Generation 1- Chapter 7

**Note this chapter covers something pretty gruesome…although it’s not described in a gruesome way, it is something that is taboo to talk about in stories. However, I decided to tell this story now because it something that I have indirectly experienced in my lifetime…with that said…enjoy :)

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“WAKE UP EVERYONE!!!!'” It was early Sunday morning when Charles paraded through the house banging a pot. Slowly but surely the rest of the Mason family trickled out into the hallway, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

“What’s up Dad? It’s like earlier than my clock can count right now!” Bentley said stretching.

“Yea, babe what’s this about?” Lanya said trying to quiet a screaming Aubree.

“Grab your jackets, get your shoes on, we’re going on a road trip!” Charles said smiling.

“Can I at least shower first?” Madison said pouting.

“Nope no showers, no packing, no nothing. Meet me at the door in 2 minutes” Charles said as he dashed down the stairs.

The kids looked at their mother, who shrugged equally as confused. But they did what they were told and met Charles at the door. They followed him out the door where a taxi was waiting. As they all piled in, Lanya asked Charles again where they were going, but Charles wouldn’t say a word as the taxi drove off.

An hour later they arrived in front of a beautiful vista in Westerberg. Lanya looked around and saw there was a car in the driveway…someone was home. “Charles we are hardly dressed for house visits!” she shrieked. Charles smiled as he got out of the taxi and motioned for them to follow him towards the house.

“Dad who lives here? This house is beautiful!” Madison said taking in all she could of the house.

“Oh, a really nice family. Husband, wife, a few kids” Charles said as he punched the code in at the gate.

“Well are they expecting us? We can’t just go in unannounced!” Lanya said.

“Oh we’re expected, babe. How else would I have the code?” Charles smirked. That’s true, she thought and followed him towards the door. The house was truly beautiful, this was exactly the type of house Lanya wanted to look for when they moved to Westerberg.

“So, what was the name of the family that lives here again? Friends of yours?” Lanya asked.

Charles faced his family, took Lanya’s hand in his and said “The Mason’s” as he pushed a set of keys into Lanya’s hand. She gasped and almost fainted while crying hysterically.

“Dad, did you just say the Mason’s as in our relatives?” Bentley asked.

Charles had the biggest smile on his face as he said, “Kids, welcome to your new home!”

The kids started cheer as they ran past their weeping mom to check out the house.

Top floor: Master bedroom with ensuite bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a nursery/kid’s bedroom.

Main floor: Open floor plan with Living room, kitchen and dining room; full bathroom, exercise room and a special room (top left).

There is a pool and playground in the back (not shown here) and a pool with bar and hot tub in the front.

As Bentley and Madison walked around the house “ooo-ing” and “ah-ing”, Charles took Lanya by the hand and led her to a room that was almost tucked away out of sight. “What’s this room Charles?” she asked, amazed by the state of the art decor.

“This is your office, honey” he said kissing her lightly on the cheek. “I’ve already accomplished all my dreams and I know having kids put a bit of a hold on your accomplishing yours, so I designed this office just for you, so you could have a quiet place to work on your writing.”

Tears were already falling from her eyes as she barely whispered “it’s beautiful” and squeezed Charles’ hand.

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A week flew by in their new house and the kids were loving it! Bentley and Madison especially loved spending all day lounging in the pool. One day while splashing around in the pool, Bentley swam over to Madison. “Hey Maddie, they’re having an all ages party at that club downtown. You wanna go?”

Madison, usually not the one to go to a bar or club said “Bent, I don’t know about that. I mean downtown Westerberg is so creepy at night and we’re still new in this town. We don’t really know anyone!”

Bentley splashed her and said “Come on Maddie! This is how we’ll meet people! Besides, a few guys I met at school are going and they’re bringing people so you’ll probably know at least one person. So what do you say?”

Feeling as if she had already lost this battle she agreed. But for some reason, she felt like she had made the wrong choice.

Less than a few hours later, Bentley and Madison had gotten ready and told their parents they were catching a flick downtown. Lanya and Charles would have never let them go to a club, even if it was for an all ages event. When they got to the club, Madison was shocked to see that there were hardly any teens there! Apart from a few boys that Bentley knew (and ditched her to hang out with), everyone seemed to be late 20s, even 30s. Very uncomfortable with the situation, but not wanting to leave her brother, Madison decided to suck it up and wait by the bar until the end of the night.

