Happy Holiday to all the US readers hope you all had a safe and happy weekend.
Chapter 7
"I feel like I'm fucking sixteen again" Maddie said, sitting next to Happy on the curb outside of Opie's house and smoking. It was going on two o'clock in the morning and her mother and the kids had long since been asleep. Happy had snuck into the bed that had become hers since Opie left, and they had fucked quietly, trying not to wake anybody.
"Won't be long till Opie's back"
"I know but between a full house here and you being nomad, and still seeing your ma, I'm getting tired of trying to find time to be with you. I miss waking up to you, having breakfast and going back to bed. I miss your ma too, how's she doing?"
"Same, docs got her on some new meds but they're costing a fucking fortune. Might have to patch in somewhere and earn some steady money."
"But if you patch in, you won't have the freedom to see your mom. I thought that's why you went nomad in the first place, so you wouldn't be tied down and have to attend church."
"Yeah, but what's the point if I can't pay for her meds?"
"You should come back inside, stay the night" she said, leaning on his shoulder.
"You know I can't. If your ma catches me, she tells your pop. With your ma here and me in Cali for a couple a days, why don't we take off and spend some time in Bakersfield. I'm sure you could use a break."
"I can't. If I go back home, I ain't coming back here, and I promised Op I wouldn't leave the kids alone with my ma for too long. She'll have Kenny thinking he has to be the president and Ellie that she has to get married to a doctor as soon as she turns eighteen and start popping out babies."
"Ellie, Kenny, come on it's time to go!" Maddie shouted from where she was standing in the kitchen, keys in hand.
"You taking them to school?" Mary asked from where she stood doing the breakfast dishes.
"Yep, then I'm headed to the grocery to stock up on stuff to feed the little monsters."
"You never fail to amaze me. First you're up before noon, then you're taking the kids, and going to the store."
"Jesus, you're acting like I never help out. I've been taking care of all the afternoon shit, picking up the kids and helping them with homework."
"I'm not saying you're not helping all, I'm saying you could do a little more."
Maddie left the house thinking that nothing was ever good enough for her mom. It wasn't ever what she had done, it was what she hadn't done. Opie had been gone for a month now but she'd received a phone call telling her that he'd be home by the weekend, then it would be bye bye Charming and welcome home Bakersfield. Back to her life: no more shuffling kids around, dealing with her mother, no more sneaking around with Happy, it'd be back to her simple life.
She dropped the kids off, wishing them a great day and promising she'd be back to pick them up. She headed out of Charming, following the directions she had hastily scribbled down after receiving an early morning call. She drove past the border of Lodi and turned into the parking lot, double-checking the address. Heading up the stairs, she knocked on the door that read 23, smiling when the door opened and she was pulled inside. Laughing as he wrapped her in his arms and began pulling at her clothes, she managed to gasp "in a hurry much?" between kisses.
"How much time you got?" he growled in her ear.
"Just dropped the kids off and don't have to pick them up till three. Ma thinks I'm at the store so I can push that out an hour or two" she said as she walked to the bed, disrobing as she went. He'd been gone for the last week. She hadn't been sure when he'd be back but his call this morning had her jumping out of bed in a rush to get to the hotel room he'd rented outside of town. Here they could enjoy each other's company to the fullest: no being quiet for fear of waking anyone else or quickies in his dorm when no one was looking. Afterwards they sat naked in bed, smoking and sexually sedated.
"You hear from Opie?"
"Yeah he'll be home in a couple of days. My ma is going to stay on for a while, and I'm headed back to Bakersfield. You coming with?"
"Yeah, gotta week. My ma will be glad you're coming back - says I don't do the voices right when I read."
"That's not it, you don't read her secret porn stash to her." Ellie laughed and poked him in the side. "She only has you thinking she wants to hear Little Women." She stubbed out her smoke in the ashtray by the bed.
"Don't tell me that shit." Happy said, wrinkling his brow in disgust.
"Yep," Ellie said, snorting with laughter, "your sweet little ma has a stash of trashy novels." She stopped teasing him momentarily when she saw that Happy wasn't grinning back. Like some kind of jungle cat, he suddenly pounced on her, hovering above.
"You're gonna get it Maddie."
"Oh, yeah what are you going to give me?"
"You got the time baby girl?"
"Yes," she whimpered as he rested himself between her thighs. "Ma thinks I'm an idiot so shopping should take four hours."
"You ain't an idiot Mad, you're fuckin perfect."
Maddie sprinted to the front door, flung it open and ran outside when she heard the bike pull up outside. Running to Opie as he dismounted his bike, he caught her in a bear hug, swinging her around. "Thank god you're back" she sighed as he put her back down.
"You miss me or something Maddie?" he asked.
"No, I'm tired of dealing with your mother on my own."
"She been that bad?"
"Her usual, I think I've had my fill of her till Christmas."
"When you leaving?"
"As soon as I pick up the kids and take them for pizza. Meeting Happy here afterwards he'll follow me back to Bakersfield. You want to come to dinner with us? The kids will be happy to see you."
"Nah, gotta get to the clubhouse, sort shit out there."
He followed her inside to say hello to Mary and then took off on his bike again. "Ma, I'm off to get the kids - taking them to dinner then I'm off" she called out, dropping her packed bags by the front door as she left.
She spent the evening eating pizza and playing skeeball with Ellie and Kenny. As she pulled into the driveway, she had two tired kids in the back and a biker waiting on his bike for her. The house was all-dark as she fished out her keys. Opening the door and flipping on the light, she curiously stepped into the house with the kids and Happy following behind. "Ma?" she called out but got no response. Walking into the darkened kitchen, she flipped on the light, seeing the note on the table she grabbed it and read it.
