, his hand cupping one of hers tightly. Alexis was unconscious, an oxygen mask over her face. The door opened, and John roused from his light nap, wiping at his face with his other arm as he glanced around, noticing a very well put together woman about Alexis's age entering the room. She looked identical, and it made John confused for a moment. She was dressed in a button down short sleeve floral blouse and high waisted jeans. "Can I help you?" John asked. "I'm Geena, I'm Alex's sister," Geena said, "...who are you?" "I'm John, I'm...I'm the one who found her," John said. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Geena said, "I'm surprised they let you in here." John looked at Alexis and smiled. "...I wasn't about to let her be in here alone," he said quietly before glancing back at Geena, "...did they call you?" "Mhm," Geena said, "I'm her emergency contact, being her twin and all. But it's not like we see one another often enough to really warrant that being a thing. Can you tell me what happened? Nobody would tell me anything, they just told me where she was." John sighed and rubbed his face, hating to relive it. "Um," he started, "...I was...I was going over to her apartment to make dinner for her, and when I got there, the place was empty, so I started picking up for her and I...I took some clothes into the bathroom and dumped them in the hamper, and I...I noticed that, uh, that the floor was wet, so I thought something had flooded, but when I looked around, I realized she was in the bathtub and was almost drowning. She had clearly taken something. I dragged her out, and..." He couldn't keep going, he just started crying and Geena quickly stood up and walked over to John, patting him on the back. "Hey, shhh, it's okay, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but it's okay. You saved her," Geena said, "okay? Think about the good you did. I know it's hard to push the horrors from your head, but still." "she can't die," John said through sobs, "i can't lose another one." Geena didn't know what that meant, but she didn't need to. She recognized deep pain when she saw it, working as a therapist after all, and she knew what he needed was comfort, not questions. She hugged him, and John turned to cry against her, finally letting go of Alexis's hand. That was the thing that Geena knew most of all, was that men needed to cry, and the world often didn't allow them to. *** Tyler entered Vera's apartment, his arms full of takeout from the place down the street and around the block. Since they had the day off, he figured they could spend it inside, eating, relaxing, watching movies. Something they rarely got to do. As he shut the door with his foot and placed the bags on the kitchen counter, he noticed Vera sitting on the couch, her face frozen, her cordless phone at her feet. Tyler walked over to the couch and picked up the phone from the ground, then looked at Vera, confused. "Vera? Babe?" he asked. "...I killed her," Vera whispered. "What?" "Alexis is in the hospital, she OD'd," Vera said, still facing the same way, never once making eye contact, "...I killed her." "Is she...?' "No, but...but she could, and it'd be my fault," Vera said, "all I've done lately is harangue her with my morals, and...and who says my morals are even right? Who am I to tell her how to live? And now I'm saying this after what's happened, like that excuses my actions the last few months. Like you only learn a lesson once it's too late or something. I wasn't hating her, I was trying to protect a business, but that...that's disgusting. I was putting the sanctity of a company above the safety of a friend. I know the company is important to us, it's our livelihood but..." Vera finally looked at Tyler and shut her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't think I can run this anymore," she said quietly, starting to cry. Tyler sat down beside her and rubbed her back, kissing the side of her head, his voice low and calming. "It's okay honey," he said, almost whispering, "we can find someone else to run things, okay? You need to step away and focus on yourself, okay? You'll be okay, I promise. We'll be okay. I'll help you through this. You don't have to navigate it alone. We'll do whatever needs to be done to make things work." Vera smiled as she laid her head on Tyler's chest. She was so lucky to have someone so good love her. But everytime she closed her eyes, all she saw was Alexis. She was never going to be able to forgive herself if she actually died. *** "What?" Lilian and Maddison asked in unison, both shocked at her the womans statement. The woman from earlier had returned with food for Maddie, and while she was sharing her fries with Lilian, the woman had told them that, in a brief moment of wakefulness and lucidity, Maddison's father had asked Lilian to take Maddie until he could get out of the hospital and recover. "Considering it's a direct request from her father, we have to honor it," the woman said, "if you don't mind, ma'am." "I...no, I...I don't mind, I'm just shocked is all," Lilian said, "I'd have to make some adjustments, it's not like my place is exactly kid ready, but...we could make it work." "And you're okay with this?" the woman asked, looking at Maddie, who nodded eagerly as she bit into the burger the woman had brought her; the woman smiled and nodded, "alright then, I'll go get the paperwork started." After the walked away, Maddie looked at Lilian, who was sipping absentmindedly on the drink the woman had brought back, when she noticed Maddie looking at her. The girls stared at one another, neither one sure of what exactly to say in a situation like this. After a few minutes of chewing and sitting and thinking, Lilian finally sighed and tossed her hair. "I guess I gotta get you a bed," she said. "I could just sleep in a dog bed on the floor," Maddie said, making Lilian laugh. "Holy hell, I only JUST got custody of a kid, please do not make CPS look into me this fast," she said. "Can I get a pet?" Maddie asked. "Okay, that's it, I'm finding someone else to take you," Lilian said, both of them laughing. Meanwhile, in Alexis's room, John and Geena were still sitting in their respective seats, the only sound filling the silence was the sound of the machines Alexis was hooked up to. John ran his hand through his hair and exhaled, while Geena filed her nails in her chair, her legs crossed. John leaned back in his chair and checked his watch. "Did she ever tell you she almost drowned when we were kids?" Geena asked. "Huh?" "Did Alexis ever tell you she almost drowned when we were kids?" Geena asked, "we were at the beach, cause we were kinda poor and the beach was