“Ahem, excuse me miss. You’re in my seat.” Madison turned around to tell the guy, there were plenty of chairs to go around, when she saw the most dreamiest pair of brown eyes attached to an even dreamier man.

Flustered, she muttered, “I’m sorry?” The man managed to hold his stern look for a few seconds, before bursting out laughing. Madison was more than confused.

"I’m kidding! Hi, I’m Victor Chasm,” the man said extending his hand. Madison slowly slipped out of her chair and extended hers as well. “I’m Madison Mason, nice to meet you.”

“Mason eh? Any relation to that magician that just moved into town? Charles I think his name is?”

“Yea, actually, he’s my father” she blushed.

“Really?!” Victor gushed, “I’ve seen his performance on TV before; he’s pretty good!”

“Yea, he’s amazing!” Madison said, starting to warm up to this seemingly harmless stranger.

After chatting for almost an hour, Victor asked Madison to go outside with him while he called a cab for himself. Madison looked over to see her brother still at the bubble bar and decided it would be ok.

Once outside, Victor slipped his arms around Madison. She jumped, arms flying high in the air. “Are you ok?” Victor asked, not releasing his grip on her.

“I’m sorry Victor, it’s just, I don’t really know you…enough for you to have your arms around me that is.”

Victor growled, “You don’t need to know me sweetie, but you’re going to give me what I want” and with that he grabbed her arm, twisting it hard. Madison screamed, but to no avail…there was no one outside to hear her desperate cries.

Madison tried to run, but it was no use. Victor pulled her back by the arm. “What do you want!?!” she screamed.

“I want you to shut up, and perhaps you wont get hurt…much” Victor grunted, throwing her to the ground.

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Meanwhile…

It’s Aubree’s birthday!!!

Where are Bentley and Madison? Charles thought to himself. He specifically remembered telling them to be home before 8 for Aubree’s birthday and it wasn’t like them to stay out without telling either himself or Lanya what time to expect them. Either way, the show had to go on! Charles bent Aubree low over the cake and helped her blow out the candles.

It’s clear that as she continued to age, Aubree was the spitting image of her father. Except she has a perfect blend of her mother and her father’s skintone. As soon as her birthday celebrations were finished she rushed upstairs to try on the new outfit her aunt Lindy (who decided to move to Westerberg as well!!) bought for her. She also tried on the lip balm her mom finally let her have. She was a real beauty!

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“Please if you want money, I can get it, I swear! Just don’t kill me please!”

“Listen you little bitch, just shut up!” he yelled punching her right in the face. Madison just saw him reaching for his belt buckle, before she passed out.

When she finally came to, she was propped up against a dumpster. Her pants were still undone…she began to fear the worst. She noticed Victor was standing beside and put her head down. She didn’t want to see him or have him see her crying. Victor was hardly interested in her tears, “Thanks for that! If you tell anyone, I will come to your house and murder everyone in your family while you watch.” Madison started to cry. Victor laughed, “Oh by the way, I hate magicians” he said, spitting on her head before walking away laughing. Madison waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps before getting up and running as far away as she could from the club.

It was nearly 5am before Madison finally got home. And Lanya was up the whole night waiting by the front window. She had already sent Charles out to look for her with the police along with Bentley, who told them everywhere they had went. How mad she was when Bentley arrived home without his sister was nothing compared to how mad she was now to see Madison casually hanging out in the front yard, as if she had not caused the whole house alarm. Lanya angrily walked towards her daughter trying her best not to lose it.

“Madison Mason, turn around right now! How dare you come home at this time of night..of morning! Do you know how worried we’ve been!” Madison didn’t answer. This only riled Lanya up more, “Turn around I said! NOW!”

“Mom, no, l-leave me a-alone,” Madison sniffled. Lanya wasn’t accepting that, she reached out and turned Madison around by her shoulder.

What she saw was enough to make her heart stop. Madison’s face was puffy, her lip was swollen and her mascara was running down her cheeks, an indicator that something was majorly wrong with her baby. Her clothes were ripped, as if someone tried to tear them off. “Oh no, Maddie, sweetie, what happened? Tell me….please tell me!” Lanya pleaded crying. Madison wouldn’t say a word.