"Fucking cunt."
"Aunt Maddie you said a bad word" Ellie spoke up from behind her.
"Kids go brush your teeth and hop into bed."
"Fucking cunt left" she said to Happy, showing him the dear John letter her mother had left.
Happy was already on the phone dialling Opie's number. "He ain't answering" he ground out. "Probably still at the clubhouse."
"I gotta go get him. Will you watch the kids?"
"Yeah, but baby girl we got to get on the road soon. Ma's meeting with the doctor in the morning."
"I know, just give me 20 minutes."
Speeding to the clubhouse, she parked out front and walked towards the loud music. She found Opie sitting at the bar with Jax. "She fucking left Op" she said, handing him the note.
"Well not surprised, that's her MO."
"You need to come home, I have to hit the road."
"You're gonna leave still?"
"Opie, I've been here for over a month. I got to get back home."
"Maddie, I need you, you can't bail on me too. I just got back today, give me some time to settle in. Please Mad, the kids and I need you, a week tops. Don't bail on me too."
She hated the desperation in his voice, hated that he thought she was going to run like her mother - even though that's what she wanted to do, but his plea had gotten to her. "Fine, a week" she said the defeat in her voice clear. "Are you coming home?"
"Yeah, of course. I'll be home right after I finish this beer."
She drove back to Opie's house slower, already regretting her decision when she went inside and found Happy sitting on the couch. She looked at her bags that were still by the door, mocking her. Sighing, she sat down next to him her hands running down her face.
"Op coming?"
"No," Maddie said, another sigh escaped her and she shook her head. "He asked me to stay another week."
"Baby girl I have to go, my ma."
"I know, I know." Tears welled in her eyes as she looked over at him.
"Shit, Maddie don't cry, I'll be back."
"I know, but you only have a week and then you're on to Arizona. And who knows when you'll be done there or where Quinn will send you next. I'll still be stuck here in Charming, it's got ahold of me now and isn't going to let to go."
He reached out to her, cupping his hand under her chin. "Chin up Maddie, you'll be here a week then back to Bakersfield. I'll come as soon as I'm done in Arizona. Quinn won't leave me out on the road too long, he knows the deal with my ma."
Happy had been wrong, here it was two weeks later and Opie was no longer coming home, opting for the sanctity of the clubhouse. The kids kept asking when he'd be home again and she had been stuck on kid duty the entire time, waiting patiently for Opie to step up. Meanwhile Happy was still stuck in Arizona. Today was finally the day she was leaving, her bags were packed at the door waiting. Opie was picking up the kids and bringing them home where she would say her goodbyes. At least that was the plan they'd talked about… until her phone rang.
She pulled up to TM, shuffling the kids out of her car she walked them into Gemma's office. Gemma looked up from the stack of invoices. "Hey baby, hi kids."
"Gem can you watch them for a minute? I need to talk to Op."
"Sure" Gemma said, nodding at her sympathetically. She knew Maddie was at the end of her rope with Opie, Maddie had made several phone calls to her looking for him.
She found Opie in the garage. She stood up from the car he was working on when she walked over to him. "Hey Maddie, what are you doing here?"
"Did you forget what day it is Op? Kids half day at school, your were supposed to pick them up."
"Shit, was that today?"
"Yep."
"Where are they?"
"Don't worry I picked them up when the school called, they're in Gemma's office. Jesus Opie, I told you like a hundred times. They were sitting outside of the school - the only kids left, the only kids whose parent forgot about them."
"I'll take them out for ice cream later."
"That's not going to cut it Op, not this time. You need to get your shit together here."
"What do you want from me here Maddie? I'm doing the best I can."
"No you're not, you're not even home half the time. It's been me taking care of them, taking care of the house. You haven't picked up any of the slack except for bringing a pizza home maybe once. I can't do it anymore, it's not about me helping you it's about me replacing you. I'm not their mother and I'm not their father, they need you Opie. I can't stay here anymore, my bags are in my car I'm leaving."
"You're going to fucking leave me Maddie? When I need you the most."
"You don't need me, you're using me to avoid facing reality. Donna's dead Opie and you're going to have to deal with that sometime. Your kids are still here and you're going to have to deal with that now. You're going to have to learn how to be a father to them again, and me staying isn't going to make that happen."
"Fine fucking go then, just like Ma - turn tail and run."
"I not like Ma! I'm not leaving because I can't do it, I'm leaving to give you that push in the right direction."
"You're a real fucking bitch."
"Sorry Opie" Maddie said, walking back towards the office to say her goodbyes to the kids.
"But if you leave Aunt Maddie, who'll take care of us?" Kenny was the first to ask when she had embraced them.
"Your dad will baby."
"But he doesn't know how to"
"Oh, Ellie yes he does, he just doesn't know it yet. You're going to have to help him, both of you. You're going to have to have some patience with him. Aunt Maddie is just a phone call away, and Grandma Gemma is here too." Hugging them one last time, Maddie nodded to Gemma on her way out.
She would never be able to describe the heartache she felt leaving them even though she knew it was the right decision, leaving her brother alone to fend for himself. Not just, because she was desperate to leave but because she knew he needed the sink or swim approach. She also would never be able to describe the feeling of relief and calmness she felt as she passed the 'you are now leaving Charming' sign, flipping it off as she flew by it.
So Maddie gets her wish and gets out of Charming. Hope you all enjoyed, thanks for all the reviews and follows glad you are liking it so far!