free so we went a lot. Anyway she was rescued by this lifeguard, and she had been under the water so long she nearly drowned from the water she'd swallowed. I remember standing there, watching this poor teenage girl trying to save my sister, and just thinking to myself 'what does a twin do if one half of them dies?', cause even though we'd never been particularly close, we were still twins." "...what...why are you telling me this?" John asked. "Cause I find it kinda ironic that she almost drowned again," Geena said, "I know she OD'd, but the fact that she did so in a bathtub is...I don't know...so beautifully circular? I'm thankful you found her though. I don't want my sister to die. I just wish I'd been around more so she would've trusted me enough to talk to about her drug problems." "She doesn't have a drug problem," John said, "people have a problem with her using drugs. That's the issue here." Geena smirked and nodded, admiring this strangers determination to defend her sister. "If she has to date someone, I'm glad it's someone as considerate as you, even if you're a bit older, cause-" "What?" John asked, laughing, "we...we are NOT dating. No. I just..." John looked back at Alexis, smiling as he chewed on his thumbnail. "...she's like a daughter to me," John said, "that's all it is. I'm sick of seeing young girls hurt by the world, and I decided I wouldn't let it happen again. She deserved to have someone love her, and since nobody else seemed interested enough to do the job, I guess I took the offer." Geena was surprised. The way John had acted, had spoken, she had really expected him to be Alexis's boyfriend. Sure, the age gap was weird, but who was she to judge? They were consenting adults. Alexis was in her twenties. She was a grown ass woman. But to hear his motivations were even more pure than she'd expected? That certainly threw her preconceptions for a loop. "...thank you," Geena said softly, "thank you for caring about my sister." "Trust me, it's my pleasure," John replied. *** Lilian opened the door to the apartment and let Maddison inside. Miranda was already there, cooking, when she noticed them come in. She stepped away, apron on and everything, and was surprised to see Maddie. Maddie ran to put her things in the spare bedroom, as Lilian stopped and looked at Miranda. "...so, let me get this straight," Miranda said, one hand on her hip, "I ask you to go out and pick up garlic, and instead you bring back a 9 year old?" "Alexis is in the hospital," Lilian said, "I was going to the grocery when I got the call, and so then I went there and while there, I found Maddie. She turned her mom into the cops for poisoning her father. Until her dad gets better, he's asked me to take care of her, so I guess I have a kid now." "Well then you need to start dressing like a mom," Miranda said as Lilian threw a small plastic bag at her, which she caught and grinned, "awww, you got my garlic anyway?" "Picked it up on the way home," Lilian replied, plopping herself down on the couch. Miranda put the garlic on the counter then joined her on the couch, putting one arm around Lilian's shoulders and laying her head on her as Lilian sighed and continued; "...all I wanted to do was make sure she was okay. I experienced something awful at her age, and it traumatized me for years. I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. But she...she's better off psychologically than anyone else I know. Well, maybe not Stinko, but. Now she's here, living with me." "Are you worried you won't be able to handle the responsibility of caring for a child?" Miranda asked. "Actually no, I think I'll handle that just fine. After all, I've spent my life making kids happy. That isn't the problem," Lilian said, "the problem is I didn't expect any of this. But I guess I also didn't expect you either, so maybe the unexpected is the stuff I should embrace." Miranda blushed and kissed her on the cheek before getting back up to continue cooking. As she headed back into the kitchen, Maddie rejoined them in the living room, sitting on the couch now where Miranda had been. Lilian looked at her. "You all settled in?" she asked. "It's kinda dark in there," Maddie said, "Can we get a night light?" Lilian chuckled and nodded, patting her on the head. "We can do whatever it takes to make you comfortable," Lilian said. The one thing Lilian swore to herself was to make sure she never treated Maddie the way her own mother had treated her. Maddison was a person unto herself, and she deserved to be respected and listened to. And, of course above all else...she would NEVER make Maddie do beauty pageants. *** It was later in the evening, and Geena had gone home, promising to be back tomorrow. John was still in his seat, reading a magazine about home and garden renovations that Geena had brought with her, his other hand still holding Alexis's, when he finally felt her squeeze it. He put his magazine down flat on his lap and looked at her. Her eyes were barely open, but she was smiling at him. "Thinking of doing putting in a flower garden?" Alexis asked, making John laugh as she asked, "...have you been holding my hand?" "I haven't let go of you since they brought you in," John said. "...that's so sweet," Alexis whispered, coughing, raspy. "Just try not to talk, okay? You're gonna need a lot of rest and recovery," John said, "don't worry, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere again, okay? I won't let you be alone again. Are you hungry, do you want something to eat? Actually, I don't know when you can start eating. I'm not sure you can even eat solid foods for a while, you might have to be on a liquid diet of some kind. Like you need the help, you're thin as hell as it is, lord knows you need some-" "John," Alexis whispered, getting his attention again. "Yeah?" "...just hold me," she added, and he nodded, leaning onto the bed, resting his forehead on hers and stroking her hair softly. "Whatever you want, baby girl," he said. A few moments passed. The beeps of the machines once again filled in the cracks between the silence. "I'm going to legally adopt you," John said, and Alexis started crying, smiling. "Okay," she replied, "I think I'd like that." It was going to be a long road to recovery for Alexis, but thankfully, she had John by her side, and lord knows if anyone knows how to lighten the mood even in the worst of times... ...it's a damn clown.
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A young woman named Lilian Phillips, who plays a princess at birthday parties, befriends a little girl who had a child die at her own birthday party. Archives
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