Lanya begged and pleaded with Madison some more, but when she realized Madison wasn’t going to say anything, she knew she had to give up or risk pushing Madison away even more. She took out her phone and called Charles, “Hey honey, she’s here…umm no…you might want to bring that police officer back.”

Generation 1- Chapter 6

The morning after their night of passion was one of confusion for Charles. What did I just do?!?! And why do I want to do it again? He took a quick glance at Lanya, who was gently snoring, and turned to face the window. I love this woman, but we’ve had a very volatile past. I just don’t want to ruin the progress that both of us have made in our sobriety. What the hell should I do now? Charles searched around the room for paper and a pen and jotted down a quick note saying he would be back later. He then kissed Lanya on the head and left.

“WOOOOAHHHH!!! Mads, please tell me you just saw Dad leaving the house too! Did he sleep over? Where did he sleep?”

Madison looked at her brother and chuckled, “Bent, you’re not a kid anymore. Where do you think he slept?”

Bentley scratched his head as he thought about it. “Oh…OH…EWWWWW!”

Madison let out a laugh, “This is why I love you little brother. I just don’t know how I feel about our parents seeing each other again.”

“Why not? I think it would be great!” Madison didn’t answer. Of course Bentley would have been too young to remember the constant late night arguing and alcohol abuse.

Over the next few weeks, Charles was sleeping over 4 nights out of the week. Bentley and Aubree were over the moon to have their dad around, however Madison just couldn’t bring herself to join on the excitement. “What if mom relapses? What if they start arguing again? I just can’t live through that again!” she exclaimed one night while her Bentley and Toby were doing homework.

“Mads, chill man…they’re adults. They can think and act for themselves,” Toby said.

“Yea and we’re supposed to be moving and I bet Mom will just be so depressed when this fling she has going on is over with. I love my parents, but I just don’t see how this will work when we’re in Westerberg,” she sighed.

“Maybe we should talk to them,” Bentley said.

“Yea and say, what? ‘Hey us kids just wanna make sure you guys don’t become winos again’ “ Madison said sarcastically.

Meanwhile outside…

“Charles, what’s going on between us? We’re going to have to tell the kids eventually…I’m sure they already know.”

Charles shrugged, “Lane, I honestly don’t know how to explain this. At first I truly hated you, I wanted you dead…or at least dead to me. But seeing you that night at the party changed everything.”

Lanya turned her head, “Well you do know we’re moving to Westerberg right?”

Charles smiled, “Yea the kids told me a while ago. I want to come with you guys.”

“Charles, I’m just worried that everything that went wrong is going to go wrong again, if we tried this. We’re both recovering addicts, is it really such a good idea for us to put ourselves in the same situation again? Isn’t it too soon?”

“Lane, I believe things happen for a reason. We were meant to reconnect at this moment in time. But I understand what you’re saying, that’s why I got this.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Lanya.

“’Westerberg Oasis Centre, Home to all your recovery needs’. What is this Charles? I’ve already went to rehab,” she said while still looking through the pamphlet.

“I got my sponsor to help me find us a good therapist in Westerberg. Her name is Dana Deville and she’s been practicing for over 10 years. Westerberg Oasis also has an amazing outpatient program and they’re saving us 2 spots for whenever we arrive. I just want to show you that I’ve changed Laney and I will support you in any way that I can with recovery. What do you say?

Lanya smiled and said, “Well it looks great! But I need to think about this some more ok?”

That night Charles stayed over for dinner, which was not uncommon lately. However, Madison felt it was finally time to say something to her parents. “Mom, Dad, I’m going to be blunt, what is going between you two? Like are you guys together or what?”

Lanya almost choked on her food. Charles swallowed his last bite hard and stared blankly ahead. “Maddie, your mom and I will always love each other, but we’ve been through alot. These things take time to figure out.”

“But you’re moving to Westerberg with us, right Dad?” Bentley chimed in and Madison nodded excitedly.

“Ok guys, calm down! I love your father and he loves me, and we’re just taking it slow. We’re kinda getting to know each other again. Don’t you two think it’s too soon for him to move back in?”

Madison and Bentley started laughing, “Mom you guys were already married and you have 3 kids…I think you know each other well enough,” Madison roared nearly crying from laughter.

“You know they’re right Laney” Charles whispered. “I know” Lanya said in disbelief.

“Ok kids, quiet down. I want to say something to your mother while you’re all here.”

