Chapter Nine

*Madison's POV*

I went inside my house and shut the door. Immediately I was hit with the smell of vomit and burnt food.

I looked into the living room and saw my dad standing in front of the TV, banging on it. "Come on you piece of trash!" He yelled.

I shook my head. The TV was off. He was drunk. I went into the kitchen and saw my mom sitting at the table, her head in her hands and a glass of Jack in front of her. I looked at the stove and saw a burned piece of bread in a pan, the flame still on.

"Mom, you're gonna burn the house down." I said, going and turning the stove off and throwing the burnt piece of bread in the garbage. I took the pan to the sink and saw the vomit.

"Madison, come here please." Mom said, looking at me.

I shook my head. "No." I walked past her and she grabbed my arm. I looked at her and saw that she was crying.

"Maddy, please take this bottle from me." She said, handing me the bottle. "Take it away." She whispered.

I frowned. "What?" I took the bottle.

"I can't drink anymore. Take it away." she said, standing up. "Take it all away." Her eyes filled with tears. "Run away, baby." She grabbed my shoulders and got close to my face. Her breath smelled so foul it made me sick to my stomach. "Leave now." She shook me. "Run away from here. Away from him." She whispered, motioning to the living room.

I gave her a dirty look and pulled away, gripping the bottle. "What are you talking about? You're drunk again, Mom."

She stumbled towards me. "Maddy, run away."

I rolled my eyes and went upstairs, locking my door and stashing the bottle in my closet.

I looked out my window and saw Austin's light was on. I could see him sitting on his bed, looking through a Sports Illustrated magazine.

I looked away and went to my bed, laying down and blinking away tears. I hated my parents for being so selfish. They always put drinking before me. Dad was always bad. But Mom used to be close to me. She used to care. Now they just drank and yelled at each other.

I laid there for awhile, thinking about my parents. Then I saw a light flash on my wall, three times. I frowned and was really confused until I remembered what Austin said about the flash lights.

I jumped up and went to my window, smiling when I saw Austin standing on his roof.

"Can I come over?" He said.

I nodded. "Yeah. Be careful."

He climbed over and stepped through the window. "Hey."

I closed the window. "Hey."

He went and sat on my bed. "Your eyes are really red. Have you been crying?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I'm okay."

He patted the spot next to him. "Talk to me."

I sighed. "Just my parents." I sat down next to him. "I hate them."

"What happened?" He asked.

There was a loud crash downstairs, and then my dad yelled at my mom. "Shut up, bitch! I'll snap you like a twig!"

My face turned red and I shook my head. "That's what happened." I sighed. "They drink. And then they fight. Always. Everyday."

Austin sighed. "I'm sorry." He looked at me. "Are you a huggy person? Or are you the person who prefers to be left alone."

I forced a smile and felt tears coming. "I would really love a hug." I said, my voice cracking.

He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me, not letting go for a long time. It was nice. My parents never hugged me. It was nice to have someone hold me and comfort me. I started crying. He rubbed my back and soothed me, and held me. He just held me tight.

"Mads, you can talk to me about anything. We're best friends, remember?" He said.

I chuckled and pulled away, wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath. I opened my mouth to say something when I heard my Dad stomping up the stairs.

"Madison! Where are you!" He yelled.

My stomach twisted. "Oh god." I whispered.

He banged on my door. "Madison! Open the door!"

I shook my head and looked at Austin. "You have to go."

He frowned. "Are you gonna be okay?"

I shook my head and started to panic. "You have to go. He'll hurt you." I grabbed his shirt and pulled him up and pushed him towards the window. "Please!" I whispered.

The door handle jiggled and Dad banged again. "Come on, Madison! You knew this was coming." He burped and then I heard him throw up. "Come on!"

Austin climbed out the window. "Come on, Mads. You're coming with me. Just come sleep over. Don't be around this." He held his hand out. "Pack a bag a stay the night."

I looked at the door. I knew that if I didn't answer he'd go away, but he sounded drunker than usual. "Okay." I said, grabbing my backpack and stuffing some clothes inside and climbing out the window with Austin.

When we got in his room he hugged me again. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

I nodded and wiped my eyes. "Yeah." I whispered.

Austin nodded and softly walked to his bedroom door, opening it and peeking out, then closing it and coming back to me. "Okay, we have to be quiet. My parents are asleep."

He went to his dressed and grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. "You can wear this to sleep in." He turned his back to me.

I looked at him. He was being so nice. "Austin?"

"Hm?" He mumbled, still not looking at me.

"Thank you." I whispered.

He turned and smiled at me. "You're welcome." He nodded at me. "Now change. Get comfy." He turned away.

I changed into his clothes and told him I was done.

He turned and smiled. "You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

I sat down and frowned. "What if your mom comes in?"

He shook his head. "My door is locked. She wouldn't come in anyways. She leaves for work pretty early."

I nodded. "Austin?"

He looked at me. "Yeah?"

I blushed. "I don't want this to be weird, but will you sleep with me?"

He smiled. "That's not weird." He sat next to me and held my hand. "Everything's okay, Mads. Relax."

I nodded and smiled. "Okay." I laid down closer to the wall and he laid down next to me, pulling the blanket over us. "Night, Mads."

"Goodnight."