“Laney would you come over here please” Charles said as he held out his hand to guide Lanya over to a more open area. Still holding her hands in his he said, “I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. I have put this family through a lot these past few years and I am more than grateful to you for not only forgiving me, but inviting me to share in your presence again. I promise you that if you let me, I will prove to you that I can be the same man that you fell in love with the first time.”

As Charles bent down on one knee the whole room went silent, until Madison let out a squeal of excitement. “Laney, would you do me the honor of being my wife…again?” Lanya was equally shocked, and took a moment to think before speaking. Should I say yes? Is this right for me and the kids? He’s changed, I just know he has. “Yes Charles, I will marry you again!” Bentley and Madison jumped up and down with delight, even Aubree started to clap.

Charles and Lanya opted for a private ceremony, right then and there, with their children as witnesses. They said their vows to each other and slipped on their old wedding bands. It was a very meaningful ceremony, that encompassed their entire life journey together as they finally opened up to their kids about what they had been through, By the end of it, Madison and Bentley were happy their parents were back together and even more excited to move to Westerberg and start a new life as a family again.

Extra photos!!!!

“MOMMY, DADDY STOP KISSING AND PICK ME UP!!!”

The happy couple

Reading the little princess to sleep.

Madison at the spa. Looking beautiful!!!

Madison’s prom picture! How she got into her everyday clothes while at prom is a mystery lol! She was voted Prom Queen!!!

Generation 1- Chapter 5

When Lanya arrived home, she was faced with a sulking Madison in the garage. “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Aren’t you happy I’m home? I’ve missed you so much!” Madison ran to her mother and grabbed her in a tight hug, not letting go. “Mom, I’ve missed you too! But I just can’t do this anymore! I can’t be the mom anymore! I can’t worry about if you’re gonna come home drunk or even come home at all! It’s just not fair mom!” she screamed out while uncontrollably sobbing. “I want to believe you’ve changed and you’re better, but I can’t!” Lanya hugged her daughter back, with silent tears falling from her own eyes, “Baby, I messed up…I know I did. And I completely understand that you cannot trust me right now. I wouldn’t trust myself either if I were you. But all I can do is ask you to give me one last chance to be the mom you haven’t had for the longest while. Can you do that?” Madison looked up and nodded, wanting to believe everything her mom was saying.

Adjusting to life as a mom again was proving to be a fun but overwhelming experience for Lanya. But with the support of the outpatient treatment center she was going to, her family and what little friends she had left, she was prepared for every challenge she was faced with. One of those challenges was teaching Aubree all the necessary skills she needed to learn in order to become more independent. When her youngest daughter finally took her first few steps all alone, she was reminded again why being sober was the best gift she could give her family.

“Mom, I’m so happy you’re home! But you seem so sad…what’s going on?” Bentley asked his mom. Lanya knew she would eventually have to tell her children what was on her mind. Her therapist told her it was important to live a transparent lifestyle, especially when her family was learning to trust her again. "Mom…you’re not…you know…doing that stuff again, are you?” Madison said looking at her mom. “No, Maddie…ok guys, I know I’ve been acting a bit weird since I got back and I promise you I’m not back on drugs or alcohol or whatever was ruining our lives before. But my recovery since I’ve gotten back has been increasingly tough for me, because this neighbourhood just reminds me of the bad life I once lived. Billy, who you both should know was my dealer and boyfriend, lives just down the street from here and seeing him everyday is taking a toll on me mentally. So, if it’s alright with you two, I would like for us all to move to Westerberg, the next town over. I understand if you don’t want to move, but I can’t remain sober if I’m faced with my old life everywhere I turn.” After speaking she bent her head down, not wanting to look her children in the face. “Mom, we love you and we really love this house and this neighbourhood…but we love your wellbeing more. If you want to move, we’re gonna support you and come with you!” Madison said patting her mom on the arm before adding, “As long as we move after prom!”

After how well her conversation had went with Bentley and Madison the other night, Lanya decided to throw a little joint celebration for Madison’s prom and Bentley’s birthday. She called all of their closest friends and family and even extended an invite to Charles. Well, her therapist did tell her to start working on mending her past relationships, so she figured this event would be a good time to start.

Charles was the first person to arrive, at the exact same time that Kyle did to pick Madison up for their prom. Charles immediately started sizing Kyle up, asking him questions about his intentions with Madison. Just as Charles was about to slip in a threat, Madison walked out the door, gave her dad a kiss and pulled Kyle towards the limo.

“What’s with your dad, Mad?!?!”

“Well after what we’ve been through Kyle, he needs to be protective” she smiled as they climbed into the limo.

As Charles walked in, Lanya met him at the door. “Laney, oh my gosh you look amazing! How have you been?” Seeing Charles should have given Lanya a wave of hateful feelings, but at that moment she felt a strange fluttering in her heart, what was this she was feeling? “Anyways, I heard you’ve been back for a bit, I want you to know I’m really proud of you,” Charles continued, not noticing Lanya staring at him strangely. “Charles, I’m glad you could come, umm…would you excuse me for a bit. I think I should get Bentley’s cake set up.” Lanya walked away from Charles with the strange fluttering moving from her heart to her throat.

As soon as Lanya finished lighting the candles, Bentley flew right over, ready to blow them out. He was so excited that finally he would be going to high school and he just wanted to get this whole process over with. As he took a second to make a wish, he looked over at his parents and thought, I wish my dad would live with us again and they could learn to love each other. And with that he blew the candles out.

Bentley grew up to be such a handsome young man. He inherited the Athletic trait, but still couldn’t think of a what he wanted to do with his life.

While everyone rushed up to get a slice a cake, Lanya couldn’t help but look over at the bar. Familiar feelings started to creep up and she knew for the sake of her sobriety, she needed to get out of there. “Charles, would you mind stepping outside with me for a bit?” Charles looked shocked that she even asked, “Sure, Lane. I could use some fresh air myself.”

As they stepped outside, Charles reached to take Lanya’s hand in his, “Lane, I’ve missed you so much! I’m sorry for everything I’ve done, the way I’ve treated you, the fact that I royally screwed this family up!” Tears were flowing out of Charles’ eyes before he could will himself to stop them. Lanya looked up at her ex-husband and could feel nothing but sadness for the man she once loved. “Charles, it’s..it’s not just your fault…I chose to go this path, you didn’t force me.”

“Yea but I’m the reason you started drinking. I was a drunk myself; I was living the fast life back then, but not anymore! Actually you inspired me to go to rehab myself Lane!”

“Really?” Lanya said looking at Charles admiringly.

“Of course! You don’t know how much that fight and seeing how it affected you, affected me. You are honestly my soulmate and when I saw you down, a part of me went down as well.”

“What about Stardust?” Lanya said nonchalantly.

Charles smiled, “What about her? She found another young star to leech off of. I love you Laney; I will always love you.”

Charles grabbed her into a tight hug. Lanya was more than shocked, but all she could do was nuzzle her head onto his shoulder.

“I love you too Charles. I always will” Lanya said, as the overwhelming urge to kiss the man she loved overcame her. “Charles, why don’t you stay over tonight? I’m sure the kids would love it!” Charles silently nodded as she took his hand in hers and led him upstairs.

Fiery passion was burning throughout them both as they climbed into bed and…well…they both went to sleep happy that night

Generation 1- Chapter 4

Madison was barely at the stairs with Aubree when she heard her mom’s key in the door. She rushed up the stairs to put Aubree in her crib and to make sure that she at least looked decent and not tipsy, which was how she felt.

When she finally made her way downstairs, she noticed her mom collapsed on the ground. What the hell is wrong with her now? she thought to herself and she made sure her mom was at least breathing. After waiting a while she finally said, “Mom, get up.”

“Baby! Hey!” Lanya slurred. She had clearly been drinking for hours before getting home. Great, here we go again, Madison thought as her mother clumsily gave her a hug. “I got you something baby! I hope you like it!” she shoved a gift box in Madison’s hands and beamed as she watched her open it. Madison was hesitant to open the box, but knew she should in order to make her mom happy. When she opened the box, she realized her mom had given her a bottle of 40 proof vodka. “Umm thanks mom! I’ll just put it on the bar shelf…with the other bottles". She hurried over to the bar and put the bottle of vodka on the shelf. She knew that it would be gone within days anyways.

“Oh baby! I had the most amazing time! I’m not exactly sure where I went. Billy tried to make it a surprise for me. But anyways, in the mornings we would go jogging and Billy is just the most amazing man ever! You have to meet him!” Madison wasn’t hardly listening to her mother, but when she finally looked up at her she noticed her mom had a big bruise by her eye. “Mom what happened to your eye? It looks like you’ve been punched or something!” Lanya touched her face and turned away, “Oh baby that’s nothing. I…ummm…I fell…yea! I fell! You know I’m a clutz.” Madison didn’t believe her mom, but she knew that it was time for the big talk she had been dreading since her mom’s downward spiral begun.

The next morning she called her aunt Lindy to discuss how to go about talking to her mom. “Maddie, I’ve been waiting for this day! We all know your mother has taken a turn for the worse with her drug and alcohol problems. I never thought it would get this bad. Anyways, I have already called the Starlight Springs Rehab Centre. They have a spot available for your mom, whenever she decides to go in. I say you just sit her down with Bentley as well and just tell her how you feel. It is important for her to know that she is still loved and that is why you’re doing this. I’ve just sent you a voice message to share with your mom at the meeting. Let me know how it goes kiddo!” And with that, Madison had the confidence she needed to finally sit down with her mom. She just prayed everything went well.

“Gosh Maddie I’m so hungry! What exactly is so important that you need to interrupt my eating time?” Madison took a deep breath and searched for the words to say, “Umm, Mom, Bentley, Aubree and I really love you…” Lanya smiled, “And I love you all too my dear but whats the point?” “Well mom we’re worried about you. All you do is drink and sleep and we don’t want to see you die!” At this point Madison and Bentley both started heavily crying and Lanya grimaced, “What else is there Maddie? Huh?!? You don’t like my drinking? Well that’s just too damn bad!” Madison couldn’t speak anymore, she pushed the play button for the voice message her aunt had sent for the meeting. Their sobs were interrupted with this message: "Laney, I love you but you are taking this habit of yours too far! The kids are worried, I’m worried, hell even Charles is worried and life for you just can’t continue like this. I can’t believe you are putting your children through the same thing we both despised as kids. I get that Charles’ drinking and abuse towards you was the catalyst but Laney it’s up to you to be strong for your family. I have a spot for you at Starlight Shores Rehab Centre and it is imperative that you go for the sake of your life and your family’s lives. If you choose not to go, I will have no choice but to take the kids from you. I have already contacted the police and they are ready to remove them if need be. Please Laney, take control of your life again! I love you!” Lanya started crying as the voice message stopped. All 3 were crying, however the only audible words spoken were the following: Alright I’ll go!

After giving her children each a hug and a kiss, Lanya picked up her suitcase and hopped into the cab that was waiting for her. This was such a bittersweet moment for her, but she knew that it was best for her and for her family.

While Lanya was away at rehab, Madison did her best to keep the house in order. She cooked daily, cleaned and made sure Bentley and his friends did their homework before watching TV or playing outside.

Her favorite thing to do was read Aubree a story before bed time. She loved spending time with her baby sister. She is just the cutest thing!

One night while she was mailing off some bills, she heard someone call her name. When she turned around it was Kyle Platt, her high school crush! “Hey Kyle, what are you doing here?”  Kyle looked shy for a second and said, “Hey Mad, you got a sec? I need to talk to you about something.” Madison’s heart did somersaults as she said, “Sure come inside. I’ll get us some drinks.”

She finished setting the drinks down on the bar top and went to turn around when Kyle pulled her into a hug. “Kyle, what are you doing?” she flirtatiously questioned. “Mad, look, I can’t lie to you. I really think I like you and ever since your party I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I was just wondering if you would go to the prom with me?” Madison’s heart went from doing somersaults to trying to bungee jump out of her throat, “You want to go with me? I don’t know what to say Kyle…of course, of course I’ll go with you!” Kyle was leaning in for a kiss, when all of a sudden Madison’s phone started ringing. She looked at the call display, the number for the rehab centre flashed across the screen. “Kyle would you excuse me for a second?” she said as she moved towards the kitchen. “Actually, it’s getting late so I better be going. See you at school tomorrow Mad!” Kyle gave her a hug and dashed out the door. Madison quickly answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey Maddie! It’s Mom, how are you? I’ve missed you all so much, but this was the best decision I could have made for me…for us. Anyways, I have good news!” Madison hesitated in answering. She wasn’t sure how to read this conversation with her mom, especially considering her mom was usually high or drunk whenever they would speak. “What’s the good news mom?” Lanya took a deep breath and said, “I’ve successfully completed my rehab program. I’m coming home tomorrow!”